Crimson Rivers [1] - Percy jackson

Chapter 9: We Board the Princess Andromeda

I was staring at the waves when Annabeth and Tyson found us. ‘What’s going on?’ Annabeth asked. ‘I heard you calling for help!’

‘Me, too!’ Tyson said. ‘Heard you yell, “Bad things are attacking!’ ”

‘we didn’t call you guys,’ I said. ‘were fine.’

‘But then who…’ Annabeth noticed the three red duffel bags, the three blue duffel bags, then the Flask and the bottle of vitamins I was holding. ‘What –’

‘Just listen,’ I said. ‘We don’t have much time.’

We told them about our conversation with Hermes. By the time we were finished, we could hear screeching in the distance – patrol harpies picking up our scent. ‘Guys,’ Annabeth said, ‘we have to do the quest.’

‘We’ll get expelled, you know. Trust me, I’m an expert at getting expelled.’

‘So? If we fail, there won’t be any camp to come back to.’

‘Yeah, but you promised Chiron –’

‘I promised I’d keep you from danger. I can only do that by coming with you Tyson can stay behind and tell them –’

‘I want to go,’ Tyson said.

‘No!’ Annabeth’s voice sounded close to panic. ‘I mean … guys, come on.
You know that’s impossible.’

I wondered again why she had such a grudge against Cyclopes. There was
something she wasn’t telling me.
She and Tyson both looked at me, waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, the
cruise ship was getting further and further away.

The thing was, part of me didn’t want Tyson along. Percy’d spent the last three
days in close quarters with the guy, getting teased by the other campers and
embarrassed a million times a day, constantly reminded that he was related to him. He needed some space. Plus, I didn’t know how much help he’d be, or how I’d keep him safe. Sure, he was strong, but Tyson was a little kid in Cyclops terms, maybe seven or eight
years old, mentally. I could see him freaking out and starting to cry while we
were trying to sneak past a monster or something. He’d get us all killed.

On the other hand, the sound of the harpies was getting closer… ‘We can’t leave him,’ I decided. ‘Tantalus will punish him for us being gone.’

‘Syrus,’ Annabeth said, trying to keep her cool, ‘we’re going to Polyphemus’s
island! Polyphemus is an S-i-k … a C-y-k…’ She stamped her foot in frustration. As smart as she was, Annabeth was dyslexic, too. We could’ve been there all night while she tried to spell Cyclops. ‘You know what I mean!’

‘Tyson can go,’ I insisted, ‘if he wants to.’

Tyson clapped his hands. ‘Want to!’

Annabeth gave me the evil eye, but I guess she could tell I wasn’t going to
change my mind. Or maybe she just knew we didn’t have time to argue.
‘All right,’ she said. ‘How do we get to that ship?’

‘Hermes said my father would help.’ Percy said

‘Well then? What are you waiting for?’

Percy’d always had a hard time calling on his father, or praying, or whatever you want to call it, but he stepped into the waves. ‘Um, Dad?’ he called. ‘How’s it going?’

‘Percy!’ Annabeth whispered. ‘We’re in a hurry!’

‘We need your help,’ he called a little louder. ‘We need to get to that ship, like,
before we get eaten and stuff, so…’

At first, nothing happened. Waves crashed against the shore like normal. The harpies sounded like they were right behind the sand dunes. Then, about a
hundred metres out to sea, three white lines appeared on the surface. They
moved fast towards the shore, like claws ripping through the ocean. As they neared the beach, the surf burst apart and the heads of four white stallions reared out of the waves.