Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Bringing the Zebras into the Las Vegas

Ares is waiting for us in the restaurant parking lot. "Yo yo," he said, "you're still alive." "You know it's a trap," I said. Ares grinned wickedly. "I bet that lame blacksmith will be amazed to see a pair of stupid kids caught in the net, you're so photogenic!" I shoved the shield at him, "You idiot." Annabeth and Grover held their breath. Ares grabbed the shield and tossed the shield in mid-air like a pizza peel, turning the shield into a bulletproof vest.When the vest fell, he raised his hand and put it on. "The truck over there, have you seen it?" He pointed to a large truck with eighteen wheels, which was parked on the side of the street across the street from the restaurant. "That's your means of transportation, a non-stop bus to Los Angeles, with a rest in Las Vegas on the way."

There is a sign on the back of the 18-wheeler truck, I can only read the words because it is black and white, which is a good combination of colors for dyslexia me.It read: "Humane International: Humane Animal Transport. WARNING: WILDLIFE CONTAINS!" I said, "Are you kidding me?" Ares flicked his fingers, and the latch on the back door of the truck opened. "Free westbound ride, idiot, don't complain, this is a little thank you for completing the task." He picked up the blue nylon backpack dangling from the handlebars of his bike and tossed it to me. Inside were clean clothes for the three of us, twenty dollars in cash, a small bag of ancient Greek gold coins, and a package of Oreo double sandwiches.

I said, "I don't want your dirty..." "Thank you, God Ares." Grover interrupted me, giving me the ultimate warning look. "Thank you very much." I was itchy with anger.It might be a great humiliation to the Celestials to reject their stuff, but I really don't want anything Ares touched.I reluctantly put the backpack on my shoulders.As long as the god of war appears, I will be full of anger, and I really want to punch him in the nose.He reminded me of all the bullies I've ever met: Nancy Popeye, Cressa, Stinky Gabe, and the teachers who humiliated me, including the jerks at school who said I was stupid, and People who laughed at me when I was kicked out.

I looked back at the restaurant and there were only two customers in the store.The waitress who took our order last time looked out of the window nervously, as if she was afraid that Ares would hurt us.She pulled the chef out of the kitchen to watch, and then said something to the chef.The chef nodded, held up a small instant camera, and took a picture of us. That's it, I think, we're going to report again tomorrow. I guess tomorrow's headline should be: Twelve-year-old fugitive beats defenseless knight. "You still owe me something," I said to Ares, trying to keep my voice calm. "You promised me to tell me about my mother."

"Are you sure you can take the news?" He put his foot on it and started the motorcycle. "She's not dead." I suddenly felt dizzy. "What's the meaning?" "I mean, she was taken by the Minotaur just as she was about to die. That's when she turned into a golden light, didn't she? That meant she was transfiguring, not dying. She was taken." "Why did you arrest her?" "You should study tactics, idiot! Be a hostage, grab one and control another." "No one can control me." he laughed. "Really? There will be a time later, child."

I clenched my fist. "You are very proud, Ares, the guy who ran away from the Cupid statue in a hurry." There was a fire burning behind his sunglasses, and I felt a gust of hot air on my scalp. "Percy Jackson, we'll meet again. Next time you're going to be at war, so be careful." He pressed the accelerator, and the Harley roared away, disappearing at the end of Denasy Street. Annabeth said, "Percy, that's not very smart." "I do not care." "You don't want to be an enemy of the gods, especially that one." "Hey, you two," Grover said, "I don't want to interrupt, but…"

He pointed to the counter in the restaurant, where the last two customers were paying their bills.The two men were wearing the same black coveralls with the same white logo on the back as the Mercy truck. "If we're going to take the Animal Express," Grover said, "we've got to hurry." I don't like that truck, but we have no better options, and besides, I've really seen enough of Denver. We ran to the dock, climbed up behind the big cargo container, and turned and closed the door. A stench hit the head, and it looked like the world's largest cat litter box.

It was pitch black inside the trailer, so I took off the pen cap of Wave Sword, its metal body gave off a faint cold light, and found a miserable scene.I have never seen such a miserable creature, three animals in a filthy metal cage: a zebra, a male white lion, and some unknown wild antelope. Someone threw a bag of turnips to a lion, which he obviously didn't want to eat, while the zebra and the antelope each had a Styrofoam plate of ground meat.The zebra's mane is messed up with chewed gum, as if someone just spit on it.A goofy silver birthday balloon tied to one of the antelope's horns reads: "Over the top!"

Apparently no one dared to get too close to the lion lest it become its feast.But the poor thing was pacing up and down on the feces-stained blanket.The cage was too small for it, and it was stuffy and hot in the container, and it was panting in pain.Flies buzzed and circled around its pink eyes, and its ribs were clearly outlined under the white fur. "Is this called mercy?" Grover yelled. "Is this humane animal transport?" He was probably going to just open the door and go out and beat the delivery man with reed pain, and I would go over and help him, but at that moment, the truck's engine roared and the car started shaking, and we sat down, or fell One fall.

We curled up on a few musty feed bags in the corner, trying to ignore the stench, heat, and flies before our eyes. Grover bleats and talks to the animals, but they just stare at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor of breaking open the cage and getting them out of trouble, but I don't think it's wise to do it before the truck stops.Besides, I think we are more palatable to lions than those turnips. I found the jug, filled its bowl with water, and used the wave sword to pull the offending food out of their cages, swapping the meat for the lions, and the turnips for the zebras and antelopes.

Grover kept the antelope calm while Annabeth cut the balloon cord off the antelope's horns with a knife.She wanted to go ahead and cut the gum off the zebra's mane, but we decided it was too dangerous to do that in a bumpy truck.We asked Grover to tell the animals that more assistance would be given to them tomorrow morning, so we rested tonight. Grover curled up on the bag of turnips, while Annabeth opened a package of Oreo double sandwiches, absently pulling out a small piece, and nibbling.I try to comfort myself, thinking that we are already on our way to Las Vegas, only halfway to our destination, and it is only June 14th, and the summer solstice is on the 20th, and we still have a lot time. But on the other hand, I had no clue what was going to happen next.The gods have been playing tricks on me, only Hephaestus puffed out his chest and admitted that he set up a camera to film me and broadcast it as entertainment.But even though there were no cameras filming at this point, I still felt like I was being watched throughout the mission.I am the source of entertainment for the gods. "Hey," Annabeth said, "Percy, I'm sorry I lost my temper at the water park." "It doesn't matter." "That's because..." she said tremblingly, "Spiders." "It's because of Arachne's story," I guess, "that she was turned into a spider for challenging your mother to weave, right?" Annabeth nodded. "Since then, the children of Arachne took revenge on the children of Athena, so any spider within a kilometer or two of me will kill me. I hate those creepy things. Anyway, I owe you one." "We're on the same team, remember?" I said. "Besides, fortunately, there is Grover's fancy flying." I thought he was asleep, but his voice came from the corner: "I'm really good, right?" Annabeth and I both laughed. She flipped open an Oreo cookie and handed me half of it. "Did Luke really not say anything when he asked Elise to send a message?" I chewed my biscuits, trying to figure out how to respond.That conversation over the rainbow has been haunting me all night. "Luke said that you have known him for a long time, and he also said that Grover will not fail this time, no one will become a pine tree." Under the dim light of the bronze sword, I couldn't see their expressions clearly. Grover let out a mournful hoarse cry. "I should have told you the truth in the first place." His voice trembled. "If you knew I was so terribly wrong, you wouldn't want me to come with you." "You are the satyr who went to rescue Zeus' daughter Talia." He nodded sullenly. "And Talia's friend, the other two half-bloods who made it to the camp safely..." I looked at Annabeth. "It's you and Luke, isn't it?" She put down the Oreo cookie in her hand. "Percy, as you say, a seven-year-old half-breed can't travel long distances alone. Athena guided me to help when Talia was twelve and Luke was fourteen, and they ran away from home like me. They were happy to take me with them, they were... excellent fighters for fighting monsters, even if they were never trained. We traveled north from Virginia without a plan, for two weeks before being found by Grover , we also repelled a few monsters." "My mission was to escort Talia to the camp," Grover said, sniffling. "Talia was alone. Chiron gave me strict orders not to do anything that would delay the rescue mission. We knew Hades was after her, but I just couldn't leave Luke and Annabeth alone. I thought... I thought I could escort all three of them to safety. It's all my fault I let Mercy catch up , I was stunned at that time. On the way back to Camp Half-Blood, I was very scared and went the wrong way. If I could have been faster then..." "Stop it," Annabeth said. "Nobody blames you, and Talia doesn't blame you." "She sacrificed herself to save us," he said sadly. "Her death is my fault, and the satyr elders say the same." "Are they blaming you for not leaving the other two mulattos behind?" I said, "That's not fair." "Percy was right," Annabeth said. "Grover, I wouldn't be here today without you, and neither is Luke. We don't care what the elders say." Grover continued to sniff in the dark. "I'm just lucky. I'm the least useful satyr, but I found the two most powerful half-breeds of this century, Talia and Percy." "You're useless," insisted Annabeth, "you're the bravest satyr I've ever seen, or what satyr would dare go to the underworld. I bet Percy is happy with you Now with him." She kicked my shin. "Yeah," I said, which I would have said even if she hadn't kicked it. "Grover, you found Talia and me not because of good luck. You are the most courageous satyr in history. You are a natural investigator. You will definitely be the satyr who finds Pan. " I heard a long, contented sigh.I wait for Grover to speak, but he's just breathing harder and harder, and when it turns into a snoring, I know he's asleep. "How did he do that?" I was surprised. "I don't know," said Annabeth, "but what you said to him was really good." "I really think so." We traveled for miles in silence, bouncing up and down with the car on feed bags.The zebra chomped on the turnip; the lion looked at me hopefully after licking the last bit of ground meat off his mouth. Annabeth rubbed the necklace, as if thinking of a long-term strategy. "That pine bead," I said, "did you get it in your first year?" She looked at the beads, she hadn't noticed her movements before. "Yeah," she said, "every August, the instructors pick out the most important events of that summer and paint them on that year's beads. I have Talia pine trees, Greek warships on fire, and centaurs Wearing prom clothes, it was a strange summer..." "Is that college ring your dad's?" "It has nothing to do with you..." She paused and said, "Yes, it belongs to my father." "You don't have to tell me it's okay." "It's okay." Her breathing was a little trembling. "During the summer vacation two years ago, my dad sent it to me in a letter. This ring seems to be an important souvenir related to Athena. If there is no Athena, I will Dad probably won't be able to graduate from Harvard's Ph. I'll go home and live with him." "It sounds pretty good." "Yeah, well... the problem was that I believed him, so I went home to normal school after the summer. But my stepmother was the same as before, she didn't want her kids to be in danger by living with freaks. Whenever monsters attack, we fight; monsters attack again, and we fight. I couldn't even make it through the winter break, so I asked Chiron to take me back to Camp Half-Blood right away." "Do you think you'll go back to live with your dad in the future?" She didn't look me in the eye. "Please, I don't want to ask for trouble." "You shouldn't give up." I told her, "You should write him a letter." "Thank you for your advice." She said coldly, "But my dad has already chosen who to live with." We fell into a few kilometers of silence again. "So, if the gods go to war," I said, "will things go the way of the Trojan War? Will Athena fight Poseidon?" She rests her head on the bag Ares gave us and closes her eyes. "I don't know what my mother will do, but I know I will fight by your side." "why?" "Because you're my friend, Kelphead. Any more stupid questions?" I couldn't think of anything to answer her, but luckily I didn't need to because Annabeth was asleep. I couldn't fall asleep with her right away because of Grover's snoring and the white lion's hungry eyes, but I closed my eyes anyway. Nightmares start sometimes old dreams I've had a million times.I wore a straitjacket and was forced to take a test.All the other kids went out to rest after their exams, and the teacher kept saying, "Percy, write quickly. You're not stupid! Pick up your pencil." At this time, the dream deviates from the usual track and develops differently. I looked at the seat next door, and there was a girl sitting there, also wearing a restraint.She was about my age, with a punk head of wild black hair, black eyeliner framing her furious green eyes, and freckles on the bridge of her nose.Somehow, I knew who she was, she was Talia, the daughter of Zeus. She struggled to get out of the straitjacket, then gave me a frustrated look and snapped at me, "Hey, algae head? One of us has to get out of here." She was right, I thought in my dream.I'm going back to the cave to make my thoughts clear to Hades. My straitjacket melted and I fell, across the teacher's floor.The teacher's voice became cold and evil, echoing from the depths of the great abyss. "Percy Jackson," said the voice, "yes, the deal went well, I see." I return to the dark cave, and the ghosts of the dead revolve around me.Something strangely invisible in the pit was talking, but not to me this time.The disinterested voice seemed to be heading the other way. "Is he not suspicious at all?" he asked. Another voice, which I seemed to recognize, answered right next to me: "No, master, he is as ignorant as the rest." I turned my head to look, but there was no one, and the speaker was invisible. "A deception within a deception." The thing in the pit said thoughtfully: "It's great." "My master, it is true." The voice next to me said: "You are a famous planner, but is this really necessary? I can just give you what I stole..." "You?" The monster said disdainfully: "Your performance has reached the limit. If I hadn't intervened this time, you would have suffered a crushing defeat!" "But, master..." "Quiet, little minion, we've had a lot in six months. Zeus' rage is rising, and Poseidon has played his last card, and now we're going to fight him with that thing. Simply put, you'll get what you want and revenge. When both treasures are passed on to me... wait a minute, he's here." "What?" The invisible servant suddenly became nervous. "Master, did you summon him?" "No." The power of the monster is now fully poured into me, freezing me immediately. "Kill him, he's too fickle and unpredictable. The boy came here by himself." "How is it possible!" the servant yelled. "He's probably more of a coward than you." The voice growled, and then the icy power came back to me, "So... do you wish to dream about your quest, half-breed boy? If so, I'll help you a handful." The scene changed. I'm standing in a huge throne room.Black marble walls, a bronze floor, and an empty throne of terror in the hall, made of fused human bones.Standing below the throne dais is Mother, frozen in golden light, her arms stretched forward. I tried to walk towards her, but my feet couldn't move.I reached out to grab her, only to find that my hand was turning to bone.Here are giggling skeleton men in Greek armor surrounding me, draping silken robes around me, and placing a laurel wreath on my head that smokes from Kemera.My scalp burned. The evil voice laughed and said, "Aha, triumphant hero!" I am pleasantly surprised from the dream. Grover shook my shoulder. "The truck stopped," he said. "They should come back and check on the animals." "Hide away!" Annabeth said in a breathy voice. It's easy for her, just put on the magic hat and it will disappear immediately. Grover and I had to hide behind the feed and pray we looked like turnips. The container door creaked open, letting in sunlight and heat. "Damn it!" cursed one of the delivery men, flapping a hand in front of his ugly nose. "Wish I was carrying electrical appliances." He climbed in and poured some water from the jug into the animal's bowl. "Big fellow, are you hot?" he asked the lion, and splashed the rest of the water on the lion's face. The lion roared angrily. "Okay!" said the man. Under the turnip sack next to me, Grover tensed up.For a peaceful herbivore, he looked terrific. The freightman threw a crushed fast food children's meal bag to the antelope, and then smiled at the zebra and said, "How are you, Tiaowen boy! We will ask you at this stop. Do you like the magic show?" ? You must love it, the audience will see you cut in half!" The zebra stared straight at me with fear in its eager eyes. There was obviously no sound, but I clearly heard it say: "Master, help me, please." I was stunned, unable to react for a while. There was a loud banging sound from the side of the container. The man in the truck yelled, "Eddie, what are you doing?" A voice roared in from outside and it must be Eddie. "Morris, what did you say?" "Why are you knocking so hard?" boom!boom!boom! Eddie yelled outside: "What are you talking about knocking?" Our Maurice rolled his eyes, turned and walked outside, cursing Eddie for being an idiot. After a while, Annabeth appeared next to me.She must have knocked to lure Maurice outside."It must be an illegal operation," she said. "Exactly," Grover said.He paused, as if listening to something. "Lions say they are animal smugglers!" "It's true." Zebra's voice sounded in my head. "Must save them!" Grover said.Both he and Annabeth were watching me, waiting for my command. I can hear the zebra but not the lion, why?Maybe it's another learning disability...so I only understand zebras?Ah, I figured it out, horses, Annabeth seems to have said that Poseidon created horses.But are zebras and horses closely related?Is this why I can understand? Zebra said: "Master, please open my iron cage, I will be fine later." Eddie and Morris outside were still arguing loudly and I knew they would come in any minute and continue to torment the animals.Holding the wave sword, I split the lock on the iron cage of the zebra. The zebra rushed out of the cage, turned around and bowed to me, "Master, thank you." Grover raised his hand and spoke to the zebra in Sheep, as if wishing it well. Just as Morris scratched his head and was about to go back into the container to check for the strange sound, the zebra jumped over his head and rushed into the street, followed by yelling, screaming and car horns.We made it to the container door in time to see the zebra galloping down a street full of restaurants, casinos and neon lights.We just released a zebra in Las Vegas. Morris and Eddie ran after the zebras, followed by a few cops yelling, "Hey! You need a permit!" "Now is a good time for you to drive," Annabeth said. "Other animals take precedence." Grover. I cut through the big locks with my sword, and Grover held up his hands and gave them the goat's blessing, just like he did to the zebras. "Good luck," I said to the animals.The antelope and the lion rushed out of the cage and entered the street together. Some tourists started screaming, but most of them stepped back to take pictures, probably thinking it was the casino's new gimmick. "Are the animals okay?" I asked Grover, "I mean, it's a desert, and..." "Don't worry," he said. "I put satyr protection on them." "what do you mean." "I mean they'll get to the wild safely," he said. "They'll find water, food, shelter, everything they need until they find a safe place to live." "Why don't you put the protection magic on us too?" I asked. "It only works for wild animals." "So it's only useful for Percy," Annabeth reasoned. "Hey!" I protested. "Just kidding!" she said, "Come on, let's get out of this dirty truck." We stagger out of the truck into the bright desert afternoon sun.It's over forty degrees Celsius, and we must look a lot like homeless.But people on the street were watching wild animals, so we didn't pay much attention. We passed the Monte Carlo Hotel, the MGM Hotel, the pyramids, the pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty.Although the statue is only a miniature replica, it still makes me think sick. I'm not sure what we're looking for, maybe just a place to escape the heat for a few minutes, have a sandwich and a glass of lemonade, and think about new plans for the westbound journey. We must have turned in the wrong direction, as we came to a dead end, in front of the Lotus Casino Hotel.The hotel entrance is a giant neon flower with sparkling petals.Although no one is coming in or out now, the bright chrome-plated door is still open, and the air-conditioning spilling out smells like flowers, maybe lotus flowers.I've never smelled lotus, so I'm not sure. The waiter at the door smiled at us. "Hey kids, you look exhausted, would you like to come in and sit down?" This week, I've learned to be skeptical, anyone can be a monster or a god, you just don't recognize it.But this person is a normal person, I can tell at a glance.Also, hearing someone so empathetic puts me at ease.I nodded to him and told him we'd be happy to go in and sit down.Once inside, we looked around and Grover said, "Wow!" The entire lobby is one giant game room, not one of those annoying old-fashioned Pokemon video games or slot machines.There's an indoor waterslide that winds around a glass elevator that goes up to at least forty floors.There is a frontal climbing wall in the corner, and an indoor bungee jumping bridge.Virtual reality video games are equipped with laser guns, and hundreds of audio-visual video games are equipped with a wide-screen TV.Simply put, as long as you can name video games, you can find them here.There are a few children going, but there are not many people, so you don't have to wait if you want to play games.It's full of waitresses and sweetheart bars offering every kind of food you could want. "Hey!" said a waiter.I assumed he was the waiter, because he was wearing a white and yellow aloha with a lotus pattern on it, shorts, and flip flops. "Welcome to Lotus Casino, here is your room key." I stammered, "Well, but..." "Ah, no need." He said with a smile: "The bill has been dealt with, there is no extra charge, and there is no need to pay Xiao Hei. Please go directly to Room 4001 on the top floor. If you need anything, like adding soaks to the bath water now If you need a rake in the archery area, you just need to call the counter. This is your lotus cash card, which can be used in restaurants, all video games and amusement facilities.” He handed each of us a green plastic card. Something must be wrong, he obviously thought we were some millionaire's kids.But I still got the card and said, "How much money is in it?" His brows knit together. "what do you mean?" "I mean, when will Cary run out of cash?" He smiled. "Oh, you're kidding, that's cool. Have fun." We took the elevator upstairs and opened the door.It was a luxurious guest house with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, soda, and potato chips.There's a dedicated line for room service, fluffy towels, feather pillows, water beds, large screen TVs with satellite programming, and high-speed Internet access.There is a free-standing bathtub with hot water on the balcony, as well as a rake shooting machine and a shotgun, allowing you to practice rake shooting against the Las Vegas sky.I don't see how this could be legal, but it's pretty darn cool.While the views over the Las Vegas Strip and the desert are amazing, with room equipment like this, I doubt I'll ever have time to enjoy the view. "Oh my God," said Annabeth, "this place is..." "Very happy," Grover said. "Extremely happy." There are clothes in the closet and they fit perfectly.I frowned, thinking about it, it was really weird. I tossed Ares's backpack in the trash, it's no longer needed and we can buy a new one from the store in the hotel when we leave. I took a shower and it felt great after a week of dirty travel.After changing my clothes, I ate a bag of potato chips and drank three cans of Coke. I haven't felt so comfortable for a long time.But in a little corner of my head, there's this little problem that keeps haunting me like I have a dream or something... I need to talk to my friend, but that can wait Do. I came out of the bedroom to find that Annabeth and Grover had showered and changed as well. Grover ate his potato chips contentedly while Annabeth switched the TV to National Geographic. "There are so many channels to choose from," I said to her. "Are you crazy that you switch to National Geographic?" "It's interesting." "I think it's fine," Grover said. "I like this place." He didn't even realize that the flapping of his shoe lifted one of his feet and dropped it back on the ground. "What are we going to do now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?" Grover and I looked at each other and laughed.Because we all picked up the green lotus cash card in our hands. "It's game time," I said. I can't remember the last time I had such a good time.My family is relatively poor. In my mind, it is a luxury to just eat a meal at Burger King or rent a movie to watch at home.As for the five-star Las Vegas hotel?Don't even think about it. I did five or six bungee jumps in the lobby, and I went on the waterslide, and the man-made slope, and the virtual reality laser tag, and the FBI sharpshooter.I saw Grover a few times, and he played one after the other.She really likes Upside Down Hunter, the kind of game where deer come out and shoot rude hunters.I've also seen Annabeth play games that take time and brainpower.There is also a large-scale three-dimensional space simulator here, you can build your own city, and actually see the buildings composed of three-dimensional laser light spots animate from the game board.I don't have much interest in it, but Annabeth loves it. I'm not quite sure when I started noticing that things weren't right. Probably when I was playing VR sharpshooter and there was a kid next to me, that's when it started.I guess he's about thirteen, but he's dressed in a weird way.I think his dad might be some Elvis impersonator, because he's wearing bell bottoms, black piping on a red T-shirt, permed and gelled hair, much like a New Jersey girl at a homecoming party hairstyle. We played a game of sharpshooter together, and he said, "It's fantastic, it's been getting better and better every time I've been here for two weeks." Wonderful? When we were chatting later, I mentioned a man who was "very blind," but he was full of question marks, as if he had never heard such a statement. He said his name was Darren, and then I started asking him questions, and he thought I was annoying, got up and walked back to the computer screen. I said, "Hey, Darren." "what?" "What year is AD this year?" He frowned at me and said, "Is it in the game?" "No, in the real world." He thought hard. "1977." "No way," I started to feel a little scared, "Really?" "Hey, don't make noise, I'm playing a game." He completely ignored me after that. I started trying to talk to the people I saw, but I found it was not easy because they were all obsessed with TV screens, video games and food.One person told me it was 1985, another said it was 1993, and all said they hadn't been here very long, just a few days, weeks at most.None of them are sure about the time, and they don't care. This is where my problem comes in.How long have I been here?It seems like only two hours, but is that really the case? I try to remember why we are here.We were scheduled to go to Los Angeles to find the entrance to the underworld, and my mom was... so scary, I couldn't remember her name for a while, and by the way, Sally, Sally Jackson.I have to find her, I have to stop Hades from starting World War III. I find Annabeth, who is still building her city. "Come on," I said to her, "we have to get out of here." No reply. I want her. "Annabeth?" She looked up at me and said angrily, "Why?" "We should go." "Go? What nonsense are you talking about, I just put the minaret..." "This is a trap." She didn't answer me, so I shook her again. "what?" "Listen well, Underworld, our search mission!" "Oh, Percy, come on, it's just a few extra minutes." "Annabeth, there are people here who came in 1977, and kids never grow old. Once you live here, you stay here forever." "So what?" she asked, "Can you think of anything better than here?" I grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the game. "Hey!" she screamed and hit me so hard that no one looked up to see us, they were too busy. I let her eyes look straight at me.I said, "Spider, a big, hairy spider." These words finally stimulated her, and her eyes lit up. "My God," she said, "how long have we been here..." "I don't know, but we need to find Grover first." We searched around and found him still playing Upside Down Hunter. "Grover!" we yelled together. He said: "Human beings, go to hell! Dirty human beings who create pollution, go to death!" "Grover!" He turned around and aimed the plastic gun at me, clicking and shooting, like I was another hunter on the screen. I look at Annabeth, and together we grab Grover's arm and drag him out.His flying shoes popped out and began to pull his feet in the opposite direction.He yelled: "No! I just upgraded! I don't want to go!" The waiter at the hotel ran over quickly. "So, are you ready to claim the Platinum Card?" "We're leaving," I told him. "That's such a pity," he said.I think he meant it, and if we leave, it's on his heart. "We just added a brand new gaming floor for Platinum card customers." He took out the card, and I wanted one badly.I know that once I take it, I can never walk away.我会永远待在这里，一直开心的玩电玩，而且很快忘了妈妈和任务，或许连我的名字都会忘记。我和妙极了的达伦一直玩虚拟实境神枪手，直到永远。 Grover伸手去拿卡片，Annabeth赶紧用力将他的手拉回来。 "No, thank you." 我们往门口走去，食物的香气和电玩的声音愈来愈诱人，我想起楼上的房间，我们可以在那里多待一晚，睡一次的好床…… 接着我们冲出莲花赌场饭店的大门，跑下台阶到人行道上，现在好像是下午，和我们进去赌场饭店的时间差不多，可是有点不对劲。这时天气完全变了，天空乌云密布，阵阵闪电直落入沙漠。 阿瑞斯的背包还在我肩上。怪了，我明明将它丢到4001房的垃圾桶啦，不过我现在还有别的问题需要担心。 我跑到最近的书报摊，先看年份。感谢天神，和我们进去时的年份一样。接着我看了看日期：六月二十日。 我们在莲花赌场里待了五天。 距离夏至，只剩下一天的时间。在一天之内，我们要完成寻找任务。