chapter 32: rachel?

As it turns out, jumping out a window was not a good idea. It shouldn't have been in the first place, but they had wings, which made it a lot less fun.

Percy plummeted toward the valley and the red rocks below. Hoa was pretty sure that his stupidity would've gotten him killed, but Annabeth yelled, "Spread your arms! Keep them extended."

Hoa had already figured that out because she wasn't Seaweed Idiot. Leisurely, she let her wings stiffen and catch the wind as her descent slowed. She soared downward, but at a more controlled angle than Percy, who looked like a chicken.

Eventually, Hoa built up the courage to flap her arms once. She flew up, the wind whistling in her ears.

"Yeah!" Percy yelled, now beside her.

The feeling was unbelievable. She felt like the wings were a part of her body as she dove and swooped in powerful waves.

Hoa craned her neck and saw her friends—Rachel, Annabeth, and Nico—spiraling above Percy and herself, wings glinting in the sunlight. They had gotten the hang of them and soared grandly around her. Behind them, smoke billowed from the windows of Daedalus's workshop.

She flew up to Nico, flapping right next to him. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Land!" Annabeth yelled. "These wings won't last forever."

"How long?" Rachel cried.

"I don't want to find out!" Annabeth said.

"You're higher than us, Annie!" Hoa called.

She could practically feel Annabeth rolling her eyes. "Shut up!" she yelled back as she descended.

They swooped down toward the place that was apparently the Garden of the Gods. Percy did a complete circle around one of the rock spires, freaking out a couple of climbers. The four of them soared across the valley, over a road, and landed on the terrace of the visitor center. It was late afternoon and the place looked empty, but they took off the wings as quickly as they could.

Looking at the wings, Annabeth was right. The self-adhesive seals that bound the wings to the back were melting, and they were shedding bronze feathers. It was a shame, but they couldn't leave them around for the mortals to find, so they stuffed them in the trash bins outside the cafeteria.

Percy looked into the tourist binocular camera to look at the hill where the workshop was. Judging by the look on his face, they could assume what he saw.

"The workshop moved," Annabeth guessed. "There's no telling where."

"So what do we do now?" Percy asked. "How do we get back in the maze?"

Annabeth gazed at the summit of Pikes Peak in the distance. "Maybe we can't. If Daedalus died... he said his life force was tied to the Labyrinth. The whole thing might've been destroyed. Maybe that will stop Luke's invasion."

Hoa side-eyed Nico, prompting him to speak up. "No," Nico said. "He isn't dead."

"How can you be sure?" Percy asked.

Hoa looked at him like he was stupid. "He's the son of Hades? The god of the dead?"

Percy turned red. "Um—"

"I know when people die," Nico said, saving him from embarrassment. "It's this feeling I get, like a buzzing in my ears."

"What about Tyson and Grover, then?"

Nico shook his head. "That's harder. They're not humans of half-bloods. They don't have mortal souls."

"They don't die," Hoa elaborated. "Grover will get reincarnated, Tyson will go to Tartarus."

"We have to get into town," Annabeth decided. "We'd be better off finding an entrance to the Labyrinth. We have to make it back to camp before Luke and his army."

"We could just take a plane," Rachel said.

Percy shuddered. "I don't fly."

"But you just did."

"That was low flying," Percy said, "and even that's risky. Flying up high—that's Zeus's territory. I can't do it. Besides, we don't even have time for a flight. The Labyrinth is the quickest way back."

"Nico can't do it either," Hoa added.

"So we need a car to take us into the city," Annabeth said.

Rachel looked down into the parking lot. She grimaced, as if she were about to do something she regretted. "I'll take care of it."

"How?" Annabeth asked.

"Just trust me."

Annabeth looked uneasy, but she nodded. "Okay, I'm going to buy a prism from the gift shop, try to make a rainbow, and send an Iris-message to camp."

"I'll go with you," Nico said. "I'm hungry."

"I'll go with you," Hoa said. "Nico's going."

"I'll stick with Rachel, then," Percy said. "Meet you guys in the parking lot."

"Bet," Hoa said.

Percy nudged her and whispered. "Whipped."

She nudged him back. "Shut the fuck up," she muttered, walking next to Nico and behind Annabeth.

~•~•~

"I talked to Chiron," Annabeth said once they regrouped with Percy and Hoa. Nico and Hoa had split off to look for food while Annabeth bought a prism and spoke to Chiron. All the different groups had met up with Rachel, who had a car waiting for them. "They're doing their best to prepare for battle, but he still wants us back. They're going to need every hero they can get. Did we find a ride?"

"The driver's ready when we are," Rachel said.

Someone who Hoa assumed was a chauffeur was talking to another guy in khakis and a polo shirt. "I'm sorry, sir," he said. "Emergency. I've ordered another car for you."

"Come on," Rachel said.

A minute later they were cruising down the road. The seats were leather. There was plenty of legroom. The backseat had flat-panel TVs built into the headrests and a mini-fridge stocked with bottled water, sodas, and snacks. They started pigging out.

"Where to, Miss Dare?" the driver asked.

"I'm not sure yet, Robert," she said. "We just need to drive around town and, uh, look around."

"Whatever you say, miss."

Percy looked at Rachel. "Do you know this guy?"

"No."

"But he just dropped everything to help you. Why?"

"Just keep your eyes peeled," she said. "Help me look."

That didn't answer his question.

They drove through Colorado Springs for about half an hour and saw nothing that could be considered a possible Labyrinth entrance. Hoa kept wondering who exactly Rachel was and why she didn't answer Percy's question and how she could just walk up to some random chaffeur and immediately get a ride and so many more things.

After about an hour, they decided to head up north to Denver, thinking that maybe a bigger city would be more likely to have a Labyrinth entrance, but they were all getting nervous. They were running out of time.

Then, right as they were leaving Colorado Springs, Rachel sat upright. "Get off the highway!"

The driver glanced back. "Miss?"

"I saw something, I think. Get off here."

The driver swerved across traffic and took the exit.

"What did you see?" Hoa asked, because they were basically out of the city by now. There was much around except for hills, grassland, and some scattered farm buildings.

Rachel had the driver turn down this sketchy dirt road. They passed a sign that they went too fast to read, but Rachel said, "Western Museum of Mining and Industry."

It was a pretty crappy museum.

It looked like a little house from an old railroad station, with some drills, pumps, and old steam shovels displayed outside.

"There." Rachel pointed to a hole in the side of a nearby hill—a tunnel that was boarded up and chained. "An old mine entrance."

"A door to the Labyrinth?" Annabeth asked. "How can you be sure?"

"Um," Hoa said awkwardly, acknowledging the driver who sat there, "thanks for driving us here. We'll get going."

The taxi driver didn't ask for money, instead saying, "Are you sure you'll be alright, Miss Dare? I'd be happy to call your—"

"No!" Rachel said. "No, really. Thanks, Robert, but we're fine."

The museum seemed to be closed, so nobody bothered them as they climbed over the hill to the mineshaft. When they got to the entrance, Hoa saw the mark of Daedalus engraved on the padlock, though how Rachel had seen something so tiny all the way from the highway, Hoa had no idea. Maybe it was some clear-sighted thing.

Percy touched the padlock and the chains fell away. They kicked down a few boards and walked inside. For better or worse, they were back in the Labyrinth.

Probably for worse.

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hi im madi, your loyal author ♥️

*sigh* itll be a while

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how was the chapter?

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anyways, tysm for reading this crappy book! 😃