Alaster POV
The following afternoon was the day of June 14, we had seven days before the summer solstice. Our train rolled into Denver. We hadn't eaten since the night before the dining car while we were in Kansas. We hadn't taken showers since Half-Blood Hill.
It was pointless to say that things weren't going our way so far.
"Let's try to contact Chiron"Annabeth said. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit"
"We can't use phones, right?"Percy said
"Nope"I said
"I'm not talking about phones"Annabeth said
We wandered through downtown for about half an hour, my mind was somewhere else though.
That voice...the image in which Thalia was in.
I can give you all you want and more. Your sister, power beyond the imagination of the gods, and much much more.
Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods. Gain your revenge against the Lord of the Dead for taking away your beloved sister.
It was very tempting, the power...I could get revenge on Hades.
But Thalia was still in the back of my head. She wouldn't want me to do this.
My thoughts were interrupted when we finally found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. We veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping our eyes out for patrol cars.
"What exactly are we doing?"Percy asked, as Grover took out a spray gun.
"It's seventy-five cents,"he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth? Alaster?"
"Don't have a single cent,"I said. "all my money was in my bag"
"Don't look at me,"she said. "The dining car wiped me out"
Percy dug into his pocket and fished out the left over change he had: two nickels and one drachma.
"You have a drachma!"I said cheerfully
"Excellent,"Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the scone room isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping"
"What are you talking about?"
"We're talking about I-M'ing"I said
"Instant Messaging?"Percy asked
"Iris-messaging"Annabeth said. "The rainbow goddess Iris Carrie's messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."
"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"Percy asked
Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know a better way to make a rainbow"
Late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors.
Annabeth held her palm out to Percy. "Drachma, please"
Percy handed it over.
Annabeth threw the drachma into the rainbow and it disappeared in a golden shimmer.
"Half-Blood Hill,"Annabeth requested
For a brief moment nothing happened but then we were looking through the most at a strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. We were on the porch of the Big House. Standing with his back to us at the railing was a sandy-haired guy in shorts and an orange tank top, holding a bronze sword and was staring intently down the meadow was Luke.
"Luke!"Percy called
Luke turned and his eyes widened. "Percy' is that Annabeth and Alaster, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"
"We're...uh...fine"Annabeth stammered as she madly straightened her dirty T-shirt, trying to comb the loose hair out of her face.
"Hi, Luke"I said, in a deadpan voice. "We're fine"
"We thought—Chiron—I mean—!"
"He's down at the cabins."Luke smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. Man, Alaster are you in trouble. Is Grover all right?"
"I'm right here,"Grover called. He held the nozzle out to one side and stepped into Luke's vision. What kind of issues?"
Right then a big Lincoln Continental pulled into the car wash with its stereo turned to maximum hip-hop. As the car slid into the next stall, the bass from the subwoofers vibrated so much, it shook the pavement.
"Chiron had to—what's that noise?"Luke yelled
"I'll take care of it!"Annabeth yelled back, looking relieved. "Grover, Alaster, come on!"
My eyes widened. "But why?"
"What?"Grover said. "But—"
"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!"she ordered.
"Girls,"Grover whispered to me. "They're harder to understand than the Oracle of Delphi"
He handed Percy the spray gun and we both followed Annabeth over towards the car. As we got closer to the car the music got louder.
Then we finally got onto the car. I knocked on the window and the person inside turned their head towards me. The door opened and the person inside slipped out.
After we got done arguing with the guy who turned down his music after I used my glare of intimidation that I inherited from my dad on him.
We then walked back to where Percy was, laughing at how scared the guy was when I glared at him. Our smiles faded when we saw Percy's face.
"What happened, Percy? What did Luke say?"Annabeth asked
"Not much,"Percy said. "Come on, let's find some dinner"
A few minutes later, we were sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner. All around us, families were eating burgers and drinking malts and sodas.
Finally a waitress came over and raised her eye skeptically. "Well?"
"We, um, want to order dinner"Percy said
"You kids have money to pay for it"she said
I was about to use my glare to try and manipulate the situation when a rumble shook the whole building ; a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant had pulled up to the curb.
All conversation at the diner ceased. The guy on the motorcycle would've made the worst monsters hide in a ditch.
He had on a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruelest, most brutal face I'd ever seen—he was handsome, but was wicked at the same time—with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights.
I knew who this was...the feeling that I had gotten from him, like I wanted to electrify everyone in here until their blood turned into electricity itself.
As he walked into the diner, a hot and dry wind blew through the place. All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized but he waved his hand dismissively and they sat back down and went back to their conversations.
"You kids have money to pay for it?"The waitress asked us again.
"It's on me"the biker said as he slipped into our booth, which was way too small for him and crowded Annabeth and I against the window.
He looked up at the waitress who was gaping at him, and said, "Are you still here?"
He pointed at her and she stiffened. She turned as if she'd been spun around, then marched back toward the kitchen.
The biker looked at Percy, his eyes were blocked by his red shades. The feeling I had began to rise, I wanted to blow up in electricity.
He gave Percy a wicked grin. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?"
"What's it to you?"Percy said
I widened my eyes and flashed Percy a warning. This guy was not the guy to be playing around with.
"Percy,"Annabeth said. "This is—"
The biker raised his hand. "S'okay,"he said. l8 don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin"
"You're Clarisse's dad,"Percy said. "Ares, god of war"
Ares grinned and took off his shades where his eyes should've been, and there was only fire, only empty sockets flowing with miniature explosions. "That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear"
"She was asking for it"
"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for—I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you"Ares said
The waitress returned with trays of food: cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and chocolate shakes.
Ares handed her a few drachmas.
The waitress looked nervously at the coins. "But these aren't...
Ares pulled out his huge knife and started cleaning his fingernails. "Problem, sweetheart?"
The waitress swallowed, then left with the gold.
"You can't do that,"Percy told Ares. "You can't just threaten people with a knife"
Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor"
"What favor could I do for a god?"
"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little...date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me"Ares said
"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?"Percy said
The fire in his eye sockets glowed hotter.
"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you probe yourself a coward?"Ares leaned forward. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you"
I glared at Ares, it was a weak try, but maybe I could intimidate him...yeah that was very stupid of me to try that against the literal God of War.
Ares laughed at me. "That glare you got from daddy won't work on me, Golden Boy"
"We're not interested,"Percy said. "We've already got a quest"
Ares' eyes burst into flames. "I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful..."He licked his lips. "Well...if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath"
"You told him Hades stole the bolt?"
"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest"
"Thanks,"Percy grumbled
"Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."
"We're doing fine on our own"
"Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom"
"My mom?"
Ares grinned. "That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride"
"What interrupted your date?"Percy asked. "Something scare you off?"
Ares bared his teeth, he gave a threatening look. It was the same one that Clarisse would give.
"You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me"Ares said and after that in a blink of an eye he was gone.
"Not good,"Grover said. "Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good"
Percy stared out the window, where Ares' motorcycle was no longer outside.
"It's probably some trick,"Percy said. "Forget Ares. Let's just go"
"No way,"I said. "Look. You don't ignore a request from the gods unless you want serious bad stuff to happen to you. I once met someone who offended Ares and now every functioning hole in his face is rearranged"
Percy looked down at his cheeseburger. "Why does he need us?"
"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains"Annabeth said. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."
"But this water park...he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that"
Annabeth, Grover, and I glanced nervously at each other.
Annabeth said, "I'm afraid we'll have to find out"
By the time we found the water park the sun had sunk behind us. The park had once been called WATERLAND but some of the letters had been smashed out so instead it read WAT R A D.
The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry water slides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming on, the place looked very creepy.
"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date,"Percy said, staring up at the barbed wire. "I'd hate to see wheat she looks like"
"Percy,"Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful."
"Why? I thought you hated Ares."
"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental"
"You don't want to insult her looks,"Grover added
"If you do you'll surely regret it"I said
"Who is she? Echidna?"
"No, Aphrodite,"Grover said, in a dreamy voice. "Goddess of love"
"I thought she was married to somebody"Percy said. "Hephaestus"
"What's your point?"Grover asked
"Oh."Percy said. "So how do we get in?"
"Maia!"Grover's shoes sprouted wings and flew over the fence.
I used my wind powers to lift myself off the ground a bit and flew over the fence as well.
"You guys coming?"I asked
Annabeth and Percy climbed the fence the old-fashioned way, holding down the barbed wire for each other as they crawled over the top.
The shadows grew long as we walked through the park, checking out the attractions. There was Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?
No monsters attacked. It was so quiet that you could hear a leaf hit the ground.
We eventually found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of—
"Clothes,"Annabeth said. "Fresh clothes"
"Yeah,"Percy said. "But you can't just—"
"Watch me"
Annabeth snatched an entire row of stuff and came out a few minutes later in Waterland flower-print shorts, a bud red Waterland T-shirt, and commemorative Waterland surf shoes. A Waterland backpack was slung over her shoulder, which was probably stuffed with more goodies.
"What the heck"Grover shrugged and he and Percy started taking clothes off the racks. I was the only one who didn't take any clothing, I liked the way I dressed, it was a way for me to honor my sister. But I did take a Waterland backpack for myself.
We continued to search for the Tunnel of Love.
"So Ares and Aphrodite, they have a thing going?"
"That's old gossip, Percy"Annabeth said. "Three-thousand-year-old gossip"
"What about Aphrodite's husband?"
"Well, you know, Hephaestus. The black-smith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"
"She likes bikers"
"Whatever"
"Hephaestus knows?"
"Oh sure. He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like...like that"
In front of us was an empty pool. 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 from us, 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!
Grover crest toward the edge. "Guys, look"
Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares' shield, a polished circle of bronze.
"There's a Greek letter carved here,"she said. "Eta. I wonder..."
"Grover,"I said, "you smell any monsters?"
He sniffed the wind. "Nothing"
"Nothing—like, in-the-Arch-and-you didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?"
"I told you, that was underground"Grover said, sounding a little hurt.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm going down there"Percy said
"I'll go with you"I said
"No,"Percy told me. "You need to stay up at the top with Grover. You both can fly, I'll be counting on the both of you for backup, in case something goes wrong"
Grover puffed his chest a bit. "Sure. But what could go wrong?"
"I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me—"
"Are you kidding?"Annabeth looked at Percy, her cheeks bright red.
"What's the problem now?"Percy demanded
"Me, go with you to the...the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"
"Who's going to see you?"Percy said, but his face grew bright red as well. "Fine, I'll do it myself"
Percy started down the side of the pool but Annabeth followed him anyway.
My mind drifted off as Grover and I stood above, I don't know how long it took before I noticed something...the Cupid statues were starting to move...they were about to start shooting arrows from their bows!!!
"Guys!"Grover and I shouted as the Cupid statues started shooting...but not at Percy and Annabeth. They began shooting at one another, across the rim of the pool. The silky cables trailed from the arrows, arcing over the r pool and anchoring where they landed to form a large golden asterisk.
Then the smaller metallic threads began weaving together magically between the main strands, creating a net.
"The net!"Grover said
My head whipped to the side and we made a ran for the net so that they could get into.
"Come on!"I yelled, we were trying to hold open a section of the net for them, but wherever we touched it, the golden threads started to wrap around our hands.
The Cupids' heads popped open. Out came video cameras. Spotlights rose up all around the pool.
And then I heard a scream. It was Annabeth.
I looked to see thousands of tiny metallic spiders.
Oh...that's not good.
"Spiders! Sp—sp—aaaah!"Annabeth screamed
Grover and I flew above the pool, we tried to pull the net loose but it wouldn't move a bit.
"Grover! Alaster!"Percy yelled. "Get into that booth! Find the 'on' switch!"
"But—"
"Do it!"
Before we knew it, Grover and I were in the controller's booth slamming away at random buttons. Meanwhile a countdown went off in the background.
"Five, four—"
Once we finished pushing every button we looked at Percy.
"Two, one, zero!"
Water exploded out of the pipes and roared into the pool, sweeping away the spiders. Only a few moments went by when I saw Annabeth and Percy unfasten their seatbelts.
"We have to get them before they fall!"I yelled. "You get Percy. I'll get Annabeth"
Grover and I flew into the air and as soon as Percy and Annabeth jumped from the boat we caught them. I had caught Annabeth by the arms.
"You're too heavy!"Grover yelled
"We're going down!"I yelled
I tried my best to slow the hall as we spiraled downwards. We eventually smashed into a photo-board. Annabeth, Percy, and I tumbled onto the ground while Grover's head went into one of the heads and now he was Noo-Noo the Friendly Whale.
Percy and Annabeth helped me get Grover out of the photo-board once we had caught our breath. Percy and Annabeth thanked us. Percy looked back at the Thrill Ride of Love. The water was subsiding. The boat Percy and Annabeth were in had been smashed to pieces against the gates.
A hundred yards away, at the entrance pool, the Cupids were still filming. The statues had swiveled so that their cameras were trained straight on us, the spotlights in our faces.
"Show's over!"Percy yelled. "Thank you! Good night!"
The Cupids turned back to their original positions and the lights shut off and the park went quiet again.
Percy hefted the shield on his arm and turned to us. "We need to have a little talk with Ares"
Ares was waiting for us in the diner parking lot.
"Well, well,"he said. "You didn't get yourself killed"
"You knew it was a trap"Percy said
Ares gave him a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV"
Percy shoved Ares' shield at him. "You're a jerk"
I gasped.
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? That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas"Ares said as he pointed across the street from the diner.
The eighteen wheeler he was pointing at had a sign on the back, which I could read because it was reverse printed white on black: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.
"You're kidding"Percy said
Ares snapped his fingers and the back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. 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 Percy. Inside of it were fresh clothes for all four of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bad of Double Stuf Oreos
Percy said, "I don't want your lousy—"
"Thank you, Lord Ares,"Grover interrupted, giving Percy a warning look. "Thanks a lot"
"You owe me one more thing"Percy told Ares. "You promised me information about my mother."
Percy's gaze shifted, and mine followed. Back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who was serving us was s watching nervously from the window like she was afraid Ares would do something to us.
She dragged the fry cookout from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera, and snapped a picture of us.
Well, that was not great, I can already see the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW, PERCY JACKSON, AND HIS GANG OF TERRORISTS.
"You owe me one more thing," Percy told Ares, keeping his voice level. "You promised me information about my mother"
"You sure you can handle the news?" He kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead"
The ground spun beneath my feet. "What do you mean?"
"I mean she was then 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?"
"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else" Ares said
"Nobody's controlling me"
I began to think about it. Hades was controlling Percy. It made perfect sense. He has the bolt and Percy's mother. But it still doesn't make sense, if he had the bolt why doesn't he just act right now, I can see why he might have Percy's mom. But he has arguably the most powerful weapon in the universe...why hasn't he attacked yet?
By the time I was done with my thinking, Ares was gone.
Annabeth said, "That was not smart, Percy"
"Did he insult him again?" I whispered to Grover who just nodded in response.
"I don't care."
"You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that God."
"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but..." He pointed towards the diner. Right at the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men with 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, we need to hurry" Grover warned.
We ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind us.
My nose wrinkled when the smell hit my nose. Percy uncapped his sword and the blade cast a faint bronze light over the scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three very pathetic-looking zoo animals: a zebra, a male albino lion, and an animal that looked like an antelope.
The lion had a sack of turnips, which it did not want to eat, obviously. The zebra and envelope had each gotten a styrofoam tray of hamburger meat.
Now that's just stupid. Why did they give the herbivores meat and the carnivore a vegetable?
"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"
The truck's engine coated to life, the trailer started shaking. I made a move to find somewhere to sleep. I went to lie down next to the zebra, but I quickly regretted that decision when it rammed its head against the cage at me.
I jumped back. Stupid zebra, of course, it wouldn't like me. Poseidon created horses, and technically zebras by extension.
I then lay down beside the antelope, which was the animal most likely to not see me as an enemy or a form of lunch.
I placed my Waterland backpack down and laid my head down on it. I shut my eyes and it only took about fifteen seconds before I was out cold.
Before I knew it though, someone was shaking me awake. I opened my eyes a bit to see who was disrupting me of my graceful slumber. It was Annabeth.
"Annabeth?" I said groggily. "What?"
"Come on, Lightning Mouth, we're getting out of here!" she yelled.
I looked to see three empty cages and one open door of the truck.
Well, that's not good. Instead of brewing on it any longer I jumped out with Annabeth and started booking it away, but not before I saw the two zookeepers or whoever they were getting arrested by cops.
In no time we caught up with Percy and Grover. We then stumbled out into the desert afternoon. I hated being hot, that's why I like fall and winter more than I like spring and summer.
We passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. We passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica.
I didn't know where we were supposed to be, but I keep walking until we stopped at a building: The Lotus Hotel and Casino.
The doorman at the front of the Hotel smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. Do you want to come in and sit down?"
Percy nodded and said we'd love to come in. Inside, I took one look and I was in awe.
My eyes widened with everything that caught my eye: Video games, all-you-can-eat pizza...A SKY DIVING SIMULATOR!!!!
"I'm in love with this place," I said as a bellhop came up towards us.
"Hey!" The bellhop said. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."
"Um, but..."Percy stammered
"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, and 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 each of us a green plastic credit card.There honestly must be some sort of mistake...but who was I to judge! They have a sky-diving simulator!
"How much is on here?" Percy asked and I punched him in the arm, indicating to him to knock it off.
"What do you mean?" His eyebrows knit together.
"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"
He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."
We took the elevator upstairs and walked by loads of rooms to find ours, I read the surnames on the doors as we walked: Davidson, Dawson, Dixon, Di Angelo, Doyle.
Then we finally got to our room. It was an amazing suite with four separate bedrooms. In my room...it was perfect. The entire room was sky and lightning themed, the walls were mounted with all sorts of weapons and had the heads of monsters on them: Chimera, Manticore, Nemean Lion, Cerastes, a Cyclop eye, and a Fury.
This was my dream room. I almost shed a tear.
I took a shower and washed my clothes. When I finally got out of the bathroom I saw Annabeth, Grover, and Percy and they appeared to have showered as well.
I twirled my card around in my fingers: I'm gonna play some games, eat some pizza, and maybe even do some sky-diving, see you guys later.
I walked out of the room and headed down to play some games. The first thing I did was do the sky-diving simulator for about a few minutes. I then played a virtual reality game in which I had to kill monsters with a black sword.
In the other games I played, I could never beat the high score. I always got second place, the guy in the first place was some guy named KINGNICO with a ghost at the end.
As I walked around, I was looking for someone to hang out with. I think I saw Percy playing some surfing game, Annabeth playing a building game, and Grover playing a game while yelling "Die humans!"
I eventually found someone to hang out with...well, two people.
It was a boy and a girl. The boy looked about eight, and the girl looked my age, twelve. The boy had black hair that looked like he just got out of bed, olive skin, and black eyes and he wore a black shirt.
The girl had the same olive skin, but while the boy's hair was messy, hers was silky. She wore a green cap and a beige-colored sweater, and she had a splash of freckles across her nose.
"Hey," I said as I walked over to them.
They turned to me. The boy smiled brightly and responded with a "Hi!"
"What'cha playing?"I asked, looking at the game.
"This new game, Super Mario," The girl said
Super Mario? Didn't that come out in the 1980s? Oh well, they must have just added the game to the hotel.
"I remember this game. I was a God at it" I said
"Really?" The girl said unbelievably. "This game is pretty hard"
"Really? I bet I can finish World 1 in less than three minutes" I said with a smirk.
"All right," she said. "Let's see what you can do, Plumber Boy"
Needless to say, I fulfilled my promise. I wiped the dirt off my shoulder and looked at the two with a cocky grin.
They both stared at me flabbergasted.
I laughed at their faces. "My name's Alaster. Nice to meet you guys"
The boy's expression changed from surprised to a big smile again. "I'm Nico di Angelo"
The girl shook her head. "I'm Nico's sister, Bianca"
"Wait I second," I said. "Nico as in...KingNico?"
"Yup!"
My jaw dropped and my eyes widened, I regained my composure a couple seconds later. "You, uh...I admire your skills in video games"
"Thanks."
"So," I said. "I was about to go get some pizza, if you guys wanna join me...I could use the company. My friends are all pretty busy playing games right now"
"Sure!" Nico said, he looked at Bianca, as if he was getting her permission. Bianca looked a bit skeptical but eventually nodded her head.
The more time I spent with them, the more I got to know them. Especially Bianca. She started talking more and more, getting more comfortable.
Bianca was a pretty girl...if only she was a demigod, maybe I would consider...Darn! To Hades with these hormones I get from my Dad!
I began to lose track of time soon enough, I was having too much fun. Why was I here again? Wait...I was here to have fun. To relax. Spend some time with my friends...and Percy.
I was busy talking to Bianca when I was grabbed from behind and turned around. It was Percy, Annabeth, and Grover.
"Alaster, we need to leave," Percy said. "Like now"
"What? What do you mean leave? We just got here?" I said
Percy grabbed me by the face and he looked right into my eyes and muttered a name that only I could hear. "Thalia"
Just then, everything came back to me. I can't believe I almost forgot about that, Thalia.
"Come on! We need to go!" Percy said. Grover grabbed my wrist and started dragging me away.
The bellhop tried to stop us but we pushed through him. We burst through the doors of the Casino and ran out of the sidewalk. But then I began to notice something, the weather had changed. It was stormy with heat lighting flashing out in the desert.
My Waterland backpack was sling over my shoulder and it was odd because I could've swore I had taken it off.
Percy ran and picked up a newspaper. "Guys, look at this"
We walked up to him and read the newspaper.
Oh gods...that's not good. It was June twentieth. We had been in the Lotus Casino for five days. There was only one day left until the summer solstice.