Annabeth Chase and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Chapter 3 - The problem of problems

"The Labyrinth sucks," Clarisse said, her arms folded over her chest and her face scrunched up in a scowl.

I sighed, tapping my pen on the notebook that I had intended to take notes on. So far all that was on the page was some doodles that looked suspiciously like a hydra. "We've already established this, Clarisse. I need to know what it is like though, not what you think of it."

Clarisse rolled her eyes and swiveled around in her chair, which was dangerous considering that she had her spear strapped to her back. I just hoped she didn't upturn that chair, especially if that spear was pointed at me.

We were closed up in one of the many unknown rooms of the Big House, meant to be working on how to navigate the Labyrinth, but we weren't making much progress. The main problem was that we barely knew anything about it. Knowledge is power after all.

Before I left camp for San Francisco last winter, Clarisse and I had brainstormed all we knew about the Labyrinth, based on her experiences. She told me about how she'd found Chris Rodriguez outside her house in Phoenix and had told Chiron about it immediately. Chiron had her bring Chris back to camp and then gave her a mission of investigating the Labyrinth. The quest was doomed to fail.

She was able to enter the Labyrinth, but got hopelessly lost immediately. The maze led her astray and she was forced to fight for her life the whole time. It was luck that she was able to find her way out, and when she did, she was in Milwaukee. Nearly 2,000 miles from home. She thought that she had only been in there for a few days at most, but discovered that it had actually been over a month.

Once Clarisse had told me everything she knew about the Labyrinth, it had been my job over the winter to research everything I could about the maze, but I didn't find much more than what we already knew. It seems that not many people had entered the Labyrinth and survived, and those who did were too scared to speak of their experiences. Like Chris Rodriguez, who was locked in the basement of the Big House where he spends his days raving mad. So yeah, I wasn't that enthusiastic about the Labyrinth.

Now, Chiron had appointed us with finding a way of navigating the Labyrinth, should we ever need to, but we weren't making much progress.

"Let's just say that you don't want to ever go in there," she said darkly. "It's far worse than any Cyclops cave, and we both know how bad they are."

I shivered. Cyclops caves were definitely not my favourite places to visit.

"Trust me, I don't want to ever go in there, but if Luke has been exploring it, then we need to not only know why, but how we can beat him at whatever plan he's been working on. It's our only chance at winning this war."

The appearance of Chris Rodriguez had confirmed for us his plans as the demigod had been one of Luke's strongest supporters. That, as well as when Clarisse manages to coax information out of him in his brief spells of sanity.

"It's impossible to navigate though," Clarisse said, throwing her head back in frustration. "I was lost within moments of entering. And Chris had no idea where he was when I found him." She went the slightest shade of pink as she spoke his name. If I hadn't been watching her so intensely, I wouldn't have noticed.

I knew that she was sweet on the son of Hermes locked in the basement, but I didn't dare say so out loud. Just like she never spoke about Percy. It was part of our unspoken agreements that allowed us to work together without trying to kill each other.

"What about the string?" I asked. "In the old stories, Theseus used Ariadne's string to navigate the maze and get back without getting lost. What if we found the string?"

"It could work," she mused. "But the maze has had centuries to adapt since then. It has a mind of its own. Besides, where would we even begin to look for the string? It's been lost for ages."

I sighed. The Labyrinth just seemed to be one big problem filled with little problems. A never ending stream of headaches.

"Any progress?" Chiron suddenly asked, his head appearing around the corner.

"Not quite," I said.

"It's hopeless," Clarisse added, taking the negative approach.

Chiron's lips tightened. "Well, I'm sure that between the two of you, you'll come up with something. But it might have to wait for another day. Annabeth, Grover is looking for you. And I advise being gentle."

I sighed. Another problem on my ever growing list. "I'm coming."

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I found Grover waiting nervously out on the front porch of the Big House, his hooves tapping a disjointed rhythm on the wooden floor. He smiled wanly at me as I exited the Big House, my notebook tucked under my arm, but I could see the fear and anxiety in his eyes.

"Thanks for coming," he said. "I didn't know who else to turn to."

"Anything for you, my friend," I replied. I motioned him to walk alongside me as I stepped off the porch. "What do you want to talk about?"

He didn't speak at first as we started to walk through camp, neither of us with a destination in mind. But I could almost sense the swirl of thoughts in his brain, jumbled up tighter than the Gorgian knot. I wanted to say something, but I knew it would be best if he spoke first, so he could work out how and what he wanted to say.

"I don't know," he blurted eventually. "Everything. I don't know what to do! The Council meets next week and I still haven't had any more word from Pan and they're going to t-take my license f-from me and - and I - I d-don't know what -"

"Woah!" I said, cutting him off as his eye started to fill with tears. "Easy there, goat boy. I'm sure the Council won't take your searches license off you. You're the best searcher they have! We just need to remind them of that."

"B-But how?" he sniffed, rubbing a sleeve under his nose.

"I'm not sure," I replied, feeling my heart sink to my shoes. "We'll find a way though, Grover. Don't worry."

Looking up, I saw that we had somehow unintentionally walked to the lake and were standing on the docks. I leaned my notebook on the railings and stared at the flat surface, wishing that my problems could be as smooth as it.

"I miss Percy," Grover whispered, tearing up again.

"So do I," I replied, turning my face away from Grover so he couldn't see me redden.

Hurry up and get here, Percy, I thought. I need someone to help me.