Seeking Happiness

I sat there with my feet in the water. I hadn't left the beach at tall in the past couple days or the past couple weeks really. It had been a month since Leo and Jason left without us. I could feel my greasy hair start to stick to my forehead. I took a look at my skin and was shocked to see that i was a brownish color, no doubt a mix of sun, sweat, and dirt. I hadn't exactly made hygiene a priority lately. In all honesty I didn't care about anything. There is an impenetrable barrier between the only thing I cared about and me right now. It was another nice day today, not that the weather was ever bad here in "paradise". Ironic how this place is supposed to be paradise for heroes, yet it's my personal hell. I stared out across the horizon. The sun was starting to set over the giant wall. I'm sure the wall was there to keep out of the undesirables from the VIP section of the underworld.

I looked at my reflection in the water, and I almost didn't recognize myself. I actually had some stubble growing in. I rubbed my hand over my cheek in absent thought. I briefly wondered what Annabeth would think about my new beard, before I banished the thought all together. I'm never gong to see her again, the less I think about my wife and kids the better off I'll be. The only problem is I'm almost constantly thinking about them, even when I don't realize it.I dug my toes into the sand and closed my eyes. I heard the sound of the waves and feel the dulling warmth of the sun, and I could almost pretend I was in Long Island. I thought of my home there, Long Island Elysium and almost chuckled. I traded New Elysium for the original, not a fair trade if you ask me. I thought back to when Annabeth were in Tartarus. Yes it was torturous, always on the verge of death, but we were together. Now here I am where the sun always shines and the water is always just right and I've never been more miserable.

The sun dipped below the wall, casting a shadow over the beach. I let out a sigh as I headed back towards my little hut. It wasn't much, it was one small room with a sleeping bag. I didn't need anything else. I sat down on top of my sleeping bag and leaned against the wall. This time of day was the worst. This was usually the time I would be rocking the twins and reading them a book. Christmas should be coming up soon on the surface. I was planning on giving Noah the kraken that Calypso shrunk. I had been training it on the side to be a good pet, it had become quite loyal. As for Gracie I had a young Pegasus. It wasn't big enough to be ridden but it'll grow along with her. Lastly there was Annabeth... I had planned to give her a brand new laptop. I had some strings pulled up in Olympus and its almost identical to the one she lost in Tartarus.

I put my head in my hands, my world had been turned upside down and it was hard to catch my balance. I heard someone knock on the door. I didn't want to see anyone. I had a feeling it was Nico and I wasn't in the mood for another lecture on how I should be positive. Honestly he was one of the most depressing people I've ever met, now all the sudden he's a little ray of sunshine and I'm the mopey one. The visitor knocked again. I grunted and stood up.

I swung the loose door open so hard it flew off the hinges, "What! What do you want?" My suspicions were confirmed as Nico took a cautious step back. He glared at me, it was obvious he wasn't happy with my new habit of introversive anger.

"I just thought you might want to know that Beckendorf and I are leaving. If you want to come we have room for you in the submarine." And with that he walked away. I nearly tripped trying to run after him. What was he talking about?

"Nico! Nico! Wait! What are you talking about? What submarine? What do you mean by leaving? Are we going home?" He just kept walking in the direction of the pier. I caught up to him and put my hand on his shoulder. I turned him around to look me at me. "Nico, you better answer me right now! What is going on? And gods so help me if you walk away again I have no problem putting you in a headlock."

His grimace slowly turned into a smile. "Beckendorf built the sub. We're going under the wall. We're going home."

Notes