Chapter 17
Authors Note:
Now that school has started for me again, I can either post chapters earlier in the morning or late in the afternoon. Please tell me when the best time to post is and I can hopefully try and post more to you liking. Thank you to all my followers and reviewers, hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson nor any of its characters, I just own my own character Antheia/Alyssa.
The war god was waiting for them when they arrived back at the diner.
"Well, well." He said. "You didn't get yourself killed."
"You knew it was a trap." Percy said.
Ares gave a wicked grin. "Bet the gods all had fun seeing a couple of netted kids get attacked by spiders.
Percy shoved his shield at him. "You're a jerk."
Annabeth and Grover caught their breaths.
Alyssa smacked Percy on the back if the head. "Percy, be nice." She tuned to Ares and smiled. "Here's your shield, sir."
He smiled back, "Well thank you, little lamb."
He turned back to Percy. "See that truck over there? That's your ride, takes you straight to LA with one stop in Vegas."
They all looked at the truck, which said Humane Zoo Transport.
Ares snapped his fingers and the back door unhooked. "Free ride west. Here's a little something for doing the job."
He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it at Percy.
Inside were fresh clothes, twenty bucks, a couple of gold drachmas, and a bag of double stuff Oreos. Alyssa's eyes sparkled at the sight of that.
Percy said, "I don't want your lousy-"
"Thank your, Lord Ares." Grover interrupted.
Percy gritted his teeth and slung the backpack over his shoulders. He looked back at the diner and saw the waitress from before drag the cook out and had him take a picture of them. Percy rolled his eyes, thinking of a crazy caption that could add to his list of violations that made him a fugitive.
"You own me one more thing." He told Ares, trying to keep his voice level. "You promised me information about my mother."
He kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."
The ground seemed to spin beneath Percy. "What do you mean?"
"I mean she was taken hostage. She's being kept. Someone's controlling you."
"Nobody's controlling me."
Ares laughed. "Oh, yeah. See you around, kid?"
He turned to Alyssa one more time and his eyes seemed to soften. "Please remember." He whispered to her.
"I..." She said but he left before she could finish.
Grover pointed toward the diner where two men with logos on their backs were paying for their meals. "If we want that ride, we better hurry."
Percy didn't like it, but they had no better option.
They ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind them.
Turns out they were riding with wild animals the whole way and they were actually illegally transporting them according to Alyssa and Grover.
They sat down and tried to enjoy the long car trip.
"How did you really get to camp?" Percy asked Annabeth after a half an hour of silence.
Grover leg out a mournful bray.
"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I'm such a failure."
"You were the saytr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus."
He nodded glumly.
"And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended.." He looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"
She looked down sadly. "A seven year old wouldn't have made it far without help."
Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century. Thalia and Percy."
Percy turned to look at Alyssa, who was sleeping in the corner next to the lion that also happened to be there.
"Well what about Alyssa."
Annabeth snorted. "I still don't trust her. She has had way too many things happen to her that she could've staged.."
"I've known her my whole life, Annabeth."
She turned and looked at him with her sharp gray eyes. "Did you really? I mean are you positive she was there when you were born?"
Percy looked away. "No. But she's been there ever since I can remember. And she's always stood up for me."
Annabeth looked down at the sleeping figure. "She's too secretive. I know she knows things that we don't and that makes me suspicious."
Percy took a deep breath, trying to decide wether or not to tell Annabeth.
He sighed. "In the prophecy the Oracle told me, one of the lines will be 'you shall be betrayed by the one you call friend.' I don't know who that could be..."
"But it could be Alyssa." She finished.
"It could be anyone." Percy said hastily. "I have to give her some credit. I've known her longer than you or anyone else and she's still my sister no matter who her parents are."
Annabeth fell quiet and they both soon fell asleep.
-:-
Percy woke with a start, a terrifying nightmare still fresh in his mind.
Grover was shaking his shoulder.
"The trucks stopped. We think they're coming to check on the animals."
"Hide!" Annabeth hissed and they all dive behind feed sacks.
The door creaked open and sunlight poured in. Two men peered in and started taunting the animals.
The zebra, wild with fear, looked at Percy and he heard a voice say, "free me, Lord."
He was too stunned to speak.
The men left to get something and Grover came out furiously.
"We've got to free them!" He exclaimed.
Percy looked at the zebra one more time before slashing the lock off the cage with Riptide.
Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing.
Percy cut the other two animals free and they burst from their cages and ran outside.
Tourists gathered all around and while some screamed, others just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was a stunt by a casino.
The kids piled out the back of the truck and snuck off while to two men were chasing around the animals.
The stumbled out into the hot desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and they must have looked like deep-fried vagrants.
They passes several famous hotels and building, not quite sure what they were looking for.
They must have taken a wrong turn, because they found themselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was a huge neon flower.
The doorman smiled at them. "Hey kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"
Percy's face got this dazed look and he slowly walked in as Alyssa pulled him arm back.
"Whoa, Percy. Don't you think this sounds a little suspicious to you?"
He gave a little tug and his arm was pulled free from her grasp. "Lighten up, sis. Your always so tense. Stop being such a worry-baby." He raced inside, leaving her standing there alone with her feelings hurt. The rest went inside and she stayed outside, still suspicious of the too inviting hotel. She heard a noise behind her and she turned around to see and Iris-message forming. As the mist wove together, forming a screen, she was pleased to see Luke's happy face, smiling at her.
"Hey Alyssa! " I just arrived and I was wondering where you guys were."
"Oh we're trapped in Las Vegas and the other guys just went into the Lotus Hotel."
Luke's eyes bulged. "I wouldn't do that of I were you, the Lotus hotel is enchanted, so it seemed like your in there for an hour or two but your really in there for days. There's some people who have been there for decades and don't realize it.
Alyssa's eyes widened. "Thanks, Luke. I better go tell them that. I guess we'll see you soon."
He blew her a kiss before saying, "Goodbye, sweetheart."
She blew a kiss back and the mist evaporated, leaving her once again standing alone in an alley.
She turned and looked at the hotel with big, fancy lights and wonderful scents coming from inside.
"Well," she said to herself. "Better get going before those buffoons don't come out." And she went inside.
She found them all racing around, playing different assortments of video games and going down water slides.
She found Percy at some video game where you are a spy and you have to go undercover and kill people. Typical boy game.
She tapped his shoulder. "Percy, we have to get out of here." He looked up at her as if she was crazy.
"That's retarded, Alyssa. We have never had this much money and I'm finally having fun for once on this stupid trip. Now please leave me alone."
With that he gave her a shove that sent her crashing to the floor.
She got up, brushing herself off and went over to Grover who was playing some reverse game where the prey kill the hunters.
"Die!" He was shouting as he shot at the human hunters. Alyssa went over to him and tried to get his attention.
"Please, Grover. You need to break out of your trance. This isn't a good place!"
He turned and started shooting her like she was a hunter.
"Die evil polluting human!" He said pulling the trigger repeatedly.
"Grover!" She pleaded, trying to take the gun out of his hands and when he realized he couldn't shoot her, he smacked her right across the face with the gun, creating a huge gash on her left cheek. She stood there stunned for a moment, feeling a soft trickle of blood run down her face, and she hastily left him before he could hit her again.
She went around the corner and saw Annabeth playing this huge 3-D sim game where you build your own city. She rushed over to there, hoping that Annabeth would understand.
"Annabeth, listen, this is a trap! We're are never going to leave if we don't get out of here now."
Annabeth growled, clearly irritated that someone was disturbing her game.
"What do you want, plant girl?"
"Annabeth, you have to snap out of it! Remember our quest? If we don't get the bolt back in time, there's going to be a giant war that could possible end all of mankind! Remember that?"
"No," Annabeth sneered, "but I do remember how annoying you are and how much I don't like you! Now leave!"
Alyssa's face hardened. "No! Not until you understand how important it is until we get out of here!"
Annabeth turned around and punched her in the jaw, so hard she landed on her butt. Annabeth's eyes were cold and fierce as she said, "Leave me alone, or I will kill you."
Alyssa's jaw hurt so bad it brought tears to her eyes. She held her jaw and got up and walked away, tears now flowing freely down her face. She went to a little lounge area and sat down and cried, not caring who saw her.
-:-
A couple hours later Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all rushed up to her, worry on their faces.
"Alyssa! We've been looking everywhere for you!" Percy shouted. "We've got to get out of here, this place is enchanted and will want to make you stay forever."
Alyssa's cheek was still throbbing, but thankfully the blood stopped. When she heard Percy, she glared at him with such hatred, he took a step back.
"Look, Alyssa." He said casually, "I know its fun here, but we have got to go."
"Come on, Alyssa," Annabeth said impatiently. "Your holding us up!"
Another tear escaped Alyssa's eyes and ran down her swollen, black and blue cheek as she stood up.
"Whoa, Alyssa," Grover exclaimed, "who did that to your face?"
She didn't reply as she walked past them towards the exit, for if she talked to them, she would either end up killing one of them, or go into a nervous breakdown.
As they were walking out, they saw that the date was the 20th.
"Crap!" Percy said. "We've been in there for five days!"
Annabeth turned to Alyssa. "It's all your fault," she angrily said, "If we hadn't spent so much time looking for you, we probably could have been out of here a day to two ago."
Alyssa's eyes got a dangerous glare to them, one none of them had ever seen before. Her normally green eyes turned into raging storms.
Suddenly, plants erupted from out of the ground, wrapping around Annabeth and suspending her ten feet in the air.
Grover and Percy rushed to help her, but Alyssa brought more vines wrapping around them too until they were all three hanging up the air. Storm clouds grew and a light rain drizzled down and the wind whipped angrily through the air.
"Alyssa! Are you crazy?" Percy yelled.
"I told you, Percy," Annabeth told him, "she's a traitor!"
The vines suddenly slammed down to the ground, throwing them harsh fully against the hard concrete. The vines were still wrapped around them and they looked up to the angry Alyssa.
"Don't. You. Ever. Call. Me. A. Traitor," she said dangerously. "I have done everything for you and all you do it complain and be rude to me! Who do you think was trying, begging, to get you out of the hell hole in the first place, hours ago! I begged, pleaded for you to snap out of it, and what do you do in return?!" She pointed to her face. "You beat me and threaten to kill me!"
Annabeth looked down in shame, realizing her mistake.
Percy looked up at her, "I'm sorry if Annabeth-"
Alyssa held out her hand. "Don't you dare, Perseus."
In a bad imitation of his voice, she stated, "Lighten us, sis. Your such a worry-baby."
Her cold eyes looked down and him. "I have down everything for you, never left your side, always trying to help you and you give me nothing! You make me cry and shove me down. I don't know what you are, but that sure isn't a brotherly thing so I guess your not my brother."
Tears filled her eyes and the vines disappeared along with the storm clouds.
"You don't know how hard it is, not knowing what you are, with everyone sneering at you like your some freak..."
Percy stood up, offering her a hug.
"Alyssa, I'm-"
"Don't," she said looking away, "Just don't speak to me."
And with that, everyone fell silent as the minutes ticked by on their one day remaining until world destruction.
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