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ELECTRIC LOVE

CHAPTER SEVEN
[ N A T A L I A ]

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ONE WAY NATALIA didn't want to wake up was free-falling through the sky.

"Holy shit!" she screamed as she continued to fall.

A body then fell past her — Leo — yelling, "Not coooooool!"

"Natalia!" a frantic voice yelled.

She glanced over to see Piper next to her. Natalia reached over and grabbed Piper, the two of them holding each other tightly. Suddenly, they felt another arm wrap around them. Natalia flipped her head around to see her face-to-face with Jason. Her face burned a dark red, and she quickly looked away.

"We have to get Leo!" Piper yelled.

"Gonna get rough," Jason warned. "Hold on!"

Jason then shot towards the ground. Natalia and Piper held on to each other tighter, and then thump! They slammed into another body, one who was wouldn't stop wriggling and cursing.

"Stop fighting!" Jason yelled at Leo. "It's me!"

"My dragon!" Leo yelled. "You gotta save Festus!"

Natalia noticed that Jason was already struggling, so there was no way he could save a dragon. Suddenly, an explosion was heard, and a fireball rolled behind a warehouse complex.

"Festus!" Leo sobbed.

Jason's face reddened as he tried to maintain an air cushion below them. Intermittent slow-downs were the best he could manage. Rather than free-falling, it felt like they were bouncing down a giant staircase, a hundred feet at a time, which made Natalia's stomach flip upside down.

As they wobbled and zigzagged, all of them could make out details of the factory complex below — warehouses, smokestacks, barbed-wire fences, and parking lots lined with snow-covered vehicles. They were still high enough so that hitting the ground would flatten them into roadkill — or skykill
— when Jason groaned, "I can't—"

And they dropped like stones.

"Fuck!" Natalia screamed.

They hit the roof of the largest warehouse and crashed through into darkness.

Natalia tried to hold onto Piper, but she slipped out of her arms. Thinking fast, she rolled her body into a tuck position and began to front flip. She landed on the roof on her feet with one hand on the ground. However, she felt her wrist give out, and she groaned in pain, rolling on her back. She looked over to see Piper next to her, also in extreme pain.

"Natalia?" a voice rang out, sounding extremely worried. "Natalia, Piper, where are you?"

"Ow, bro!" Leo groaned. "That's my back! I'm not a sofa! Nat, Piper, where'd you go?"

"We're over here," Natalia called out, her voice almost a whimper.

She sat up and looked down at her wrist. It was bent in the wrong way, and looked very sickening. She then heard shuffling, grunting, and footsteps up the stairs. Natalia glanced up to see Leo and Jason, staring at Piper's broken foot and her broken wrist in disgust.

Leo reached Piper's side while Jason went over to Natalia. "You okay . . . ? Oh no, you're not."

"Thanks for the reassurance," Piper groaned.

Jason went to take her wrist, but Natalia shook her head, nodding over to Piper. "Help her first."

He looked reluctant, but Natalia gave him a challenging glare back.

"You'll be fine," Jason said with worry in his voice as he went back over to Piper. "Leo, you got any first aid supplies?"

"Yeah — yeah, sure."

He dug around in his tool belt and pulled out a wad of gauze and a roll of duct tape — both of which seemed too big for the belt's pockets. They had noticed the tool belt yesterday morning, but she hadn't thought to ask Leo about it. It didn't look like anything special — just one of those wrap around leather aprons with a bunch of pockets, like a blacksmith or a carpenter might wear. And it seemed to be empty.

"How did you—" Piper tried to sit up, and winced. "How did pull that stuff from an empty belt?"

"Magic. Haven't figure it out completely, but I can summon just about any regular tool out of the pockets, plus some other helpful stuff." He reached into another pocket and pulled out a little tin box. "Breath mint?"

Jason snatched away the mints. "That's great, Leo. Now, can you fix her foot? Or Nat's wrist?"

"I'm a mechanic, man. Maybe if they were cars . . ."

"So sorry I'm not a motor vehicle," Natalia said sarcastically.

Leo made a face at her, and then snapped his fingers. "Wait, what was that Godly healing stuff they fed you at Camp — rambo food?"

Natalia let out a chuckle, despite the amount of pain she was in. "It's called ambrosia, Leo. There's some in my backpack."

Jason walked over to the discarded backpack on the floor and opened it, taking out a Ziploc bag of ambrosia. He broke off a piece and handed it to Natalia. She put it in her mouth and tasted the same thing she always did — her dad's homemade red velvet cake. The pain of her wrist and all of her worries washed away from it.

"More," Piper said after being fed some.

Jason frowned. "Piper, we shouldn't risk it. They said too much could burn you up. I think I should try to set your foot."

Natalia raised an eyebrow at him, which caused him to blush. "You've ever done that before, Jay?"

"Yeah . . ." he responded, trying to get the fact that she called him Jay out of his head. "I think so."

Leo found an old piece of wood and broke it in half for a splint. Then he got the gauze and duct tape ready.

"Hold her leg still," Jason told him. "Piper, this is going to hurt."

When Jason set the foot, Piper flinched so hard she punched Leo in the arm, and he yelled almost as much as she did. Natalia squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to watch. When she opened her eyes, Piper's ankle was splinted with plywood, gauze, and duct tape.

"Ow," she said.

"Jeez, Beauty Queen!" Leo rubbed his arm. "Glad my face wasn't there."

"You both did great," Jason said, giving Piper some water. "Nat, it's your turn."

"Oh boy, I can't wait."

Jason walked over to her and knelt down in front of her. He gingerly took her wrist into his hands, and she hissed in pain at the light touch. He looked at her worryingly, but she shook her head.

"Just do it," Natalia said, reaching into her bag and pulling medical tape out of it. "When you're done, put this around it."

"Ready?" Jason asked, and Natalia nodded. "One . . . two . . ."

All of the sudden, he set her wrist. She clenched her teeth and curled her good hand into a fist, only opening her eyes when the pain subsided. When she did look, her wrist looked back to normal.

Jason began to wrap her wrist. "So . . . how do you know Khione?"

Natalia sighed. "I was afraid you'd ask that. Uh . . . it was before I came to Camp, and monsters were attacking my home left and right. Suddenly, one day, a blizzard surrounded my house, so I walked outside with my old bow. When I got outside, Khione was standing there. All she said was, 'Time for you to freeze, Natalia Flynn. You don't belong here.' Then . . . she tried to kill me. Thankfully, my mother stepped in and made her go away. She terrorized me on my way to Camp, and every time she tried to get close I would dodge her. I haven't seen her since I got to Camp, and seeing her now just made me so angry."

Jason nodded, finishing up wrapping her wrist. "That's awful, Nat. I'm really sorry she did that to you."

"It's in the past now," she shrugged, then looked out the window, noticing snow. "Anyways, where are we? What happened to Festus?"

Leo's expression turned sullen. "I don't know with Festus. He just jerked sideways like he hit an invisible wall and started to fall." Leo pointed to the logo on the wall. "As far as where we are . . ."

It was hard to make it out through the graffiti, but there was a large red eye with the stenciled words: Monocle Motors, Assembly Plant 1.

"Closed car plant," Leo said. "I'm guessing we crash-landed in Detroit."

"How far is that from Chicago?" Piper asked.

Jason handed her the canteen. "Maybe three-fourths of the way from Quebec? The thing is, without the dragon, we're stuck traveling overland."

"No way," Leo said. "It isn't safe."

Piper thought for a moment. "He's right. Besides, I don't know if I can walk. And four people — Jason, you can't fly that many across country by yourself."

"No way," Jason said. "Leo, are you sure the dragon didn't malfunction? I mean, Festus is old, and—"

"And I might not have repaired him right?"

"I didn't say that," Jason protested. "It's just — maybe you could fix it."

"I don't know." Leo sounded crestfallen. He pulled a few screws out of his pockets and started fiddling with them. "I'd have to find where he landed, if he's even in one piece."

"It was my fault." Piper said suddenly.

"No, it's not," Natalia said. "It's none of our faults. Stop blaming yourself."

"Yeah, you're just shaken up," Leo agreed. "You're in pain. Just rest."

Piper looked like she wanted to say something, but decided against it. Natalia stared at her curiously, but she merely just shook her head back at her with a sad expression.

Leo stood. "Look, um, Jason, why don't you stay with them, bro? I'll scout around for Festus. I think he fell outside the warehouse somewhere. If I can find him, maybe I can figure out what happened and fix him."

"It's too dangerous," Jason said. "You shouldn't go by yourself."

"Yeah, I can come with you," Natalia offered.

"Ah, I got duct tape and breath mints. I'll be fine," Leo said a little to quickly, and Natalia noticed that he needed some time alone. "You guys just don't run off without me."

Leo reached into his magic tool belt, pulled out a flashlight, and headed down the stairs, leaving Piper, Natalia, and Jason alone.

Jason gave them both a warm smile. Natalia returned one, and looked to Piper to see her with a nostalgic look on her face. She knew that she was thinking of their trick-of-the-Mist relationship, and for some reason, it made her heart hurt.

"You look better," Jason offered. "Both of you."

Natalia tried hard not to let her face turn red. Why was she feeling this way? She was a daughter of Artemis, not Aphrodite. She should be sworn off boys like the Hunters or like the way her mother was for a long time, but she couldn't help it. There was something about this boy that made her feel fuzzy inside.

"You did a good job," Piper told Jason. "Where'd you learn first aid?"

He shrugged. "Same answer as always. I don't know."

"But you're starting to have some memories, aren't you? Like that Prophecy in Latin back at Camp, or that dream about the wolf."

"It's fuzzy," he said. "Like déjà vu. Ever forgotten a word or a name, and you know it should be on the tip of your tongue, but it isn't? It's like that — only with my whole life."

Natalia understood. She'd always been a weird child, but couldn't figure out why, until she got to Camp.

"That photo in your pocket," Piper said. "Is that someone from your past?"

Jason pulled back, and Natalia's face broke out into a small smile at the mention of the picture.

"I'm sorry," she said. "None of my business. Forget it."

"No — it's okay." His features relaxed. "Just, I'm trying to figure things out."

Jason turned to Natalia for help, and she looked back to Piper with a small smile. "The girl in the picture? Her name's Thalia. She's one of my best friends, and apparently, Jason's sister. She became one of my mother's Hunters."

Jason nodded at Natalia's words. "I get the feeling I'm supposed to find her. Hera left me that memory for a reason. It's got something to do with this quest. But . . . I also have the feeling it could be dangerous. I'm not sure I want to find out the truth. Is that crazy?"

"No," Piper said. "Not at all."

While she was talking, Natalia stared at the logo on the wall. The single red eye was really bothering her for some reason, and she couldn't figure out why.

"Jason, Natalia," Piper said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Speaking of the truth, I need to tell you something — something about my dad—"

She didn't get the chance. Somewhere below, metal clanged against metal, like a door slamming shut. The sound echoed through the warehouse.

Jason stood, and Natalia stiffened. He took out his coin and flipped it, snatching his golden sword out of the air. He peered over the railing.

"Leo?" he called.

No answer.

He crouched next to Piper and Natalia. "I don't like this."

"He could be in trouble," Piper said. "Go check."

"I can't leave you two alone."

"You think we're damsels in distress, Grace?" Natalia taunted. She tapped her silver bracelet, and it turned into her bow. "We can handle ourselves."

Piper drew Katoptris. "Yeah. If anyone gets close, we'll skewer them."

Jason hesitated. "I'll leave you the pack. If I'm not back in five minutes—"

"Panic?" she suggested.

Natalia suddenly got nostalgiac when she thought of that one time when Grover caused one during the Battle of the Labyrinth. She shook it off, not wanting to remember her time in the Labyrinth.

He managed a smile. "Glad you're back to normal. The makeup and the dress were a lot more intimidating than the dagger. And Natalia . . . you're just plain intimidating."

Natalia winked at him, making his entire face turn a bright red. She pulled an arrow and notched it, pointing it at him. "Get going, Sparky, or I'll skewer you."

"Sparky? What's up with all these nicknames?"

She shrugged, and he scoffed.

No fair, Natalia thought as she stared at Jason's figure disappear in the dark. He looks hot, even when offended.

Natalia stared into the dark, trying to count the seconds, but lost track at about forty-seven. As an instinct, she summoned moonlight in her hand, and the entire room glowed silver. She went to go talk to Piper who was staring at the light in wonder, but suddenly, the warehouse went bang!

The echo died. Natalia could hear her heartbeat in her ears, but she slowly stood up. She was about to call for Jason, but her instincts decided it against it. Risking a glance, she looked at the one-eye logo. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was.

Oh, fuck.

"Piper," Natalia whispered frantically as she extinguished the light. "Piper, we gotta go."

Boom. The sound was closer now. Natalia rushed back over to her side as Piper stuffed another square of ambrosia in her mouth. She did the same, but not too much, just so that her wrist could heal better.

Piper cut through the duct tape with her dagger and the two heard heavy steps on the stairs — like metal boots. Had it been five minutes? The steps definitely didn't sound like Jason, but maybe he was carrying Leo. Natalia knew that wasn't true, but she wanted it to be.

"We really have to go," Natalia said.

Piper looked up, and for the first time, noticed the fear in her eyes. Natalia was getting flashbacks of the Sea of Monsters, when her, Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson went to rescue Grover. Polyphemus' island had been her worst nightmare, and she'd been afraid of Cyclopes ever since.

Piper gripped her dagger, "Jason?"

"Yeah," he said from the darkness. "On my way up."

It was definitely Jason's voice, but Natalia knew better. She helped Piper get to her feet as the footsteps got closer.

"It's okay," Jason's voice promised.

Nah, I don't think it is, Natalia thought to herself.

At the top of the stairs, a face appeared out of the darkness — a hideous black grin, a smashed nose, and a single bloodshot eye in the middle of his forehead. Natalia froze, staring up at it in absolute terror.

"It's fine," the Cyclops said, in a perfect imitation of Jason's voice."You're just in time for dinner."

"Ah, shit," Natalia said, and the next thing she knew, she was being grabbed.

★彡

I don't know, I thought moonlight powers were cool.