𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍
𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆

❛ She was the epitome of the
prettiest girl in the room ❜

                         𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, 𝕬fter being broadcasted live to Olympus — specifically to her own mother — and made to look like an absolute fool, Aurora could very well say she was livid. The amount of humiliation circling the younger girl began to diminish into hot rod anger. Anger that desperately wanted to use her hands for violence, like all those other times at camp, and it was directed right at the God of War.

                         When she finally saw him her face morphed into a scowl, and her fists clenched wanting nothing more than to land one on him.

                        "Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed."

                         "You knew it was a trap," Percy said.

                         Ares gave Percy a wicked grin, "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."

                         Aurora's nostrils flared, "Gods, you are annoying"

                         Ares shrugged, loving to rile up the young girl, "Gotta say, I'm a little disappointed you of all people came back to torment me," his smirk widened. "You'll get what's coming to you, kid."

Before he could say anything else, Percy walked between the two and shoved the shield at it, "You're a jerk."

                         Aurora nodded in agreement. 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 and began walking away.

                         "Hey!" Percy yelled. "You owe us a ride!"

                         Ares scoffed, "See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

                         The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which Aurora could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

                         Aurora cursed, "Oh for Aphrodite's sake!"

                         Ares snapped his fingers. 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 were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.

                         Percy said, "I don't want your lousy—"

                         "Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving Percy his best red-alert warning look.

                         "Thanks a lot." Percy gritted his teeth.

                         Aurora, too, wanted to refuse any help from the war god — her pride dealing a massive hit from the embarrassment she'd just undergone. But she was smart enough to know that they had no other means to get the bolt back to Olympus, with their time crunch.

                         She nudged him and shook his head. She didn't know if he understood her message or not, but nonetheless slung the backpack over his shoulder and clenched his jaw.

                         Aurora looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served them dinner was watching nervously out the window like she was afraid Ares might hurt them. When she caught Aurora's eyes, her entire expression morphed into one of surprise and she muttered something along the lines of: Oh my god, That's Aurora Stark.

                         "Shit!"

                         Grover was behind her, so she yanked him at an angle so she wasn't able to be seen. Grover yelped in surprise but didn't say anything.

                         Aurora peeked over Grover's shoulder and watched as the waitress dragged the fry cook, out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up his Iphone, and snapped a picture of them. Aurora gritted her teeth in annoyance, she could not afford to keep making headlines, especially with everything her father's company was going through.

                         "You owe me one more thing," Percy told Ares. "You promised me information about my mother."

                         "You sure you can handle the news?" He kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."

                         Percy's eyes were wide, "What do you mean?"

                         "I mean she was taken 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."

                         "Nobody's controlling me."

                         He laughed, "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."

                         Percy balled up his fists, "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."

                         Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed, "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back." He turned to Aurora "Remember what I said, kid. You'll get what's coming to you, and no amount of so-called protectors will be enough to stop the inevitable."

                         Inevitable, a word now plaguing Aurora's life, so suddenly that made her question her own existence.

                         Just what was supposedly destined for me, She thought.

                         He took her silence as a win, so he revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street.

                         Annabeth said, "That was not smart," she glanced between the two. "From both of you."

                         Aurora rolled her eyes and waved her off, "Whatever."

                         Percy turned to Annabeth and shrugged, "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 toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in 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," Grover said, "We need to hurry."

                         They ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind them. The first thing that hit Aurora was the smell. It made her gag and cringe in disgust. It was like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter. The trailer was dark inside until Percy uncapped Riptide. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene.

                         Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the saddest animals ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and an antelope. Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL! Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.

                         Aurora gasped in despair. The absolute living atrocities the animals were being subjected to was absolutely horrific. Her heart clenched in sorrow.

                         "This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"

                         He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and with how upset Aurora felt she wouldn't have hesitated for a single second to back him up, but just then the truck's engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and they were forced to sit down or fall down. They huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies.

                         Aurora placed her head on Annabeth's shoulder who was on her left, to her right was Percy. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. It broke Aurora's heart. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but Percy pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving.

                         Percy found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used Riptide to drag the mismatched food out of their cages.

                         She found an extra worn out bowl and gestured it to Percy, "Do you mind?"

                         He shook his head and poured water into her bowl watching as she gingerly took it and approached the zebra. Out of fear, it backed away but Aurora rose her hands in surrender and placed a comforting smile on her face.

                         "It's alright," she assured taking a small step towards it. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to try and brush through your mane.

                         Aurora tried to approach the zebra once again, and this time the zebra hesitantly walked towards her. She cautiously stuck her hand through the cage and wet the mane with the water she had. She stuck her other hand and did her best to scrape the gum off the mane with her fingertips.

                         "I can't believe those . . ." she clenched her teeth and rage, but was still careful with her hands. "Assholes, did this to you guys!"

                         At a particularly hard tug, the zebra neighed, causing Aurora to apologize profusely and run her free hand through the free part of the mane.

                         The position was awkward, that much was evident Aurora had to squeeze her arms through the bars in order to reach the animal, but the zebra did it's best to scoot over as much as it possibly could.

"Don't worry," Aurora grinned, the mischievous glint in her eye at she gained from her father brightened. "I'll curse them to never find love, and when we get you out, I'll make sure to sock a good one to each of their faces," she used her fingernails to scrape the disgusting bubblegum off. "But I'll make sure you get the first hit."

                         She glanced over towards her friends and noticed them in a heavy conversation. Too enthralled in her task, she turned and allowed the others to speak privately.

It took her twenty minutes to scrape all of the gum from the Zebra's mane. Her arms sore and mind tired.

She patted her Zebra gently, "I'm sorry you're in this position. I'll do everything in my power to get you out"

She walked back towards her previous spot and sat down, not noticing the way Percy was looking at her. When she turned her head to glance at him, he was already looking at her with an emotion she couldn't describe.

     "What?" Aurora questioned. "Do I have something on my face?"

     Percy shook his head. "No. It's nothing"

                         Aurora shrugged and placed her head on Annabeth's shoulder again. Her best friend took a hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. Annabeth could see the turmoil that was in her head. Yet, she didn't want to pressure her friend into telling her how she felt.

                         Annabeth soon fell asleep. Truth be told, she knew it'll be difficult for her to fall asleep after what she'd learned about her father. Her heart hurt at the thought of her father suffering or worried about her. She looked down at her fingers, the two rings on each of her hands sat perfectly.

                         She fiddled with the ring on her left index finger, her mind was wandering with too many thoughts. It was hard to grasp a specific one to ground herself too, but her mind was it too much turmoil to do so.

                         "Do you head back to your dads after camp?"

                         Aurora jumped at the voice next to her. She was too consumed in her own thoughts to even notice Percy finding a way to start a conversation.

                         "Yeah," she nodded. "He usually picks me up at Half-Blood Hill"

                         Percy paused, "Then why did you run away when you were seven?"

                         Aurora stared straight ahead, "It was stupid really," She sighed. "I wanted to go to a public school. I craved that sense of normality in my life, but my dad tried to explain to me that the idea itself was practically impossible. He said that as long as I was his daughter, nothing would ever be normal. Either way, I was upset. I packed a bag of clothes with a knife in my waistband and left."

                         "What did he do when he found you?"

                         Aurora pursed her lips, "He pulled me into a hug and told me he was sorry. He looked relieved to see me again and promised me that if I wanted to join a public school he'll sign me up. But I knew he was right. As long as I'm his daughter nothing will be normal in my life, and I've come to terms with it," Aurora shrugged. "I've come to camp every summer, since then"

                         Percy nodded, not knowing what to say anymore.

                         A nudge interrupted his own thoughts.

                         "We'll get your mom back, ocean eyes," she assured. She turned away from him and looked back down to the gold rings on her fingers, "even if it's the last thing I do."

                         Maybe the remembrance of the excruciatingly long three months her father was gone made her feel like Percy's world was on her shoulders, she didn't know. All she knew was that she experienced that pain once, and if she could in some form/way help another in that situation, she sure as hell was going to succeed.

                         Something landed on his shoulder.

                         Percy quickly turned his head in panic, but he softened when he saw that it was just Aurora's head on his shoulder. Her eyes were shut and her mouth was partially opened. Her breathing evened out.

                         She was asleep.

                         Percy took this time to fall asleep, however, he didn't stop the direction his head turned when his eyes closed.

                         Percy's head landed on top of Aurora's and they both fell into a deep sleep.

                         Aurora didn't have to look to know where she was at. The all too familiar scent of flowers invaded her nostrils, something she knew her siblings would have enjoyed.

                         "Hello, child"

                         Aurora turned and gave the creature a grin, "Hello, Nathaniel. I hope you weren't too lonely while I was gone"

                         The creature snorted, "I can assure you I was completely fine, little dove. "

                         Aurora nodded and sat down on the grass below her. Her chocolate eyes were a big contrast from the blazing red-orange that Nathaniel held, "You said something to me that's stuck with me throughout the quest."

                         Nathaniel looked at her waiting for her to continue.

                         "What did you mean when you said we were destined to meet?"

                         Nathaniel paused. He seemed as though he was contemplating something, "My sole purpose here is to protect you, child"

                         Aurora furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't get it," She confessed. "You said that you've been here for over a thousand years, yet we're destined to meet. What's the reason behind that?"

It sounded like Nathaniel sighed, "Child, I am limited at what I say. The gods forbade me to speak of such a subject with you. It's too early."

Aurora scoffed. She desperately wanted answers, and nothing was going to stop her from receiving them.

"So the gods created you?" She tilted her head in thought.

"I was once like you, darling dove. In order to protect you, they turned me into what I am now."

Aurora looked up at the fire eyes, "Like me? What, A Demi-god?"

Nathaniel huffed, "Tsk, along those lines."

Aurora grew confused. Why did he need to protect her? What the hell were the gods so terrified of that they turned a regular being into whatever the hell he is?

The sad part was, that Aurora knew she wouldn't receive those answers. Nathaniel made it very clear that he wasn't going to tell her what she desperately wanted to know, probably because of the gods, but Aurora had a secret suspicion that it went beyond that. That there was something sinister deep in his own history that he didn't wish to bring to light.

And, oh, did Aurora love to shed light on the unknown.

Before she could even ask another question. Her dream turned hazy. Signifying that she was beginning to wake up. Her mouth opened to ask a brief question, but noticed that the cave grew dark. Nathaniels powerful eyes were gone.

When she woke up, a frown rested on her face. Aurora wanted answers, she craved them. Hell, she was a scientist and scientist love to uncover the unknown. They love to dive headfirst in whatever they didn't know, to feel how any organism functions. And that's what Aurora so desperately wanted to know when it came to Nathaniel.

How did he become the way he was? Why did he become the way he was? Why has he been in the cave for over a thousand years? What was his purpose?

"Aurora!" Grover practically yelled. "The truck's stopped. We think they're coming to check on the animals."

That snapped Aurora's mind to focus. Her eyes widen with panic as she turned to face Percy. He too seemed to have just woken up due to the drool on the side of his mouth.

"Hide!" Annabeth hissed.

Aurora hurriedly dove behind feedsacks and stood as still as possible. Percy had dove in after, followed by Grover and they all had the same thought in their head: Do not make a single noise.

The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in.

"Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes." You hot, big boy?" he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right in the lion's face. The lion roared in indignation.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man said.

Aurora felt Grover tense next to her. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.

The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the Zebra, "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"

Over my dead body, jackass.

There was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer. The trucker inside with them yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?"

A voice outside—it must've been Eddie's—shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"

"What are you banging for?"

Knock, knock, knock.

Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"

The guy inside Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot. A second later, Annabeth appeared next to both Aurora, practically scaring the daylights out of her. She must've done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said, "This transport business can't be legal."

"No kidding," Grover said. He paused as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers! We've got to free them!" Grover said.

"They deserve better," Aurora frowned. She turned to Percy. "You're call, ocean eyes, but I have an idea."

He nodded telling her to continue

"I'll go outside and charmspeak them, and give you guys time to get the animals out."

The three looked at Percy, waiting for his lead. Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other. Aurora anxiously waited for the son of Poseidon.

Percy grabbed Riptide and clenched his knuckles, "Do it."

Aurora nodded and sprung to her feet, while grabbing a role of rope. The moment she bolted outside the sun blared down on her and out of instinct she brought her hand up to shield the light from disorienting her. The familiar line of hotels, casinos, and neon lights were easy to see and brought back memories with her father.

Eddie and Maurice were still arguing on the side of the truck to even notice the small girl behind them.

"Get on your knees," she shifted her eyes back and forth in between them. "Now."

Her melodic voice strummed into their ears and without another second they both fell on their knees with a hazy look on their eyes.

Aurora made fast work with the rope on her hands, tying them both together while cursing in French wanting nothing more than to see them suffer.

"When you think you've found someone to support you, to love you unconditionally, to cherish you . . . I curse they find someone far greater than you. Well," she shrugged tightening the rope. "Anyone would be better than you two lowlifes. You'll forever be destined alone, you'll feel the fury of Aphrodite."

Suddenly, the sounds of yelling and cars honking caught her attention. When she looked up, the Zebra she helped was looking everywhere and when it's eyes locked onto her, it approached gently and nudged her stomach in gratitude.

"I cursed them like promised," she grinned and patted its back. "Want to do the honors?"

The zebra nudged her again and rose it's two back hooves before slamming them down against the backs of both Eddie and Maurice who's were sent flying across the street landing on nearby cars.

Aurora laughed out loud at the commotion and patted the zebra once again, "Have a safe journey."

The zebra huffed and galloped down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. They'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.

"He liked you," Percy told her. "Told you to have a safe journey too."

Aurora nodded and smiled, "You can talk to horses," she added. "That's pretty cool."

"Just figured it out now."

"I wonder what else you can do."

Percy cut the locks with his sword. Grover raised his hands and a goat-blessing for the animals. Aurora assumed he'd also gave one to the Zebra.

"Good luck," Percy told the animals. Aurora sent them a reassuring smile. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets. Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos.

"Will the animals be okay?" Percy asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all—"

"Don't worry," he said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he said. "They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."

"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" Percy asked.

"It only works on wild animals."

"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned.

Aurora giggled at the remark but nodded her head, "Sounds about right."

"Hey!" Percy protested.

"Kidding," Annabeth said.

"I'm not," Aurora shrugged receiving a nudge from the ocean eyes boy.

"Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck." Annabeth stated.

They stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and they must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay them much attention, yet it didn't stop Aurora from keeping her head bowed and walking between Grover and Percy, hood still up in order to not attract any form of attention.

They passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. Everything was very familiar to Aurora due to the fact that Vegas just so happened to be her father's favorite place to visit. He'd be in a casino while the young girl would be with either Pepper and Happy who would hold the girl's hand to sightsee. Sure, at times her father would be with her but her company was fairly the same, being Happy and Pepper.

Aurora must have been too busy reminiscing about the good times when she was younger because when she looked up they were standing in front of a very unfamiliar place, Lotus Hotel and Casino. Of all the times she had visited the place not once had she ever seen the building in front of her.

Aurora crinkled her eyebrows in confusion, "This is weird"

Annabeth glanced at her friend and rose an eyebrow, "Is there a problem?"

"You remember how I told you visiting Las Vegas is practically a regular occurrence for me?"

"Yeah"

Aurora looked at the building in front of her in confusion, "In all my times here. I have never seen this Hotel and Casino here."

Percy glanced at the girl, "Maybe they built it when you haven't visited."

Aurora only kept her eyes locked onto the hotel, "Maybe"

The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that felt refreshing on Aurora's skin.

The doorman smiled at them, "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"

Percy nodded and said, "We'd love to come in"

Aurora continued to suspiciously glance around the Hotel. Inside, they took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."

The whole lobby was a giant game room. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building and an indoor bungee jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Aurora had to admit, the Hotel was incredibly impressive. Especially, considering she's visited many exotic places.

There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.

"Hey!" a bellhop said. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops."Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."

Percy stammered, "Um, but . . ."

"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, 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 them each a green plastic credit card, but Percy asked, "How much is on here?"

His eyebrows knit together, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"

He laughed.

"Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."

Grover turned to Aurora wide-eyed, "I thought you said you haven't been here before."

Aurora's face morphed into confusion, "I haven't!"

"Then why'd they give us free cards?!"

"I have no idea!"

They took the elevator upstairs and checked out their room. It was a suite with four separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. The last one made Aurora furrowed her eyebrows.

"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is . . ."

"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."

Aurora looked at the view their room provided, it was beautiful, "Yeah, it's pretty impressive"

"Very impressive," Percy corrected.

The clothes in the closet further confused the daughter of Aphrodite. They were exactly her taste and size. Leather Jackets, Skinny jeans, and converse were on the rack. Out of instinct, the young girl unhooked a rose spaghetti strap shirt, a rose colored jacket, and high-waisted ripped jeans. Her old converse were battered and covered in dirt so she had no choice but to throw them out. She took a pair of brand new white high top converse and took a shower.

She might have stood under the shower for about thirty minutes, simply basking underneath the running water. The shower made a smile appear on her face. The dirt and grime washed off of her body and onto the bathroom floor. It was a disgusting sight to see, really, but the feeling she received when she stepped into her new clothes was amazing.

Aurora walked into the living room area of the hotel room with bottled water in her hand. Her hair blown dried to perfection and lips glossy.

Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel. Aurora rolled her eyes at her best friend but sat down beside her and stole a potato chip from Grover who whined.

Percy appeared about a couple of minutes after Aurora sat down. He looked at them with a smile on his face but it soon disappeared when he caught sight of what Annabeth was watching.

"All those stations," Percy told her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"

"It's interesting," Annabeth defended.

"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place." Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.

"So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"

Aurora shrugged, "I was planning to catch up on some reading and then sleep" She turned to the boys. "What about you guys?"

Grover and Percy looked at each other and grinned. They both held up their green plastic Lotus Cash cards.

"Play time," Percy said.

Aurora knew she should have taken advantage of her free time to play and such, but just having a moment to herself was enough. She longed for a moment to recover her own mind and body. So, the young girl curled up in her bed with a book in her hand. She was happily reading with her when suddenly an overwhelming feeling overcame her.

  She desperately needed to sleep.

Aurora had no idea why the need to sleep washed over her, she was wide awake a minute ago— what changed?

As much as she tried to fight it, she fell into a deep slumber, and when she appeared on the familiar cliff she turned around and locked eyes with Nathaniels.

His eyes were ablaze with panic, "Child! You must get out of there!"

Aurora was surprised at the urgency in his voice. Every time she had talked to Nathaniel, his voice was very husky, calm and warm. Nothing like she was hearing now.

"What?"

"You are in grave danger! The longer you are there the more dangerous it becomes! You must awake and find your friends!"

"What's going on, Nate?"

"Trust me, darling dove. I only want to protect you and your friends," He said. "WAKE UP!"

Aurora woke up with sweat beading down her forehead. Nathaniel's words echoed in her head. So, she did as told.

She ran out of bed and towards the gaming area she knew the others would be in. She tried to be as quick as possible, but the elevator was slowing her down. However, as she stepped out of the elevator her body rammed into someone else's.

She ran into Percy.

She sighed in relief. He placed his hands on his waist to steady her, "Oh thank the gods! We have to get out of here, ocean eyes! Where are the others?"

Percy looked at her in surprise, "You remember?"

Aurora nodded and glanced around them in fear of someone catching her and her friend, "Yes, but I had help. Where are Annabeth and Grover?"

"Grover's playing Virtual Deer Hunter, and last time I saw Annabeth, she was building a city on some type of simulation. "

Aurora nodded to herself before glancing at their surroundings, "Okay, Let's split up. I'll go to Annabeth. You go to Grover."

Percy nodded, "Seems fair."

"Great," Aurora turned on her heel to race to her best friend.

"Wait!"

She halted in her step and turned to a wide-eyed Percy.

For a second, she stood there expectantly, "Yeah?"

"Meet us outside, and Be careful."

Aurora shrugged, "On it, see you on the other side, ocean eyes!"

When she found Annabeth, she was exactly where Percy said she'd be. Her mind was too focused on the virtual game in front of her.

"Enough of that, Brainiac!" Aurora urged. "Time to go!"

No response.

"Annabeth!"

She looked up, annoyed. "What?"

"We need to go! Now'"

"What are you talking about? I've just got the towers—"

"Annabeth look at the ring on your necklace."

Sure, the young girl used her charmspeak to her advantage but it got the work done. Annabeth locked eyes with her best friend and did as instructed. Her eyes locked onto the ring, something in her eyes changed. It was like her vision cleared.

"Oh my gods," she said. "How long have we—"

Aurora shook her head, "We don't know but Percy's on his way to find Grover. We'll meet them outside."

When they reached the front Percy and Grover already stood there with Percy's hand on a desperate Grover's wrist.

Percy noticed them and sighed in relief, "Great, time to go!"

They walked toward the door, and as they did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. It almost had Aurora turning back, but Nathaniel's voice echoed in her head.

Fight it! Keep going!

Aurora narrowed her eyes in determination and pulled her friends to the doors. They burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day they'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert.

Percy ran to the nearest billboard and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when they went in. Then they all noticed the date: June twentieth. They had been in the Lotus Casino for five days. They had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete their quest.

Aurora gasped and placed a hand over her mouth, "Holy Styx. We're screwed"

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