DON'T BE A SILENT READER
Amara's pov
The war god was waiting for us in the diner parking lot. "Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed."
"You knew it was a trap," Percy said. Ares gave him a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."
He shoved his shield at him. "You're a jerk."
Luke and Grover caught their breath as I glared at Ares and ship growled. Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.
"See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."
The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because I saw it several times on the road trips I had taken: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.
I said, "You're kidding."
Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck was unlatched. "Free ride west, punks. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job." He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to Percy. Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.
Percy said, "I don't want your lousy — "
"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving me his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."
I gritted my teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god, but I didn't want anything that Ares had touched nor did percy. Reluctantly, he slung the backpack over my shoulder. I knew my anger was being caused by the war god's presence, but I was still itching to punch him in the nose. He reminded me of every bully and villain I'd ever faced. Every jerk who'd called me a stupid nerd in school or laughed at me in battle.
I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cookout from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera, and snapped a picture of us.
Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again tomorrow. I imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW BEATS UP DEFENSELESS BIKER.
"You owe me one more thing," Percy told Ares, trying to keep his voice level. "You promised me information about my mother."
"You sure you can handle the news?" He kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."
The ground seemed to spin beneath me. "What do you mean?"
"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."
"Kept. Why?"
"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."
"Nobody's controlling me."
He laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."
I balled up my fists. "You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."
Behind his sunglasses, the fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. "We'll meet again, Amara Tennyson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."
"Better watch your I am sure aunty aphrodite is made you send her favorite legacy in danger" I smiled and I swear I saw him shiver as He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancy Street.
Luke said, "That was not smart"
"I don't care."
"You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god."
"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but . . ."
He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their checks, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck.
"If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."
I didn't like it, but we had no better option. Besides, I'd seen enough of Denver. We ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind us. The first thing that hit me was the smell. It was like the world's biggest pan of kitty litter. The trailer was dark inside until the ship blinks its eye and soon lit up a green flashlight that cast a light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals I'd ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing I didn't know the name for.
Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!
Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.
"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"
He probably would've gone right back outside to beat up the truckers with his reed pipes, and I would've helped him, but just then the truck's engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and we were forced to sit down or fall down.
We huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat, and the flies. Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly.
Luke was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but I pointed out it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving.
I found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then Percy used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. I gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope. Grover calmed the antelope down, while Luke used his knife to cut the balloon off his horn.
He wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but we decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. I turned my dail and transformed. " ARCHEAGLE!"
I used the powers of the alien to heal the animals making them feel better and healthier. The lion looked very happy and roared in thanks as he licked my check through the bar after I turn back human. The ship morphed into a cooling fan and cools down the animals.
We told Grover to promise the animals we'd help them more in the morning, then we settled in for the night. Grover curled up on a turnip sack; Luke napping on some hay; Percy opened our bag of Double Stuf Oreos and nibbled on one halfheartedly; I tried to cheer myself up by concentrating on the fact that we were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to our destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. We could make it in plenty of time.
On the other hand, I had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with us. At least Hephaestus had the decency, to be honest about it — he'd put up cameras and advertised me as entertainment. But even when the cameras weren't rolling, I had a feeling the quest was being watched.
Were we a source of amusement for the gods? I know they warn me but...it still hurts
"Hey," Percy said, "You ok?"
"mmm yeah, I am fine. You?"
"I am cool"
"so another universe huh?" percy said "That is quite cool"
"When did you... oh you little eavesdropper" I punched his shoulder as he chuckled
"So why did you not tell me? You told Luke," he said. I sighed and looked at my watch "I want to tell but what could I say....I mean should I go? 'Hey percy I am going to help you be an awesome hero where you have to fight to survive!'"
"I might have called you crazy..." he said before we both laughed "Still so your what 16?"
"mentally a little only...I am back to when I was 12 but all the watch powers which I gained are all there. for me percy I had a choice to be a hero when I got these alien powers and it taught me a lot more in life along with my teenage life. but you never got that choice, and when I died in the river....the primordials who grew fond of me saved me and gave me a chance to live a second life. I know the quest will be dangerous but I will go anywhere with you and always have your back. I have kinda grown fond of you" I smiled "You're a great person to be with Percy and thanks for saving our lives back there"
Percy pov
RED ALERT RED ALERT! ABORT ABORT! TOOO CUTE! HOLY SHIT! These are my internal thoughts as I was calm on the outside
"It's cool," I said "Besides, Grover and Luke did the fancy flying and help."
I thought he was asleep, but Luke mumbled from the corner, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"
"yes you were Luke" Grover bleat
Amara and I laughed. She pulled apart an Oreo and handed me half as she spoke. "In the Iris message . . . Annabeth said you and Luke go way back. She also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."
In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions.
Grover let out a mournful bray.
"I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."
"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus," Amara said
He nodded glumly.
"And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp ..." I looked at Luke. "That was you and Annabeth, wasn't it?"
Luke sighed and look up at the ceiling. " Percy, Thalia was twelve. Annie was seven and i...well 12 as well. They'd both run away from home, like me. We were . . . amazing monster fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."
"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," he said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought ... I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker . . ."
"Stop it," Luke said. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."
"She sacrificed herself to save us," he said miserably. "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."
"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" Amara said. "That's not fair."
"Amara's right," Luke said. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Annie. We don't care what the council says."
Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."
"You're not lame," Luke insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you're here right now."
Amara nudged my shoulder"Yeah," I said, which I would've done even without a nudge. "It's not luck that you found Thalia and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."
I heard a deep, satisfied sigh. I waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, I realized he'd fallen asleep.
"How does he do that?" I marveled as amara is holding her laughter. "I don't know," Luke said. "But that was really a nice thing you told him."
"I meant it."
We rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at me hopefully.
Luke rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.
"That pine-tree bead," I said. "Is that from your first year?"
She looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing.
"Yeah," she said. "Every August, the counselors pick the most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress — now that was a weird summer. . . ."
" Was it Chiron in a dress?" Amara said thinking
" Yeah, but one year I missed my mom and I went there. yet she was the same and didn't notice I left. She is calmer but still the same. I had to leave again for the summer....and never saw her since."
"You think you'll ever try living with your mom again?" I said
He wouldn't meet my eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."
"You shouldn't give up," I told him. "You should write him a letter or something."
"Thanks for the advice," He said coldly, "I will think about it" he turns and went to sleep.
We passed another few miles of silence. "So if the gods fight," I said to Amara, "will things line up like they did with the Trojan War?"
She put her back against the backpack Ares had given us, rest her head on my shoulder, and closed her eyes. "I don't know what they will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."
"Why?"
"Because you're my friend, Perseus. I always fight with my loyal friends' side. Any more questions?"
I couldn't think of an answer to that. Fortunately, I didn't have to. Amara was asleep. I had trouble following her example, with Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at me, but eventually, I closed my eyes.
My nightmare started out as something I'd dreamed a million times before: I was being forced to take a standardized test while wearing a straitjacket. All the other kids were going out to recess, and the teacher kept saying, Come on, Percy. You're not stupid, are you? Pick up your pencil.
Then the dream strayed from the usual.
I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a strait jacket. She was my age, with unruly black, punk-style hair, dark eyeliner around her stormy green eyes, and freckles across her nose. Somehow, I knew who she was. She was Thalia, the daughter of Zeus.
She struggled against the straitjacket, glared at me in frustration, and snapped, Well, Seaweed Brain? One of us has to get out of here. She's right, my dream self-thought. I'm going back to that cavern. I'm going to give Hades a piece of my mind.
The straitjacket melted off me. I fell through the classroom floor. The teacher's voice changed until it was cold and evil, echoing from the depths of a great chasm. Percy Jackson, it said. Yes, the exchange went well, I see. I was back in the dark cavern, spirits of the dead drifting around me. Unseen in the pit, the monstrous thing was speaking, but this time it wasn't addressing me. The numbing power of its voice seemed directed somewhere else.
And they suspect nothing? it asked.
Another voice, one I almost recognized, answered at my shoulder. Nothing, my lord. He is as ignorant as the rest. I looked over, but no one was there. The speaker was invisible that is when i saw amara look at the chasm in worry and then saw me. her eyes widen and she runs to me and hugs me.
"percy you're seeing this are you?" Amara said. I didn't speak but nodded...she is here in this dream...this is weird. Deception upon deception, the thing in the pit mused aloud. Excellent.
Amara tensed and she held me close and held my shirt but she looked around as if she looking for someone to come for us. I kept listing for the voice.
Indeed, my lord, said the voice next to me, you are well-named the Crooked One. But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly —
You? the monster said in scorn. You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened.
But, my lord —
Peace, little servant. Our six months have bought us much. Zeus's anger has grown. Poseidon has played his most desperate card. Now we shall use it against him. Shortly you shall have the reward you wish, and your revenge. As soon as both items are delivered into my hands... but wait. They are here.
What? The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. You summoned him, my lord?
No. The full force of the monster's attention was now pouring over me, freezing us in place. Blast his father's blood — he is too changeable, too unpredictable. The boy brought himself hither....and the girl...those grandparents of mine...
Impossible! the servant cried.
For a weakling such as you, perhaps, the voice snarled. Then its cold power turned back on me. So .. . you wish to dream of your quest, young half-blood and mortal? Then I will oblige.
The scene changed. "PERCY!" Amara calls for me as she was taken away by a man with wings. Before I could reach out for her, I was standing in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. The empty, horrid throne was made from human bones fused together. Standing at the foot of the dais was my mother, frozen in shimmering golden light, her arms outstretched.
I tried to step toward her, but my legs wouldn't move. I reached for her, only to realize that my hands were withering to bones. Grinning skeletons in Greek armor crowded around me, draping me with silk robes, wreathing my head with laurels that smoked with Chimera poison, burning into my scalp.
The evil voice began to laugh. Hail, the conquering hero!
I woke with a start. Grover was shaking my shoulder. "The truck's stopped," he said. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."
"Hide!" Luke hissed. Grover hids behind some hay with Luke. Amara and I had to dive behind feed sacks and hope we looked like turnips. I want to talk to her about the dream I had but then The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and 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 in the lion's face.
The lion roared in indignation.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man said.
Next to me, under the turnip sacks, Grover tensed. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked downright murderous.
The trucker threw the antelope a squashed-looking Happy Meal bag. He smirked at the zebra. "How ya doin', Stripes? At least we'll be getting rid of you this stop. Do you like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"
The zebra, wild-eyed with fear, looked straight at me.
There was no sound, but as clear as day, I heard it say: Free me, lord. Please.
I was too stunned to react but there was the glow of green next to me and amara was gone. There was a loud knock, knock, knock on the side of the trailer.
The trucker inside with us yelled, "What do you want, Eddie?"
A voice outside — it must've been Eddie's — shouted back, "Maurice? What'd ya say?"
"What are you banging for?"
Knock, knock, knock.
Outside, Eddie yelled, "What banging?"
Our guy Maurice rolled his eyes and went back outside, cursing at Eddie for being an idiot. A second later, Amara appeared next to me transformed back. She must've done the banging to get Maurice out of the trailer. She said, "This transport business can't be legal."
"No kidding," Grover said. He paused as if listening. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"
That's right, the zebra's voice said in my mind.
"We've got to free them!" Grover said. He, Luke and Amara both looked at me, waiting for my lead.
I'd heard the zebra talk, but not the lion. Why? Maybe it was another learning disability ... I could only understand zebras? Then I thought: horses. What had Annabeth said about Poseidon creating horses? Was a zebra close enough to a horse? Was that why I could understand it?
The zebra said, Open my cage, lord. Please. I'll be fine after that.
Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still yelling at each other, but I knew they'd be coming inside to torment the animals again any minute. I grabbed Riptide and slashed the lock off the zebra's cage.
The zebra burst out. It turned to me and bowed. Thank you, lord.
Grover held up his hands and said something to the zebra in goat talk, like a blessing. 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. We rushed to the doors of the trailer in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide boulevard lined with hotels and casinos and neon signs. We'd just released a zebra in Las Vegas.
Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few policemen running after them, shouting, "Hey! You need a permit for that!"
"Now would be a good time to leave," Luke said.
"The other animals first," Grover said. I cut the locks with my sword. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra.
"Good luck," Amara told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets. Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos.
"Will the animals be okay?" I asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all — "
"Don't worry," he said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he said. "They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."
"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" I asked.
"It only works on wild animals."
"So it would only affect Percy," Luke reasoned which amara snorted at.
"Hey!" I protested.
"Kidding," He said. "Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."
Amara pov
We stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and we must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay us much attention. We passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. We passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica.
I wasn't sure what we were looking for. Maybe just a place to get out of the heat for a few minutes, find a sandwich and a glass of lemonade and make a new plan for getting west.
We must have taken a wrong turn, because we found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers — lotus blossom.
The doorman smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"
I'd learned to be suspicious, in the last week or so. I figured anybody might be a monster or a god. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal. One look at him, and I could see. Besides, I was so relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic that I nodded and said we'd love to come in. Inside, we took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."
The whole lobby was a giant game room. And I'm not talking about cheesy old Pac-Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place had it. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. Not waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.
I think I went to my ten-year-old self heaven. But my gut tells me something is not right.
"Hey!" a bellhop said. At least I guessed he was a bellhop. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."
I stammered, "Um, but ..."
"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, and no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."
He handed us each a green plastic credit card. I knew there must be some mistake. Obviously, he thought we were some millionaire's kids. But I took the card and said, "How much is on here?"
His eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"
He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay." Ok red flag #1
We took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. I didn't see how that could be legal, but I thought it was pretty cool. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though I doubted we'd ever find time to look at the view in a room like this.
"Oh, goodness," Percy said. "This place is . . ."
"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."
There were clothes in the closet, and they fit me. I frowned, thinking that this was a little strange. Percy threw Ares's backpack in the trash can. I took it out when the boys were not looking...I have a strange feeling about the bag so I want it close.
The boys all took shower and went down to play games. I took a shower, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. I changed clothes into Converse shoes, a black shirt, and blue skinny jeans as I wore my signature green jacket, ate a bag of chips, drank three smoothies, and came out feeling better than I had in a long time. In the back of my mind, some small problem kept nagging me. Something is not right.
I head down with Ares's bag and look for the boys in the game floor till I felt someone bump into me. " ow!" a little boy was rubbing his head as he was on the ground. I immediately help him up.
"Are you ok little one?" I smiled at him. He blushed but smiled. " I am ok miss"
"Be careful when running around sweetie, Where are your parents?" I asked looking around. " My sister Bianca is with me. I just found an ultra-rare Choas Minifigure for my mythomagic collection so I went to get it but I lost her."
" Don't worry we will find her...Hold on" I lifted him onto my shoulders and stood up. " My name is amara. What is yours, sweetie?"
"Nico...My name is Nico di Angelo" He said giving me a toothy smile. So cute. I walked around with him on my shoulders for a while, Played a few games as I taught him to play basketball and football. He was so happy when he scored a goal and soon we found his sister Bianca who thanked me a lot for taking care of her brother.
"It's no biggie...just helping those in need," I said. Then suddenly I was tossed up on someone's shoulder.
"Sorry, I need to take her." Percy said holding me around my waist with Luke holding Grover who was trying to escape "We have to go..." He said as he and Luke all runs off. " BYE NICO!!I WILL SEE YOU LATER SOON!" I yelled after as the di Angelo kids looked confused about what is happening but nico smiled and waved before I no longer see him
The Lotus bellhop hurried up to us. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"
"We're leaving," Percy told him.
"Such a shame," he said, and I got the feeling that he really meant it, that we'd be breaking his heart if we went. "We just added an entirely new floor full of games for platinum-card members."
He held out the cards, Grover reached for the card, but Luke yanked back his arm and said, "No, thanks."
We walked toward the door, and as we did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. I thought about our room upstairs. We could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once. . . . Then we burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day we'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat and lightning flashing out in the desert.
Ares's backpack was still slung over my shoulder. Percy put me down and I ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. No way, it was the same year it had been when we went in. Then I noticed the date: June twentieth. We had been in the Lotus Casino for five days.
We had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete the quest.
MOTHERFU...