Chapter 14: Breaking Free
Percy breathed in, forcing down the unease in his chest. He took a few seconds and then decided that it would be better if he tried to figure out the rest of the puzzle later.
The Lotus Hotel and Casino was more than a trap: it was a veil, a prison woven into something intoxicatingly beautiful. But he saw through the illusion now. He felt that.
Time was bleeding away here like sand spilled through a broken hourglass.
His fingers started to twitch at his sides as he walked past poker and roulette tables where people laughed with a hollow sort of joy, where children played arcade games in almost eerie stillness. This was almost unbelievable to him.
But Percy knew he had to get Annabeth and Grover out of here.
The air felt different when he set foot in the room. It was thicker, slower.
Annabeth had barely moved from the couch, her eyes still glued to the documentary, though her gaze was soft and unfocused. Grover had traded chips for a plate of pastries and was taking it easy.
Percy clenched his jaw. He couldn't let them sink deeper into the trance.
"Guys," he called out in a sharp voice. "We need to leave. Now."
Annabeth barely turned her head. "What's the rush?" she asked.
"We just got here," Grover mumbled through a mouthful of food.
Percy moved a few steps closer to Annabeth.
"Annabeth, think. How long have we been here?" Her blinks came rapidly, confusion flickering over her face before she frowned. "...A few hours?"
"Check the date."
Annabeth grabbed her backpack, pulled out her Yankees cap, and fiddled around for her watch. The moment she saw it, every ounce of color drained from her face. "It says it's the twentieth of June. That's not possible, we have been here for five days," she said, her voice no more than a whisper.
"What?" Grover sputtered while licking powdered sugar off his fingers.
"It must be the casino," Percy answered, calmly but strongly. "It messes with our perception of time."
"We have to get out of here," Annabeth said as she leaped to her feet.
Percy gave a short nod and started moving. "Follow me. Don't talk to anyone. And don't look at anything for too long."
They pushed through the casino floor, dodging guests who were in a sort of endless trance of ecstasy.
But Percy could feel the place resisting. He again felt something in the air— that humming; the same rhythmic ticking that he noticed earlier- it grew sharper and more insistent.
In that instant, what once was the exit had become something else entirely.
They stopped near a golden fountain.
Annabeth scanned the area with rising panic. "It was right here," she said, her voice tight.
Grover spun in a slow circle. "I-I don't see any doors. This isn't good."
Percy cursed under his breath. The casino was shifting around them, adapting. It was alive in a way that put his nerves on edge. The hum in his bones grew hotter, a slow heartbeat regulating itself to it. Percy squeezed his eyes shut. Focus. Then he felt it. The rhythm wasn't just random. It was deliberate. A pulse-like heartbeat that made him suddenly realize that the Lotus was not just an elaborate trap, but was somehow connected to him. The rhythm, the pull, the way time bent differently around him... All of the above crumbled into recognition as the cold grip of understanding held its dear clutches on him. This place recognized him as a son of Time. And maybe it meant that he could bend it to his will.
"Stay close," he commanded.
He did not know how exactly he was doing it, he was somehow aware that he could do so. Time trembled beneath his fingers as the very air resisted momentarily before bending, twisting to his will- The entrance shimmered into view.
Annabeth gasped. Grover nearly fell over.
"How did you-" Annabeth started, but Percy didn't let her finish. "Move!"
And they burst through the doors just as the illusion attempted to snap shut again. The moment they crossed the threshold, the spell holding them in place broke. The larger-than-life reality of Las Vegas came crashing down upon them. Nothing mattered, though. They were out!
And now Annabeth had a few questions to ask.
As they stood there, trying to recover from what just happened below the bright sky of Las Vegas, Annabeth shot a sideways glance towards Percy.
"What happened back there?" she whispered. "You somehow knew how to escape."
Percy locked eyes with her, with an inscrutable expression and said, "Call it instinct."
She didn't look convinced. He wouldn't be either if he was being honest. He realised that he would somehow have to make her forget lest she figures out his secret.
He tapped into his powers and tried his hardest to emulate the feeling he had felt in the casino. All of a sudden the flickering of lights, the honking of cars and all other sounds stopped. As Percy looked about, he realised that he had somehow slowed down time in the surrounding areas.
As he looked about, he could see multiple threads everywhere. He concluded that they denoted the flow of time.
He traced the edge of the thread surrounding Annabeth, carefully. As he was doing that, he saw her most recent memories playing out. The memories were those of the last five days. He understood that he was taking on a rather taxing task and could feel the strain of using his powers. He focused on the memories from when they could not find the entrance and tried to alter it by trying to think up a fake memory where they found the door, fought a few guards off and then escaped. He then tried hard to embed that fake memory into her mind and make her believe and remember that was what had happened. He then repeated the same process with Grover.
He was pretty sure it worked. He had just altered someone's memories. It brought him a kind of thrill. Knowing that he had the power to change a person's entire personality and character by just altering a few memories made him feel like he was all- powerful and as he reveled in that thought, he dropped his control over time.
"Percy, are you alright? You look drained," Annabeth asked as he looked like he was about to pass out any second.
"Yeah I'm just tired after that fight with the guards," Percy replied in a sluggish manner, finally feeling the effects of using his powers to such a large scale for the first time. He slowly started to lose consciousness.
The last thing he heard was Grover saying "Yeah he's right ".
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End of chapter 14
Author's note: Hey guys my exams ended last week and I've spent quite a while on this chapter.I do want to explain some things here because this chapter covered a power which I just made on my own. It's basically utilising the power of time for the manipulation of memories. I won't describe the process in such detail again probably. This time I wanted you guys to understand what it feels like controlling time and its immense strain on Percy. The best way to explain it is - With his power to control the flow of time, Kronos might alter a person's memories. He could erase, alter, and implant memories, making people forget important moments of their lives or make up false memories.
Thoughts on this chapter? Hope you enjoy it.