A Son From Lands Unknown (PJO x Male Reader)

Welcome to the Lotus Jungle

The next morning, (Y/N) woke up with a start. Annabeth was shaking him awake while Grover was waking Percy, the two having woken up a few hours before.

"The truck's stopped," Grover said. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."

"Hide!" Annabeth hissed. She had it easy. She just put on her magic cap and disappeared. Grover and Percy opted to dive behind feed sacks in the hope they looked like turnips. (Y/N) decided to hide behind a couple crates that had shifted during the drive. The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and desert heat poured in.

"Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his ugly nose. "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and poured some water from a jug into the animals' dishes.

"You hot, big boy?" he asked the lion, then splashed the rest of the bucket right into the lion's face. The lion roared in indignation.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man laughed. Grover tensed under the turnip sacks. For a peace-loving herbivore, the satyr looked downright murderous.

The trucker then threw a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag to the antelope. He smirked at the zebra, saying, "How ya doin', Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"

The zebra went wild-eyed with fear and looked straight at Percy. There was no sound, but Percy could hear it clear as day, 'Free me, lord. Please.'

Percy was too stunned to react.

There was a loud knocking noise on the side of the trailer.

"What you want, Eddie?" the trucker inside yelled.

A voice outside, which must have been Eddie's, shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"

"What are you banging for?"

The knocking came again.

Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"

Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot. A second later, Annabeth appeared next to the two under the turnips. She was the one making the knocking noise to get Maurice out of the trailer.

"This transport business can't be legal," she said.

"No kidding," Grover replied. He paused, like he was listening, before saying, "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers! We've got to free them!" Grover and Annabeth looked to Percy, waiting for his lead. (Y/N) for his part leaned back against the crates, not caring either way.

"Whatever you're doing, do it quickly. Time's wasting," he said. Percy paused for a second more before slashing the locks off the cages.

The zebra burst out. It turned to Percy and bowed before Grover approached it and recited something in goat, something like a blessing. Whatever it was, it was giving (Y/N) a headache, and he didn't know why.

Just as Maurice was poking his head back inside to check out the noise, the zebra leaped over him and into the street. There was yelling and screaming, and cars honking. The group rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels casinos and neon signs. Then, it hit them.

They'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.

Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them. "Hey! You need a permit for that!" they were shouting.

"Now would be a good time to leave," Annabeth suggested.

"The other animals first," Grover said. Percy cut the locks with his sword. Grover raised his hand and recited the same blessing, once more giving (Y/N) a headache.