Chapter 7

I awoke only to find the world in silence. That was how I usually awoke too. The birds would be busy over at our garden, happily picking at fruits. The gardener would then chase them away with his lawn mower. The chef would be busy whipping up a meal for the entire Lattenice family. The maids would be tending to some part of the house which mispleased my stepmother. Ah, it all seemed normal again. I rolled over to the side of the bed and searched for my bedroom slippers. But they weren't there. Oh yeah, I wasn't at home.

In fact, I was a quarter-way around the world, lost in the Labyrinth, sleeping in some rundown motel which reeked of beer and apples. The wallpaper was torn down in some parts of the wall. The bedsheets were full of bed bugs, most probably from the lack of room service. The floor was uncarpeted. This only exposed the filth even more. I wonder how I had managed to sleep.

I sprang up from the bed and trudged towards the sink at the corner of the room. I looked at the mirror and sighed. When I turned around, Grover was still sleeping soundly. I was amazed at how he slept like a log.

Since I was bored, I decided to tour the motel. I walked along the hallway of the motel. It wasn't anything special. Unless special meant 'especially dirty'. The hallway was just like the rooms: very little wall paper, no carpets, filth all over the place. The only difference was thatt the hallway had windows. From the windows, all you could see were other windows. The entire motels was like a square within a square.

Then, I realised something else through the windows. In the centre of the motel was a chicken coop. Feeling intrigued, I raced down the steps to check out the coop. Chickens were running wildly around the coop but none of them ever seemed to run into it. I moved closer towards the coop. Maybe there was something in the coop.

After what seemed like eternity, I was right outside the coop. I craned my neck to view the inside of the coop. To my astonishment, the coop was full of mist. Inside was a lady with a turban on her head. She looked very much like a female version of Aladdin. The woman didn't seem to notice me. Being indecisive, I crawled out of the coop again. This time, I saw a poster pasted on ht eouter surface of the coop. It read: "Auntie Em: World famous fortune teller".

"Fortune teller, eh?" I sniggered. Then it struck me. Maybe this Auntie Em could help me gain my memories back. Maybe she could even find the angel Grover talked about.

I went into the coop once more. I sat on the cushion placed in front of a table. Auntie Em sat on the other side. Her eyes were stilled tightly shut. Between us was a crystal ball, much like the ones drawn in story books. "Um, Auntie Em?" I said after clearing my throat.

"You seek peace. Yes?" she replied, opening her eyes wide.

I gulped. This Auntie Em was a professional. She continued speaking, "You know this Percy your friend has been talking about? He ain't no good friend. He's evil. He's a prisoner of Tartarus. He's wanted."

"Impossible," I fired back, "He saved the world…thrice!"

Now, I was doubtful again. I trusted Grover. I always have. Until recently, Grover has been acting all weird. What if he has really been lying to me? No, Grover would never lie to me. I wouldn't belive that. I can't belive that. Because if I did, I can't trust anyone anymore.

I had to trust Grover. I had to.