𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 | "you're the worst of my crimes. you fell hard, I thought 'good riddance.'"
In which June Grace no longer wants
to be the second choice.
OR
In whic...
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014: Crusty's Water Beds [CONNOR]
⇚♔✵♔⇛
"THE ANSWER IS in the Underworld," Annabeth said. "You saw spirits of the dead, Percy. There's only one place that could be. We're doing the right thing."
She tried to boost their morale by suggesting clever strategies for getting into the Land of the Dead, but her heart wasn't in it.
The cab sped west. At sunset, the taxi dropped them at the beach in Santa Monica. There were carnival rides lining the Pier, palm trees lining the sidewalks, homeless guys sleeping in the sand dunes, and surfer dudes waiting for the perfect wave.
The group walked down to the edge of the surf.
"What now?" Annabeth asked.
The Pacific was turning gold in the setting sun. Percy stepped into the surf.
"Percy?" June said. "What are you doing?"
I kept walking, up to my waist, then my chest. Annabeth called after him, "You know how polluted that water is? There're all kinds of toxic-"
That's when his head went under. They waited a few minutes before he resurfaced again. When he reached the beach, my clothes dried instantly. He told them what had happened, and showed them the pearls. Six pearls.
Annabeth grimaced. "No gift comes without a price."
"They were free."
"No." She shook her head. "'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' That's an ancient Greek saying that translated pretty well into American. There will be a price. You wait."
On that happy thought, they turned their backs on the sea.
With some spare change from Ares's backpack, they took the bus into West Hollywood. They showed the driver the Underworld address slip, but he'd never heard of DOA Recording Studios.
"You remind me of somebody I saw on TV," he told me. "You a child actor or something?" "Uh ... I'm a stunt double ... for a lot of child actors."
"Oh! That explains it."
They thanked him and got off quickly at the next stop.
They wandered for miles on foot, looking for DOA. Nobody seemed to know where it was. It didn't appear in the phone book.
![014: Crusty's Water Beds[CONNOR]](https://img.wattpad.com/9e56232336b01b48f38c9c191cf8cbf3090c8117/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6f474a4e364154474164545841413d3d2d313236373030383936352e313732333732333732663139306134653833383330313531383238352e676966?s=fit&w=720&h=720)
