Chapter Twenty-One, Hi Ms. Jackson
We walked further into the Asphodel Fields and it grew darker and darker. The colors on our clothes faded and the crowds of spirits began to thin out.
Walking a few miles more, we were greeted by familiar screeches. The Kindly Ones were looming on the horizon, acting like they were waiting for us.
"I suppose it's too late to turn back..." Grover whimpered.
"We'll be okay." Percy said, but his voice cracked.
"Maybe we should search some of the other places first. Like, Elysium, for instance..." Grover suggested hopefully.
As nice as that would be, we all knew that wasn't the place to go.
"Come on, goat boy." I said, grabbing his arm.
Grover yelped in protest. He activated his flying shoes and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from my grip. He landed on his back in the grass.
I knew Grover didn't want to face Hades, but he really needed to stop messing around. We were on a time limit here.
"Grover, stop messing around." I said.
"But I didn't-"
Grover yelped again. His shoes' wings were flapping line crazy. They levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from us.
"Maia!" Grover yelled, trying to deactivate his shoes. "Maia, already! Nine-one-one! Help!"
I realized Grover wasn't doing this on purpose and ran after him. He was picking up speed and slid down the hill like a sled.
"Untie the shoes!" I shouted at Grover. If he got rid of the shoes, he would stop getting pulled down.
Unfortunately, Grover was being pulled feet-first at full speed and couldn't get close to the shoelaces.
Percy and I kept frantically running after Grover, trying to make sure he didn't get too far ahead. Grover looked like he was going to barrel straight through the gates of Hades' palace, but instead his shoes steered sharply to the right, dragging him in the opposite direction.
The slope got steeper and Grover picked up more speed. Percy and I had to start sprinting to keep up with him. We entered a tunnel and the cavern walls narrowed on either side.
"Grover!" Percy yelled, his voice echoing in the tunnel. "Hold on to something!"
"What?" Grover yelled back.
Grover had a point. There weren't any trees or even grass to grab onto. Just rocks.
Grover tired to grab at the gravel, but it didn't work.
It got darker and colder. The tunnel reeked of something evil. Ahead, the tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern. In the middle of the cave was a huge pit. I recognized it as the place Percy had described in his dreams and what I thought could be... Tartarus.
I saw Percy had stopped dead in his tracks, recognizing the cave as the one in his dreams. Meanwhile, Grover was sliding straight towards the edge of the cave.
"Come on, Percy!" I yelled at him, tugging at his wrist.
"But that's-" Percy stuttered, looking pale.
"I know! The place you described in your dream!" I shouted. "But Grover's going to fall if we don't catch him!"
Grover was approaching the pit. He was yelling and clawing at the ground, but the shoes kept on dragging him toward the pit. Based on the speed he was approaching, I was afraid we couldn't get to him in time.
