Annabeth Chase and the Sea of Monsters

Chapter 15: Nobody Grabs The Fleece

"I got Nobody!" Polyphemus gloated.

We crept to the cave entrance and saw the Cyclops, grinning wickedly, holding up empty air.
The monster shook his fist, and a baseball cap fluttered to the ground. There was Percy, hanging upside down by his legs.

"Hah!" the Cyclops said. "Nasty invisible boy! Already got feisty one for wife. Means you gotta be grilled with mango chutney!"

Percy struggled, but he looked dazed. He had a nasty cut on his forehead. His eyes were glassy.

"I'll rush him," I whispered to Clarisse. "Our ship is around the back of the island. You and Grover—"

"No way," they said at the same time. Clarisse had armed herself with a highly collectible rams-horn spear from the Cyclops's cave. Grover had found a sheep's thigh bone, which he didn't look too happy about, but he was gripping it like a club, ready to attack.

"We'll take him together," Clarisse growled.

"Yeah," Grover said. Then he blinked, like he couldn't believe he'd just agreed with Clarisse about something.

"All right," I said. "Attack plan Macedonia."
They nodded. We'd all taken the same training courses at Camp Half-Blood. They knew what I was talking about. They would sneak around either side and attack the Cyclops from the flanks while I held his attention in the front. Probably what this meant was that we'd all die instead of just me, but I was grateful for the help.

I hefted my sword and shouted, "Hey, Ugly!"

The giant whirled toward me. "Another one? Who are you?"

"Put down my friend. I'm the one who insulted you."

"You are Nobody?"

"That's right, you smelly bucket of nose drool!" It didn't sound quite as good as Percy's insults, but it was all I could think of. "I'm Nobody and I'm proud of it! Now, put him down and get over here. I want to stab your eye out again."

"RAAAR!" he bellowed.

The good news: he dropped Percy. The bad news: he dropped him headfirst onto the rocks, where he lay motionless as a rag doll.

The other bad news: Polyphemus barreled toward me, a thousand smelly pounds of Cyclops that I would have to fight with a very small sword.

"For Pan!" Grover rushed in from the right. He threw his sheep bone, which bounced harmlessly off the monster's forehead. Clarisse ran in from the left and set her spear against the ground just in time for the Cyclops to step on it. He wailed in pain, and Clarisse dove out of the way to avoid getting trampled. But the Cyclops just plucked out the shaft like a large splinter and kept advancing on me.

I moved in with Riptide.

The monster made a grab for me. I rolled aside and stabbed him in the thigh.

I was hoping to see him disintegrate, but this monster was much too big and powerful.

"Get Percy!" I yelled at Grover.

He rushed over, grabbed his invisibility cap, and picked him up while Clarisse and I tried to keep Polyphemus distracted.

I have to admit, Clarisse was brave. She charged the Cyclops again and again. He pounded the ground, stomped at her, grabbed at her, but she was too quick. And as soon as she made an attack, I followed up by stabbing the monster in the toe or the ankle or the hand.

But we couldn't keep this up forever. Eventually we would tire or the monster would get in a lucky shot. It would only take one hit to kill us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grover carrying Percy across the rope bridge. It wouldn't have been my first choice, given the man-eating sheep on the other side, but at the moment that looked better than this side of the chasm, and it gave me an idea.