CHAPTER SEVEN
—dumb fun house
🗡🗡🗡
—JUDITH knew she had been in the Labyrinth alone for too long when the voice in her head started echoing off the walls around her.
"I would kill for a plate of French fries right about now." There was no answer, obviously — well, apart from her stomach grumbling in agreement.
Judith had snagged some breakfast burritos from the dining pavilion that morning; enough to last her the day, at least. But she had indulged herself after the fit with Phobos and Deimos. Cracking your hands open really did a number on your hunger.
So, she was hungry, tired, and losing her mind. She needed to see the light of day, or the night sky — didn't matter which at that point. She needed air that hadn't been sitting dormant for thousands of years.
Judith Sloane, daughter of Ares, rarely prayed for things because she knew she'd never get them. The gods were picky about what wishes they chose to grant, and Judith was not at the top of their list of 'Deserving Demigods.' But when her fingers caught on the Delta insignia brick, she knew someone had been listening to her inner desperations.
Though she was grateful for the blessing, she couldn't help but hesitate. Leaving the Labyrinth wouldn't get her any closer to Nico. Then again, wandering aimlessly through the maze wasn't doing her any favors either. She could risk an hour of fresh air.
Judith pressed the Delta and the roof slid open, revealing a set of stairs leading up into the sunlight — or setting sun, to be more specific. She was about to thank whatever being had allowed this short trip up to the surface when multiple children's screams set her on high alert. Her feet carried her up the steps with a racing heart, anticipating an attack on civilians.
But daughter of Ares released her tight grip from her ax after seeing the amusement park she'd arrived in. It looked like a big state fair and she was picking up some southern accents as people footed around her. Not even a mile through the maze and she'd gone a few states south.
The ADHD in Judith's system didn't allow her to focus on anything in particular. Her eyes skipped from the many different lights and rides to the man with balloons to the hundreds of people. Her heart skipped some beats. This was every kid's dream, but to her, she just felt sick.
The Labyrinth's entrance was just behind a big rollercoaster called The Viper. She pocketed that information and wandered around aimlessly, figuring she'd pick up a hot dog ( or maybe she'd splurge and get funnel cake ). But her eyes zeroed in on a body a few rides down, stalking into one of those Fun Houses that was designed to make you look like an idiot as you tripped everywhere.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Judith muttered, hastily making her way to the building.
"Five tickets, Missy." The older teenager held out his hand as she tried to pass him.
Judith looked at him with beady eyes, hating the name Missy with a passion. "Let me inside."
The guy was not fazed by her hidden threat. "No tickets, no fun house!" He mocked enthusiasm.
Judith pursed her lips in annoyance and pretended to dejectedly walk away. She could hear the guy start to laugh and that's when she turned around, hurdled the small gate he guarded and ran inside without a second look back.
"Hey, kid, get back here!" She heard him yell but she was already three turns deep into the mirror maze. There was a loud slam as the door behind her closed shut and a lock clicked into place.
"Hello, Judith," a hissy voice rasped on cue. Judith tried to pin point where it was coming from, but the mirrors just made her look at different angles of herself. She unclasped her ax and fidgeted with it in her hand.
The daughter of Ares felt around the glass for the right opening and continued on. "Come out and fight me."
"I'm right here." The slimy body of the Gorgon Judith had seen earlier appeared in one of the mirrors. She knew it wasn't real for if it had been, Judith would be stone. The girl swung at the reflection, shattering the pane into thousands of pieces. There was an indignant shout from outside the fun house that sounded vaguely like the teenager.
"Oh, what's that? Seven years of bad luck?" The Gorgon cackled.
"I don't believe in that kind of thing," Judith returned, hefting her ax higher. Her eyes shifted constantly as she moved deeper into the maze, her boots smashing the glass on the ground. She knew she should probably be looking at the ground so as not to mistakenly look upon the actual snake head of the Gorgon, but she was eager to leave.
If possible, the monster snickered louder. "Oh, Tyche would say otherwise," the thing replied. "She's got pet peeves like that. Breaking mirrors, black cats, umbrellas inside. She's quite picky."
Judith didn't dwell on how she very well might be cursed for seven years. She never depended on luck anyway. "Why are you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding, I'm waiting." Her voice dropped with venom.
"For what?" Judith asked. Not even a second after she asked that, her face smashed into one of the walls. The girl felt the crunch of her nose and the trickle of blood to follow.
"That!" The Gorgon yelled before laughing hysterically. "How fitting is it for you to die in a carnival maze on your quest through the great Labyrinth?"
"How fitting is it that you choose a room of reflections to die in," Judith retaliated.
"You talk big, daughter of Ares, too big," the Gorgon hissed. Judith turned a corner and averted her gaze to the ground, seeing a lifelike body in front of her. "Come on, Judith Sloane, look up. You can't slay me without seeing me." Judith turned to her side and opted to use the mirrors in any way she could.
"And you can't slay me if you keep hiding away, so why don't you just come out and fight me!" Judith yelled, flinching away as she hit another mirror. A hand flew to her nose to try and stop the bleeding.
"This is much more fun," the Gorgon said. "Judith Sloane, Judith Sloane, left all alone in the face of the unknown."
"Your singing is terrible," Judith spat, blood leaking into her mouth. The tang of iron is familiar.
"Judith Sloane, Judith Sloane, left on her own, and soon to be stone."
The girl wanted to punch at the mirror she hit next. "Come out here!"
She saw the edge of a snake head and quickly tried to determine where it was in relation to her as the Gorgon moved. She followed the reflection up until she was staring directly in the stony eyes of the monster. The snakes were green and were snipping at the air.
Judith knew she had a slim shot at actually being able to hit her directly on as the mirrors were unreliable. But then Judith noticed exactly which way the snakes were attempting to bite. They were directed to their left like they were close enough to their target, which meant the Gorgon was close enough to swing at.
The girl took a leap of faith, closed her eyes, and spun in a circle, her axe making a wide arc as she slashed. Instead of hitting glass like she feared, the metal came in contact with a solid body as the Gorgon shrieked. Judith refused to open her eyes until she was sure the monster had turned to golden dust. Left in its place was a stone carved ring in the shape of a coiled snake. She slipped it on her right middle finger and it tightened to fit perfectly.
"Fun house," Judith muttered, hooking her double bladed ax onto her back. She was starting to feel nauseous with all the pictures of herself. She had to step close to one to inspect her nose, however. It wasn't broken, thankfully; it was a pain to set those back in place. But it was still gushing blood down her chin and neck. Her shirt was stained red and her teeth probably were too as the blood had gotten in her mouth. She just used the clean part of her shirt to wipe it off her face since it was already ruined. The most it did was smear the red all over the bottom half of her face.
Judith refused to go the rest of the way through the house so she retraced her steps to reach the entrance. "I hate this place, I hate it."
She opened the door and squinted at the bright sun. "Kid, you're gonna have to pay for the damages in there. That's vandalism."
Judith didn't even look at him, keeping her head down. "Oh yeah, and how many tickets will that be?"
The guy scoffed. "Don't be a smart ass. I alerted the fair director, he's headed here right now. Your parents will be called."
"Mhmm," Judith hummed, still walking away. Her head finally lifted to face him, bloody teeth glistening as she gave a fake grin. His gasp and retch made her chuckle. "Let me know if he gets ahold of my parents."
The girl sped up after that, the teenager left in the dust. On her sprint, she grabbed a stray pretzel off a food cart, eliciting a shout of indignante from the vendor. She ran the last stretch to reach the Labyrinth entrance behind the coaster. Viper, very fitting, she rolled her eyes as she glanced at the new ring on her finger.
Judith pressed the small triangle symbol and quickly ran down the steps into the underground maze.
NOTES ;
SO SO SO SHORT, BUT I LITERALLY DID NOT KNOW WHERE I WANTED THIS CHAPTER TO GO. LIKE UGH.
ALSO LET'S JUST IGNORE THE FACT THAT THE GORGONS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD UP UNTIL SON OF NEPTUNE
edited : 09 / 03 / 2020