SUNSPEAKER, percy jackson.

00𝟗. now boarding, bronze statue airlines

nine
now boarding, bronze statue airlines

THE SKELETONS PASSED THROUGH A GROUP OF KIDS and pushed them aside. A kid yelled, "Hey!" One of the warriors turned, his face changing momentarily into a skull.

  "Ah!" the kid yelled, and his whole group backed away.

   This time Lennon was the one to grab Percy's hand and run for the visitor center. They were almost to the stairs when she heard tires squeal. On the west side of the dam, a black van swerved to a stop in the middle of the road, nearly plowing into some old people. The van doors opened and more skeleton warriors piled out. They were surrounded.

   Percy gripped her hand tighter as they bolted down the museum entrance. The security guard at the metal detector yelled, "Hey!" but neither had any time to even respond. They ran through exhibits before finally ducking behind a tour group.

  "Stop!" The metal-detector guy yelled.

   There was no place to go but into an elevator with the tour group. They both glanced at each other before ducking inside the elevator.

   "We'll be going down seven hundred feet," their tour guide said cheerfully. She was a park ranger, with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail and tinted glasses. "Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen, the elevator hardly ever breaks."

   That was an unsettling thing to add, suddenly Lennon wanted to hold on to something for stability— in case the elevator does break.

   "Does this go to the snack bar?" Percy asked the tour guide. Lennon fought the urge to facepalm as a few people behind them chuckled and the tour guide looked at him oddly.

  "To the turbines, young man," the lady said. "Weren't you listening to my fascinating presentation upstairs?"

   "We were," Lennon nodded enthusiastically. "Very fascinating," The woman seemed pleased with her answer. "Is there another way out of the dam?"

   "It's a dead end," a tourist behind them said. "For heaven's sake. The only way out is the other elevator."

   The doors opened. "Go right ahead, folks," the tour guide told them. "Another ranger is waiting for you at the end of the corridor." They didn't have much choice but to go out with the group. "You two," the tour guide called. Lennon looked back to see the woman take off her glass. Her eyes were startlingly gray, a color that reminded her of Annabeth. "There is always a way out for those clever enough to find it."

  The doors closed with the tour guide still inside, leaving them alone. A ding came from around the corner, the sound of the second elevator opening. Lennon could hear the unmistakable sound of clattering skeleton teeth.

   As they ran after the tour group, Lennon realized that they were still holding hands. She and Percy eventually made it to a warehouse-like area, the large turbines thundered, making electricity. Another tour guide was talking over the microphone, telling the tourists about water supplies in Nevada.

  Percy looked to Lennon, "Got any ideas on how to get out?"

  She frowned. "Nope. You?"

  He shook his head. "Look around till we find something?"

  "Look around till we find something," she agreed.

   They worked their way around the crowd, finally reaching the other side of the balcony. They backed into a nearby hallway and watched the tunnel they'd come from. Then there was a sound like a skeleton's voice and they were immediately ready. Lennon snapped her hair tie and it elongated into a bow.