LXIII. Bones and more bones

                                    

                                          
Before that question could be answered— Lydia was woken up by the twins. She sighed before making her way to the main area of camp. Where her friends, plus Daniel were waiting for her. And as soon as the group tumbled into the labyrinth— it didn't take long for them to get lost.
The tunnel looked nothing like the one Annabeth and Lydia had stumbled into before. Now it was round like a sewer, constructed of red brick with iron-barred portholes at least ten feet. It was so dark that even Apollo's necklace that Lydia wore didn't light up the room. And it always lit up the darkest places.
The entire fact made Lydia uneasy. Daniel could sense that. So he tried to make her feel better by rubbing up against her— but it only helped so much. 
Annabeth tried her best to guide all of them. She had this idea that they should stick to the left wall.
"If we keep one hand on the left wall and follow it," she said, "we should be able to find our way out again by reversing course."
Unfortunately, as soon as she said that, the left wall disappeared. They all found theirselves in the middle of a circular chamber with eight tunnels leading out, and no idea how they'd gotten there. 
"Um, which way did we come in?" Grover said nervously.
"Just turn around," Annabeth said.
They each turned toward a different tunnel. It was ridiculous. None of them could decide which way led back to camp. Lydia stepped forward "At least we know the maze doesn't want us to leave."
Percy blinked "You mean the maze is self conscious?"
"Some say it is." Lydia told him "It was designed by Daedalus. So i wouldn't be surprised if it did."
"And it could hear every word we say?" Grover asked. He started shaking, but none of them said anything else until Tyson spoke up.
"Left walls are mean," Tyson said. "Which way now?"
Annabeth swept her flashlight beam over the archways of the eight tunnels. As far as Lydia could tell, they were identical. "That way," she said.
Unless Annabeth was able to see something that none of them could— Lydia wasn't sure how there was a difference. She trusted Annabeth though. So it seemed like a safe option to go the way she said. Even if Percy didn't believe it.
"How do you know?" Percy asked.
Annabeth paused, "Deductive reasoning."
"So...you're guessing."
"Just come on," she said.
The tunnel she'd chosen narrowed quickly. The walls turned to gray cement, and the ceiling got so low that pretty soon all of them were hunching over. Tyson was forced to crawl. And Daniel had disappeared somewhere.
Lydia didn't appreciate that he left— but knowing him, Daniel must be planning to meet her farther into the maze. In a place where he could actually fit enough to walk with them. It was a good idea though— because none of them could breathe. 
Grover's hyperventilating was the loudest noise in the maze. "I can't stand it anymore," he whispered. "Are we there yet?"
The satyr sounded like a kid waiting to arrive at the candy store, but Lydia didn't mention that. The labyrinth was so closed in that she didn't even like talking. Every time she spoke— she got claustrophobic. And usually that was never an issue for her.
"We've been down here maybe five minutes," Annabeth told him.
Lydia struggled to talk "Yeah, but that's like an hour and a half in the real world. Who knows what's happened."