epiphany ━━ chapter iii. . . . left walls are mean
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JUST AFTER DAWN, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist. Nova had packed all the necessities in her worn out, blue knapsack that she was clenching the straps of very tightly.
It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue. Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall. Nova almost wished that she was one of them. This was her first ever quest, but she didn't even know half the people she was going with or where she was going!
Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. Juniper had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover's sake. Since they had no idea what they would encounter, he was dressed as a human, with a cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs. For the girl who had never seen him dressed like that before, it was a quite comical sight.
Annabeth was standing next to Nova, and the blonde girl was doing one last check on her supply pack.
Percy was standing to the side of the group, talking to Chiron with a frown on his face. When they finished, the two of them walked closer so Chiron could address them all.
"Take care," he said. "And good hunting."
They nodded, and together the five of them walked over to the rocks. Nova stared at the crack between the boulders—the entrance that was about to swallow them.
"Well," Grover said nervously, "goodbye sunshine."
"Hello rocks," Tyson agreed.
And together, the five of them descended into darkness.
✷ ✷ ✷
THE TUNNEL WAS round like a sewer, constructed of red brick with iron-barred portholes every ten feet.
Annabeth tried her best to guide them through, and Nova followed her blindly. "If we keep one hand on the left wall and follow it," she said, "we should be able to find our way out again by reversing course."
They all nodded in agreement, but unfortunately, as soon as she said that, the left wall disappeared. They found themselves in the middle of a circular chamber with eight tunnels leading out, and no idea how they'd gotten there.
"Um, which way did we come in?" Grover said nervously.
"Just turn around," Annabeth said.
The five each turned toward a different tunnel.
"Left walls are mean," Tyson said. "Which way now?"
Annabeth swept her flashlight beam over the archways of the eight tunnels. "That way," she said.
