Chapter 16 Lotus

​Slaughter, there was so much slaughter. So much blood, it can fill an entire ocean. Everywhere Lucian looked, there was red. He looked down and saw that he was standing on a pile of bodies of people he has never met before. Lucian continued to look around and stopped at a spot where a few corpses lied. He recognized these people. The pretty girl with blonde curly hair that was dyed in red, the boy with the skinny body and blue eyes, his favorite half donkey man that tried to act confident all the time, and the centaur whos white pure coat was drenched in blood, the one that took him in and kept his secret. The friends he has made were all lying there, motionless. Lucian looked down toward his hands and saw them drenched in blood, chains wrapped around his forearms that connected to the blades impaled on the body he was standing on.

Lucians face was pale, he couldn't handle this scene that would make any sane person try to kill themselves with the nearest stick. He looked up at the blood red moon, then down at the valley of never ending bodies. He picked up the twin blades and impaled it into his chest, to save his eyes from having to see such a grotesque scene. Just before he closes his eyes, he sees a ghost white figure stand in front of him. He watched as Lucian slowly breathes his last breath and closes his eyes.

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"*GASP* Noo! NO!! Please No!!" Lucian woke up from the hell he had just witnessed. He gasped for air, pleaded for what he saw to be nothing but a mirage. A mirage so sicking he prayed no one else had to go through it.

"Lucian, calm down! It's okay, it was just a nightmare!" Annabeth hugs Lucian and brings his head toward her chest, calming him down as he hears her heart beat. She caressed his hair as he takes deep breaths, trying to make sense of his surroundings. They were back in the truck, the truck that has had an awkward atmosphere the past few days and the last place he wanted to be. But right now, all he could feel was warmth and comfort.

"What happened?" Lucian asks, hoping to make light of what happened. "You mean you dont remember?" Asks Percy for some reason astonished at the fact. "I asked what happened didn't I? Obviously I dont remember." For some reason I was feeling really bitchy, and I was in a bad mood. But can you blame me for having seen what I just saw. "You killed the Hydra, all by yourself. You seemed to go into a sort of battle mode, where nothing else was on you mind other than slaying the Hydra. Your hands were on fire to, which seemed to be the cause of the state you were in." Percy says, to my astonishment. I was in a sort of battle mode? All I remember is my hands feeling like they were on fire after I saved Annabeth.

Speaking of Annabeth, I try to look up and look at her face but she was not letting me. She just continued to caress my hair, which felt good actually. I could feel her blonde curly hair on the nape of my neck, and her heart beat that was beating pretty quickly. I guess she was not ignoring me anymore. For some reason, this made me really happy and made me smile.

"I'm sorry if I scared you guys." Annabeth seemed to finally react. "YOU DONT KNOW HOW SCARED I-...We were. Dont do that again Idiot!" She squeezed the hold she had on my neck a lot tighter, making it hard to breath. "O..Kay...let...go. My...Neck is going....numb!" Annabeth seems to realize her mistake and immediately let's go allowing me to breath. "I'm glad your not ignoring me anymore." I say as I rub my neck. She looks gloomy at the mention of how she was acting.

"I'm sorry Lucian...I didn't mean to hurt you or make you feel like an outsider. Its just...I have lived in the camp ever since I was 7. So when you told me that your father is Kratos, the man we have heard ghost stories about and the man who has killed many of the campers parents...I was scared." Annabeth said as she looked down and clenched her fist. "You? The daughter of the all mighty Athena is scared?" I joked trying to lighten the mood, though it didn't work. "*Sigh* I dont blame you, I never did. I was happy you were staying true to your emotions. Although I'm not gonna lie, it did hurt." I rub her head to comfort her. I was ready to immediately retract my hand, but she didn't scold me this time. She accepted it and nodded weakly. "I'm sorry." She said in a whisper.

"I told you, it's fine...where are we by the way?" I asked as I looked out the window on my right that displayed a bunch of buildings with lights. There was color everywhere you looked. "Welcome to Vegas!!" Grover said, speaking for the first time. "The solstice is coming soon so we have to hurry and find the next pearl. The gods are starting to get angry, causing the weather to go out of wack. This is where the map told us the next pearl is." Percy drove to a giant hotel, the sign said it was called the Lotus hotel and casino.

We pulled up and parked the truck, we all got out and stretched from all that driving around. "Man, we can so use a break! Hey guys, let's go play some black jack!" Grover cheered as he made this seem like a vocation. "We're not here to gamble Grover! We're here to find the Pearl." Annabeth tried to remind Grover what they were here for. We walk into the Hotel which was filled with mortals. There was a car that was being presented on display, and it looked fast and expensive.

We continued to walk and it soon lead us to where the casino was. There were people gambling, dancing, and outright enjoying themselves in anyway they could. There were many hotel workers and women with trays that carried a sort of flower walking around. As we were looking around trying to see if we could spot the pearl, one of the woman with a tray snuck up on us."Can I get you something? Try a lotus flower, they're so good! It's our signature dish." As the woman was talking, more girls came up to us with the flowers.

"Signature?" Grover questioned as he picked up a Lotus flower and sniffed it, Percy and Annabeth also picked one up. For some reason something seemed fishy to me, like how the woman are only offering flowers and not any beverages. Every single cocktail waitress here only has the flowers on their trays. The girls eyed me, waiting for me to pick one up. I decide to comply and pick one up hopefully making them leave, which it did. They left as soon as I picked it up.

"Do we have to pay for these?!" Grover screamed out but got no reply. "Guess they're free." He says as he takes a bite out of two flowers. Percy and Annabeth also take a small bite. "This is so good! The best thing I have ever consumed!" Grover exclaimed. Really? Better than my cooking? It honestly made me want to try it to see how it tastes like. I look at Percy and Annabeth and see that they also have the same face of absolute delicacy. They all started to laugh as they look all around them.

"Wow! Guys why don't we stay here for a while?" Annabeth said with a big happy smile. Hold up, now I know something is off. Grover is always looking for a reason to party, so that's pretty normal. Percy laughing like a little girl? Weird but believable. But Annabeth wanting to stay and have fun while we were on the quest she has been wanting her whole life? The world should might as well end.

"Ummm...guys are you ok-" they all ran off in separat directions. Grover went to the dance floor while Percy and Annabeth held each others hand and went to the gambling section. What the hell!! I guess I'm going to have to find that damn pearl myself!

Looking for a small ass pearl in a place where there are a bunch of lights and people is so fucking hard! I searched for 30 minutes but I still have not found it. "Would you like a lotus flower? It's our signature dish!" Another woman with a tray came up to me. "No thanks." I said as I walked away. These people have some seriously weird vibes. I wouldn't eat anything from them even if I was starved!

"Would you like a lotus flower?" Another girl snuck up from my left side causing me to flinch and bump into a gambling table on my right. It was a table that had a ball spin around a bunch of numbers. No, that was wrong, it's not a ball...Its the pearl!! I found the pearl! Now all I have to do is find a way to take it, without alerting the people guarding the pearl. It seems that each Pearl was being protected from something, and if my guess is correct its those flowers, and the people working here.

"Sure! I'll have one." Lucian said with a smile. He reached out to grab one but knocked the tray out of the girls hands on purpose, causing it to fall on the floor with a loud bang. "Oh no! I'm so sorry!" Lucian said as he looked around to make sure his plan worked, and it did since everyone was looking at the floor where all the lotus flowers fell at. Lucian quickly snatched the pearl as is it rolled next to him, and slipped out undetected. Now all he has to do is find his friends and get out of this god forsaken place.

I walk around and spot Grover dancing with a group of people with his pants off, showing off that he was a satyr. Honestly, this guy. I walk up to him and pull him out of the dance floor by his ear. "Ow ow ow ow ow! Lucian what's your problem man!?" Grover shouted out at the pain. "Grover, we're leaving." I said as I released his ear. "Leaving? Why? Aren't you having fun? Oh, I get it. You need to eat a flower." I slap Grover across the face. "WAKE UP! It's the flowers that are making you like this, they make you want to stay forever!" Grover blinks and slowly comes to a realization. "Come on, I found the pearl. Now we have to get Percy and Annabeth and get the hell out."

We look for Percy and Annabeth, and find them in the gambling center. They were playing a game where you throw dice. They seem to have won as they started to celebrate, causing Percy to put his hands on Annabeths face. I froze at the sight of this and only moved again as Percy let go. Me and Grover pull them to the side to try and wake them up.

"Guys we're leaving." Annabeth pouted. "Whyyyy? We're having so much fun!" I grab Annabeths cheeks and stare into her eyes. "Annabeth, the flowers are making you want to stay forever. We need to leave. Now." Just like Grover, Percy and Annabeth realize what the flowers were doing. Annabeth blushed as she realized how close Lucian was. "I have the pearl, we can get out of here now." I look up and notice that the hotel workers seemed to be looking for the pearl. "We need to go now!" We run toward the entrance we came from, only to find the staff waiting for us.

We fought back and pushed the guards out of the way without actually hurting them fatally. Although we were stronger, there was just to many of them. I see the car that we saw when we first came here and got an Idea. "Guys follow me!" I run up to the car and open the door, getting in the drivers seat. I look around for the keys and find them in the sun visor. I put the keys in the ignition and roar the car to life. I look at my friends who were in the car, and they nodded encouragingly. I step on the gas pedal and drive through the casino rooms and out through their glass doors.

I drift into the main road and swerve past the cars in front of us. I really hope I dont crash, since Mother Medusa never really taught me how to drive. "Of course! It all makes sense, that was the land of the lotus eaters. They have been luring people into their trap since ancient times." Annabeth said, most likely feeling stupid. "Lucian, how did you figure it out?" Percy asked from the back seat.

"The whole thing seemed hella sketchy from the very beginning. I never ate the flower they fist offered us, and only took it to make the girl leave. After you guys ate it you guys seemed so happy all of a sudden. At first I thought it wasn't anything major, untill I heard Annabeth say she wanted to stay for a while. There is no way Annabeth out of all of us would want to stay and have fun during an important quest." Annabeth nodded like it was something obvious. "Naturally!"

"What's our next location?" I asked Percy who pulled out the map. "Santa Monica? Its pointing us toward the ocean." I look over at the map and it did say it was in Santa Monica, but it was further in the ocean. Great, guess we are going to have to go scuba diving. "Alright, let's get the last pearl." I pressed on the gas and zoomed through the street.