tartarus and back ⇩

10. We sponsor a waterpark

The sun was sinking behind the mountains by the time we found the water park. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read WAT R AD.

The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. To some people it might look creepy, but I thought this place was cool.

"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," Percy said, staring up at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."

"Percy," Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful."

"Why? I thought you hated Ares."

"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."

"You don't want to insult her looks," Grover added.

"Although, why would anyone want to? She is gorgeous." I said.

"Who is she? Echidna?"

I shuddered at the thought of her.

"No, Aphrodite," Grover said, a little dreamily. "Goddess of love."

"I thought she was married to somebody," Percy said. "Hephaestus."

"What's your point?" Grover asked.

"Oh."

"So how do we get in?"

I smirked. "Maia"

I jumped up as my shoes sprouted wings and flew over the fence, doing a flip on accident, then landed a couple feet away on the other side.

"What's taking you guys so long?" I said.

Annabeth, Percy and Grover had to climb the fence the normal way, each of the holding down the wire and giving boosts.

While they were doing that, I took a look around. The rides all had odd names, like Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?

When they got in, we found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of-

"Clothes," Annabeth said. "Fresh clothes."

"Yeah," Percy said. "But you can't just-"

"Watch me." She snatched an entire row of stuff of the racks and disappeared into the changing room.

I look at Percy and shrugged. "Why not?"

A few minutes later Annabeth and I came out in Waterland flower-print shorts, a big red Waterland T-shirt, and commemorative Waterland surf shoes. A Waterland backpack was slung over her shoulder, obviously stuffed with more goodies. I had on a blue dry-fit Waterland shirt, black Waterland sports shorts, and a pair of white flip flops. I had also grabbed a drawstring and put in a couple more outfits, sunglasses, a waterbottle and aloe vera.

"What the heck." Grover shrugged. Soon, the boys were also decked out like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park. We continued searching for the Tunnel of Love.

"So Ares and Aphrodite," Percy said, "they have a thing going?"

"That's old gossip, Percy," I told him.

"Three-thousand-year-old gossip." Annabeth added.

"What about Aphrodite's husband?"

"Well, you know," Annabeth said. "Hephaestus. The black-smith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"