𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗣𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗟 . . . 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗬 𝗝𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗦𝗢𝗡 [𝟭]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇɴ

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

0.11  skulls everywhere, oh and luke
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

the metal door was half hidden behind a laundry bin full of dirty hotel towels.

[name] didn't see anything strange about it, but rachel showed her where to look, and she recognized the faint blue symbol etched in the metal.

"it hasn't been used in a long time," annabeth said.

"i tried to open it once," rachel said, "just out of curiosity. it's rusted shut."

"no." annabeth stepped forward. "it just needs the touch of a half-blood."

sure enough, as soon as annabeth put her hand on the mark, it glowed blue.

the metal door unsealed and creaked open, revealing a dark staircase leading down.

"wow." rachel looked calm, but [name] couldn't tell if she was pretending or not.

she'd changed her clothes to some more regular looking ones but she still had golden flakes in her curly red hair, [name] could tell percy was eyeing rachel and rolled her eyes.

how many girls was he hoping to get in this quest? [name] thought bitterly: wait ... she shouldn't be mad about that.

"so... after you?"

"you're the guide," annabeth said with mock politeness. "lead on."

the stairs led down to a large brick tunnel. it was so dark [name] couldn't see further than a meter in front of them, but the three demigods had already restocked on flashlights.

as soon as percy switched them his flashlight on, rachel yelped.

[name] looked to see what it was and quickly stepped back with a hand on her chest, heart beeping fast.

"awh, you scared?" percy mocked.

"haha so funny." [name] faked laughed and punched percy's upper arm.

on the ground was a skeleton grinning at them all. it wasn't human. it was huge, for one thing – at least two and a half meters tall. it had been strung up, chained by its wrists and ankles so it made a kind of giant x over the tunnel.

but what really sent a shiver down [name]'s back was the single black eye socket in the centre of its skull.

"a cyclops," annabeth said. "it's very old. it's not... anybody we know."

[name] knew she meant it wasn't tyson but it seemed that it didn't make percy feel any better as he grimaced with gritted teeth.

rachel swallowed. "you have a friend who's a cyclops?"