Percy and Jason's Totally Rad Roadtrip

5 - Two Boys, One Sword

Jason wasn't sure if he could fly. He was still too dizzy. He didn't see any other way to get out of the path of the avalanche though, so he knew he had to try.

Jason grabbed Percy, hooking his arms under the guy's armpits. "Shadow travel to safety!" he yelled to Nico and Will just before shooting up into the air.

His whole body was sore. Being tossed around in that metal death-trap really did a number on him. Carrying all of Percy's weight didn't help.

They crash landed on the roof of the lodge. Percy rolled away from Jason, who sprawled out to try and catch his breath. Jason's head was pounding, but he knew he needed to move fast.

"Come on, man," Percy said, hauling Jason up. "We need to find the purse before it's buried under the avalanche."

"Where do you think it'd be?" Jason asked, looking around quickly. "Inside?"

"Worth a shot."

Percy dove toward a sunroof, pulled out his ballpoint pen, uncapped it so it elongated into Riptide, and plunged the sword into the glass. It shattered, and Percy lowered himself in.

Jason jumped in after him just as the avalanche hit. The entire building shook violently, but it didn't collapse under the impact. The rumbling of snow continued for another minute before stopping all at once, covering their way in and leaving them in complete darkness.

"At least we're alive," Percy said optimistically.

"But now we're stuck," Jason pointed out.

Percy sighed. "Always such a Debbie Downer. Come on."

He held up his bronze sword, which gave off a feint glow. They could see each other and anything within a three-foot radius. Percy led them forward, and they passed what appeared to be a lounge. Jason accidentally bumped his hip on a table, knocking a lamp over in the process.

"Way to go," Percy laughed, then disappeared.

Riptide clattered on the floor. Jason blinked, confused. "Percy?"

No reply. Jason looked around frantically, then bent over to find a trap door in the floor where Percy once stood.

"Oh gods, Percy!" he called down into the void. "Percy, can you hear me?"

Again, there was no answer. Jason reached for Percy's sword, planning to bring it along as he jumped in after his cousin, but when he turned back the trap door was shut. He beat his hand against it, but it didn't budge. Jason was on his own.

"Great," he muttered to himself. He just hoped Percy was okay, wherever he was.

Jason held Riptide out in front of him to light his way. Hephaestus must have rigged the whole place to mess with Aphrodite and Ares. There were probably traps all over. One wrong step, and Jason would be in the same boat as Percy.

He found a stairwell that led down, and figuring that would be where Percy was, he descended. The stairs led to a restaurant on his left and cabins to the right. On a hunch, Jason figured Percy would be where the food was, so he went left.

Suddenly, Riptide grew hot. Jason dropped the sword in surprise, but it evaporated before it could even touch the ground. He assumed the sword had reappeared in Percy's pocket as his ballpoint pen, but without it Jason was left in the dark.

He dug around his own pockets for his gold coin, then mentally slapped himself when he realized he dropped it in the giant automaton when it swallowed him whole. He extended his hands to feel his way in the dark, but wound up tripping over some kind of a wire.