Rosalyn could feel a fiery burning in her joints starting. Her shoulders and hips protested against the strong tugging of the ropes, but she kept her breathing even. Beside her, Annabeth was thrashing on her leopard sheets.
"Percy, what are you doing?" Annabeth screeched at the boy standing with Procrustes.
"Don't mind her. She's impossible," Percy chuckled, waving off the blonde.
The giant laughed loudly, patting Percy on the back jovially.
"All of my customers are. Never six feet exactly. So inconsiderate. And then they complain about the fitting."
Rosie had a hard time focusing on the words exchanged between Percy and the giant. She had an awful feeling that her ropes were pulling harder than the others, to accommodate the size difference.
Her lungs fought every deep breath she tried to pull in.
"Would it work even for a big guy like you? No waves at all?" Percy asked, his voice sounding miles away.
"Guaranteed."
"No way."
"Way."
"Show me."
The sound of ropes wrestling someone to a water bed made Rosalyn's heart drop. The stars dancing in her vision kept her from seeing what was happening, but she knew that if Percy was bound like the rest of them, they were as good as dead.
"Percy," Rosie gasped, a loud pop echoing after. The burning in her shoulder was ten times worse now.
A thud came from somewhere to her left, then the pulling stopped. The ropes fell away with the swing of Percy's sword.
Blinking, Rosalyn could make out Percy freeing Annabeth and Grover from their beds. He turned back to her just as Grover hopped from the water bed and rushed in her direction.
"Are you okay?"
His worried eyes scoured her frame, and he gently pulled her from the pink bed. Her legs were weak, meaning she leaned heavily on Percy to stay upright.
"Fine," Rosalyn croaked.
Percy's hands found her face and held her still so he could study her face. She was pale, and he could tell by her eyes that she was disoriented.
He didn't mention her state, but he helped her walk toward where Annabeth stood beside the sales desk.
"You look taller," he smirked at the blonde girl, who glared at him.
"Very funny. Be faster next time."
Clearing her throat, Rosalyn pointed a shaking finger to the bulletin board behind the desk. An orange flyer stared back at them.
DOA Recording Studios
We are always looking for new talent!
Underneath that, there was a map.
"Come on," Percy said, moving with Rosalyn toward the door.
"Give us a minute! We were almost stretched to death," Grover huffed.
"Then you're ready for the Underworld. It's only a block away."
-
Standing under the black marble DOA RECORDING STUDIOS sign, Percy turned to his friends and said, "Remember the plan."
"The plan," Grover gulped. "I love the plan."
Annabeth gave Percy a weary look and asked, "What if the plan doesn't work?"
"It has to," Rosalyn muttered, walking toward the doors. Percy appreciated her bravery. He wasn't sure if she really wasn't afraid or if it was an act, but it didn't matter now.
Only a few minutes before, she'd almost been stretched to death. She took a few squares of ambrosia and was now walking into the underworld for him. For his mom.
Following her into the lobby, they came upon a raised security desk. A tall man with chocolate skin and bleached hair stared down at them. A black rose was pinned to his Italian suit, under a silver name tag.
"Your name is Chiron?" Percy blurted out in confusion.
A cold smile grew on the man's face as he leaned forward. Rosalyn took a subtle step in front of Percy without realizing it.
"What a precious young lad. Tell me, mate, do I look like a centaur?"
Rosalyn deadpanned, "No."
"Sir," the guard added smoothly. The read-head simply arched a brow at him.
"Sir," Percy interjected, his palms beginning to swear. Charon pinched the name tag and leered at the demigods.
"Can you read this, mate? C-H-A-R-O-N. Say it with me: Care-on."
Percy weakly repeated, "Charon."
"Amazing! Now: Mr. Charon."
"Mr. Charon."
Rosalyn felt the tension building in her back at the condescension in the ferryman's voice. She glowered at his figure, moving completely in front of Percy.
"Enough," she snapped. "We want to go to the Underworld."
"Well, that's refreshing. Straightforward and honest. No screaming. No 'There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon.' How did you die then?" He asked, the cold smile present on his face again.
Rosalyn opened her mouth to speak, but Percy and Grover beat her to it. Percy nudged the satyr quickly, gesturing for him to think of something quickly.
The satyr bleated nervously, "Oh... um... we drowned... in the bathtub."
Annabeth and Rosalyn both sighed in exasperation, giving each other a rare look of understanding. If they were going to make it out of the Underworld, it was up to the girls.
"All of you?" Charon asked. "Big bathtub. I don't suppose you have coins for passage? Children never die prepared."
Slamming four gold drachmas on the counter, Rosalyn kept the hard look on her face. They'd raided Crusty's office and found the coins.
Charon's fingers hovered greedily over the authentic gold drachmas, but he paused and cast them a suspicious glance.
Take them. Take them and let us pass, Rosie thought.
"Here now..." Charon drawled. "You couldn't read my name correctly. Are you dyslexic, lad?"
"No, I'm dead," Percy defended.
Leaning forward and sniffing, Charon said, "You're not dead. I should've known. You're a godling."
A growling sound emitted from his throat, and the light in the lobby seemed to dim. All of the people in the lobby starting pacing and acting extremely agitated.
"We have to get to the Underworld," Percy insisted.
"Leave while you can," Charon told them. "I'll just take these and forget I saw you."
Rosalyn was quicker than him. She snatched the coins from the counter and clutched them tightly in her fist. The growling got louder, and Grover made a panicked whimpering sound.
"What a shame," Rosie sighed. "We have more to offer."
The girl gestured for Annabeth to pull out the bag of coins taken from Crusty's. The blonde jingled the bag, pulling out a handful of drachmas and letting them fall through her fingers back into the bag.
"Do you think I can be bought, godling?" Charon purred.
"I can't imagine Hades pays you very much," Rosalyn mused, stacking coins onto the counter. "I could mention a pay raise when I speak to him."
Charon's body twitched, and he looked down at his fancy suit. Rosie knew she had him on the hook, so she waited patiently for him to speak. Behind her, she could feel the anxiety rolling off of her companions in waves.
"The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you four and be off," he sighed. "Come along."
Pushing through the crowd, hands grasped and tugged at their clothes. They piled into an elevator and watched the doors shut behind them, separating them from the waiting souls.
The elevator started to descend, but then it was suddenly moving forward. The floor of the elevator began to sway, and Rosalyn felt herself getting dizzy.
Percy was experiencing the same feeling beside her, blinking hard to try and clear his vision.
Charon's suit was now replaced with a long back robe. The sunglasses he had been wearing in the lobby were gone and black pits existed where his eyes should have been. His skin was becoming transparent, showing his skull.
"I think I'm getting seasick," Grover moaned helplessly.
The swaying floor was changing. They weren't in an elevator at all. They were on a wooden barge... drifting through an oily river, swirling with things like bones and dead flowers.
"The River Styx," Annabeth whispered.
Mist curled up off of the water, as the cavern stretched on around them. Rosalyn tried to swallow down the panic she felt. Panicking would do them no good now.
Percy's hand reached out and grabbed her arm. His fingers curled tightly around her forearm, prompting her to take her opposite hand and cover his own.
It was a reminder: I'm here. We're alive. This is real.
A howl echoed throughout the cavern just as the shoreline came into view. The bottom of the boat slid onto the black sand, and the dead began to disembark.
"Old Three-Face is hungry. Bad luck for you godlings," Charon chuckled.
They ignored him and stepped off of the boat. In front of them, the dead trudged up a worn path.
Percy looked back at the empty barge once before following Rosalyn, Annabeth, and Grover onto the path.
Behind them, Charon called out, "I'd wish you luck, but there isn't any down here. Mind you, lass, don't forget to mention my pay raise."
He took up his pole and ferried himself down the river, leaving them without a way back.