Percy Jackson X Male Oc Book #1

Chaper 19

ASH POV
The Fields of Asphodel were packed full of people wandering around or standing there. It was a sad sight to be honest. The back grass had been trampled by eons of dead feet. A warm, most wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees- Grover told us they were poplars- grew in clumps here and there. The cavern ceiling was so high above us it might've been a bank of storm clouds, except for the stalactites. We tried to blend into the crowd, keeping an eye out for security ghouls. The spirits were hard to look at, their faces shimmer. They look angry or confused. They will come up to you and speak, but their voices sound like chatter, like bats twittering. Once they realize you can't understand them they leave. The dead aren't scary. They're sad. We crept along, following the line of new arrivals that sneaked from main gates toward a black-tented pavilion with a banner that read: JUDGEMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND DAMNATION
Welcome, Newly Deceased!
Out the back of the tent came two muck smaller lines. To the lift, spirits flanked security ghouls were marched down a rocky path toward the Fields of Punishment, which glowed and smoked in the distance, a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas.

Evan from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. I could barely see a tiny hill, with an ant-size figure of Sisypthus struggling to move his boulder to the top. I saw worse tortures, that I wish I hadn't seen. The lin coming from the right side of the judgment pavilion was better. This one led down toward a small valley surrounded by walls- a gated community, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. Beyond the security gate were neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Romanian villas and medieval castles to Vicorian mansions. Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colors. So this is Elysium. It was sad to think that it was so small compared to the Fields of Asphodel and the Fields of Punishment. We left the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into the Fields of Asphodel. It got darker. The colors faded from our clothes. The crowds of chattering spirits began to thin. After a few miles of walking, we began to hear a familiar screech in the distance. That caused me to groan in annoyance. "I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully. "We have to keep going." Mason said. "We'll be ok." Percy added trying to sound confident.

"Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested. That caused me to roll my eyes. "Like, Elysium, for instance..." "Come on goat boy." Annabeth grabbed his arm. Grove yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth. That is when I realized I was right, shoes were cursed. Why didn't I say anything sooner? He landed flat on his back in the grass. "Grover," Annabeth chided. "Stop messing around." Before Grover could say anything I said, "It's not him, it's..." Before I could finish the shoes levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from us. "Maia!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. "Maia, already! Nine-one-one! Help!" Percy tried to grab Grover's hand, he was too late. Grover was picking up speed, skidding downhill.

We ran after him. Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!" It was a good idea but was going to be difficult. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces. We followed him, trying to keep him in sight as he zipped between the legs of spirits who chattered at him in annoyance. I thought he would going to barrel straight through the gates of Hades's place, but the shoes veered sharply to the right and dragged him in the opposite direction. The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed. The rest of us had to sprint to keep up. The cavern walls narrowed on either side, we are in some type of side tunnel. No black grass or trees now, just rock underfoot, and the dim light of the stalactites above. "Grover!" Percy yelled, his voice echoing. "Hold no to something!" "What?" He yelled back. He was grabbing at grave, but nothing was big enough to slow him down. The tunnel got darker and colder. The hair on my arms stood up. It smelled evil down here. It made me think things I shouldn't even know about- blood spilled on an ancient stone altar, the foul breath of murder. I stopped in my tracks when I saw were Grover was heading. The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern m, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block. Grover was sliding straight for the edge.