Fever

Percy POV

Thalia, Nico, and I climbed the stairs of a nearby apartment building. The apartment complex was only a few blocks from the museum. Rather than continuing to travel, we opted to take shelter somewhere.

It was another one of those zombie migration days. There were hordes of zombies on the streets, so we needed to go somewhere safe.

"Are we sure that this building is safe?" Thalia asked.

"We're going to the top of the building. As we get higher, there are usually fewer zombies. We'll find one apartment to settle down for some time," I responded.

Thalia nodded while Nico didn't say anything. Nico was walking in front of us, and his face was downcast. It's only been a few hours since Bianca died. I can't imagine the thoughts that were going through his fractured head. Thalia and I were keeping a close eye on Nico so that we can support him.

I guess we were hoping the dam wouldn't break, but we were also preparing ourselves in case we need to reassure Nico. Hazel would be more helpful than me or Thalia though.

We reached the fourteen floor and roamed through the hall.

There wasn't a single zombie this high up, which was good news. Thalia stood in front of apartment 1410. There was a wreath hanging on the door. It seemed welcoming, so we decided to go inside.

The door was locked, so I broke in.

"Where did you learn to pick locks?" Thalia asked with a smirk. I smiled while walking into the lonely apartment. There was nothing and no one.

"I used to be quite the rebel during my teen years."

"That doesn't even surprise me."

Nico tossed his backpack on the couch before retreating deeper into the apartment. He's scoping the location for us. I sighed before looking at Thalia.

"I'm worried about him," I expressed. "It can't be easy to lose someone you love."

"Nico will be fine in time, Percy," Thalia answered. "Because of this zombie apocalypse, everyone lost someone they love. He'll get through it."

I nodded while shutting the front door. There was no electricity in this building, but we didn't mind that. It was a warm summer day. I opened the curtains to the balcony to let some sunlight into the living room. The kitchen was devoid of food. The camp's guards had probably raided this building already.

Thalia sat down on the leather couch and rummaged through her backpack. She also had Will's medical bag as well.

I groaned while settling on the couch next to her. My back slouched against the dark leather before turning myself around. I slept on my stomach while exposing my back injury. Agonizing pain was flaring through my body.

"Percy, you have to hang in there," Thalia reassured.

"It's hurting like hell. Since we stopped moving, the adrenaline is wearing off."

Just then, Nico walked back into the room and sat down on the ground. He rested his bloody knife on the carpet before leaning his head back. His eyes closed, and his hair fell over his eyes. He wasn't crying anymore, but a storm was brewing. I could feel the sadness and anger radiating off him.

Thalia pulled out a loaf of bread before splitting it into three pieces. She tossed one at me before placing another piece of bread inside of Nico's hands.

We simply sat quietly while devouring our bread.

"The rest of the apartment is clear. There are two bedrooms, and both of them have mattresses in them. I know that you both are worried about me, but I need some time alone," Nico answered.

He didn't wait for our responses before walking away. Thalia shook her head before standing up and stretching.

"He's right. We do need some rest. We'll settle here for the night. Tomorrow will be a new day, and we can figure out our next steps," Thalia instructed.

"You take the bedroom," I ordered.

Thalia didn't fight me on that. She probably wanted the bedroom anyway. I laid more comfortably on the couch before resting my head on the cushion. I can't imagine sleeping on my back right now, so I'm glad the couch was pretty large.

I closed my eyes while breathing heavily. Breathing was helping me with controlling the pain in my back. "Can you get me some pain meds?" I asked.

"We don't have much left. Here."

Thalia poured some pills from a Tylenol bottle into my hand. Then, I grabbed a water bottle and downed the painkillers. I spilled some water on myself due to the position I'm sleeping in, but it didn't matter.

"The next step is to find the group again," I murmured. "I have to get back to Stella, Annabeth, and Grover."

Before Thalia even finished her sentence, sleep took over my mind and body. I relished the loss of pain and sensation in my back.

However, nightmares disrupted my sleep all night long.

***

"Percy. PERCY. WAKE UP," Thalia shouted. She roughly shook my shoulder, which bolted out of my sleep.

I groaned while wiping a layer of sweat off my forehead. My throat felt so dry like there wasn't an ounce of water in my mouth. I coughed once while taking Thalia's assistance to come to a sitting position. I felt awful.

"Are you okay, Percy? You're burning up," Thalia said.

"I am?"

"Yeah. You look pretty bad. I looked through the apartment for any pain meds or antibiotics, but the place is pretty empty. Nearby apartments also came up dry."

My tight body exploded with pain as I stood up. My back flared, and I quickly sat back down so that I could avoid the rigidity. I wiped my face again before gazing at my shaking hands. Even though Thalia said I'm burning up, my body felt so cold.

I know exactly why I'm running such a high fever.

Thalia warned me that I need antibiotics, but we didn't have any. The museum was crumbled, so we couldn't get any materials from inside.

"You might die," Nico said silently from the corner. "At this point, everyone dies. No one survives the world we live in."

"Dude, that is so dark," I gasped.

"It's the truth, isn't it?" Nico countered. "We're all going to die eventually. Some die sooner than others, and it sucks. That's life though."

"Well, I still have things I want to do," I answered firmly. "I want to be my best friend's best man. I want to see my baby sister grow up, and I want to know what kind of relationship I can have with the woman I love."

Nico and I locked our gazes. I'm worried about Nico because Bianca's death was clearly changing him. While he was always on the quieter side, he's never been dark like this. I hope that Nico will be okay.

Thala stood up and stood between the both of us. She effectively disrupted the gaze between me and Nico.

"We all have things we still want to do. I'm sure that Nico wants to see Hazel again and stay by his other sister's side. I want to get back to Jason and my friends. I still want to help everyone that's still left at camp," Thalia paused.

"But, right now, I want to make sure that you stay alive, Percy."

Silence followed as we digested her words. I didn't like them though. I don't want to be a burden on anyone else. Surviving the zombie apocalypse is hard enough without having to care for someone.

Regardless, Nico and I listened to Thalia's plan.

There's a clinic a few blocks away that the camp hadn't raided. The clinic was too small to have anything substantially valuable. When it comes to medicine, the camp always raided high-end places. After all, research in South Sector requires good equipment and medications.

I hotwired a car in the apartment's parking structure before Thalia drove us to the clinic. She practically laughed while barreling through the zombies.

The windows were rolled down so our hair was flying like crazy.

Thalia being so happy about running over zombies was low-key kind of creepy. However, it was good to see her smiling and laughing. Everything felt so dark right now, so any positive light is a good thing.

"Park in the lots behind the clinic," Nico informed. Thalia did two loops around the clinic before parking in the back.

Because of my injury and heavy fever, I was barely functional on the streets. Sweat clung to my skin everywhere, and my body felt so weak. Nico supported me during the walk to the car and into the clinic. Thalia used her hand revolver gun to shoot the zombies close to us.

The sun was shining brightly above us. The parking lot was empty besides a few zombies that Thalia took care of. Nico blasted the back door open.

My weak body swayed with the wind, and Thalia caught me. "Hang on, Percy. We'll get some fresh food, water, and meds inside."

"I'm fine, Thalia. I'll be okay," I whispered.

"Don't lie to me, Kelp Head. You are not okay and you know it. We're going to make sure you're fine before we find our friends again."

Nico, Thalia, and I snuck into the clinic and closed the doors behind us. The clinic was organized in a very obvious way. There was a waiting area in the front. A set of double doors separated the patient waiting area and the treatment rooms in the back. The back of the clinic had one circular hallway. Ten patient rooms and five storage centers were connected to the hall on all sides.

We walked through the hallway before I collapsed on a patient bed in the first room closest to the back entrance. I crawled over the mattress and buried my head in the pillow. The infection and fever were burning me up.

I was so hungry and thirsty and in pain.

"Sorry if I was harsh with you this morning," Nico expressed. I lifted my sweaty head and waved off his apology. "Thalia is breaking into the medicine carts right now. What can I do to help?"

"Water," I croaked. "I just need some water and food."

Nico left the room and came back with a huge pack of water bottles. I quickly chugged the water before Nico turned me around. I lay on my stomach while Nico poured the water against my wound.

I yelped in pain while enclosing my hand around the bedsheets. Nico wore gloves before cleaning my wound the best he could.

"Will taught me to always clean a wound, especially if we suspect an infection. I'm going to pour some alcohol to sterile you as well," Nico said.

"You learned quite a lot from Will," I expressed slyly.

I raised my eyebrow before gazing at Nico, who was blushing at my words. It probably wasn't the best time to tease him about his crush, but I wanted to lighten the mood. Anything is better than crumbling into darkness.

While Nico cleaned my wound, Thalia strolled into the room.

"It was hard to find drugs that aren't expired. However, I got some heavy painkillers and antibiotics that expire next year. Thank the gods," Thalia exclaimed.

She practically shoved a cocktail of drugs into my mouth before making me swallow the pills with some water. She also found some stale pretzels and bread, and that's what we ate that afternoon.

We stuffed ourselves with the horrible food out of starvation.

We spent the next few hours at the clinic. After treating me and loading me with painkillers, Nico and Thalia freshened up as well. The water was still working in the clinic, which was great for Nico to wash the tears and dirt off his face.

I took a quick nap and felt rejuvenated when I woke up.

Thalia, Nico, and I make an unexpectedly good team. We're similar yet different. As I mentioned before, something connects us.

Regardless, we were recharged and ready to go.

Now, we're ready to find our camp again. I'm ready to reunite with Stella, Annabeth, and the rest of my family. Wherever they are, we're going to find them.