Chapter 17

                                    

                                          
"What do you mean my father has the bolt!" Clarisse shouted. The waiter shot us a stern look, but my icy glare made her retreat.
"Okay, to be honest, I'm only about 99% certain. I believe he will try to frame us. Now here's the plan, and please trust me on this," I said, wagging a fry at them.
The sun was sinking behind the mountains when we found the water park. According to the sign, it had once been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, leaving it to read WAT R A D.
The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, enormous dry waterslides, tubes, and pipes curled around, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night approaching, the place looked eerie and desolate.
"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," I remarked, staring at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."
"Percy," Annabeth warned. "Show some respect."
"Relax, I'm only joking. Now, let's get this over with so we can continue our quest." I willed some water out of the air, creating a long tendril, and slashed through the fence, creating an opening. We walked through it one by one. As we moved deeper into the park, the shadows grew longer, and we explored the various attractions, including AnkleBiterIsland, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?
We stumbled upon a souvenir shop that had been left open, with merchandise still lining the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of—
"Clothes," Annabeth exclaimed. "Fresh clothes."
"Yeah," I said. "Don't tell me that-"
"Watch me."
Annabeth grabbed an entire row of clothing items off the racks and disappeared into the changing room. A few minutes later, she emerged dressed in Waterland flower-print shorts, a big red Waterland T-shirt, commemorative Waterland surf shoes, and a Waterland backpack slung over her shoulder, obviously stuffed with more goodies.
"What the heck," Clarisse shrugged. Before long, all three of us were adorned like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park.
We continued searching for the Tunnel of Love. I got the feeling that the entire park was holding its breath.
In front of us stretched an empty pool that would've been ideal for skateboarding. It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl.
Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!
Clarisse approached the edge cautiously. "Guys, look."
At the bottom of the pool sat a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. On the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares's shield, a bronze spartan shield.
"This is too easy," I remarked. "So, we just walk down there and get it?"
Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue. "There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder..."
"Don't touch those; they might be cameras made by Hephaestus to catch Ares and Aphrodite. They could also trigger a trap," I cautioned, causing Annabeth to pull her hand back.
"Percy is probably right," Clarisse agreed as she examined the statues, which indeed had that Hephaestus-made look.
"Anyways, I'm going down there. Annabeth, come with me—"