Dionysus, using one of his vines grabbed the book from Poseidon
Sighing, he opens the book to the next chapter and reads the title with a look of confusion on his face.
The group shares a look of disbelief at getting advice from an animal.
(We were pretty miserable that night. We camped out in the woods, a hundred metres from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had obviously been using for parties. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers. )
Hermes, Dionysus, and Grover all grimace at the state of the forest.
(We'd taken some food and blankets from Aunty Em's, but we didn't dare light a fire to dry our damp clothes. The Furies and Medusa had provided enough excitement for one day. We didn't want to attract anything else. We decided to sleep in shifts. I volunteered to take first watch. Annabeth curled up on the blankets and was snoring as soon as her head hit the ground. Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back to the trunk, and stared at the night sky. 'Go ahead and sleep,' I told him. 'I'll wake you if there's trouble.' He nodded, but still didn't close his eyes. 'It makes me sad, Percy.' 'What does? The fact that you signed up for this stupid quest?' )
"Never. Never joining the quest would have made me sad." Grover told Percy. "That quest, I ended up with two best friends in the end."
Percy and Annabeth smiled at Grover.
('No. This makes me sad.' He pointed at all the garbage on the ground. 'And the sky. You can't even see the stars. They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr.' 'Oh, yeah. I guess you'd be an environmentalist.' He glared at me. 'Only a human wouldn't be. Your species is clogging up the world so fast… ah, never mind. It's useless to lecture a human. At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan.' 'Pam? Like the cooking spray?')
Hermes and Dionysus glared at Percy.
( 'Pan!' he cried indignantly. 'P-A-N. The great god Pan! What do you think I want a searcher's licence for?' A strange breeze rustled through the clearing, temporarily overpowering the stink of trash and muck. It brought the smell of berries and wildflowers and clean rainwater, things that might've once been in these woods. Suddenly I was nostalgic for something I'd never known. )
Hermes's eyes widened recognizing that his son was listening to the conversation between the demigod and satyr. He shared a look with Dionysus who looked relieved to know his friend was still alive even if he was still lost.
('Tell me about the search,' I said. Grover looked at me cautiously, as if he were afraid I was just making fun. 'The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago,' he told me. 'A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore, "Tell them that the great god Pan has died!" When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden and wake him from his sleep.' )
Reyna wondered what their fauns were doing then if the Greeks satyrs were searching for Pan then shouldn't they be looking for the Roman equivalent as well?
('And you want to be a searcher.' 'It's my life's dream,' he said. 'My father was a searcher. And my Uncle Ferdinand… the statue you saw back there –' 'Oh, right, sorry.' Grover shook his head. 'Uncle Ferdinand knew the risks. So did my dad. But I'll succeed. I'll be the first searcher to return alive.' 'Hang on – the first?' Grover took his reed pipes out of his pocket. 'No searcher has ever come back. Once they set out, they disappear. They're never seen alive again.' )
"Oh Gods." Hazel and Gwen both muttered in disbelief.
"I think in the next book, we find out what happened to the satyrs over the years." Percy said thoughtfully.
Grover shivered in his seat, remembering all that happened.
('Not once in two thousand years?' 'No.' 'And your dad? You have no idea what happened to him?' 'None.' 'But you still want to go,' I said, amazed. 'I mean, you really think you'll be the one to find Pan?' 'I have to believe that, Percy. Every searcher does. It's the only thing that keeps us from despair when we look at what humans have done to the world. I have to believe Pan can still be awakened.' )
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover shared a look of sadness.
Hermes and Dionysus didn't see the looks but Apollo did and he suddenly had an understanding of what probably happened to his friend's son.
(I stared at the orange haze of the sky and tried to understand how Grover could pursue a dream that seemed so hopeless. Then again, was I any better? 'How are we going to get into the Underworld?' I asked him. 'I mean, what chance do we have against a god?' )
Nico started snickering again as he always does when it comes to Percy fighting a God.
Poseidon had a bad feeling everything his nephew started snickering at the thought of his son versus a God.
('I don't know,' he admitted. 'But back at Medusa's, when you were searching her office? Annabeth was telling me –' 'Oh, I forgot. Annabeth will have a plan all figured out.' 'Don't be so hard on her, Percy. She's had a tough life, but she's a good person. After all, she forgave me…' His voice faltered. )
Everyone who didn't know the story frowned wondering once again what had happened.
"It wasn't your fault anyway, Grover." both Annabeth and Thalia told him.
('What do you mean?' I asked. 'Forgave you for what?' Suddenly, Grover seemed very interested in playing notes on his pipes. 'Wait a minute,' I said. 'Your first keeper job was five years ago. Annabeth has been at camp five years. She wasn't… I mean, your first assignment that went wrong –' 'I can't talk about it,' Grover said, and his quivering lower lip suggested he'd start crying if I pressed him. 'But as I was saying, back at Medusas, Annabeth and I agreed there's something strange going on with this quest. Something isn't what it seems.' )
"No crap." Leo and the Strolls said with their eyebrows raised.
('Well, duh. I'm getting blamed for stealing a thunderbolt that Hades took.' 'That's not what I mean,' Grover said. 'The Fu – The Kindly Ones were sort of holding back. Like Mrs Dodds at Yancy Academy… why did she wait so long to try to kill you? Then on the bus, they just weren't as aggressive as they could've been.' 'They seemed plenty aggressive to me.' Grover shook his head. 'They were screeching at us: "Where is it? Where?"' 'Asking about me,' I said. 'Maybe… but Annabeth and I, we both got the feeling they weren't asking about a person. They said "Where is it?" They seemed to be asking about an object.' )
"But what object is the question?" Athena asked herself.
('That doesn't make sense.' 'I know. But if we've misunderstood something about this quest, and we only have nine days to find the master bolt…' He looked at me like he was hoping for answers, but I didn't have any. I thought about what Medusa had said: I was being used by the gods. What lay ahead of me was worse than petrification. 'I haven't been straight with you,' I told Grover. 'I don't care about the master bolt. I agreed to go to the Underworld so I could bring back my mother.' Grover blew a soft note on his pipes. 'I know that, Percy. But are you sure that's the only reason?' 'I'm not doing it to help my father. He doesn't care about me. I don't care about him.' )
Poseidon and Percy looked at each other and gave a smile. Both knew that Percy knows that Poseidon loves him and Percy knows it even if he can't really show it.
(Grover gazed down from his tree branch. 'Look, Percy, I'm not as smart as Annabeth. I'm not as brave as you. But I'm pretty good at reading emotions. You're glad your dad is alive. You feel good that he's claimed you, and part of you wants to make him proud. That's why you mailed Medusa's head to Olympus. You wanted him to notice what you'd done.' )
"Well, that's definitely one way to get my attention." Poseidon said grinning.
('Yeah? Well maybe satyr emotions work differently than human emotions. Because you're wrong. I don't care what he thinks.' Grover pulled his feet up onto the branch. 'Okay, Percy. Whatever.' 'Besides, I haven't done anything worth bragging about. We barely got out of New York and we're stuck here with no money and no way west.' Grover looked at the night sky, like he was thinking about that problem. 'How about I take first watch, huh? You get some sleep.' I wanted to protest, but he started to play Mozart, soft and sweet, and I turned away, my eyes stinging. After a few bars of Piano Concerto no. 12, I was asleep.)
"That's one way to end a conversation." Rachel said smiling.
( In my dreams, I stood in a dark cavern before a gaping pit. Grey mist creatures churned all around me, whispering rags of smoke that I somehow knew were the spirits of the dead. )
The humor went out of the room fast.
"You're dreaming of the Underworld." Hades said. "But why?"
(They tugged at my clothes, trying to pull me back, but I felt compelled to walk forward to the very edge of the chasm. Looking down made me dizzy. The pit yawned so wide and was so completely black, I knew it must be bottomless. Yet I had a feeling that something was trying to rise from the abyss, something huge and evil. )
Hades and the other Gods all paled, recognizing the place Percy was dreaming of.
Hades especially knew where in the Underworld Percy was dreaming.
(The little hero, an amused voice echoed far down in the darkness. Too weak, too young, but perhaps you will do.The voice felt ancient – cold and heavy. It wrapped around me like sheets of lead. They have misled you, boy, it said. Barter with me. I will give you what you want.)
The Gods grew paler if it was possible.
"This is most definitely not me." Hades said to the others.
"Don't listen to whatever that voice is saying." Poseidon mutters.
( A shimmering image hovered over the void: my mother, frozen at the moment she'd dissolved in a shower of gold. Her face was distorted with pain, as if the Minotaur were still squeezing her neck. Her eyes looked directly at me, pleading: Go! I tried to cry out, but my voice wouldn't work. Cold laughter echoed from the chasm. )
The Gods who had an idea of who was in the pit all shivered.
(An invisible force pulled me forward. It would drag me into the pit unless I stood firm.Help me rise, boy. The voice became hungrier. Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!The spirits of the dead whispered around me, No! Wake!The image of my mother began to fade. The thing in the pit tightened its unseen grip around me. I realized it wasn't interested in pulling me in. It was using me to pull itself out.)
"Why would this voice be asking Percy to bring the bolt to him if he doesn't have it." Athena pondered to herself.
Hades and the other Gods shared looks of fear, hoping that he won't be rising.
( Good, it murmured. Good. Wake! the dead whispered. Wake! Someone was shaking me. My eyes opened, and it was daylight. )
"Oh, Thank Us." Poseidon sighed, falling back onto his throne.
The Gods all shared a sigh of relief.
('Well,' Annabeth said, 'the zombie lives.' I was trembling from the dream. I could still feel the grip of the chasm monster around my chest. 'How long was I asleep?' 'Long enough for me to cook breakfast.' Annabeth tossed me a bag of nacho flavoured corn chips from Aunty Em's snack bar. 'And Grover went exploring. Look, he found a friend.' My eyes had trouble focusing. Grover was sitting cross-legged on a blanket with something fuzzy in his lap, a dirty, unnaturally pink stuffed animal. No. It wasn't a stuffed animal. It was a pink poodle. )
"Why?" Frank asked confused.
Rachel meanwhile was making a face like she was trying to remember where she had seen a pink poodle before.
(The poodle yapped at me suspiciously. Grover said, 'No, he's not.' I blinked. 'Are you… talking to that thing?' The poodle growled. 'This thing,' Grover warned, 'is our ticket west. Be nice to him.' 'You can talk to animals?' Grover ignored the question. 'Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy.' )
"Oh! I remember now! That poodle was one of my dad's sponsors." Rachel told the group. "He didn't seem to really like living there."
"You would have been right." Grover said to her.
(I stared at Annabeth, figuring she'd crack up at this practical joke they were playing on me, but she looked deadly serious. 'I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle,' I said. 'Forget it.' 'Percy,' Annabeth said. 'I said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle.' The poodle growled. I said hello to the poodle. )
Everybody burst out laughing.
"You said hello to a poodle," Clarisse said snickering.
Percy just rolled his eyes at the lot of them.
(Grover explained that he'd come across Gladiola in the woods and they'd struck up a conversation. The poodle had run away from a rich local family, who'd posted a $200 reward for his return. Gladiola didn't really want to go back to his family, but he was willing to if it meant helping Grover. 'How does Gladiola know about the reward?' I asked. 'He read the signs,' Grover said. 'Duh.' 'Of course,' I said. 'Silly me.' )
"Yeah, how silly of you Percy." Thalia said between her laughter.
Percy leaned back in his seat and pouted.
('So we turn in Gladiola,' Annabeth explained in her best strategy voice, 'we get money and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple.' I thought about my dream – the whispering voices of the dead, the thing in the chasm and my mother's face, shimmering as it dissolved into gold. All that might be waiting for me in the West. 'Not another bus,' I said warily. 'No,' Annabeth agreed. She pointed downhill, towards train tracks I hadn't been able to see last night in the dark. 'There's an Amtrack station half a mile that way. According to Gladiola, the westbound train leaves at noon.' )
"Well, at least you have transportation now." Jason said.
"Yeah, but it's getting there safe and getting hit by lightning again; that's the problem." Hazel pointed out.
"So, we are in agreement that a lot seems to be happening all at once." Athena said to the others, who all nodded.
"Between the bolt missing, Hades looking for something, and the voice from the pit. " Artemis said. "Obviously, a bigger plot is in the works."
"Let's keep reading. We might get some information that might help us figure out what is happening." Hades told the Gods.
"Here." Dionysus said using his vines to give the book to Zeus to read next.