Tidal Wave (Luke Castellan)

The Casino

We arrived in Vegas eventually. It was too dark to really know if it were morning or night at that point. But whatever time it was, the journey was long. The drivers banged on the side of the truck as they neared the doors. Annabeth put on her invisibility cap to hide. Grover, Percy, and I had to get more creative. The big doors slid open and someone peeked in to check on the animals. There was banging somewhere else in the truck so the man went to go check on it. Annabeth took off her hat, revealing that she was the one who did the banging, probably to distract the drivers. She started talking to Grover and Percy in a hushed tone but since I was in the furthest corner so I couldn't really hear what conversation they were having. Suddenly, Percy raised his sword and slashed through the lock on a zebra's cage. The zebra sprang forwards and rushed out of the truck just as the man came back around to the doors. I got the plan as I drew my own sword and started cutting the locks on the other animal cages. I was really hoping they wouldn't eat me, especially since one of the animals I let out was a lion. In the chaos, the four of us were able to sneak out of the truck and far enough away to not look suspicious.

"We didn't just put a lot of people's lives in danger, right?" I asked as we gazed at all of the animals roaming around the streets.

"Nah, they'll be fine," Grover shrugged off, "I gave the animals a blessing too so they'll be okay."

"So where do you think we'd find this Lotus Casino?" Percy changed the subject.

Annabeth looked over, "Try the place with the big lotus flower on it."

Percy groaned with a smile, "You beat me by a second. Seriously! A second!"

We all started walking towards the big building. I looked around, taking in all of the sights around us. There was a mini Statue of Liberty, a pirate ship, and... a pyramid? The others were looking around in just as much wonder as I was. I doubted that we'd ever see a place like this again.

When we stepped into the building, something felt different. I felt... calmer. I wasn't as worried about the quest as I had been before. The building was filled with bright lights and noises. There were gaming machines all over the place. But those games weren't just for adults, they were for kids and teens too. The whole scene was intoxicating.

Somebody came over to us with a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops, "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."

Percy gave the man a raised eyebrow, "We didn't-"

"Don't worry, the bill's already taken care of. Don't worry about any charges. Don't worry about anything. Your room is on the top floor, room 4001. Enjoy your stay here!" He handed us each a card and walked away.

I looked at it suspiciously. The green card looked harmless but something felt off here. Who just handed a group of kids game cards and told us to have fun? He didn't even ask where our parents were. Granted, we didn't have any with us but still. The whole situation was pretty eerie. But strangely enough, as soon as that feeling had hit me, it was gone. I was feeling content again. I didn't have a single worry in the world. Why was I suspicious of this place? It was built for fun. And after everything we'd been through, we deserved some fun.

We went up to our room and took a look around. The whole thing was very fancy. I know that this was a place that would be very hard to afford. How we were lucky enough to get in for free was incredible to me. Maybe a god had taken pity on us and had decided to cover our bill. Who was the god of fun again? Oh yeah, the closest one to that was Mr. D.

I got to take a nice, hot shower. It felt so nice to get the dirt and grime off of my face and from under my nails. I got to brust out my rat's nest of hair. I felt so clean afterwards. It was something I hadn't felt in a really long time. I was starting to forget what it was actually like. After I was all settled, I finally left the bathroom. Three pairs of eyes were instantly on me. The others were looking way too excited. I was the last one to shower so they were just waiting on me to explore.