Tiffany Hanson, A Percy Jackson Fan Fiction

20

We made our way out of the truck, into the desert afternoon. It was easily over a hundred degrees, and we looked like hobo's but what can you do? We spend a night in a smugglers truck. People were to interested in the animals anyway, we didn't attract much attention.

We passed the Monte Carlo, the MGM and little tiny replicas of the pyramids, a pirate ship, the Statue of Liberty, all the things that vegas promised in its commercials really. While our surroundings were interesting, I don't think any of us really knew what to do in them. None of us had been to Vegas before, none of us knew the way around. At least, I don't think I'd ever been to Vegas before, it was familiar, but at the same time- I don't know. It was an odd feeling, I dismissed it.

I think at some point we'd taken a wrong turn, because soon enough we found ourselves at a dead end in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was a huge neon lotus flower, the petals all lighting up in pattern to attract attention. There was no one leaving, no one going in, but the doors were open, pouring air conditioning into the street that smelled like what I assumed were lotus flowers.

The doorman smiled at us, looking inviting enough, but one can never be to careful. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come and sit down?" he asked us kindly.

The man looked pretty normal, and he was sympathetic, and kind, looked trusting enough, but there were alarm bells going off in my head. Don't go in, don't trust him. Why not? I couldn't figure it out. There was a funky aura about the place. Dark memories.

Percy nodded. "We'd love to," he started, but I cut him off.

"Percy, I don't like this. At all. There's something telling me it's not safe," I said, grabbing him arm.

He shot me a confused look. "Tif, this guy's totally normal, and we need a break. We've got plenty of time."

I wanted to protest again, but I had to admit, a comfortable and cool place to rest was extremely tempting. I backed off, still worried, but I'm not going to fight it. I'm tired and there's beds in a hotel. We stepped inside and took one look around, Grover was the first to speak.

"Whoa."

Whoa was right. The entire lobby was a game room, but it was the most intense game room I'd ever seen in my life. There was an indoor water-slide that flowed through the entire lobby, and surrounding a glass elevator that went up at least 30 floors, probably more. To the right, there was a huge climbing wall beside an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. Virtual reality suits with laser guns were scattered around the entire lobby, surrounded by hundreds of video games with huge screens, like big screen TVs. There were a few other kids, but I couldn't see that many. No line-ups, and no lack of food. There were waitresses everywhere, and snack bars, serving anything you could eat.

"hey!" said a bellhop, running over to us. His uniform was odd, a white and yellow Hawaiian shirt with a lotus flower design, cargo shorts and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."

"Um, but-" Percy stammered.

"No, no," he said laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up tot eh top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the not tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk." Shooting range? That sounded good to me. "Here are your Lotus Cash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."

He handed us each a green plastic card, like a credit card. There was a lotus flower on it in a slightly lighter shade of green and a serial number. On the back was the standard magnetic strip. 

"How much is on here?" Percy asked, after a pause.

The bellhops brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"