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Once upon a time there was a stone staircase over a deep, wild river.'Don’t ever go there,' Maria di Angelo warned her children. 'It's not safe, they say anyone who goes up never comes back down.'
Bianca di Angelo heeded their mother's warning. When she and Nico walked to school, she did never look in its direction, for fear of seeing something she doesn't want to see. But Nico curiously took a glance at it as they walked. On the way up, there was a thick fog that covered the steps, so Nico never knew what lie ahead.
On their way to school, they found a cookie stand tended to by an old lady. She was rather bony, like she hadn't eaten in a while, with a dress that was burnt like her cookies. Her white hair flew out in all directions, like she was electrocuted.
'Care for a bite?' She asked them.
Bianca shook her head. 'No thank you,' and they walked inside the school gates.
At the cafeteria, Nico asked Will if he knew anything about the staircase. To which the latter replied that no, he didn't. Then, Leo sat beside the two, and said, 'Wait, I think I know a thing or to about that staircase!'
Nico's eyes lit up at this. 'Really? What?'
'I think it leads to some abandoned neighborhood or something. I dunno. '
'How'd'you know?'
'I walked up there once. Never went further when I saw the buildings. They look older than the gods.'
'I see.'
Then Will changed the topic to something more cheerful.
The cold didn't bother him anyway, but the fog did. How did Leo see through this thick fog? Did he have super sight or something? Is he even human? He continued walking up anyways, only ever hearing the sound of the river flowing and the sound of his heart beating. Anyone who goes up never comes back down. Was that the real Leo he was talking to? Or just a fake?
At last, he reaches the top of the steps, and here, the fog wasn't as thick. To the east he could see the abandoned buildings Leo talked about, and they really did look old, like those ancient cities on google maps. He took a step forward, then another, then another towards the buildings, and he fell.
SPLASH! He plunged deep into the cold, clear river. Holding on to a long, metal pipe that somehow didn't budge, he did his best not to let go, lest he die drowning. He looked round, and saw Percy walking on the sidewalk.
'Percy!' Nico called out.
Percy dropped his phone and ran to Nico's rescue, helping him get out of the river. Then, he scrambled to get his phone, and typed an annoying joke to Annabeth before he pocketed it and asked Nico what happened. To which, Nico told Percy everything.
'Nico? What happened? Why are you soaking wet?' Bianca di Angelo asked her brother.
'It's a long story.'
'Long doesn't matter; I want to hear it.'
And so he told her everything.
And they all lived happily ever after, the end.