Maze of Memories

The lost god

Percys hands shook as he picked up the cap. It looked like it had been stepped on by a huge muddy boot. After all that I'd gone through today, I couldn't stand the thought that something might've happened to Grover, too.

Then I noticed something else. The cave floor was mushy and wet from the water dripping off the stalactites. There were large footprints like Tyson's, and smaller ones—goat hooves—leading off to the left.

"We have to follow them," Percy said. "They went that way. It must have been recently."

"What about Camp Half-Blood?" Nico said. "There's no time."

"We have to find them," Annabeth insisted. "They're our friends."

She picked up Grover's smashed cap and forged ahead. I followed bracing myself for the worst. The tunnel was treacherous. It sloped at weird angles and was slimy with moisture. Half the time we were slipping and sliding rather than walking.

Finally we got to the bottom of a slope and found ourselves in a large cave with huge stalagmite columns. Through the center of the room ran an underground river, and Tyson was sitting by the banks, cradling Grover in his lap. Grover's eyes were closed. He wasn't moving.

"Tyson!" Percy yelled.

"Percy! Come quick!"

We ran over to him. Grover wasn't dead, thank the gods, but his whole body trembled like he was freezing to death.

"What happened?" I asked.

"So many things," Tyson murmured. "Large snake. Large dogs. Men with swords. But then...we got close to here. Grover was excited. He ran. Then we reached this room, and he fell. Like this."

"Did he say anything?" Percy asked.

"He said, 'We're close.' Then hit his head on rocks."

I knelt next to him. The only other time I'd seen Grover pass out was New Mexico, when he'd felt the presence of Pan. I shined my flashlight around the cavern. The rocks glittered. At the far end was the entrance to another cave, flanked by gigantic columns of crystal that looked like diamonds. And beyond that entrance...

"Grover," I said. "Wake up."

"Uhhhhhhhh."

Christine knelt next to him and splashed icy cold river water in his face.

"Splurg!" His eyelids fluttered. "Percy? Annabeth? Where..."

"It's okay," Percy said. "You passed out. The presence was too much for you."

"I—I remember. Pan."

"Yeah," I said. "Something powerful is just beyond that doorway."

***

Percy made quick introductions, since Tyson and Grover had never met Elise... I mean Rachel. Tyson told Rachel she was pretty, which made Annabeth's nostrils flare like she was going to blow fire.

"Anyway," Percy said. "Come on, Grover. Lean on me."

Percy and I helped him up, and together we waded across the underground river. The current was strong. The water came up to our waists. Percy willed himsled to stay dry, which is a handy little ability, but that didn't help us other non-water kids. The water was ice cold, like wading through a snowdrift.

"I think we're in Carlsbad Caverns," Annabeth said, her teeth chattering. "Maybe an unexplored section."

"How do you know?"