Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson
Chapter 13: Annabeth's Fear of Spiders Comes Back to Bite Her
The next day…
"Are we there?" Christina asked, raising her head as the train came to a stop.
She could feel the ghost of a dream nudging at the back of her mind, screaming at her to remember something important. She could remember the pit, the voice at the bottom echoing up, but none of the words could come to mind. If only she could figure out what it means, if the voice were a friend or a foe. But for now, she had to wait.
Annabeth nodded, nudging Grover until the satyr woke up. "We're in Denver. Let's see if we can find any food, because I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving."
After rousing Percy, the four of them got off of the train and headed into town, before stopping at a diner near the edge. They collapsed into booths near the front door, pulling menus out and beginning to peruse over them.
"What can I get you?" The waitress asked, walking over to them, before narrowing her eyes. "Do you kids have any money on you?"
Annabeth frowned, digging through her bag before turning to the three of them. "I used the last of the money we got from Aunty Em's to buy the train tickets."
"And I only have drachmas on me." Christina leaned over, whispering. "I don't think she's going to accept that."
The waitress scowled. "If you aren't going to pay, then get out of the diner."
"I'm paying for them." Someone interrupted, as the four demigods began to get up.
Turning to look who had saved them, Christina felt her jaw drop. Standing there, was a huge, muscular man with a sneer on his face. He wore black jeans, combat boots, a black leather duster, and a red muscle shirt with a bulletproof vest. A large hunting knife was strapped to his thigh and he had red-tinted sunglasses on. He had a black crew cut with scars across his cheeks. Although she had only seen him a few other times, there was no doubt in Christina's mind that this was Ares.
"So," Ares said, sliding into the booth. "I hear you kids are on a quest."
Percy nodded, the only one out of the four of them who had regained their voice. "We need to find Zeus' lightning bolt."
"You know," Ares said, crossing his arms. "If you help me with a little errand, I can help you kids get on your way."
Christina raised an eyebrow, not completely trusting everything the war god said. "What do you have in mind?"
"Me and my lady were on a date earlier this week, but were interrupted and lost some of our belongings." Ares said, leaning back in the seat. "If you help me out, I'll get you as far as Las Vegas."
Percy leaned over to his sister. "Who is Ares' girlfriend?"
"Aphrodite." She told him. "Yes, I know she's married to Hephaestus, but that is old gossip."
Annabeth turned to Ares. "We'll do it. Where are your belongings?"
Ares grinned. "Have you ever heard of Waterland Water Park?"
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Grover asked, looking up at the destroyed sign. "It seems rather abandoned."
In front of the four of them was a large fence, with barbed wire at the top. A partly destroyed sign reading "WATR AD" was balancing precariously at the top. Through the fence they could see old pools and attractions, long devoid of water, and tattered advertisements fluttering away in the breeze. It looked like somewhere that hadn't been in use for the past two decades.
Christina shrugged. "Where else could two gods who are trying to meet without getting caught meet up, except an abandoned waterpark devoid of mortals? Now come on, let's go find Ares and Aphrodite's things."
She climbed the fence, quickly scaling it from all her practice over the years with the rock wall, Percy and Annabeth following her, while Grover used his shoes to flutter over the fence. As soon as all four of them reached the ground, Annabeth set off across the park towards the ride Ares had mentioned, the Thrill Ride O' Love, with the others close behind.
They passed broken down rides, some with the carts still attached, empty, dried out pools of water, and plenty of empty looking picnic tables, trash blowing around them. As they walked past the park gift shop, the merchandise still visible in the windows, Percy stopped.
"What if we get some new clothes from here." He suggested, pointing at the gift shop. "This place is long since abandoned, no one is going to miss a few t-shirts. And our clothes are getting old and ripped."
The others nodded, hurrying into the gift shop to try on the clothes inside. In no time at all they were all decked out in the latest Waterland gear, like a walking advertisement. Annabeth had even grabbed a Waterland backpack to replace her old, broken backpack from Camp Half-Blood.
"Let's go." Christina said, opening the door. "We've wasted enough time."
The four of them hurried outside, and resumed their search for the Thrill Ride O' Love, passing even more decrepit rides and empty pools of water.
"Look!" Grover called. "It's over there."
The three of them ran over, joining the satyr in front of a large pool. Statues of Cupid with bows and arrows were stationed all the way around, with a dark tunnel at one end of the pool, leading to what was most likely another pool of water.
Mirrors were placed all the way around the pool, allowing the people inside to see themselves from all angles. And in the middle of the pool was an abandoned boat with a shield and scarf sitting on the seat.
"Wow." Christina whistled. "I wonder why Ares and Aphrodite chose this ride."
Annabeth studied the ride in front of them. "The walls don't look too steep. I'll climb down and grab the items."
"I wonder what caused them to leave so quickly that they left their stuff." Percy said, sitting down on the concrete. "This place doesn't look too bad. A little abandoned and decrepit, but not too bad."
As Annabeth made her way towards the boat, Christina spotted it. The little Greek Etna on the side of one of the Cupid statues, the symbol of Hephaestus.
"Annabeth wait!" She yelled, but it was too late.
As soon as Annabeth touched the seat where the shield and scarf lay, wires shot out from the Cupids' bows, beginning to ensnare the boat where it was. Annabeth jumped onto the boat, attempting to untie the ropes, but it was no use. As soon as one was removed, two more would take its' place.
Before she could stop him, Percy hurtled down the pool, towards where Annabeth was, and attempted to untie the ropes, but even the both of them working together could not stop it. Up above the pool, Grover and Christina attempted to destroy the Cupid statues, but they were made of solid metal, and would take a god's powers to destroy them.
Just then, holes in the Cupid statues opened and tiny, metal spiders poured out, thousands of them crawling towards where Annabeth and Percy were. Up above, a camera popped out, pointing directly at them, a countdown starting at sixty seconds.
"The pipes Percy, the pipes!" Christina yelled down as Percy slashed at the spiders with his sword, Annabeth having climbed as high up on the boat as she could get. "Activate the pipes."
Percy turned to look at her, nodding twice, before focusing all his attention on the water pipes surrounding the ride. Water began to rush down, until it poured into the ride, washing the spiders away and sending Annabeth and Percy hurtling down the tunnel.
Christina and Grover took off running, following the tunnel until they reached the other end, where a giant gate blocked the entrance to the pool.
"The gate! We have to remove the gate!" Grover yelled.
Christina shook her head. "There isn't enough time, they're going to have to jump it."
Percy and Annabeth hurtled out of the tunnel, seemingly having the same idea as them, as they got ready to jump. Before she could yell anything to them, they leaped over the gate and hurtled towards the ground. Grover and Christina took off running, intercepting them before they could smash into the concrete, and all four of them crashed into the ground.
"Ow," Christina groaned, laying on her back. "Is everyone okay?"
Annabeth nodded. "We got the scarf and the shield." She said, holding up the two objects.
"I am never doing that again." Percy groaned from the ground, as the other three dissolved into laughter.
"I see you made it out alive." Ares commented when the four of them walked into the diner. "Good job."
Christina scowled. "We retrieved your things. Now, will you give us what you promised?"
"I like your spunk godling." The war god told her. "But be careful, other gods won't be as forgiving as I am." He reached into the seat next to them, pulling out a backpack and handing it to Percy. "Here's some supplies for the rest of your trip, and I've arranged a truck to get you as far as Vegas."
He gestured outside where a truck reading Kindness International, Humane Zoo Transport was parked. Two truckers were leaning up against the side.
"Well, thank you for everything." Annabeth said, standing up. "But we really do have to go if we want to make it to Vegas."
She steered the three of them out of the diner and towards the truck. When the truckers backs were turned, Percy eased open the lock and they climbed inside, shutting the door behind them. Christina turned around, falling back startled when she saw glowing eyes staring back at her.
"What was that?" She gasped, turning to the others.
Percy flicked on a flashlight and the four of them stared in shock at the sight of the animals in front of them. There was an antelope, lion, and albino zebra in cages way too small for them. Their food was swapped and they all showed signs of mistreatment.
"Oh you poor animals." Christina murmured, crouching next to the zebra. "You don't deserve this."
"Please help us, lady." The zebra spoke. "You can set us free."
Percy's eyes were wide. "Did anyone else hear that zebra speak?"
"It's a child of Poseidon power." Christina told him. "Poseidon created horses so we can speak to them and pegasi. I guess zebras are close enough to horses that they apply too."
Annabeth leaned back against a stack of bags. "Well, we have to do something to help them."
"We can release them." Percy suggested. "I bet they'll do better anywhere that isn't here."
Grover turned back to the animals. "We'll release you when we get to Las Vegas."
"So," Percy said, turning to Annabeth. "Is there a reason you got to camp so young?"
Annabeth glanced at Grover, who nodded, before turning back to Percy. "I suppose you should hear this story. It's how Grover and I met."
As Annabeth lapsed into the story of her, Thalia, Luke, and Grover, Christina slowly drifted off to sleep, lulled by the gentle sway of the truck and the soft sound of her friend's voice.
Christina opened her eyes, struggling to see through the dark. She was at the top of a large pit, standing on the edge, the bottom impossible to see through all the darkness. Just as she was about to call out for help, a voice echoed through the cavern.
"You have failed me!" The voice boomed, the tone increasingly angry. "I do not accept failures."
Another voice sounded in the darkness, this one quieter than the other. "I'm sorry my lord. I will not fail again. I just need more time, the boy will deliver it to you, and then you will be able to rise again."
"I will give you another chance. The son of Poseidon and his prize will be mine, I will make sure of it." The first voice boomed, seemingly less angry then before.
This time, she could hear the excitement in the second voice. "Yes, you will rise again. And those gods will regret their choices when it happens, when you rule the world once more."
"I sense another presence." The first voice said, getting slightly louder. "The daughter of Poseidon, listening even as she dreams. Run little demigod, run."
Christina tried to scream, tried to run, but found herself unable, as the land of the awake came closer and closer. But as she disappeared from the cavernous pit, she couldn't help but think that the second voice sounded remarkably familiar.
Christina stirred, the last wisps of the dream fading away. But this time, she could remember more of it, about what the voice in the pit promised, and what the voice of the servant insinuated. And remembering more made her more determined, to stop this war once and for all and clear her brother's name.
"Why are we stopping?" She asked, turning to the others. "Are we there?"
Annabeth nodded, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. "When they open the back doors, the animals are going to burst out, and we're going to disappear into Las Vegas. No one will ever see us."
"I like your plan." Christina said, grinning and grabbing her own backpack.
The four of them waited, crouched next to the animal cages, Grover and Percy's hands on the latches, ready to release them as the truck slowly rolled to a stop. Faint footsteps echoed around the truck as one of the smugglers came and fiddled with the lock. Suddenly, light poured in and Grover and Percy released the latches on the animal cages.
The smuggler jumped back and yelled as the antelope leaped over him, the lion and zebra following. In the chaos surrounding the three animals escaping into the streets of downtown Las Vegas, Grover, Annabeth, Percy, and Christina snuck out, setting down the street.
"What should we do now?" Grover asked, as they walked down the street.
Christina shrugged. "We should probably find somewhere to spend the night. It's getting late."
"How about here?" Percy asked, gesturing to a large, flashing building in front of them. "The Lotus Hotel."
Something about the name struck Christina as familiar, but she couldn't place it, and as she stopped to consider it, the feeling was gone, leaving her to wonder if it was ever really there at all.
Grover shrugged. "It's worth a shot."
The four of them walked up to the entrance of the building, where a bouncer was standing. He looked slightly intimidating, but was most definitely mortal, his eyes glossing over their various weapons.
"Welcome to the Lotus Hotel and Casino." He said, handing them each a green, plastic card. "Enjoy your stay."
Christina frowned. "How much is a room?"
"Oh, no." The bouncer said, shaking his head. "There is no price. Everything is free."
She opened her mouth to object, but stopped when Grover pulled her into the hotel, their mouths falling open in shock. On the first floor were rows and rows of games, seemingly going on for miles. An indoor waterslide snaked through the air, and an indoor bungee jumping bridge was against a far wall. On the second floor, people were visibly milling about, and dozens of snack bars lined another wall.
"Well," Grover said, turning to them. "I could get used to this."
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