[1] reflections ; annabeth chase

o3.

chapter three

     LORELAI SHOULD have expected all of them to be hopelessly lost the minute they entered the Labyrinth ... because they are hopelessly lost, and for some reason, Lorelai did not think they'd actually be lost. She has no idea why she thought that.

     To Annabeth's credit, she had been trying her absolute best to guide them, telling them all to stick to the left wall. Smart, yeah, but the minute she had said that, the left wall fucking disappeared. Instead, all they see are eight tunnels leading out, and when Annabeth tells them to turn around, each person turns to a different tunnel.

     "Left walls are mean," says Tyson. Lorelai nods in agreement. "Which way now?"

     Annabeth sweeps her flashlight beams over the archways of the eight tunnels. Lorelai squints at the tunnels, and she sees a very faint light coming out from one of them. 

     "That way," she immediately says, pointing at the sixth tunnel.

     Everyone turns to look at her.

     "How do you know that?" Percy asks.

     "There's a faint light coming from the end of that tunnel." Lorelai points her flashlight at the tunnel. "It's very faint, but there's a warm glow to it, so it should be fine."

     Annabeth nods. "Then we go from that tunnel. Lead the way, Lorelai."

     Lorelai wishes she hadn't said that, because the tunnel narrows very quickly, with the walls turning to grey cement and the ceiling so low that they start hunching over, all while having to listen to Grover hyperventilating.

     "I can't stand it anymore!" he pants. "Are we there yet?"

     Lorelai's nose wrinkles. "We've literally been down here for, like, five minutes."

     "It's been longer than that," Grover insisted. "And why would Pan be down here? This is the opposite of the wild!"

     Lorelai stares at him. "So wouldn't this be the best place for Pan to hide away? The exact place where most of his satyrs wouldn't suspect him of being?"

     "... no?"

     Aurelia sighs, shaking forward. "Grover, just trust the process."

     Grover shudders at that. "I'm never trusting the process when it comes to you two."

     Lorelai's not going to ask what that meant.

     With that final sentence, the six keep on shuffling forward. But, truthfully, Lorelai can relate to Grover. Being the child of Apollo, she needs to be in the vicinity of the sun, where her abilities can be used, or else she'll freak. Thankfully, just as she begins to think that the tunnel will get so narrow to the point where it will squish them, it opens into a huge room.