Chapter 18: Annabeth Does Obedience School

We stood there on Valencia Boulevard, looking up at the gold letters etched in black marble DOA RECORDING STUDIOS. It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and it looked like there was a lot of people inside. Behind the security desk was a tough looking guard. I turned to Annabeth and Grover and said, "Okay, You remember the plan." We walked inside the DOA lobby. Muzak played softly on the hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were gray. There were cactuses in the corners, which was kind of scary because from a far distance they looked like skeleton bones. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people stnading, sitting and even staring out the windows. Nobody moved or talked, I could see them all just fine, but if I stare at them for a long time they start looking transparent,like I could see right through their bodies.The security guard's desk was a raised podium so we had to look up at him. I read his name tag then I looked at him, "Your name is Chiron?" Then the guard leaned forward and told me what it really said. The guard sounded like he had a british accent, his name was actually Charon. After he told me his name he asked what we were doing here. Annabeth said, "We want to go to the Underworld." He looked over at us again and asked us, "How did you guys die, then?" Grover said, "We drowned in a bath tub, a really big bathtub." It looked like he believed us and asked us if we had any coins to the Underworld. I set three golden drachmas on the counter, but his fingers hovered greedily over the coins, we were so close to getting in. Then Charon looked at me and sniffed me. He said, "You're not dead, you're a godling." "We have to get to the Underworld." I insisted. Charon made a small growling noice in his throat. He didn't let us go in, he was about to grab the coins but I grabbed them just in time. "No service, no tip." I said. So I took out a bag full of drachmas and spilled out the coins on the desk. Charon's growl now turned into a lion's purr, then he asked us how many we had in the bag. He really wanted everything in the bag, so he let us in into the Underworld. I told him that I would ask Hades to give him a raise. Then he escorted us to elevator and pushed the crowd of waiting spirits. The elevator was already filled with souls of the dead. The people in the lobby actually stay there for almost centuries until they are allowed to go to the Underworld.

I got a sudden dizzy feeling. We weren't going down anymore, we were going forward. The air turned misty. The spirits around me started changing shape, their clothes turned into grey hooded robes. The floor of the elevator began swaying. I blinked hard, and when I opened them Charon's clothes became a long black robe, when I blinked again, the elevator wasn't an elevator anymore, it was a wooden barge. Charon was poling us across a dark, oily river, swirling with bones, dead fish, and other strange things. It was the River Styx, but the river was so polluted. Charon said, "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you came across, like hopes dreams, and wishes that never came true. I found myself muttering a prayer, but I wasn't quite sure who I was praying to, because down here the only God that matters is Hades. The shoreline of the Underworld came into view, it looked like we were getting closer. Craggy rocks and black volcanic sand was everywhere. Charon told us about this three face dog that was really hungry, and I think I knew what he meant by hungry. So we got off the boat and followed the spirits up a well worn path. Now I know what Charon was talking about when he said that the three faced dog is hungry. It was Cerberus, that was the three headed dog name, but he was no where to be found. We kept walking until we discovered a lot of things in the Underworld, then we finally fond the dog. I took a big stick out of my backpack and tried to play with the dog, but it just satyed there growling at us. Grover said, "The dog looks very hungry, maybe we should walk away!" Then Annabeth told it to sit, the dog sat down and followed what Annabeth said. She threw a ball at the dog and the middle head caught the ball. "Good boy." Said Annabeth. Then she told us to go through the EZ death line, Annabeth distracted the monster, and me and Grover started running away. Annabeth wiped a tear off her cheek as she listened to the mornful keening of Cerberus in the distance, waiting for its new friend. Well, I kind of learned something today, that even here in the Underworld everybody even monsters needed a little attention once in a while.