The Nature of a Demigod

Hunks of Junk

"Maybe you have to hit the skeleton in a certain spot," I said. Bianca looked uncomfortable with everybody paying attention to her. "Never mind," Zoe told her. "We will find the answer. In the meantime, we should plan our next move. When we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. If we can find a road, we can hitchhike to the nearest city. I think that would be Las Vegas."

I was about to protest that Y/N, Grover and I had had bad experiences in that town, but Bianca beat us to it. "No!" she said. "Not there!" She looked really freaked out, like she'd just been dropped off the steep end of a roller coaster. Even Y/N looked down at her. He looked like he was starting to figure something out.

Zoe frowned. "Why?" Bianca took a shaky breath. "I... I think we stayed there for a while. Nico and I. When we were traveling. And then, I can't remember..."

Suddenly I had a really bad thought. I remembered what Bianca had told me about Nico and her staying in a hotel for a while. I met my friend's eyes, and I got the feeling they were thinking the same thing.

"Bianca," I said. "That hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?" Her eyes widened. "How could you know that?"

"Oh, great," I said.

"So that's where I know you from... I never did get you that drink." Y/N muttered, putting a hand to his face, mumbling a bunch of nothing. Bianca looked at him with a shocked expression of realization. "Pinball." she muttered, horrified. Grover grumbled.  "Wait," Thalia said. "What is the Lotus Casino?"

"A couple of years ago," I said, "Grover, Annabeth, Y/N, and I got trapped there. It's designed so you never want to leave. We stayed for about an hour. When we came out, five days had passed. It makes time speed up."

"No," Bianca said. "No, that's not possible." Y/N looked down at the fire. "Oh, it's possible. It always happens in magic places. The Sea of Monsters last summer felt like two days and it was actually about two weeks." Bianca looked like she was about to cry.

"You said somebody came and got you out," I remembered. "Yes." she told us. "What did he look like? What did he say?"

"I... I don't remember. Please, I really don't want to talk about this." Zoe sat forward, her eyebrows knit with concern. "You said that Washington, D.C., had changed when you went back last summer. You didn't remember the subway being there."

"Yes, but-"

"Bianca," Zoe said, "can you tell me the name of the president of the United States right now?"

"Don't be silly," Bianca said. She told us the correct name of the president. "And who was the president before that?" Zoe asked. Bianca thought for a while. "Roosevelt." Y/N looked nervous. "Which one?"

"Franklin," Bianca said. "F.D.R."

"Like FDR Drive?" I asked. Because seriously, that's about all I knew about F.D.R. "Bianca," Zoe said. "F.D.R. was not the last president. That was about seventy years ago."

"That's impossible," Bianca said. "I... I'm not that old." She stared at her hands as if to make sure they weren't wrinkled.

Thalia's eyes turned sad. I guess she knew what it was like to get pulled out of time for a while. "It's okay, Bianca, The important thing is you and Nico are safe. You made it out."

"But how?" I said. "We were only in there for an hour and we barely escaped. How could you have escaped after being there for so long?"

"I told you." Bianca looked about ready to cry. "A man came and said it was time to leave. And-"