𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒¹

𝑆𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑙𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑏𝑑𝑖𝑠

‧̍̊˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍̊

A COUPLE OF HOURS later, alarm bells rang throughout the ship and the Confederate soldiers flooded the ship's surface, causing Astoria to move to the spar deck. When she entered the area, she saw Annabeth and Tyson already up.

"Hey, guys. It's a very loud morning isn't it?" Astoria said.

"I'll say," Annabeth responded.

Sooner or later, Percy joined the three with a clearly shaken look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked. "Another dream?"

Percy nodded, but kept silent. Astoria knew he eavesdropped on Clarisse's conversation with Ares. Not the mention, Grover was about to get married to a Cyclops in a few days.

Clarisse came up the stairs. She grabbed a pair of binoculars from a zombie officer and peered toward the horizon. "At last. Captain, full steam ahead!"

The engine groaned as it increased speed.

Astoria dreaded entering the Sea of Monsters. There was no way she would survive Scylla and Charybdis, and even if she did, Astoria did not want to experience another near-death experience in the sea.

"Too much strain on the pistons," Tyson muttered nervously. "Not meant for deep water."

"Maybe we should check it out then," Astoria said.

"Bah! There's nothing wrong with my ship!" Clarisse interjected.

"I would listen to Tyson's concern," Astoria said. "He's literally made for nautical building and crafting."

"You're on my ship, Sunshine," Clarisse glowered. "You don't want to get on my nerves."

Astoria rose her hands in surrender.

As the ship chugged through the waters, she could see an island with rocky cliffs and a raging storm.

"Hurricane?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Clarisse said. "Charybdis."

Annabeth paled. "Are you crazy?"

"Only way into the Sea of Monsters. Straight between Charybdis and her sister Scylla." Clarisse pointed to the top of the cliffs.

"What do you mean the only way?" Percy asked. "The sea is wide open! Just sail around them."

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Don't you know anything? If I tried to sail around them, they would just appear in my path again. If you want to get into the Sea of Monsters, you have to sail through them."

"Can't we go in between Scylla and Charybdis?" Astoria squeaked.

"Too risky," Clarisse said. "We might end up prey to both."

"What about the Clashing Rocks?" Annabeth asked. "That's another gateway. Jason used it."

"I can't blow apart rocks with my cannons," Clarisse said. "Monsters, on the other hand..."

"You are crazy," Annabeth decided.

"Watch and learn, Wise Girl." Clarisse turned to her captain. "Set course for Charybdis!"

"Aye, m'lady."

"Clarisse," Percy spoke up, "Charybdis sucks up the sea. Isn't that the story?"

"And spits it back out again, yeah."

"What about Scylla?"

"She lives in a cave, up those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come down and start plucking sailors off the ship."