Published: August 16, 2021
Edited: July 17, 2022
~✰~

The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot.

"Well, well," he drawled, "You didn't get yourself killed."

"You knew it was a trap," I accused him, pointing my pen like it was a staff.

Ares gave us a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV, nice water sphere too girly."

Percy shoved the god's shield at him. "You're a jerk."

Annabeth and Grover caught their breaths. Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.

"See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

I growled, "You're kidding."

Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched and the doors swung pathetically. "Free ride west, girly. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."

He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me.

Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.

Percy snarled, "We don't want your lousy—"

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving my brother his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."

I gritted my teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god, but I didn't want anything that Ares had touched. Reluctantly, I slung the backpack over my shoulder. I knew my anger was being caused by the war god's presence, but I was still itching to punch him in the nose. He reminded me of every bully I'd ever faced.

I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of us.

Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again tomorrow.

I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW AND HIS TWIN SISTER BEAT UP DEFENSELESS BIKER.

"You owe me one more thing," I told Ares, trying to keep my voice level. "You promised us," I gestured between Percy and I. "information about our mother."

"You sure you can handle the news?" He kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."

The ground seemed to spin beneath me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."

"Kept. Why?" Percy asked aggressively.

"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."

"Nobody's controlling me." Percy said defiantly.

Ares laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."

I balled up my fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."

Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. "We'll meet again, Neridia Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."

The god revved his Harley then roared off down Delancy Street. Annabeth sighed and ran a hand down her face, "That was not smart, 'Dia."

"I don't care." I huffed, tossing the backpack Ares had given me to Grover with unnecessary force.

"You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god."

"Yeah I know Anna but-"

 "Hey, guys," Grover called, "I hate to interrupt, but..."

He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck.

"If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."

I didn't like it, but we had no better option. Besides, I'd seen enough of Denver. We ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind us.

The first thing that hit me was the smell. It was like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter.

The trailer was dark inside until I uncapped Whirlpool and Percy pulled out Anaklusmos. The blades cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals I'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and an antelope.

Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!

Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.

"This is kindness?" Grover yelled, his cheeks flushed with rage. "Humane zoo transport?"

He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and I would've helped him, but just then the truck's engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and we were forced to sit down or fall down.

We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but I pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving. Besides, I had a feeling we might look a lot better to the lion than those turnips.

I found a water jug and refilled their bowls, while Percy used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. He gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.

Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. She wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but we decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. We told Grover to promise the animals we'd help them more in the morning, then we settled in for night.

Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Annabeth opened our bag of Double Stuf Oreos and nibbled on one halfheartedly; I tried to cheer myself up by concentrating on the fact that we were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to our destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. We could make it in plenty of time.

On the other hand, I had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with me. At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it— he'd put up cameras and advertised me as entertainment. But even when the cameras weren't rolling, I had a feeling our quest was being watched. We were a source of amusement for the gods.

"Chuck me an oreo." I said finally, breaking the silence. I turned to take it from Annabeth when the cookie beaned me right in the eye. "Ow! Not literally!"

"Hey," Annabeth said, after she and Percy had finished laughing at my expense, "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy."

"That's okay."

"It's just..." Annabeth and I both shuddered. "Spiders."

"Because of the Arachne story," He guessed. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"

Annabeth nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena and her blessed ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me or 'Dia, it'll find us. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you."

"We're a team, remember?" Percy said softly. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying, and Neridia did her awesome water bending."

I had thought Grover was asleep, but he mumbled from the corner, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"

Annabeth and I laughed. She pulled apart an Oreo, handed Percy half. 

"In the Iris message...did Luke really say nothing?" She asked. I growled.

"He thought it was a good idea to bring up Thalia!" I snarled. The conversation via rainbow had bothered me all evening. 

"Luke said you guys and him go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."

"No..." Annabeth's eyes bugged out and her face went pale. "He did, in-in front of Neridia?!" 

Percy nodded tentatively. In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions.

Grover let out a mournful bray.

"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."

"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus." Percy guessed.

He nodded glumly.

"And the other three half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp..." He looked at Annabeth and I. "That was you guys and Luke, wasn't it?"

I set down my Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, two seven-year-old half-bloods wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided us toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like us. They were happy to take us with them. They were...amazing monster-fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us. Thalia was like a big sister to me."

"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," Grover brayed, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Neridia and Annabeth by themselves. I thought...I thought I could lead all four of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker..."

"Stop it," Annabeth scolded. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."

"She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably. "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."

"The council are idiots Grover." I assured him.

"Because you wouldn't leave three other half-bloods behind?" Percy asked incredulously. "That's not fair."

"Percy's right," Annabeth agreed. "'Dia and I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says."

Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the three most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia, Neridia and Percy."

"You're not lame," I insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now."

Annabeth kicked him in the shin.

"Yeah," Percy said, rubbing his leg, "It's not luck that you found Thalia, 'Dia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."

I heard a deep, satisfied sigh. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen sleep.

"How does he do that?" I marveled.

"I don't know," Annabeth said. "But that was really a nice thing you told him Percy."

"I meant it."

We rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at me hopefully.

Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.

"That pine-tree bead," Percy said suddenly. "Is that from your first year?"

Annabeth looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing.

"Yeah," I answered for her. "Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads." 

"We've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress—now that was a weird summer...."

"And the college ring is your father's?"

"That's none of your—" Annabeth began. The she stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

"You don't have to tell me."

"No...it's okay." She took a shaky breath. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter, two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gotten through his doctoral program at Harvard without her....That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved us and missed us. He wanted both Dia and I to come home and live with him."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"Yeah, well...the problem was, we believed him. We tried to go home for that school year, but Anna's stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with freaks. In the past, she treated me just like a daughter, but now she knows I'm a demigod... well she doesn't like me much anymore.. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. We didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and we came right back to Camp Half-Blood."

"You think you'll ever try living with your dad again?"

"Only if Annabeth goes back. I'd never go voluntarily but I wouldn't let her go alone."

Annabeth wouldn't meet our eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."

"You shouldn't give up," Percy told her. "You should write him a letter or something."

"Thanks for the advice," she muttered coldly, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."

We passed another few miles of silence.

"So if the gods fight," Percy seemed unable to let the peace stay peaceful, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"

Annabeth put her head against the backpack Ares had given us, and closed her eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain, and Neridia's my sister from another mister. Any more stupid questions?"

Percy couldn't think of an answer for that. Fortunately he didn't have to. Annabeth was asleep.

I had trouble following her example, with Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at me, but eventually I closed my eyes.

My nightmare started out as something really dumb: I was being forced to take a standardized test while wearing a straitjacket. All the other kids were going out to recess, and the teacher kept saying, Come on, children. You're not stupid, are you? Pick up your pencil.

Then the dream strayed away from stupid and into a nightmare.

I looked to my right and saw Percy, then I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket. She was my age, with unruly black, punk-style hair, dark eyeliner around her electric blue eyes, and freckles across her nose. I choked on my own saliva and my eyes welled up. Thalia struggled against the straitjacket, glared at me in frustration, and snapped, Well, Guppy? One of us has to get out of here.

She's right, my dream-self thought.

We're going back to that cavern. I'm going to give Hades a piece of my mind. Dream-Percy agreed.

The straitjacket melted off me. I fell through the classroom floor, Percy beside me. The teacher's voice changed until it was cold and evil, echoing from the depths of a great chasm.

Neridia and Percy Jackson, it said. Yes, the exchange went well, I see.

I was back in the dark cavern, spirits of the dead drifting around me. Unseen in the pit, the monstrous thing was speaking, but this time it wasn't addressing me. The numbing power of its voice seemed directed somewhere else.

And they suspect nothing? it asked.

Another voice, one I felt like I knew, but for some reason couldn't place, answered at my shoulder.

Nothing, my lord. He is as ignorant as the rest.

I looked over, but no one was there. The speaker was invisible.

Deception upon deception, the thing in the pit mused aloud. Excellent. And the girl?

I- the voice stuttered. she will make the right choice... Truly my Lord, you are well-named the Crooked One. But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly—

You? the monster said in scorn. You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened.

But, my lord—

Peace, little servant. Our six months have bought us much. Zeus's anger has grown. Poseidon has played his most desperate card. Now we shall use it against him. Shortly you shall have the reward you wish, and your revenge. As soon as both items are delivered into my hands...but wait. They are here.

What? The invisible servant suddenly sounded terrified. You summoned them, my lord?

No. The full force of the monster's attention was now pouring over me and Percy, freezing me in place. Blast their father's blood—they are too changeable, too unpredictable. The girl brought them both hither.

Impossible! the servant cried.

For a weakling such as you, perhaps, the voice snarled. Then its cold power turned back on me. So...you wish to dream of your quest, young half-blood? Then I will oblige.

The scene changed.

Percy and I were standing in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. The empty, horrid throne was made from human bones fused together. Standing at the foot of the dais was my mother, frozen in shimmering golden light, her arms outstretched.

I tried to step toward her, but my legs wouldn't move. I reached for her, only to realize that my hands were withering to bones. Grinning skeletons in Greek armor crowded around us, draping Percy with silk robes, wreathing my head with laurels that smoked with Chimera poison, burning into my scalp.

The evil voice began to laugh. Hail, the conquering heroes! I woke with a start.

Grover was shaking my shoulder. "The truck's stopped," he whispered. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."

"Hide!" Annabeth hissed.

She had it easy. She just put on her magic cap and disappeared. Grover, Percy and I had to dive behind feed sacks and hope we looked like turnips.

The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in.

"Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes.

"You hot, big boy?" he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face.

The lion roared in indignation.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man grumbled.

Next to me, under the turnip sacks, Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.

The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the zebra. "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"

The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, looked straight at me.

There was no sound, but as clear as day, I heard it say: Free me, My Lady! Please.

I was too stunned to react.

There was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer.

The trucker inside with us yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?"

A voice outside—it must've been Eddie's—shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"

"What are you banging for?"

Knock, knock, knock.

Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"

Our guy Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot.

A second later, Annabeth appeared next to Percy. She must've done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said, "This transport business can't be legal."

"No kidding," Grover said. He paused, as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"

That's right, the zebra's voice said in my mind.

"We've got to free them!" Grover said. He and Annabeth both looked at me and Percy, waiting for our lead.

I'd heard the zebra talk, but not the lion. Why? Maybe it was another learning disability...I could only understand zebras? Then I thought: horses. Poseidon created horses... Was a zebra close enough to a horse? Was that why I could understand it?

"You hear it too... Right Dia?" Percy asked, side eyeing the Zebra.

"The Zebra? Yeah."

The zebra said, Open my cage, lord, lady. Please. I'll be fine after that.

Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but I knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute. I grabbed Whirlpool and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage.

The zebra burst out. It turned to me and bowed. Thank you, my lady.

Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing.

Just as Maurice was poking his head back inside to check out the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming and cars honking. We rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. We'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.

Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"

"Now would be a good time to leave," Annabeth said, as though it wasn't abundantly obvious.

"The other animals first," Grover demanded.

I cut the locks with my sword. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra.

"Good luck," Percy told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets.

Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos.

"Will the animals be okay?" I asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all —"

"Don't worry," he assured me. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he explained. "They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."

"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" Percy asked, half joking half whining.

"It only works on wild animals."

"So it would only affect Percy," I reasoned.

"Hey!" Percy protested.

"Kidding," I assured him. "Kinda... Anyway come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."

We stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and we must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay us much attention.

We passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. We passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty. I wasn't sure what we were looking for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat for a few minutes, find a sandwich and a glass of lemonade, make a new plan for getting west.

We must have taken a wrong turn, because we found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers—lotus blossom, maybe. I'd never smelled one, so I wasn't sure.

The doorman smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"

I'd learned to be suspicious over the years. I figured anybody might be a monster or a god. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal. One look at him, and I could see. Besides, I was relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic. Percy nodded and said we'd love to come in. Inside, we took one look around, and Grover gasped, "Whoa."

The whole lobby was a giant game room. And I'm not talking about cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors.

There was a climbing wall on the side of one building, and an indoor bungee- jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place had it. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.

"Hey!" a bellhop grinned at us cheerfully. At least I guessed he was a bellhop. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."

I stammered, "Um, but..."

"No, no," he spoke over me, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."

He handed us each a green plastic credit card.

I knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought we were some millionaire's kids. But I took the card and studied it, "How much is on here?"

His eyebrows knit together, like he was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"

He laughed again, his expression clearing, "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."

We took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. I didn't see how that could be legal, but I thought it was pretty cool. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though I doubted we'd ever find time to look at the view with a room like this.

"Oh, goodness," Annabeth marveled. "This place is..."

"Sweet," Grover decided, "Absolutely sweet."

There were clothes in the closet, and they fit me. I frowned, thinking that this was a little strange.

Percy threw Ares's backpack in the trash can. Wouldn't need that anymore. When we left, we could just charge a new one at the hotel store.

I took a shower, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. I changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three Cokes, and came out feeling better than I had in a long time. In the back of my mind, some small problem kept nagging me. I'd had a dream or something... I needed to talk to my friends. But I was sure it could wait.

I came out of the bedroom and found that Annabeth, Percy and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel.

"All those stations," Percy told her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"

"It's interesting."

"I feel good," Grover sighed "I love this place."

Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.

"So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"

Grover and Percy looked at each other and grinned. They both held up their green plastic LotusCash cards.

"Play time," Percy said feraly.

~✰~

I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun.

I did the waterslide about ten times, snowboarded the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter. I saw Grover a few times, going from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter thing— where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks. I saw Annabeth playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff. They had this huge 3-D sim game where you build your own city, and you could actually see the holographic buildings rise on the display board. I didn't think much of it, but Annabeth loved it.

I'm not sure when I first realized something was wrong.

Probably, it was when I was sitting by this huge, elaborate fountain, messing around with my water bending stuff. Part of me was worried about mortals seeing me, but the other part of me was ignoring it, the mist would cover it. I turned my hand again, making a water ninja star, when a small boy, maybe nine or ten, pulled on my arm. He was short and wearing an oversized aviator jacket. He had black hair and dark brown eyes with a light dusting of freckles over his small nose.

"How are you doing that?!" He asked incredulously. I panicked, and the water splashed back into the fountain.

"You could see that?" I wondered curiously. The boy nodded vigorously, his mop of black hair flopping over his eyes.

"That's so cool!" He cheered. I smiled and lifted up a water ball, making it float around his head.

He laughed and batted at the ball like a cat. I laughed too and released the water.

"I'm Neridia, what's your name?"

"I'm-"

"NICO DI ANGELO!" A girls voice screeched. A girl about my age, wearing a brown dress and a floppy green hat, ran over to us and took the boy's hand.

"I'm so sorry about him" She said hurriedly.

"No its okay." I reassured her. "He's a sweetheart. I'm Neridia by the way. Neridia Jackson." I stuck out my hand.

"I'm Bianca di Angelo," The girl shook my hand. "I see you've met my brother Nico."

Nico waved innocently again. I smiled.

"Yeah, he liked my tricks." I said, lifting a ball of water again. Bianca gaped at it.

"How are you doing that?!" She gasped, waving her hands above and below it, searching for strings. Bianca gaped at it a second longer before breaking into a laugh.

"That's awesome Neridia!" She smiled fondly at me and then around at the games. "You know, sometimes I look around and it's like we're in the twenty-first century."

I looked at her strangely. "It is the twenty-first century." I said slowly. Bianca laughed, it sounded like little bells were chiming.

"You're funny. It's 1941 silly." She said with a teasing smile on her lips. A chill ran up my spine.

"R-right. Silly me." I said tentatively. "Look I better go find my brother, Bye you two."

"Bye Neridia!" Nico called, but I was already rushing away.

I started talking to people, and I found it wasn't easy. They were glued to the TV screen, or the video game, or their food, or whatever. I found a guy who told me it was 1985. Another guy told me it was 1993. They all claimed they hadn't been in here very long, a few days, a few weeks at most. They didn't really know and they didn't care.

Then it occurred to me: how long had I been here? It seemed like only a couple of hours, but was it?

I tried to remember why we were here. We were going to Los Angeles. We were supposed to find the entrance to the Underworld. Percy's mother... MY mother...for a second, I had trouble remembering her name. Sally. Sally Jackson. I had to find her. We had to stop Hades from causing World War III. I turned another corner and ran smack-dab into Percy.

"Oh thank the gods!" I cried.

"We've got to get out of here!" Percy said panicked, grabbing my shoulders tightly.

"I know, help me find Annabeth."

We found Annabeth still building her city.

"Come on," Percy told her. "We've got to get out of here." No response.

I shook her. "Annabeth?"

She looked up, annoyed. "What?"

"We need to leave." Percy said urgently.

"Leave? What are you talking about? I've just got the towers—"

"This place is a trap."

She didn't respond until I shook her again. "What?"

"Listen. The Underworld. Our quest!" I cried.

"Oh, come on, Neridia. Just a few more minutes."

"Annabeth, there are people here from 1941. Kids who have never aged. You check in, and you stay forever."

"So?" she asked lightly. "Can you imagine a better place?"

I grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from the game.

"Hey!" She screamed and hit me, but nobody else even bothered looking at us. They were too busy.

I made her look directly in my eyes. I said, "Spiders. Large, hairy spiders."

That jarred her. Her vision cleared. "Oh my gods," she whispered. "How long have we—"

"I don't know," Percy replied, "but we've got to find Grover."

We went searching, and found him still playing Virtual Deer Hunter.

"Grover!" we all shouted.

He cried, "Die, human! Die, silly polluting nasty person!"

"Grover!"

He turned the plastic gun on me and started clicking, as if I were just another image from the screen.

I looked at Annabeth, and together we took Grover by the arms and dragged him away. His flying shoes sprang to life and started tugging his legs in the other direction as he shouted, "No! I just got to a new level! No!"

The Lotus bellhop hurried up to us. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"

"We're leaving," Percy told him waspishly.

"Such a shame," he lamented, and I got the feeling that he really meant it, that we'd be breaking his heart if we went. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members."

He held out the cards, and I wanted one. I knew that if I took one, I'd never leave. I'd stay here, happy forever, playing games forever, and soon I'd forget my mom, and my quest, and maybe even my own name. I'd be entertaining the Di Angelo siblings with water tricks forever.

Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and smiled with faux sweetness, "No, thanks."

We walked toward the door, and as we did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. I thought about our room upstairs. We could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once...

Then we burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day we'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert.

Ares's backpack was slung over Percy's shoulder, which was odd, because I was sure he had thrown it in the trash can in room 4001, but at the moment we had other problems to worry about.

I ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when we went in. Then I noticed the date: June twentieth.

We had been in the Lotus Casino for five days.

We had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete our quest.

~✰~
Word Count: 6227