DEVOTION, percy jackson

Annabeth Makes An Unexpected Friend

Charon stood, scooped up their money, and said, "Come along." They pushed through the crowd of waiting spirits, their whispers sounding so heartbroken it was almost unbearable. Charon shoved them out of the way, grumbling, "Freeloaders."

He escorted them into the elevator that was full of spirits. Charon grabbed two spirits who were trying to get on with the group and pushed them back into the lobby. "Right. Now, no one get any ideas while I'm gone," he announced to the waiting room. "And if anyone moves the dial off my easy-listening station again, I'll make sure you're here for another thousand years. Understand?"

The man shut the doors. He put a key card into a slot in the elevator panel and we started to descend. "What happens to the spirits waiting in the lobby?" Annabeth asked. "Nothing," Charon said. "For how long?" She pressed. "Forever, or until I'm feeling generous." "Oh," she said. "That's . . . fair."

Charon turned his impossibly cold eyes to her. "Whoever said death was fair, young miss? Wait until it's your turn. You'll die soon enough, where you're going." "We'll get out alive," Percy insisted. "Ha." Charon laughed.

The elevator suddenly started going forward, making the group lose balance. Percy helped stabilize Tallulah before she fell into two overly excited looking spirits. The room felt like a mix of anxiety and excitement. She could guess which came from who.

Tallulah looked around again and when she saw Charon she flinched back, bumping into Percy with fright. The man didn't look like a man at all anymore. His suit was replaced with a dark cloak and his eyes had disappeared. Where his eyes should be were holes of darkness. He looked like a dementor.

Grover said, "I think I'm getting seasick." Tallulah blinked in confusion. 'How can you get seasick in an elevator?' she asked herself. She looked around and realized the elevator disappeared, being replaced by a wooden barge. Charon was poling them across a dark, oily river, swirling with bones. It was polluted with random things, dolls, crushed plowers, broken cutlery.

"The River Styx," Annabeth murmured. "It's so . . ." "Polluted," Charon said. "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across—hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me."

This made Tallulah feel incredibly sad. How come humans leave their unanswered dreams and unattainable hopes to the pollution of those that work in the underworld?

Mist was covering the surface of the polluted water, making the area surrounding them have an eerie feel. Panic started to rise in Tallulah. She was in the Underworld for the gods sake. 'My mom is Demeter, what am I doing here? I don't wanna become Persephone 2.0!'

The girl looked around in panic, noticing the others were feeling that way as well. Actually that might have been the overall feeling of this place, but she couldn't be sure.

Tallulah noticed Percy seemed to be having the hardest time out of everyone. It made sense really, his panic. He was in a completely new world, and he was so close to finishing the quest, and hopefully saving his mom. 

Tallulah was actually really proud of him. What he was doing wasn't easy.

The daughter of Demeter took Percy's hand. She gave it a couple squeezes, just to remind him that she was there. Percy squeezed her hand in response.

The shoreline of the Underworld came into view. Giant rocks and black volcanic sand stretched inland about a hundred yards to the base of a high stone wall.

A sound came from somewhere nearby in the green gloom, echoing off the stones—the howl of a large animal. "Old Three-Face is hungry," Charon said. His smile turned skeletal in the greenish light. "Bad luck for you, godlings."