I hope I do this story justice...

PREVIOUSLY...

Darkness swirled around me, making me feel sick to my stomach. But in less than a minute it was over and we landed on our backs, hard. Looking up I could see the blue sky and sun, which meant we were back on the surface. Looking around I saw that we were in a dense forest, one that was a great hiding spot. Where we were sitting was a round clearing with many fruit trees surrounding it.

Looking down towards where Nico was laying I smiled, "You did it N...Nico!"

Nico was laying on the ground, not moving, with labored breath. It seemed like he was gasping for air and he was paler than ever. Getting to my knees I leaned over him, "Nico!" No response. I put my fingers to his neck and was happy to feel a weak pulse, but that pulse was wavering. It was then that I realized what was happening. The same thing as when he called up a dozen skeletons when Kronos' army attacked Camp Half-Blood using the Labyrinth. He had used to much of his energy and was dying. For the first time I noticed that the grass around Nico was dying, turning brown like it hadn't had enough water. Nico was dying and we were in the middle of the gods know where with no nectar or ambrosia. We were screwed.

3 hours.

That's how long I've been sitting gods know where with my dim-witted unconscious brother.

So far, the only sign that showed that he was still alive are his shaky breaths illuminated in the chilly air. The grass around him was paling just as fast as he was, strongly contrasting with the darkening sky.

I've cycled through the same routine these long and drawn out hours: pacing, bending over to check on Nico, stroking his hair and holding his hand looking for any signs of hope that he would wake up, and then sighing and standing back up to continue striding back and forth across the same five-foot stretch, wearing further the already dead grass.

I'd already checked every pocket I had for any nectar or ambrosia that I had hastily thrown into a pocket and gods forbid forgot about but I came up with nothing. I even invaded Nico's personal privacy by searching him, too. All I found, however, was a small pocket knife concealed in his sock.

Figuring that I needed to do something besides sitting around feeling horrible and utterly useless, I took the knife and went up to one of the many fruit trees, cutting one of the exotic fruits down. I walked back and sat cross-legged next to Nico with the fruit in my lap and the knife in hand.

Examining the knife, I saw some dirt, which I wiped off with the hem of my shirt, and then proceeded to make a small incision in the fruit. Some juice leaked out, mocking me as I realized how hungry I really was. Tapping my finger in the substance, I felt the coolness of the liquid caress my finger. I brought my hand up to my face and was about to suck on my finger when I paused and asked myself the almost forgotten question of 'what if this is poisonous?'

I lifted my finger a little higher to reach my nose to maybe see if I recognized the odor of this fruit's liquid. And surprisingly, I did! It smelled like the chocolate cake that our mother used to make for us. I smiled fondly of the memories of mine and Nico's childhood. All of a sudden it occurred to me: this was nectar! 'So that's where it comes from,' I thought to myself as i quickly licked my finger, and instantly felt the warmth pool throughout my body-running through my veins.

I reached out to Nico, my dear brother, and coaxed open his parched lips so that I could dribble the nectar into his mouth. I stroked his exposed neck to encourage him to swallow, which he involuntarily did. Almost instantly, he choked out a fit of dry coughing that quelled after a few seconds.

"Wha-what happened?" he gurgled out while trying to sit up.

I gently pushed him back down again and dripped some more nectar into his mouth. "I'm not sure. You're the one who shadow-traveled us here."

He moved his head to the side, emitting a small moan as he blinked and looked around in the dusk.

"Bianca," he said, reaching up to grab her arm. "I don't know."

His big sister looked down at his pleading eyes, confused at his unknowingness. Did his concussion with the added over-exertion give him amnesia? Or maybe his subconscious mind pulled them here?

"Nico, are you sure? How can you shadow-travel to a place that you don't even know?"

"I-I have no idea," he struggled as he sat up, propping himself up on his arms. This time, his siter did not try to get him to lay back down.

Bianca shook her head as if a fly was buzzing around her and then asked: "how are you feeling?"

"I'm just a little tired is all," came his short reply as he frowned and reached down into his shoe. "Where's my knife?"

Bianca glanced down at the fruit she was holding, along with the aforementioned knife, which she then wiped yet again with the hem of her shirt and handed back to him. "I checked your pockets to see if you had any ambrosia or nectar; you were pretty much dead. Luckily, I found your knife and these trees happen to grow nectar-fruits."

"Let me see that," he motioned and snatched the fruit from Bianca's hand. He then proceeded to examine it, and then his face visibly paled.

"I know where we are."

Well that's it. Please let me know what you think!