Celestial - a Percy Jackson fanfic [BOOK ONE]

Chapter eighteen

The Fields of Asphodel were like being at the worst concert you could ever think of. There had to be millions of spirits crammed together in a big bunch as far as the eye could see. But it was silent and dark and dreary. The grass underneath our feet was black and withered from being treaded on for eons. The air was hot, humid, and smelled like a swamp that had been polluted and trashed. There were black clumps of trees - called Poplars, Grover said - that grew here and there. There was a cavernous ceiling above us, but it was so high up that I could barely see huge stalactites that had formed above head. Which, not to mention, was absolutely terrifying. Decorated around the field were fallen stalactites that had impaled the ground. The dead didn't have to worry about being impaled since they were already, well, dead, but we sure did.

We tried to blend with the crowd, and often a ghoul would turn to us and try to speak, but only twittering bat sounds would come out. They didn't look angry - just sad.

We crept forward, following the line of new arrivals that went from the main gates toward a black pavilion with a banner that read:

JUDGEMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION. Welcome, Newly Deceased!

Behind the tent were two more lines. One marched down to the Fields of Punishment, which glowed with fire in the distance. It was a vast wasteland of lava and barbed wire and minefields. The other line lead to Elysium, a gated area that seemed to be the only happy area in the underworld. Behind the gates, I could see a gorgeous blue lake. I could hear laughter and smell barbecue. And boy, was I hungry.

We kept moving deeper into the Asphodel Fields. It became darker. I heard a screech in the distance, and looking on the horizon was none other than the batlike, ugly Furies. They seemed like they knew we would be here.

"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover gulped.

"We'll be okay," Percy said, but he didn't sound very confident himself.

"Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested hopefully. "Like, Elysium, for instance."

"Come on, goat boy," Annabeth grabbed his arm.

Grover yelped at the same time that this sneakers sprouted wings and he shot forward, pulling him away from the three of us.

"Grover," Annabeth barked. "Stop messing around."

"But I didn't -"

He yelped again. His shoes began flapping like crazy, lifting him off the ground and dragging him away from us.

"Maia!" He yelled, still being dragged along by the shoes.

"Take them off, Grover!" I shouted.

Annabeth, Percy, and I ran after him. Grover kept trying to grab onto something, anything, to keep him from being dragged, but there was nothing but gravel and grass to hold. He was heading straight for the gates of Hades'a palace, but the shoes veered him off sharply up a slope. The three of us had to sprint to keep up, the cavern walls around us narrowing and darkening. We had entered some sort of tunnel, stalactites hanging much closer to our heads now. The hairs on the back of my neck straightened as we went farther into the tunnel.

Percy suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and that's when I noticed the huge dark cavern the size of a city block, straight in front of us. It was the gaping chasm from my dream. And Grover was heading right for the edge.

Grover was yelling and clawing at the ground, but the shoes just kept dragging him. We were never going to catch him in time. Then a thought occurred in my mind.

I thrust myself forward, my feet leaping from the ground as Grover was reaching the edge. Mid-air, I shot forward, my hands outstretched. He began to topple over the edge, but I caught his hands just in time. With all the force I could muster, I pushed up. Still in the air, it was like me and the shoes were having a tug-of-war with Grover.