𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑, luke castellan

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

Luke frowned, still trying to digest Jon's words.

"What do you mean he's gone?" he repeated, puzzled, not fully grasping what the dark-haired boy was telling him. Just a few hours ago, the three of them had been talking in the Big House; it was impossible for something to have happened to Nik that quickly.

"Just as it sounds," Jon confirmed, clearly affected by the situation. He seemed out of sorts, undeniably distressed. "Yesterday, before going to sleep, we said we'd meet early today to discuss the situation before talking to Chiron. We were supposed to see each other at the lake pier at 9 am."

"And?" Luke asked, intrigued to know how the story unfolded.

"And he never showed up," his brother continued, with a unreadable expression. "So, I waited for 30 minutes, thinking he might have overslept. I went to his cabin, and well—" Jon didn't even need to finish the sentence. "The door was open, just ajar. When I pushed it open to get in better, everything was turned upside down. I mean, Cabin 9 is always messy, but today was remarkable. And when I called out to Nik several times, there was no response."

"Did you check anywhere else?" Luke inquired, also starting to worry about the situation. Beyond Nik's disappearance, it was impossible not to think that this was related to the Manticore from the night before.

"Man, we looked absolutely everywhere," Jon replied as if it were obvious. Luke raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner, and Jon shrugged, a gesture that might seem casual but actually masked his concern. "Nothing," he continued. "Nothing in any fucking place in camp."

"Maybe he had to go out for something," Luke suggested, trying to calm Jon. He didn't even believe that vague excuse himself.

Jon simply chuckled ironically and said, "Sure, he left without telling us, and just a day after a monster entered camp for the first time in years. And after he was actually the one who turned it to dust."

"Well, we still don't know what ha—" Luke began to suggest.

Jon cut him off, irritated. "It doesn't matter what happened. What matters is where the fuck Nik is and that he's okay."

"You're right," Luke acknowledged, scratching his neck. "Did you talk to Chiron?"

"I was about to," Jon confirmed. Luke nodded and said, "I'll go with you." Jon didn't object, so the blond took it as a good sign. While both walked towards the deck, where Chiron was talking to Mr. D, Jon continued lamenting.

"I told him last night to come to our cabin," he mumbled to himself. "He was alone in the Hephaestus cabin. It was dangerous. I told him he could come to the Hermes cabin with us, but he didn't want to. I should have insisted more."

"Relax, it's not your fault," Luke tried to console him. "You heard Chiron yesterday. No one thought monsters would attack again so quickly."

"That's super weird," Jon conceded. "Do you think someone is involved from the inside?"

"I don't know," Luke answered honestly. He had asked himself the same question several times. "I don't think so, really. Why would someone sabotage camp from the inside? Also, there aren't many of us here now. It probably has to do with someone who was here in the summer, as Chiron said."

Stepping into the open air, Luke and Jon interrupted the morning conversation between Chiron and Mr. D. Worry was etched on their faces as they approached Chiron to inform him about Nik's disappearance.

"Chiron, could we have a wo-" Jon's greeting was cut short as they stepped onto the deck. Mr. D. interjected, doing nothing to ease the tension.

"Oh, look, it's the I-love-to-make-noise-at-3-pm-when-I-should-be-sleeping-on-my-cabin brats," he complained with an ironic smile.