I woke up early the next morning in the Athena cabin. Annabeth was at my side, ready to go. For a second I had almost forgotten about the quest. But then yesterday’s memories all came flooding back. Chiron did his best to help prepare us. At the armory, some Hephaestus kids worked on making a perfectly balanced sword for me. Annabeth made each of us carry backpacks with necessary things in them. When I looked inside mine, I noticed a lot of different things, most of it looked like supplies you would take with you when you went camping. Of course the Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and the ambrosia were a bit different from normal camping gear.
“Ready to go?” Annabeth whispered. I got up, and we walked to the dining pavilion, where we would meet the others.
Anna stood waiting for us, along with Percy. Next to Percy stood a boy about my age. He cast a dark vibe. His hair was black and a bit shaggy. He looked a little less than thrilled to be there. He looked out of place. At first glance, he looked nervous, but upon closer inspection, he appeared more anxious. As if he was uncomfortable with the camp’s presence.
“Juliet, I would like you to meet Nico di Angelo,” Chiron introduced the boy. Nico looked up at me and nodded in acknowledgement. He seemed friendly enough, just quiet.
“Now, I must send you five on your way. Good luck, and may the gods be with you,” Chiron said. Quietly, the four of us started walking towards the tree, which safeguarded the camp. Once we got to the tree, we found a van waiting for us. Percy jumped into the front seat and Annabeth into the seat beside him. Nico, Anna, and I jumped into the back.
“Where are we headed?” I asked to no one in particular.
“The Underworld,” Annabeth responded.
“The Underworld? In a van?” I asked. Under normal circumstances, I would have laughed out loud. The idea seemed preposterous, we were heading to the Underworld? But the feeling in the van seemed anything but comical.
“West,” Percy added, grimly. We drove on in silence for a while. I stared out the window, watching New York fly by. Percy seemed to be a good driver, which for some reason surprised me. I guess I figured demi-gods must not have too much driving time. I mean, I doubted there was a responsible adult at the camp who could take sixteen year olds out to practice driving around.
Most of the car ride was silence. Percy was concentrating on driving and Annabeth was his navigator. Nico had drawn into himself, thinking about who knows what. Anna stared out at the passing countryside. You’d think, since we were demi-gods, we would have some fancy way of traveling, instead of using a creeper van and being subject to standard traffic laws!
Finally, we turned off of the main roads onto a smaller street. It seemed as if we were traveling into the country. We went farther and farther, until I wondered if Percy had lost his mind, or if Annabeth had somehow lost her way (which would be strange for a daughter of Athena).
“Um, Percy, where are we going?” I asked, concerned.
“The Labyrinth. It’s the fastest way to the West,” Nico answered. I looked at him, surprised. He had barely spoken since I’d first met him.
“Underground?” Anna asked, fear creeping into her voice.
“What are the gods playing at?” Annabeth pondered outloud.
“A vague prophecy, I know. It’s obvious something’s going on with the gods, they’ve fallen quite silent these past days, but what is it?” Percy added.
“And not to mention, the Underworld? A child of the Earth and a child of the Underworld traveling with two daughters of Athena and a son of Poseidon. This is a dangerous quest,” Annabeth mused.
“What’s so strange about that?” Anna questioned.
“Children of Demeter often do not travel underground. It is Hades domain, under the Earth, hated by children of Demeter. Hades and Poseidon are both children of the Big 3, they don’t get along well.” Annabeth explained.
“Oh,” Anna replied, and returned to looking out the window. I had no idea where this quest was going, with such an odd mix of demi-gods, and one as young as seven! At least we had two seasoned veterans, in terms of quests. And Nico, though his past was shrouded in mystery, must have experience in dealings with the gods.
Soon, Percy slowed the car, turning into a small wooded area. He turned off the ignition and turned around in his seat, “We are here.”
“Where exactly is here?” I questioned.
“And entrance to the Labyrinth,” Annabeth answered.
“Where?” I asked.
“Just over there,” Percy pointed. An uncomfortable silence settled upon the car. No one seemed to really want to descend into the Labyrinth.
“Well I’m tired of sitting around,” Percy complained, after several minutes.
“We need a plan,” Annabeth responded.
“Simple, we can’t know what’s waiting down there for us now. We have everything we need. There’s nothing else we can do,” Nico replied.
“Well, where’s this entrance?” Anna asked, impatient with everyone’s chattering. Everyone climbed out of the car, grabbing their backpacks. Nico took the lead, farther into the woods.
“Should we just leave the car there?” Anna asked.
“Oh, someone will come and pick it up,” Percy responded dismissively. Nico lead us to the tallest tree in the forest, well according to Anna. I’m not sure how either of them knew it was the tallest tree, but I guess I believed them.
Carefully, Nico ran his hand over the trunk. Upon finding what he was looking for, Nico pushed on the tree. A small square protruded inward and an area to the right of the tree collapsed. Nico went first, descending into the Labyrinth.
