Chapter 24 - Is That Really Charon? That's Quite Unexpected

Am I dead?

That's the first thing that popped in my mind, though I'm pretty sure I'm asleep in my cabin in Camp Half-Blood. Darkness surrounded me like cold, wicked blanket. My body felt light like I was submerged underwater. I felt blind and naked. Helpless in everything that is to come. Then, light flashed above, blinding me.

I blinked. I found myself floating in the air. Blue, blue skies stretched on all four directions. Below, vast waters sparkled against the harsh daylight. Day? Maybe this is the past? Or the future? I looked down. Just below me, an island stood. Or so I thought. The view zoomed in. Imagine standing still on a particular spot. Nothing happened. Then, suddenly, things moved toward you in lightning speed like you're a magnet or something. The things didn't mess their original arrangement, just move toward you so suddenly. I found myself floating just above an amphitheater carved on a hillside. It was deserted but I could feel some sort of force in the island itself. It was running from the very bottom of the island underwater, flowing through the roots of every plants and trees, even pulsing to the very bit of stone of the amphitheater. A sacred place.

I wanted to land, know more about the island but a distant rumbling of thunder surprised me. I looked around, there's no storm clouds present in the vicinity above but the sky opened up like it was being forcefully ripped apart by two giant hands. The blue sky like a curtain, revealed a hole with walls of storm clouds. Lightnings flashed above and the thunderous vibrations shook the island. From the chaotic hole, came two chariots. One silver. One gold. Both in a frenzied rush, determined to escape the storm. The chariots landed not far from me and I caught sight of the twin gods. Lightning arched above and a voice roared, "APOLLO! ARTEMIS! WHERE IS HERA?" before the colors melted into black.

This time, I am standing on the ground, no longer floating midair. All around me was darkness but unlike before, it wasn't total darkness, I wasn't floating, and I wasn't alone. Pale, smokey figures surrounded me, all moving in no particular direction. Then, a ghostly hand grabbed my arm. Though not possible, pain tore my skin as the ghastly fingers dug deeper in my skin. I turned and where the eyes and mouth should be, empty hollow sockets greeted me.

A raspy voice. A disembodied one. A chorus of dead voices from the ghosts around me melded into one through the ghost in front of me. "We will show you the one you're seeking!" Then, all at once, the ghosts lunged toward me.

Another scene. This time, I was floating again but not alone. The ghost that spoke was with me, still holding my arm.

"Below." It said.

I looked down. My eyes went wide in horror. Below me was a gaping hole bigger than the sink hole in Guatemala and seemingly continues to grow. I watched as a part of the earth breaks and drops down to the black chasm.

"W-What in the world is that?" I asked. I breathed, taking in large amounts of air. The world began to spin as the air thinned. I found myself gripping the ghost's wrist. I could feel a wicked force trying to pull me in. The force is too powerful that the air seemed to thin and the space altered like a ripples of oil on water.

I wanted to run. I wanted to escape this vicious force. But the ghost pointed down to one side of the hole. "Look! Look closer!"

I tried to swallow down my fear and focused on where the ghost is pointing. Not far from the very edge, a huge cage made of Celestial Bronze with a stand was fixed on the side of the hole. I strained to see more. I caught figures inside the cage but I focused more on a certain person. A girl of my age with blond hair and baby blue eyes. Trisha! I tried to fly toward her but the ghost held me back. I tried to free myself from its grip but to no avail.

"Let me go! I need to save Trisha!" I thrashed but soon, the scene faded and my eyes snapped open to the dim light of my cabin.

I lazily traced a line on the dusty window of the taxi. Soft sunlight shone on me but I cared not. I watched blankly at the cars already rushing past in an early morning. Opposite the noisy street, silence took superiority inside the taxi. I delved in its soundless domain to recollect my thoughts and go over my plans.
Soon, the taxi stopped in front of the studios.

I was about to go out when one of the Gray sisters, namely Wasp, spoke up. "You sure going down? You, little demigod, should be careful. Heard that Hades hadn't shown his face to Olympus for months. Smells trouble, if you ask me."

I smiled. "I'll be fine. Thanks for the ride."

With that, I tipped them a few drachmas before going out and closing the car door behind me. The taxi melted down to the concrete and disappeared. I walked up to the main gate but stopped short when I saw a hanging sign by the door. CLOSED. I ran up and tried the handle. It's locked! Shouldn't be the Underworld open at all times? I remembered what one of the Gray sisters told me.I knocked and pulled the handle several times to no avail. I leaned on the glass door, shielding my eyes to get a good view inside. The lobby is empty. Well, empty of any living beings. Against, the sunlight, the ghosts were absolutely invisible, but with a small shade, I could see the faint outlines of different heights and widths. Now what? I couldn't just go breaking the glass door to enter! I inhaled, resting my head on my clenched hand.

A hiss and I instantly went for the hilt of my sword. I turned around and saw green snakes slithering toward my direction. Apparently, these snakes weren't ordinary snakes. They have collars with white spikes around their necks. Basilisks. Good timing as always. One basilisk opened its mouth and spewed fire to my direction. I ducked and looked back. Behind me, a portion of the door blackened. I slashed in front of me as a basilisk came sailing toward my face. As I fight, I counted them off my head. 1...3...5...about 8 of them! I jumped back, narrowly missing the poisonous touch of one. It struck the glass door before landing on the ground. The glass steamed as it melted because of the poison, creating a hole big enough for me to fit in. I took it as a advantage. I dragged the sword down, slicing the one who had hit the door into two and rushed toward the hole.

I slipped in hurriedly, almost passing through a ghost and threw a bronze sphere. It morphed into a net, covering a couple of them, and sent off electric shocks. Ooohh! That's nasty! If I come back (in one piece, I hope), I would treat Leo an all-you-can-eat buffet as thanks for his amazing gadgets. There still three of them. Easy peasy! Or so I thought. As I was about to charge to the remaining basilisks, the glass door suddenly erupted into a shower of fragments. Screams rang in my eyes and I felt something caught my arm. I turned and saw a long cut. A few feet behind me, a feather was stuck on the ground. I looked up and saw a flock of pigeon-like monsters with sharp Celestial Bronze beaks. Oh crap! Stymphalian birds!

A distant ping. The elevators opened, revealing a man. He looked with wide eyes and was about to say something when the birds started to attack. I jumped over the reception counter as feathers shot down like gray rain. Fire erupted over my head, setting half the counter burning. I looked around and saw the man unharmed but still in shock of the message and the monster's in the lobby. I counted three before running out of my hiding place toward the elevator. I punched on the elevator buttons and threw a couple of bronze spheres to keep the monsters at bay. As soon as the steel doors opened, I slipped, dragging the man with me, and slapped down the close button. A few hard bangs vibrated all over the elevator before everything turned quiet. I punched some buttons before I sunk down, trying to catch my breath.

I looked at the man and he looked back at me. I stood up, sizing him up. He is tall, elegant, and handsome. He has chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved in military style. He wears tortoise-shell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag. Charon.

"So you are Charon. The ferry man of the Underworld." I said carefully.

"So what if am I Charon, godling?"

"Please, Mr. Charon. I need a ride to the Underworld. My friend is down the-"

Charon raised a hand and shook his head. "You're not dead. The living is not allowed in the Underworld. Plus, the Underworld for the moment is not in order than usual."

"Not in order than usual? What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's none of concerns, godling. Now, I will return you above and deal with those monsters."

Right...I expected this one. I dropped my bag on the steel floor and rummaged inside. I pulled out a small pouch filled with golden drachmas. "Will you bring me to the Underworld if I pay you?" I asked, holding out the pouch.

"No." He answered.

I shrugged and pulled out another one."How about another one? Will that be enough?"

He stared at the two pouches of drachmas. With lightning speed, he grabbed the pouches from my hands."Godling, do you know what dangers await you in the Underworld? Are you well prepared?" He asked, his eyes glinted darkly.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Be sure, because it will much worse than you expect."

"Is that why the sign by door says it's closed?" I asked.

A tight yet dark smile. "Find it out for yourself, demigod." Then, the elevator melted into a wooden barge and a black caped hood replaced Charon's Italian suit. Soon, we were sailing on the murky waters of the River Styx.

Leo Valdez

THE WORLD IS FALLING APART!

Well, that's what looked like in camp. Why? 'Cuz Christine's gone missing! We didn't find out until breakfast. She didn't show up that's why Clarisse went to her cabin (she got no choice because the others don't want to enter Her Majesty's horror cabin and no, I'm not scared, it's just the fact that she put us all in danger a few months ago, that's all) and found it empty. I mean, empty of the living mortal. No, no, there's no ghost but I got the shivers whenever I think that the goddess is INSIDE the cabin.

Anyway, that set off the bomb and Clarisse charged immediately to Chiron, demanding a search party. Of course, Chiron's not the reckless type. He told Clarisse to calm down and asked some campers to look for anything suspicious in the cabin. They found that Christine's things were no longer there, giving us the clue that she might have left, WHICH, made Clarisse wilder (she's absolutely scary, I thought she might kill Chiron any minute). Chiron asked if anyone of us knew anything or even saw Christine leave. No one spoke up. But I swear I saw the Oracle girl a bit jumpy than usual since the news spread. Annabeth seemed to notice it too and I got a feeling she will try to talk Rachel about it soon. So far, Chiron had ordered a separate search party for Christine, led by yours truly Clarisse. The other one, apparently, for Clarisse and Christine's kidnapped friend.

What the world is going, I don't know, but yesterday, I overheard something between Chiron and Mr. D, something about a disturbance going on Olympus and the increased monster count and faster return of defeated monsters in the mortal world (again). Of course, I didn't stand by (which I think was a wrong decision in my part). After a good curse, I ran toward my friends to tell them the terrible but juicy gossip I heard but got backtracked by an explosion by the armory. I haven't still told them yet but with the sudden disappearance of Christine, I guess now is a good (and bad) time to tell them.