The Fleece Job (Olympus Drive Chronicles)

Chapter 28: Escape from the Underworld (take two or possibly three)

Ev

"I hear something," Jason says, as he leads the way with a flashlight. 

"That's the William Tell Overture," Penny advises.

"Probably Reese being a distraction, come on," I'm almost carrying Ari now. The closer we get to the surface, the weaker he gets.

"You should just go," Ari mumbles, his head on my shoulder.

"Not leaving you. Just stay awake long enough to raise yourself once we get to the ship," I say, pulling him along and nearly tripping under both of our weight. Penny is just behind us to protect from any monsters. We've encountered a few, nothing her floating blades can't handle. The majority of the Underworlds defenses seem to be elsewhere.

"I would think we would have come upon more monsters by now---the skiff is up ahead, we can sail back up the whirlpool, hopefully," Jason says, gesturing with the sword he found (why does he get to find a cool sword? Not fair?). I mean, he tucks his t-shirt into his jeans for god's sake. Why does he get a sword?

"You were saying about monsters?" I say, frowning off into the dark.

"Yes I thought there would be—Jesus Christ—,"

"GET. ON. THE. SHIP!!!!" Reese and a girl are running towards us, followed by a pack of some two hundred baying hell hounds, slathering and longing for blood. Reese is playing his guitar frantically though the sound waves are only doing so much good.

"Go—go---" I shove Ari into Jason's arms as they run for the skiff. Penny and I stop to catch the other two and hold off hell hounds. One pounces on me immediately, but I sock its face, smashing its eyes in. I feel bad, but it was trying to eat my throat.

I leap into the skiff and grab hold of Reese who nearly ran past it. Something happened to his eyes, they're chalky blue with cataracts. I haul him bodily into the skiff as two hell hounds leap at us. One sinks its teeth into my arm but can't penetrate the skin. That's helpful. I tug Reese in and to the floor, hitting the hounds in the noses as Jason gets the skiff back into the water. I flip my head to check on Penny, who pulled in the girl and is now retrieving her blades from slicing up hell hounds.

"I SAID create a distraction I did NOT say enrage the entire forces of hell into chasing you!" Jason growls.

"My dad says I'm an over achiever—Frankie you here?" Reese says, happily lying on the floor of the skiff, hugging his guitar, not seeming to be phased by his apparently blindness.

"I'm here," the girl says, pulling him up.

"What happened to you?" Ari grabs his brother.

"Ari? They found you?"

"You'd know that if you could see you moron," Ari says, hugging his brother and clutching his staff, "Hang on. I need to raise---oh great two of us."

"Um guys. The hell hounds can swim," I say, as the beasts leap into the water.

"Let's get out of here," Jason says, guiding the boat back towards the whirlpool, "Hang on we're about to---,"

We're immediately washed under. I reach out and Penny's hand finds mine, then we both take hold of Ari who is still holding Reese. Ari's hot green magic curls around us. And we're back, struggling in the ocean.

Penny and I are holding Ari up as he coughs and chokes. His dark hair shines with silver strands in the fading sunlight. We were down there all night and day; it's sunset again.

Ari holds Reese up as he tries to protect his guitar. Meanwhile Jason kicks to the surface, tugging the coughing girl with him.

"All right! You made it!" Cassian fishes Jason and the girl out of the water first, then comes back for the rest of us. "Nice job! Okay Peter—take us away!"

"We made it," Ari coughs, collapsing on the deck of the Argo.

"We did it," Jason says, actually smiling now, as he lets go of the girl who stumbles, still coughing. "Welcome aboard the Argo."

"We're alive," Ari says, actually laughing. Penny and I both hug him at the same time.

"We're all alive, again," I say, kissing both of their cheeks.

Reese has bounced up, and runs into two people on his way to his instruments. He starts playing 'Die Young' very loudly, mostly using drums and his guitar.

"We're actually alive?" Frankie asks.

"Yeah, I'm not the greatest Physician in the World for nothing," Ari laughs, still hugging me and Penny.

"We did it," I say, hugging them both, "We're safe."

"I'm Jason---you met Reese—that's Aristotle our Physician—and Penny and Ev," Jason tells Frankie, "And Peter and Cassian. We're the Argonauts."

"Frankie," she says, shaking his hand and staring at us all a bit weirdly. Admittedly we look rather weird. All of us soaking. We're wearing our matching t-shirts. We're all soaked to the skin.

"You can have my room, I'll stay in with Ev," Penny says. "There are extra shirts and you might fit in my pants."

"Do I get to know why we're wearing matching shirts or is it a surprise?" Ari asks, hugging me really tightly before trying to stand on his own.

"Surprise. Come on I left the sleeves on a few—well maybe I didn't," I say, nodding below deck.

"I super don't care," Ari says, hugging us again.

"Good 'cause I know for a fact they cut all the sleeves off," Penny says.

"Take us away Peter, I want to get as far from the Underworld as possible," Jason says.