Andy Jackson: Child of Land & Sea

The Thrill Ride Of Love

Act I — Storm At Sea

Part VI — There's magic everywhere and with all this romantic atmosphere, disaster's in the air...

It was almost like a horror ride.

The park had to be abandoned for years by the look of it, and with night falling, the place looked sad and creepy. "If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," said Andy, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."

"Andy," Anthony warned. "More respect."

"What? I thought you hated him."

"He's still a god. One who happens to date the most temperamental goddess ever to walk the face of this planet."

"Echidna?"

"Aphrodite," said Grover, dreamily. "Goddess of love."

A little surprised, Andy tried to recall anything concerning that goddess. "Yeah, isn't she married?"

"Your point?"

"Okay, got it," said Andy. They entered the park and luckily no monsters came to get them. "So Ares and Aphrodite are an item?"

"Three thousand year old gossip," said Anthony, barely interested.

"What about her husband?"

"Well, you know..." he said, now a little uncomfortable. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Hera. So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, is she?"

"But... does he know?"

"Everybody knows. Plus, he caught them together once. Like literally caught them, in a net, and invited the others to go laugh at them. He's always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in places like this," he stopped and pointed to an empty pool with bronze statues of Cupid around it. The shield was at the bottom inside a two-seater boat. "Grover, you stay up here with the flying shoes, in case something goes wrong. Andy, come with me—"

"You want to take me to the... Thrill Ride of Love? Aren't you moving a little too fast, Wonder Boy?"

Anthony turned as red as a pepper and told her to shut up. Andy chuckled. He was so touchy! It was so easy to tease him.

They headed down together. The moment Andy took the shield, she knew they were in trouble. "This is a trap," Anthony said, a little too late.

Noise erupted around them of a million gears grinding. Grover called them. Andy and Anthony ran. The Cupids' heads popped open and out came video cameras. Spotlights rose over them.

"Hephaestus," Anthony said. "This is a trap to expose his wife with Ares. All the gods are probably watching."

They kept going and almost made it when tiny metallic spiders came their way. Anthony froze. He stumbled backward in terror and fell.

Men!

Andy had to pull him up and drag him back toward the boat, all the while struggling not to roll her eyes at him. She wasn't sure of what to do next. She shook him, but Anthony wouldn't move. Her desperation was such that water exploded out of the pipes.

Andy tried to concentrate: assuming she could control the boat. Then they were out of the tunnel, the boat barreled toward the exit. But the Gates of Love were chained.