Naida

tunnels in Ancient greece

The forest was silent, unnaturally so, as Annabeth and Perci squinted into the shadows. The air around them felt heavy, like a damp cloak pressing against their skin.

The last traces of Chaos's voice lingered in Annabeth's mind, her cryptic words feeling like a dare. Trust, she thought with a huff. Easy for a cosmic being with all the answers to say. Sarcasm if you couldn't tell

"Annabeth?" Perci's voice broke into her thoughts, echoing through the clearing. "What're we supposed to be trusting exactly? The creepy forest? Each other? Or the fact that we look like we got shrunk in the wash?"

Annabeth tried to keep a straight face. "Take your pick."

"Perfect," Perci muttered, her eyes darting around as though the trees themselves might come to life. "Can we at least trust that we'll get out of here with our bodies back to normal? I've had about enough of my second childhood."

Annabeth smirked, glancing down at her tiny hands and the oversized shirt that looked more like a tunic. "Hey, at least you're tall for a twelve-year-old."

"Oh, thank you. That makes it all so much better." Perci rolled her eyes, then gestured to the looming forest. "Do we just, uh, walk? Hope for the best?"

Before Annabeth could respond, a glint of light caught her eye. Nestled between the thick roots of a massive oak tree was a small, dark opening. A thin veil of silvery mist drifted up from the entrance, winding its way into the forest air, as if the tree itself were breathing.

Annabeth's eyes lit up. "Look. That has to be it. A tunnel."

Perci eyed it with about as much enthusiasm as she would a dentist's chair. "It's like the forest watched a horror movie and took notes. Dark, misty, probably a death trap."

Annabeth nudged her with a grin. "Since when has that stopped you?"

With a reluctant sigh, Perci shrugged. "Fine, but I'm calling dibs on 'I told you so' when we get attacked by tunnel monsters."

Annabeth led the way, and they crouched down to peer into the shadowy entrance. The passage was narrow, barely enough to squeeze through on hands and knees, and sloped downward into blackness. As Annabeth angled her flashlight inside, the mist seemed to retreat, slithering further into the depths as though beckoning them forward.

"You first," Perci said, but Annabeth noticed the slight tremor in her voice.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, then took a deep breath and crawled inside, her flashlight beam trembling slightly as it cut through the dark. "Come on, Perc."

"Right behind you," Perci muttered, her voice muffled as she squirmed into the tunnel after her.

The earth closed in around them, cold and damp, and the smell of moss and dirt filled their noses. Annabeth tried not to think too hard about the fact that they were in a claustrophobic tunnel with no idea where it led.

"Does it feel smaller in here, or is that just me?" Perci asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Well, we're twelve again, so actually, it should feel bigger."

Perci let out a nervous laugh. "You're really making me feel better about this whole 'crawling through a mysterious tunnel in the middle of nowhere' thing, you know that?"

As they pressed on, the walls of the tunnel grew slick, and every few steps Annabeth's hands slipped, sending her heart racing as she fought to keep from tumbling forward. The quiet pulsing hum they'd felt earlier grew louder, filling the air with an almost hypnotic rhythm. She glanced over her shoulder to see Perci's flashlight beam bouncing erratically as she scooted along behind her, grumbling softly with every scrape of her knee against the ground.