LIX
Jason
(A/N: This chapter and the next will be shorter than usual. But this is technically the end of the story! HOORAY! Stay tuned for the Epilogue, and I will also be posting my thoughts on the actual book in chapter 61. But for now, this will be the end of the book. Anyways, enjoy, review and have an awesome day!)
Jason found himself in a recording studio, sitting next to Percy, Annabeth and Frank.
"What happened?" he asked them.
"Oh, well, Percy and I jumped into a volcano." Annabeth replied.
"I blew up turning into a god." Frank said.
Comparing his death to theirs, Jason felt quite inferior. "Well, I got killed by a bunch of harpies."
"Nice." Frank said. "Anyways, do you know where we are? The last time I died, I was on a boat. Not in this recording studio."
"This is DOA recording studios." Annabeth said. "This is where most dead spirits go after they die. Charon-" she pointed at the empty desk- "accepts drachmas as payment. We've been waiting forever for him to show up. Luckily, I had a bag of drachmas on me when we died." she rummaged in her pockets. "I think I put it in here- yes, there it is." she pulled out a shiny golden coin.
Immediately, the ghosts around them reached for the coins. Annabeth quickly put the one she was holding back in the pocket. "Poor them. They didn't get any coins, so now they're stuck here until someone gives them some. Unfortunately, I only have four with me."
The elevator doors dinged and out came Charon. He was dressed in a black suit and tie, with shined shoes and greased hair. He looked very confident.
Percy whistled. "He looks much better. I guess that advice helped."
They walked up to the counter. Charon looked at them in turn. "I recognize you." he said to Percy and Annabeth. "You were those alive people a few years back. Well, now that you're dead, I still expect payment. Not for you two-" he pointed at Frank and Jason. "Those two."
Annabeth gave him two drachmas and threw the other two on the floor behind them. The ghosts immediately leapt for it, starting a fight in the room.
"Idiots." Charon said, annoyed. "You four got the VIP treatment, which means that none of them are coming with you. Jason Grace, Frank Zhang, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase," he said, "Follow me."
He stepped into the elevator and they followed him in. He pressed button labeled VIP and the elevator sped downwards. When the doors opened again, they were on a dock. Parked there was a large steamboat.
"Welcome aboard." Charon said. They climbed aboard, Frank immediately went to the back of the ship. Percy and Annabeth stayed at the front, pretending to do Titanic. Jason, on the other hand, stayed in the cabin, where he thought back on everything that had happened.
Had they managed to stop Gaia from rising? Or had she already won? He assumed that she hadn't won, because they were still here and they weren't flying all over the world. He looked at the waters of the River Styx flying past him, the red light of the underworld filling his vision. They went by the fields of Asphodel, where spirits drifted around aimlessly. They went past the Isles of the Blessed, where the sprits seemed to be having a large party. A large cannon of cheese fired the yellow goodness all over the island, which immediately got cleaned up.
Then Jason noticed Hades' castle. Only it wasn't ahead, it was behind them. In fact, he could have noticed it as they boarded the ship. They were speeding away from it, heading towards the darkness of the underworld.
He was thinking of asking Charon about where they were going, but at that moment, the ship slowed. Jason walked out of the cabin, seeing where they were headed. In front of them was a pair of large, black doors, adorned with patterns of heroes killing monsters.
The boat docked on shore. Charon gestured for them to get off, which they did.
"Why did you drop us off here?" Jason asked Charon.
"I am under orders, sir." he replied, and drove off into the distance.
Only when the boat had disappeared in the distance did Jason realize where they were.
"Why are they open?" he whispered to Annabeth. "Didn't we close them?"
The doors of Death stood in front of them.
"Maybe we should close them." Annabeth commented.
Jason suddenly realized why Charon had brought them here. I am under orders, sir, he had said. "No. Don't close them. We're supposed to go through them."
"Are you sure?" Annabeth asked.
"Yes." Jason replied. "Thanatos left them open for us to go through."
"But weren't the original doors elevators?" Frank asked.
Jason shrugged. "New designer?" he suggested. The space between them was completely dark. "Anyways, I'll go first."
"No." Frank said. "We go together."
They all nodded. Jason took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness. Only, it wasn't darkness, because there was a multitude of colors in the place between the dead and the living. Jason felt himself solidifying, growing flesh. Then, they all stepped out onto the front porch of the Big House. He remembered what Cupid had said about death, a long time ago:
We are not so different, he had said. But Death is sometimes kinder.