chapter 30: damn we suck at escaping

"Move, assholes!"

The empousa, who they found out was named Kelli, yelled at them while poking a spear at their backs.

Hoa whipped her head around. "Are you serious? During all those breaks we were forced to stand while all of you got to sit?"

"Serves you right for siding with the gods."

Nico growled, wiggling his arms in the ropes they were trapped in. "We haven't served them! Her father has sided with you guys and my dad doesn't even talk to me."

"You're special, and you know it."

"Ouch," Nico and Hoa muttered.

Finally, they stopped walking. They weren't allowed to sit, but they did manage to lean against a wall this time.

"Nico," Hoa asked. "You got a game plan?"

"Nope."

Hoa studied the way that the monsters positioned themselves in. "There's an opening, four o'clock."

Nico perked up and looked to their right. "Bet. Count of three?"

"Nah. Just go when I say go."

"'Kay."

Hoa waited for the correct timing, for when the monsters were shifting around and were more disorganized. She waited for when Kelli had her back turned, and then—

"Now."

They bolted, pushing their way past a dracaena and ducking past a giant. Nobody noticed.

Well, that was anticlimactic.

They were long gone by the time they decided to rest and cut their bonds. They sat for the first time in a while, just taking a breather.

"Nico," she muttered, a realization hitting her suddenly. She was about to check their inventory until she realized there was nothing to check. "We need to go to the surface."

"Why?"

"Our backpacks are gone, meaning supplies are out. Water, food, everything. We need to go to the surface and find stuff."

"Meaning..."

Hoa groaned, hating the next sentence that came out of her mouth. "We need Minos right now."

"You're kidding me," Nico muttered. "Do we have to?"

"Even though he betrayed us, he still somewhat serves Hades. He's also the only way to navigate the maze."

"I hate this."

~•~•~

The blue ghost was surprisingly helpful today, not commenting on Hoa's existence and instead taking the demigods to the surface like they asked. Once there, the demigods sighed in relief before checking their inventory.

Nico rummaged through his pockets. "One dollar... Six dollars here."

Hoa sighed, looking up at the sky. She tapped her ring for (hopefully) good luck before she searched her pockets.

Twenty dollars... And a hundred dollar bill.

Deimos, thank you so much.

Hoa grinned, holding up the money. "We can eat tonight."

~•~•~

"Okay, so here's the game plan."

Hoa clapped, the two of them sitting at some café that they found. "We demigods have to stick together because we need to fight monsters together. Yes, there are monsters in the mortal realm. I know, it sucks. Too bad."

This was Nico's first time in the mortal realm among humans in a while, so Hoa had to educate him as much as possible because he hadn't been taught in the past.

"The average quest number is three, but since you decided to run away, and I decided to follow, it means we only have two. That means fewer monsters, but fewer people to fight them. Honestly, though, I think you count as one and a half, maybe two people in terms of being a monster-magnet."

"Um... thanks?"

"That means we have to be extra careful. Who knows, there might not be a monster. Wait, shit, I shouldn't have said that—" Hoa began frantically looking around to see if anyone looked like they were about to attack her, but everyone seemed chill.

Hoa sighed in relief. "I almost broke demigod rule number one: never, and I mean never doubt that there's a monster around you. Keep that in mind, Nico."

"Okay."

"Anyways, see that convenience store right there?" She nodded her head across the street. "Looks real dumpy and shit, but that doesn't matter, because we need water and any kind of food that's not perishable. Understood?"

"Got it."

She knew that Nico was technically older than her because they had this discussion about their past a while ago, but she was still biologically older than him, meaning that she got to boss him around.

She loved it.

They both got to the convenience store with surprisingly no hassle. They both found a bunch of chips that they could carry around and some metal water bottles that she hoped would last. There were some 2-liter bottles of water that she grabbed, happily skipping over to Nico. Together they walked around, looking for things they needed and finding a backpack to put them all into.

"Are we done?"

"Yep."

They walked over to the cashier's spot where they knocked on the desk because they were sleeping. They blinked before checking out their items, then going back to sleep.

Hoa sighed once they exited the store. "Now we just need a place to sleep tonight, since Luke's army is likely patrolling the maze right now. Ideas?"

"I could find the nearest graveyard."

Hoa smiled, remembering the time spent in the last graveyard they slept in. "Deal."

She probably shouldn't have been so excited to sleep in a spot where many dead bodies lay, but whatever.

They got to work, immediately traveling to and setting up their spot for the night. Nico volunteered to take first watch but Hoa being Hoa, forced him to rest.

"You literally never rest first. Go to sleep."

"But—"

"Nico, I will fight you right, right now, and we both know who'll win."

Nico grumbled, slumping against the ground and falling asleep. Sighing, Hoa paced around, being left to her thoughts.

It was going to be a long night. She could feel it.

~•~•~

The moment Hoa felt the earth move under her, she knew she was right.

Crouching next to Nico, she shook his shoulder gently, trying to wake him up. "Nico? Nico! Earthquake! Wake the fuck up!"

"Great to see you too—wait, earthquake?"

"Get up!"

Quickly, Nico grabbed his things as Hoa grabbed hers. They weren't quite sure what to do, but a flash of blue light appeared.

Perfect timing, blue ghost dickhead.

"Percy and his friends are in danger," the king said, floating away fast. "Better hurry."

Hoa and Nico sprinted to keep up with him, following him into the same convenience store that they went to earlier with no questions asked. Minos led them to the back of the store, where they found the familiar delta that led to the Labyrinth.

"Hurry up," Minos said, hissing. "That Poseidon's spawn and his little group of lackeys are in trouble. You should hurry."

With no hesitation, Nico put his finger on the delta. The heavy door moved, revealing a tunnel. Running forward, they stumbled into the dark, Minos being the only source of light leading them.

"I swear to god, Seaweed Bitch better be okay."

"Oh, he's fine," Minos said.

What?

Suddenly, marching was heard in front of them. Hoa's eyes widened. "Trap."

She grabbed Nico's hand and began sprinting the other way, but a familiar empousa blocked them, smiling devilishly at them.

"Nobody escapes from my claws," Kelli said, a evil grin on her face. "Especially not someone as handsome as this young boy is."

Her hand gripped his chin as her fingers trailed Nico's jawline. Hoa felt hot anger bubbling inside of her and she blacked out.

------------------------------------------------------------

hi im madi, your loyal author ♥️

i fucking hate minos and kelli

anyways

check out muse! its a jax x reader (from tadc--the amazing digital circus) and doesn't have many chapters yet, but still! plsplspls take a look.

MY MD BOOK IS LIKE 🤏 CLOSE TO ENDING SO IF YOU EANNA INPUT A REQ THEN DO IT

LIKE NOW

literally comment anywhere in that book "hey can you write blah blah"

anyways

how was the chapter?

also, what are some questions of your own?

anyways, tysm for reading this crappy book! 😃