What If Three Days Meant Forever?

A/N: Okay so technically this chapter could have spoilers if you haven't read the first Trials of Apollo book so please proceed with caution. Also, this is a really long chapter. That's all!

Will POV

"He's missing?" I ask in disbelief. Nico nods his head slowly and I feel my stomach drop into my sneakers. "How?"

"We're not too sure." Nico admits. "His bunk was just found empty and no one has seen or heard from him since."

I shake my head in disbelief. "No." I mutter under my breath, feeling panicked. "No, this is Cecil we're talking about. He's the king of messing things up, but he makes up for it by not being stupid. He wouldn't just disappear without a word."

"Will, I'm sorry."

"I just can't catch a break, can I?" I chuckle bitterly. "Are there any search parties looking for him?"

Nico bites his lip softly and shakes him head, almost in embarrassment. "Chiron doesn't think it's a good idea."

"So, we're just supposed to leave him?"

"It's like you said. Cecil is smart, so he wouldn't just up and leave without at least a note or something. We're already short on campers," Nico gestures toward the very empty pavilion. "so if this is something bigger, there's no use in loosing anymore."

"What do you mean by 'something bigger'?"

"Something prophecy related perhaps."

"But my dad-"

"That's exactly the issue." Nico cuts me off. "I thought we might have time before we needed to figure out the whole prophecy thing, but it's obvious none of us can catch a break around here."

"Okay." I say calmly, trying to assess the situation. "Okay, we may be short on campers, but maybe we can find a way to organize some sort of search. One camper can't be that hard to find, right?"

"Actually..." Nico trails off, gaging my attention once more. "It's not just Cecil. Ellis Wakefield went missing this morning as well."

"Are you sure he didn't just wonder off on some sort of solo mission?" I suggest. It's no secret that Ellis looks up to Sherman Yang like he's the best thing since sliced bread. He could've gone out to prove his worth in a 'manly way'.

Nico shrugs his shoulders. "It's possible, but it's sort of strange, isn't it? Cecil goes missing without any goodbye and then a week later Ellis Wakefield is gone?"

"I know what you mean." I nod. "Has Ellis's parent been called?"

"That's the other thing too. Communication isn't working."

I sit up a bit straighter in my seat. "Okay, what about Iris messaging?"

"Phones, computers, Iris messaging, basically any means of communication we had before are gone now."

"Okay, that's really bad." I agree.

"Even Clovis's dreams are being intercepted. Dreams in general have been more or less like normal dreams without any messages or anything demigod-esque about them. Just static a lot of the time."

"We're completely cut off from the rest of the world." I realize out loud.

"The only contact we have with the gods is Monique and who knows how much longer that's going to last." Nico sighs somewhat miserably.

"Has word gotten to the Romans?"

"Not yet." He shakes his head. "I mean, we sent a letter last week but we haven't gotten anything back so it's assumed that it was intercepted somehow. We'd need to send someone over there and Chiron doesn't think that's a good idea."