A Too-Perfect Paradise pt 1
The truck came to a stop; the sudden brake made the trio tense up.
"We have to hide," Annabeth said as she put on her cap and vanished instantly.
Percy had a lot of complaints about how easy it was for her, while he and Grover ran behind some sacks of food as if they were a new species of turnips piled together.
The truck doors screeched open when the light burst in, illuminating everything.
"Gross," one of the workers said as he sniffed slightly. "I wish we transported appliances," he added with annoyance while preparing to climb in. He pushed himself up with his arms, though his large belly made that simple action look like the hardest part of his day.
Once inside, he walked over to a big water bin and filled a container to refill the animals' troughs. Right before stopping in front of the lion, he smiled with a wicked and mocking expression.
"Hot, kitty?" he asked before throwing the leftover water on the lion's face, causing it to roar indignantly and furiously.
Meanwhile, Percy, hidden among the turnips, was holding Grover, who wanted to leap out violently to deliver justice. And considering Grover was herbivorous, he could still be pretty deadly; even so, Percy understood his friend's reaction.
"Pff, you want me to free you?" the man said mockingly to the lion, pretending he would open the gate only to laugh loudly as he turned away. "Obviously that's impossible, idiot," he added, amused.
Then he turned toward the zebra with that same unpleasant smile.
"What's wrong, stripes. You're lucky; next stop we're dropping you off. Well, not sure if that's lucky for you. A magician's going to cut you in half," he said, laughing happily at her misfortune.
At that moment, the zebra looked toward Percy, who was hidden. And although the zebra didn't say anything with her mouth, Percy's eyes widened in surprise when he heard a voice inside his head, a voice he felt came directly from her.
"Please, help me, sir," said the voice, soft and close. "Free me," she added. Percy was stunned by that, not knowing how to react.
Two knocks echoed then from what seemed to be the driver's cabin. It snapped him out of it.
"What's going on, Eddie?" the man shouted.
"Huh? What is it, Maurice?" the other replied from outside.
"Why are you knocking?" Maurice asked again.
More knocks were heard, now louder and clearly audible, while Eddie yelled, "What knocking?"
"Tsk, this guy's an idiot," Maurice muttered angrily, convinced someone was playing a joke on him, as he climbed down from the truck and slammed the door shut, though leaving it slightly ajar, letting a thin line of light in.
At that moment Annabeth appeared right beside Grover and Percy. Both realized immediately she'd been the one knocking to distract them.
"This transport business can't be legal," she said.
Grover, who was already furious, seemed to be hearing something from the lion. "He said these guys are animal smugglers," Grover said, agitated.
"That is true," the zebra's voice suddenly said again, inside Percy's mind.
"We have to free them," Grover insisted, and Annabeth nodded; both turned toward Percy.
But he was thinking hard. This ability to talk to zebras was new, different from the power the sea or water gave him. Then he had a moment of clarity. He was Poseidon's son, and supposedly Poseidon had created horses. Zebras counted as horses, or at least as a related species. So he could talk to horses; therefore also to zebras. Well, maybe that was the fastest and most acceptable thought at the moment. Even though Percy kept adding a maybe to each idea, which didn't help his confidence.
"Sir, just open the gate. After that I will manage," the zebra said again, pulling him out of his silly thoughts.
Without thinking too much, Percy drew his sword and sliced the lock on the zebra's cage. She ran out, ready to gallop away the moment they opened the back door.
But Grover stopped her for a moment, speaking to her in goat language while making a hand gesture that looked like a blessing.
Right at that moment, Maurice, who had come back to check the noise, stuck his head in as he opened the door again. He received a direct kick to the face from the zebra, who bolted out with all her strength into the street.
Percy continued unlocking the other animals' cages while outside horns honked, brakes screeched, and people shouted in surprise.
When the lion came out, they even heard the wild scream of a crowd running in terror.
Meanwhile, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover peeked through the truck's doors to see where they were.
The place was full of casinos, bright lights, and screens everywhere. Obviously they could easily tell where they were now.
Percy realized what he'd just done without thinking too much and looked at Grover. "Hey, you think they'll be okay?" he asked, a bit worried.
"Don't worry, I placed a satyr sanctuary on them, so they'll reach the wilderness safely," Grover said, happy to see the animals free. "They'll find food, water, and shade before reaching a home," he added.
"And why didn't you put that blessing on us? Wait, you can do that?" Percy exclaimed, surprised.
"Because it only works on wild animals, and yes," Grover replied.
"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth said teasingly.
Percy narrowed his eyes at her.
"It's a joke," Annabeth said with a little smile. "Come on, let's get out of here," she added as she jumped out of the truck.
Grover and Percy followed her. As soon as they stepped down, they realized how hot it was; at least a hundred degrees. Really hot, and they, covered in animal hair and with their clothes a bit dirty, stood out a lot. Well, they would have, if people weren't so focused on the loose animals.
The three walked under the scorching heat as they passed a pyramid, a Statue of Liberty, and a Paris tower. Obviously they were copies, pretty well made but much smaller in comparison.
They looked pretty lost, not knowing where to go. But first they needed shelter from the heat, so they looked around for any place they could go inside. Since Percy still had money, nobody would kick them out.
Maybe they could even get some clothes.
But while they were thinking about that, something strange caught their attention. They kept walking, arms hanging from exhaustion and heat, when suddenly a dead-end alley appeared in front of them. At their feet, illuminated by colorful lights, rose what seemed to be a casino called Casino Lotus.
The entrance was a huge neon flower blinking with pink and green flashes. No one was going in or out, but from the open doors they could feel the air conditioning flowing outward like a tempting invitation.
With the unbearable heat the three of them were suffering, they didn't even suspect how strange it was that a place like this appeared exactly when they needed it.
The smell of flowers floated in the air and seemed to draw them in even more. Percy, for a moment, stopped slightly as he inhaled that scent. There was something familiar, something that triggered a very deep alarm in his mind. But the heat was so overwhelming that he needed air conditioning right now. He would think about it later once he was inside.
The three approached anyway. There, a security guard, upon seeing them, suddenly perked up and smiled as if he had been waiting for someone to show up for hours.
"Hey kids, it's hot today, right? Why don't you come in for a while and rest. If you go to the bar you can ask for a lemonade; tell them it's on me," the man said in a friendly tone.
Seeing someone so kind in the middle of their adventure made Percy's internal alarms light up again. He stared at him, trying to figure out if there was something strange about him. His eyes, which sometimes seemed capable of seeing beyond appearances, found nothing out of the ordinary. He was a normal man, friendly and cheerful, and likely had back problems judging by the way he slouched slightly.
Still, two warning signs in a row made Percy hesitate a little. But when he saw Grover and Annabeth, supposedly the smartest of the group and always distrustful, walk in without a second thought, he decided to trust them and followed.
As soon as they entered, Percy realized how enormous the place was. The lobby had a massive game hall full of all kinds of entertainment: machines, lights, screens, colors flashing nonstop.
There was a freaking water slide wrapping around a glass elevator almost forty floors high. To the side, a huge climbing wall. And an absurd amount of video games everywhere. The best part was that there weren't many kids, so they wouldn't have to wait to play whatever they wanted.
A bellhop ran toward them with a huge smile.
He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a lotus logo and shorts. He reached them practically bouncing with excitement. "Welcome to Casino Lotus; here is your room key," he said instantly as he pulled out a door card.
"Oh sure. How much is the night?" Percy asked as he reached into his bag to pull out money.
"Oh no, no," the man said quickly, shaking his head and raising his hands as if Percy were about to commit a sacrilege. "Your rooms are already paid for; you don't need to leave tips or anything," he assured enthusiastically.
"Oh, and here are your Lotus Cash cards. They work at every restaurant and game you want; you can spend as much as you like," he added quickly as he handed a card to each of them.
Percy looked at his friends for a moment and simply shrugged. It didn't matter if they were being confused with the children of some millionaire; he could pay later without a problem. And if he didn't have enough, he could always hand over one of his throwing weights made of solid gold. So the three went to the golden elevator, heading to their rooms.
When they entered, what they saw was a huge suite with three bedrooms, all equipped with absurdly luxurious amenities. Without hesitation, each of them went straight into a bathroom to take a refreshing shower. Even though Percy wasn't as dirty as his friends thanks to his enchanted clothes, sweat was another matter, so he needed it too.
After several minutes, the three came out with wet hair and comfortable clothes, completely refreshed.
"Well, we've got some time, so staying for an hour or two wouldn't be bad, right?" Percy said, relaxed, as he lay back on the sofa.
"Yeah, we could even check out some of the games downstairs, right?" Grover said, excited as well.
Annabeth, who was normally the voice of reason, was also hesitating, though it was clear she was about to agree.
Suddenly, a fragrance drifted into the room. It was the same floral scent Percy had smelled at the casino entrance.
He was closing his eyes for a moment and inhaled the air; in the next instant he remembered where he had smelled that before. He stood up abruptly.
That scent, although different, was unmistakable.
Once, his master had tried to recreate potion recipes using processed materials from this world. One of these ingredients was called something like moon sugar, and in one of his failed attempts he created something called skooma.
Just by smelling it, Percy had been drawn to the mixture instantly, but Miraak reacted with disgust and annoyance at having created such a substance by accident. He threw the vial away and struck Percy on the forehead to snap him out of it, telling him with absolute seriousness:
"Be careful with things not made for your mind or your blood; some substances can bend the will of even a powerful warrior. Do not let a simple scent decide your actions; if you do not control what you desire, others will end up controlling you."
Basically, Percy thought he was telling him to be careful with drugs, but it seemed like it was a much more serious lesson. And at this moment, the lotus scent seemed to be one of those things.
"We have to leave right now," Percy said with a serious expression, suddenly completely sober.
His friends didn't understand why he had changed so suddenly if he had been relaxing seconds earlier. Besides, they still had plenty of time.
"Now!" Percy shouted, not accepting any refusal, slightly scaring Grover and Annabeth.