Chapter 4: Dead Man's Drop
The Light of Hope Diamond was invisible to mortal eyes, but stayed out of the demi-gods' reach. It led the way to Ogre Alley. It kept its light to a minimum since ogres were sensitive to light, preferring the dark.
Ogres were offensive creatures with their bad body odor. They had sensitive hearing. They became violent if insulted, which was easy to do.
The group had to stop when an ogre popped his head out of a garbage dumpster that he was dumpster diving.
They were edging around a drunker ogre, who smelled like vomit when Annabeth stepped on one hidden in a box.
"Who dares step on me like I am garbage," grumbled the hurt ogre. He wore a cloth fruit bag as a shirt. He eyed the group.
Grover gulped at the size of the ogre's bloody spiked club. The spikes were rusty and still had flesh hanging from its last use.
Annabeth and Percy ran, but Grover was behind them by a few feet. Grover was screaming like a little girl, which worked to his advantage.
The vengeful ogre had to stop swinging his club to cover his ears. His ear drums trembled violently, threatening to burst.
All three bent over, heaving in air at the end of Ogre Valley.
They followed the radiant diamond to the sewer system underneath New York City to reach their next destination, Dead Man's Drop.
The Light of Hope Diamond sent a ray of light across to a portal.
"There is supposed to be a thin glass bridge," Annabeth gazed around, searching for the beginning of the bridge.
Percy opened his backpack to find his penlight, but a small rubber ball bounced out.
The ball bounced a few times until it pinged when it struck the glass bridge.
Annabeth kissed Percy's cheek in joy, causing both teens to blush.
Percy went first, but his second step met air, not glass. His ball pinged 100 yards in front.
"It is not straight!" Indeed, the bridge zig-zagged across the empty space so no human could reach the secret portal to Icicle Valley.
The trio of friends had to synchronize their movements or risk the bridge tipping to one side, dumping them over.
They shared a nervous laugh after finally crossing the bridge.
The diamond's light flickered, warning them it was leaving. The diamond glowed brightly the flashed out, teleporting to the one it was named after.
"Where did it go?" Annabeth cried out.
Athena's whisper of its destination was her reply.