Chapter 1 — The Road West
The SUV hummed steadily along the highway, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the dashboard. Percy was driving, one hand on the wheel, the other fiddling with the radio. Annabeth sat beside him, her feet propped up on the dash, flipping through a battered road atlas even though they had GPS.
In the backseat, Nico pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the window, eyes half-lidded. He hadn’t said much since they left Camp Half-Blood that morning. Will sat beside him, watching the way Nico’s fingers curled tightly around the seatbelt strap, knuckles pale.
He knew Nico had been unwell before they left — a lingering headache, a faintness he brushed off as “just tired.” But Will had seen the way Nico flinched when someone touched his shoulder too suddenly, how he’d started sleeping with his back to the cabin wall again. The nightmares were getting worse. Nico hadn’t said it aloud, but Will could feel it in the silence between them.
“You, okay?” Will asked softly, voice low enough not to carry to the front.
Nico did not look at him. “Fine.”
Will did not push. Not yet.
They stopped for the night at a roadside motel somewhere in Pennsylvania. It was the kind of place with flickering neon signs and a vending machine that only took quarters. Percy and Annabeth took one room; Will and Nico took the other.
The moment the door shut behind them, Nico dropped his bag and sat on the edge of the bed, shoulders hunched. Will watched him from the bathroom doorway, toothbrush in hand.
“You want the bed by the window?” Will asked.
Nico shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
Will did not press. He brushed his teeth, changed into a t-shirt and sweats, and climbed into the other bed. Nico lay down without turning off the lamp.
Will pretended to scroll through his phone, but he was watching Nico out of the corner of his eye. The way his eyes stayed open long after they should have closed. The way his fingers twitched like he was bracing for something.
Around midnight, Nico finally drifted off. Will turned off the lamp and lay back, staring at the ceiling.
It started around 2 a.m.
A low, choked sound pulled Will from sleep. He sat up instantly, heart thudding. Nico was thrashing in his bed, tangled in the sheets, breath coming in short, panicked gasps.
“No—don’t—” Nico mumbled, voice thick with fear. “Please…”
Will was beside him in seconds, hands hovering but not touching. “Nico,” he whispered. “Hey, it is okay. You are dreaming.”
Nico jolted awake with a gasp, eyes wide and wild. He looked around the room like he didn’t recognize it.
“It’s me,” Will said gently. “You’re safe. It was just a nightmare.”
Nico blinked, chest heaving. He didn’t speak.
Will sat beside him, close but not crowding. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Nico shook his head. “No.”
Will nodded, even though his heart ached. “Okay. But I’m here.”
Nico didn’t respond, but he didn’t move away either. After a long moment, he lay back down, facing the wall. Will stayed sitting, watching over him until his breathing evened out again.
Outside, the neon sign buzzed faintly. Inside, the silence was heavy.
Tomorrow, they’d keep driving. But tonight, Will stayed awake, guarding Nico from dreams he couldn’t fight alone.
