LUNACY; percy jackson

chapter 10

[act one; chapter ten     -     a bargain with death]

     The four stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.

    Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.

    It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.

    Percy turned to his friends, nodding his head almost absentmindedly, like he was trying to convince himself of something. "Okay. You remember the plan."

    "The plan," Grover gulped.

    "Yeah. I love the plan." Annabeth said sarcastically. "What happens if the plan doesn't work?"

    "Don't think negatively."

    "But she's right. I mean—have you ever made a plan like this before?" Andromeda questioned. Her face was twisted up, scrutinizing, trying to figure out just how well this all would go. How likely it was that it would go wrong.

    "Right," the blonde said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negatively."

    Percy took the pearls out of his pocket, the four milky spheres the Nereid had given him in Santa Monica. They didn't seem like much of a backup in case something went wrong.

    Annabeth put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy. You're right, we'll make it. It'll be fine."

    She gave Grover a nudge.

    "Oh, right!" He chimed in, trying to sound just as positive as Percy needed him to be. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem."

    Both of them looked at Andromeda who had been inspecting her calloused hands. With a small poke of her arm from Grover she looked up at them confused, her brows furrowed. But when she eventually caught on, she sighed and said, "Fine. It's a great plan. Beautiful, wonderfully executed. Now we just have to pull it off. Good job, Fish Face, I'm proud of you."

    Percy looked at Grover and Annabeth, and felt truly grateful. He did his best to ignore Andromeda, at least momentarily. Annabeth sighed, telling him quietly, "Just ignore her. She just gets like this sometimes."

    Only a few minutes before, he'd almost gotten them stretched to death on deluxe water beds, and now they were trying to be brave for his sake, trying to make him feel better.