Sorry for not updating Friday, but to make it up to you I'm doing a double update today and another update tomorrow in honor of Halloween. I don't know if it's Halloween where some of you live, or if some of you don't celebrate Halloween, but for me it's tomorrow and I'm super excited! Anyway, here's today's first update.

Nico's POV

I held a knife in my hand and a large round orange pumpkin sat in front of me. I looked over the pumpkin at Will, who had already stabbed his knife into the top of the pumpkin and was sawing, making the lid. 

"So, do you just stab the knife into it?" I asked quizzically. Will looked at me with one eyebrow raised. 

"Have you never carved a pumpkin before?" I felt my cheeks heat up. With everything that had happened in my childhood, like getting trapped in time for seventy five years, I had missed out on most normal childhood experiences, like pumpkin carving. 

"Well, no," I muttered. The subject was touchy for me. Will got up from his seat, leaving his knife, and came over to the other side of the table. He pulled up one of the chairs lying around and sat next to me. 

"Here, I'll help you." He wrapped his arms around me, taking my pale hand in his tan one. As he taught me how to cut the lid of the pumpkin, I felt my cheeks heat up again. 

When we finished the lid, I picked it up by its gnarled stem and peered inside the pumpkin. It was a mess of orange pumpkin guts and pumpkin seeds, which were buried deep in the stringy orange substance that criss- crossed the inside of the pumpkin. 

"What do I do now?" I asked, grimacing at the sight of the pumpkin's innards. The smell wafting off the guts was new and foreign to me, and I didn't like it. The inside was wet, as I could see from the glistening. To me, the whole thing looked disgusting. Will pulled his pumpkin over to the other side of the table. 

"This," he said. He plunged his hand into the pumpkin, wrestling with the tough strings of pumpkin guts until he found a good enough handful to bring up. The pile of guts was clenched tightly in his hand. I recoiled at the sight. He plopped the pile down on the tarp like table cloth that covered the table we were at. It sat in a shapeless heap, looking deflated.

"Your turn," he told me. Cautiously, I reached my hand inside the pumpkin. The feeling was slimy, like what an eel would feel like, but I found the feeling oddly nice. I grappled with the slimy guts, trying to get a good enough hold on them to pull them up. Finally, with a ripping sound, I was able to pull up a small pile of pumpkin guts. I put them in the same place Will had put his, starting a small pile that I knew would keep growing as the day grew on. Will gave me a small nod of approval. 

"Now, help me separate the pumpkin seeds from the guts. Later, we can cook them." I picked up one of the seeds, examining it closely. The one I had picked up was small, round, covered in pumpkin guts and definitely did not look appetizing. 

"You eat these?" I asked, slightly disgusted. I had always been in awe of Will's ability to eat anything, but this seemed a little far. I experimentally gave it a small bite. It didn't even seem to be edible. To my surprise, Will nodded enthusiastically. 

"Oh, yeah. You roast them in the oven for half an hour with salt and when they come out, they're amazing. You'll love them," he promised. 

"Whatever you say," I sighed, shaking my head. 

I grabbed some of the pumpkin guts from the table, separating the guts from the seeds. There weren't yet many seeds, but Will promised me that the pile would grow. 

He was right. As I kept picking more guts out of the pumpkin, more seeds came out of the guts. Soon, we had a large pile, one that would have been big enough to cover the surface of a small baking sheet. Will wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, seeing that the front of it was covered in orange goop. 

"Do you have anymore seeds?" He asked. I glanced down into my pumpkin. It had nearly been picked clean, with only a few strands of orange pumpkin guts to show the mess that once occupied the small space. 

"Nope," I said, shaking my head. Will grabbed one of the baking sheets that had been put underneath the table. He swept our pile of pumpkin seeds onto it and gestured for me to follow. 

"Come on, I'll teach you how to bake these," he said. I set down the knife I had been using to scrape away the remaining guts on the sides and followed him to the kitchen. 

We passed other campers who were in varying states of pumpkin carving. Annabeth was still scooping the guts out of her pumpkin, and Percy was somehow carving a wave design into the front of his. 

We entered the kitchen, which was empty. The harpies were out somewhere, probably eating one of the poor monsters who lived i the forest. Will put the tray on the counter and began spreading the seeds out with his hands so that they created a thin layer over the tray. 

"Go get me the salt, will you?" he called. I nodded, and headed over to the cabinet. I opened it up and peered inside, searching for the salt. I thought I spied some laxatives in the back but didn't give any further investigation, simply making a mental note not to eat anything the harpies made for a little while. I grabbed the salt and brought it back over to Will. I started grinding the salt over the seeds, providing a thin film over them. When I was finished, Will slipped them into the oven. 

"They'll be ready in about thirty minutes, so we can finish the pumpkins," he said. We left the kitchen and made our way back to our table. 

When we got back, Will was already picking up a sharpie, and was tracing a well drawn Frankenstein face on his pumpkin. It wasn't until he looked up and saw my puzzled face that he saw I had no idea what I wanted to make. 

"Any ideas for a design?" he asked me. I shook my head. This part was completely new to me. He considered my pumpkin thoughtfully. 

"Well, it has a nice round shape, so maybe just go with the classic face," he suggested. I looked at him quizzically, and he quickly sketched a face onto my pumpkin with a sharpie. Big, round eyes with a crescent shaped pupil and a wide, toothy grin soon came int view. He handed me a knife. Tightly gripping the knife, I started to carve out the round eyes and wide smiling mouth. As I carved, chunks of the pumpkin fell out into the inside. It scared me a bit to see it fall apart, but I was happy when the face started to form. Will looked at my pumpkin, turning away from his near finished Frankenstein. When he saw my pumpkin, his face split into a wide grin. 

"Hey, congrats, Neeks! You did it!" I knew he was making a big deal out of nothing. His, when finished, would be much better than mine, but just the fact that I finished made me happy. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. 

"Now how about we go check on those seeds?" I nodded happily. 

"That sounds great." 

Hey guys! I know the ending was kind of rushed, but it's ten o' clock and I still have another one shot to write. I hope you like this one, and the second will be up soon!

Nina