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Lotus Eaters Are The Worst
September 3rd, 2005, Long Island, NY
Percy didn’t even bother putting on clothes that weren’t his shark-themed pajamas before he fled out of his cabin. He ran barefoot through Camp, running through the grass and stepping stone pathways until he came up to the Big House. Luckily, the door was always unlocked for the Campers, and Percy banged the door open, startling the barely awake centaur in the first living room.
“Percy!” Chiron exclaimed. “By the gods! Whatever are you doing, barging through here at 6:30 in the morning!?”
Percy spared just a glance at the clock in the corner to confirm the centaur’s statement. The clock indeed read 6:30.
“Chiron,” Percy said breathlessly. “We need a Trial team.”
Chiron’s startled expression turned to confusion and worry. The centaur was old enough to know to trust a prophet’s words, but he seemed quite confused about what a trail team would be needed for. A Trail was basically a mini-quest; Chiron or Mr. D would send antsy or powerful demigods on these to release pent-up energy, and so they would be able to test their abilities. The Trials were never dangerous enough to warrant shrouds being made, and they were never important enough for a prophecy.
“A Trial?” Chiron asked, bewildered.
“I had a vision,” Percy said, in lieu of an explanation.
Understanding dawned on Chiron’s face. “Ah, I see. Well, then, where shall the trial take these demigods?”
“A place where Annabeth, Grover, and I went during our quest. We had stumbled into the Lotus Hotel and Casino.” Chiron’s face darkened; he no doubt knew of the time-warping hotel.
“How many demigods shall be sent to the Lotus Hotel? What is the end goal of this Trial?” Chiron asked, now fully awake.
“I suspect six,” Percy replied. “This is a demigod retrieval quest.”
Chiron’s eyebrows rose. “There are demigods in the Lotus Casino?”
Percy nodded. “There are six, as for the reason of my saying that six trained Campers were to be sent off.”
“A wise choice.” Said the hero trainer. “I shall announce the upcoming Trial at breakfast this morning. You, my boy, should go back to your cabin and get ready for the day.”
Percy’s face heated up at the reminder of his ratty shark pajamas. He nodded dumbly. “Thanks, Chiron.” He left through the door of the Big House, closing it gently behind him. He walked, much more calmly this time, back through Camp, the slowly rising sun illuminating his path with cozy light.
—
That morning at breakfast, Chiron announced the need for six demigods over the age of 14 to go on a Trial. Six had volunteered: Oliver, or Oli, Morgan, a son of Aphrodite, Dune Asher, a child of Demeter, Ebony and Ivory Bell, the twin daughters of Apollo, Alabaster Torrington, a son of Hecate, and Ethan Nakamura, a son of Nemsis.
All six of the demigods were going to take two of the hauling trucks with “Delphi Fruits” plastered on the sides. The vans were made and warded specifically for hauling large groups of demigods from place to place, couches and pullout beds nailed to the floors and walls. Oli, Ebony, and Ivory would take one while Dune, Alabaster, and Ethan would take the other. Luckily, Ebony, Ivory, Ethan, and Dune were some of the very few campers who knew how to drive.
The demigods were told of the time trap that was the Lotus Hotel and Casino, and Percy told them of the demigods they were meant to bring back to Camp.
“Tell them Percy sent you.” The kid said, giving an extra dagger to Dune for some unknown reason. They gave him a curious look but accepted it nonetheless. “They’ll probably trust you more.”
“If you say so, kid,” Ebony said as she picked up her bag. She wanted to get on with this thing already; it had been much too long since she had last left Camp, and her skin was starting to get prickly. Dune and Ebony were the only ones still in the big house, their friends already in the vans. It was now a bit after noon, and they had all their things packed and ready to go for the next few days.
Percy Jackson, apparently their local prophet, had requested this demigod retrieval Trial for a few demigods he had met on his quest to find the Master Bolt. Ebony could barely comprehend how a 12, now 13-year-old, had managed that, gods know she probably wouldn’t have made it, but Percy had always looked like he was older than his years; whenever he looked at you, it was like he was looking directly into your soul.
Anyhow, there were apparently six mini demigods stuck in a place that warped and distorted time. It made Ebony’s skin crawl, and all the alarm bells go off in her head when she thought about it, but she didn’t care. She needed to leave Camp because, as much as she loved it,her siblings and friends, she needed to get out into the greater world and do something, even if it was just a trial. She kinda felt bad for thinking this, but she hoped that they would run into some monsters at some point. Sure, the woods sometimes had a few monsters Chiron would let them get at, but she wanted something real. Something that could get her blood pumping and could have actual consequences if something went wrong.
It had been around four years now since Ebony and her twin had stumbled into camp, bloody and teary-eyed. They had trekked all the way from North Dakota to Long Island. At the time, they hadn’t even been sure that Camp had existed, merely going off what little their drunkard of a mother had given them in one of her rare moments of sobriety.
“Two of the six have a shadow over their eyes,” Percy spoke, his voice drifting across the room like fog drifting over the ocean.
Ebony’s eyebrows furrowed, confusion lacing across her face.
Dune voiced what she was thinking. “What does that mean?”
Percy didn’t answer, however. The boy just smiled sadly and walked off into another room.
“Okay then,” Ebony said, starting after the son of Poseidon.
“Come on,” Dune said. “We should head to the vans.”
—
Ebony lifted herself into the back of one of the black Camp vans. Ivory, or Ivy was taking the first driving shift while she and Oli would be taking the back for now. She dumped her stuff in the corner and sat down next to Oli, who was already in the van. Ivy tossed her stuff in the back and was about to leave before Chiron stopped her.
“I’ve come to see you three off.” The old centaur spoke. “I know this Trial may not seem like much, especially compared to the last quest; however, I’d like to remind you that there will be six demigods per van. Even with the wards over the vehicle, there might be monsters trailing you while you are driving, so make sure to watch your back when you stop to rest.”
Ivy’s feathery wings fluttered behind her irritably. Ebony’s twin was just as stir crazy as she was. “We know Chiron.”
Chiron grimaced. “Apologies if that came out condescending, Miss Ivy. I merely worry.”
Ivy’s shoulders sagged, and she averted her eyes. “Yeah, I know.” She mumbled. “Sorry.”
Ebony smiled. At least her sister was trying. “We’ll be alright, Chiron. We got this.”
Chiron nodded. “I know you will be, all six of you are very capable young demigods. Now, I suggest you be off, Dune, Alabaster, and Ethan are waiting for the signal to begin the drive.”
Oli nodded. “Να είσαι καλά, Chiron.” (Be well.) He intoned. Ebony and Ivy followed suit.
“Να είσαι καλά, young demigods.”(Be well.)
Ivy closed the doors to the van and a moment later Ebony heard the truck begin to rumble.
Chiron raised his bow in salute as the two black moving trucks drove off.
—
It was a few hours later that the vans first stopped for a break. Ebony had been cooped up for much too long, gods, she had forgotten how much being stuck in a small place sucked. She and Oli had tried playing Uno, which they had found under a seat of one of the bolted-down couches, but the cards had just moved too much down the bumpy asphalt road. They had also tried to just talk to each other, and while she was grateful she could spend time with her boyfriend, there's only so much you can talk about before you get too bored.
They were stopping at a gas station somewhere in Pennsylvania to refuel the trucks, stretch their legs, use the restroom, and buy some snacks if they were privy.
Ivy groaned loudly from where she was stepping out of the van. She stretched her hands high above her head, then bent down and touched her toes.
“Ugh.” The blonde complained. “That sucked.”
“It did,” Ebony replied, popping her neck. “While we’re waiting for the vans to fuel up, do you wanna go and grab some snacks?”
Ivy thought for a moment before asking, “How much money did Chiron give us?”
“Fifty bucks.”
Ivy nodded. “Sure. Just one thing, though.”
“‘Course,” said the black haired demigodess. She looked over her shoulder and shouted their leave to the boys and Dune, who nodded in ascent.
Ivy and Ebony made their way inside the small gas station, almost forgetting to hide their more non-human features. The Mist could theoretically cover them, but it never worked in the favor of demigods, at least not in her experience.
Ebony immediately headed to the sweets aisle. She had a shameless sweet tooth, and it had been forever since she had actual candy. She searched around for a second before something caught her eye. She snatched a bag of gummy worms before heading off to find her sister.
Unsurprisingly, Ivy had picked out a small bag of spicy chips. Ebony wasn’t a big fan of the chips herself, but whatever made Ivy happy. The girls went to pay, sliding 6 bucks to the wary cashier.
Just as they were leaving the store, they noticed what was going on near the vans.
“Shit,” Ivy said quietly. Ebony couldn’t help but agree with her.
There was a pack of hellhounds surrounding the vans and, more importantly, their friends. The boys and Dune were fighting them, but there was no doubt that they needed help.
Ivy and Ebony ducked behind some of the propane tanks outside the building and set down their stuff. Ebony took out her harmonica and pressed a button on the side of it. The Harmonica expanded and its shape shifted until it resembled a wooden bow. She flipped the little notch on her satchel, and it expanded into a quiver, complete with golden-fletched arrows.
She notched an arrow and released it into the pack of hellhounds, at the same time as her twin.
It took over 15 minutes, but the hellhounds were eventually all killed.
Ebony hurried over to the vans, checking on her fellow demigods. Dune had a scratch on their shoulder, but it wasn’t anything that Ambrosia couldn’t fix. Oli had a bite on his forearm that was bleeding pretty badly, but they managed to patch it up quickly. Both Ethan and Alabaster were unharmed.
“Seriously, we left for five minutes, and you already got yourselves in trouble,” Ebony snapped jokingly.
“Not like we asked for the dogs to try and eat us for a mid-day snack,” Dune replied, sitting on the back of the open van, drinking from their water bottle.
“Yeah, I know,” Ebony replied tiredly. “C’mon, we should get back on the road.”
The others agreed, and soon enough, they were cruising back down the highway.
—
September 5th, 2005, Las Vegas, NV
They had finally arrived at the Lotus Hotel and Casino. They had been driving for more than two days, not even stopping to sleep. The hotel was tucked into the corner of an alleyway, and the building made Ebony’s skin itch. It stood at least 10 floors tall, made of white marble and concrete. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She should go inside, it would be fine, right? It smelled really good, and she could hear laughter echoing through the door. She should leave her bow in the van; she wouldn’t need it.
Ebony shook her head. This is a demigod trap, she reminded herself. She couldn’t let her guard down. She double checked that her harmonica was in her pocket.
“Ready?” Oli asked, glancing over his shoulder at the rest of the group.
The group confirmed, and Oli turned back around. Her boyfriend squared his shoulders and was the first one to enter the Lotus Hotel, Ebony quick to follow.
It was loud and raucous inside the Hotel. Children running all over, playing video games, bungee jumping, watching movies, and weaving in between the tables while playing tag. There were adults at a bar in the back, drunkenly playing pool or taking shots. She grimaced. They weren’t given the descriptions of the demigods, but she imagined that it wouldn’t be that hard to find them, given their not-so-mortal appearance.
“We should split up,” Dune suggested. “Ya’ know, divide and conquer and all that.”
“Groups of two,” Ethan suggested. “So we don’t forget what we came in here for.”
Oli nodded. “Right. Ivy, Dune, and I will look along the right side of the hotel, Ebony, Ethan, and Alabaster, will look on the left side of the hotel, that sound good?”
When no one spoke up, he nodded, turning off to the right, Ivy and Dune following behind.
“C’mon, let's go check the movie section first,” Ethan said. He didn’t wait before walking off.
Ebony looked at her surroundings wearily as they walked, trying to look for the demigods while also not getting distracted by the fun looking activities. At one point it took both her and Ethan to pull Alabaster away from an arcade game. The longer they were in the hotel the more anxious she got. It took what felt almost like an hour, though she knew it was probably longer than that, to find the first demigod. Ethan was the one who spotted her first.
“Over there,” Ethan interjected into their quiet conversation. There was a maybe twelve year old girl leaning against a wall, fiddling with her dress and looking around anxiously.
The girl spotted them almost immediately when they started jogging towards her.
“Are you with Percy?” She asked as soon as they were in range.
“Uh, yeah, we are,” Alabaster said. “We were sent from Camp to fetch you and your friends. Where are they?”
“Oh, uhm, just over here,” she said. She began to walk towards an open archway, leading to a large room. The teens followed her. The room they entered had a few bookshelves lining the wall, a half-open cupboard filled with boardgames, and in the middle was a table with colored pencils, crayons, coloring books laying on it. Though the most important thing were the five demigods sitting around it.
“Guys,” the first girl said. “These people are from the Camp Percy mentioned.”
A little girl with three eyes beamed at them. “Are you really? Is Percy here?”
Ebony spoke up. “We are from Camp, yeah, but Percy isn’t here.”
The little girl frowned. “Well, why not?”
“Because he just went on a quest and this is a trial. He can’t go on a trial just yet.”
“Why?” The little girl spoke.
Ethan groaned. “Doesn’t matter. Alabaster, can you go shout for the others? We should get outta here soon.”
Alabaster nodded, leaving the room.
Ebony huffed. “Well, why don’t we introduce ourselves while we wait for them? My name’s Ebony, that’s Ethan, and the other boy was Alabaster.”
The oldest boy looked them up and down before barking out “Vincent.”
“Beatrix Honey,” commented the girl with bee wings.
“Bianca di Angelo.”
“Nico!”
“I’m Emily, and this is Emmet.”
Ebony smiled kindly. “Those are nice names!” She said, trying to cover up the sound of Ethan’s shoe tapping against the floor.
“Thank you!” Emily yipped. She then went on to badger Ebony with questions for the next minute as they waited for the others to get back. She almost sighed with relief when they arrived.
“Alright everyone! It’s time to get going,” Ebony said. “There are two vans outside and there are going to be six demigods in each van, I’d like it if you could split into two groups, please.”
Beatrix glanced over at her friends before seemingly making the executive decision for them and saying, “I’ll ride with Emily and Emmet, and Vincent, Bianca, and Nico can ride together. Does that sound good?”
The other kids nodded.
Dune stepped up. “Okay, which of you are Emily and Emmet?”
Emily grabbed her little brother’s hand and waved them both about.
“Alright,” they started. “You three will ride with me, Ethan, and Alabaster. The rest of you will ride with Ebony, Ivy, and Oli. Let’s go.”
The little kids got up from their table and followed them out of the room. Ebony shared a glance with her sister before going to the rear of the group, making sure no one got lost.
The journey out was relatively uneventful, just getting stopped by the bellhop, to which he scrambled off after Oli growled at him. Ebony helped get the children situated in the vans before going back to her van and getting in the driver’s seat. Oli and Ivy would be in the back with the kids while she drove, this time. Ebony settled in for the long drive. She waited for Ethan to drive off before driving after him.
—
It was late at night when things started to go badly. So far, the drive had been going well, they had stopped once for a bathroom break, and while they got attacked by some monsters, they got back on the road with no injuries. Ebony’s head was resting on one of her hands, the other on the wheel. She was bored, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. The only light illuminating the road was the moon and occasional streetlamp.
Ebony’s eyebrows furrowed as she watched as the other Camp van slowed down and pulled off to the shoulder of the road. Ebony was too close and going too fast to stop behind them but she managed to pull off a little ways in front of them. She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. One of the back doors opened as she walked by.
“Eb? Why’d we pull over?” Ivy asked.
She looked back towards her sister. “I don’t know. Ethan pulled over so I’m going to check what’s going on.”
Ivy nodded. “I’ll come with you then, if they’re in trouble, I want to help.” She looked over her shoulder. “Oli, stay here just in case any monsters come.”
“Will do,” he said. Ivy jumped out of the van and shut the door behind her. The two walked over to the other van slowing when they heard a commotion but no monsters.
“Stay behind the van,” Ebony told her sister quietly. “In case we need backup.”
Ivy nodded.
Ebony walked over to the back of the van, gasping when she saw the scene. Ethan had Beatrix by the back of her neck, a sword to her throat. A cold kind of anger and determination was etched into his face, juxtapositioned by the look of absolute fear on Beatrix’s.
“Ethan! What the fuck!” She shouted, her voice laced with anger and fear. She tried to reach for her harmonica, but Ethan spoke up before she could.
“Pull out your bow and I’ll kill her.”
Ebony gritted her teeth but her hands stilled.
“What’d you do to the others?” She spoke through her gritted teeth.
“Oh, I’m fine,” Alabaster commented evenly. She looked over at him. His hand was wrapped tightly around Emily’s neck, and though his sword was not at her neck, the pommel of it was splattered in blood. “Dune, though? Not so much.”
Ebony glared harshly at him.
He grinned. “Oh, relax, Ebony. They’re just knocked out.”
“What did you do with Emmet?” She snapped.
Ethan huffed. “He’s too young to be of any use. You can keep him.” She barred her teeth.
“Now, if you would just stay there, no one else will have to get hurt, and we can be on our merry way,” Ethan spoke smoothly, slowly backing up. Ebony heard a whizz near her ear and watched as an arrow logged itself into Ethan’s wrist, making him yelp and drop his sword. Beatrix took her chance and ran, ducking behind Ebony and running to where Ivy was hidden. Alabaster yanked Emily closer and held his sword up, but at that point Ebony already had an arrow notched into her bow and had pointed it at his head.
“Let her go, or I’ll kill you,” she said, though her hands were shaking. Alabaster didn’t seem to notice though as he let Emily go and roughly pushed her to the ground. He backed up to where Ethan was standing, clutching his wrist.
“This isn’t the last you’ll see of us,” Alabaster spat. He grabbed Ethan’s good arm and both of them ran into the forest.
Ebony let them go.
—
Dune was still a bit woozy when Ebony left the van. They had woken up just as Alabaster and Ethan left and Ivy had helped them wrap their head in a bandage, as that was where Alabaster had struck them to knock them out. The little kids were still shaken and Emily’s hands were a bit scuffed up from her fall, but otherwise everyone was fine. Ivy was going to drive Dune’s van while Ebony went back to theirs.
Ebony poked her head in the back of the van and explained what happened to Oli, his face darkening. Ebony shut the door again and went back to start the van.
—
September 8th, 2005, Long Island, NY
Percy was standing on the hill next to the golden border of Camp Half-Blood, staring down towards the street.
“They gonna be back soon?” Micha asked, coming to stand next to him. Percy merely nodded. The trip to collect his cousins and his friends had gone just how he had seen it would. It was unfortunate that Nakamura and Torrington had decided to defect, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He hoped they would see the right side of things before it was too late, they were some of the few where redemption was possible.
Percy let a smile come across his lips as the vans rode into view. Soon, they parked and people started loading out of the van. When Bianca turned and looked up at the hill and saw not only Percy, but Micha too, her smile was so wide that it almost reached her ears. She beckoned over Nico who, when he spotted them, started jumping up and down and waving his hands about. Micha giggled.
“So those are our siblings?” He asked.
Percy laughed. “Yes, they are.”