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I 026. I
𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔
❝ hera ❞
THEY MADE IT A HUNDRED FEET BEFORE THEY WERE HOPELESSLY LOST.
The tunnel looked nothing like the one Ariadne and Percy had stumbled into before. Now it was round like a sewer, constructed of red brick with iron-barred portholes every ten feet.
Percy had shined a light through one of the portholes out of curiosity, but neither of them could see anything. It opened into infinite darkness.
Annabeth tried her best to guide them. She had this idea that they should stick to the left wall.
"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."
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.
They each turned toward a different tunnel. It was ridiculous. None of them could decided which way led back to camp.
"Left walls are mean," Tyson said. "Which way now?"
Annabeth swept her flashlight bean over the archways of the eight tunnels. As far as Ariadne could tell, they were identical. "That way," she said.
The tunnel she'd chosen narrowed quickly. The walls turned to gray cement, and the ceiling got so low that pretty soon they were hunched over. Tyson was forced to crawl.
Grover's hyperventilating was the loudest noise in the maze. "I can't stand it anymore," he whispered. "Are we there yet?"
"We've been down here maybe five minutes," Annabeth told him.
"It's been longer than that," Grover insisted. "And why would Pan be down here? This is the opposite of the wild!"
Ariadne gulped once she felt a shiver run down her spine. She didn't want to be there the same amount as Grover did, and Percy picked up on that. He made sure to stick close with her and keep an eye out. She was grateful for him.
