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chapter sixty-one. ☄︎. *. ⋆
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WE WERE A HUNDRED FEET IN when we became hopelessly lost.
The tunnel looked nothing like the one Percy and I had stumbled into before. Now it was round like a sewer, constructed of red brick with iron-barred portholes every ten feet. I shined a light through one of the portholes out of curiosity, but I couldn't see anything. It opened into infinite darkness. I thought I heard voices on the other side, but it may have been just the cold wind.
I tried my best to guide. I remembered reading something of sticking to the left wall.
"If we keep one hand on the left wall and follow it," I said, "we should be able to find our way out again by following the way we came."
Of course, as soon as I said that, the left wall disappeared. We found ourselves in the middle of a circular chamber with eight tunnels leading out, and no idea how we'd gotten there.
"Um, which way did we come in?" Grover said nervously.
"Just turn around," I suggested. "We can retrace our steps."
We each turned toward a different tunnel. It was ridiculous. None of us could decide which way led back to camp.
"Left walls are mean," Tyson said. "Which way now?"
I swept my flashlight beam over the archways of the eight tunnels. As far as I could tell, they were identical. "That way," I said finally, peering into the one behind Grover.
"How do you know?" Percy asked.
"I just know."
"So... you're guessing."
"Just come on," I said, rolling my eyes and delving into the tunnel.
Unfortunately, the route I'd chosen narrowed quickly. The walls shifted from bricks to gray cement, and the ceiling got so low that pretty soon we were forced to hunch. If nothing else, my back was regretting the decision of choosing that tunnel.
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," I told him.
"It's been longer than that," Grover insisted. "And why would Pan be down here? This is the opposite of the wild!"
I ignored him pointedly. We kept shuffling forward. Just when I was sure the tunnel would get so narrow it would squish us, it opened into a huge room. Percy shined his light around the walls and said, "Woah."
