a story as endless as the ocean . pjo / allie jackson

1.4 somebody gets the fleece

1.4 Somebody, Not to Be Confused With the Ever-Infamous Nobody, Gets the Fleece

"I got Nobody!" Polyphemus gloated loudly.

We crept to the cave entrance and saw the Cyclops, grinning wickedly, holding Luke by his ankle. Luke was hanging upside down by his legs, and he had an awful looking cut on his forehead. One of his shoes' wings was torn off and lying limply on the ground at Polyphemus' feet.

"Hah!" the Cyclops said. "Nasty flying boy! Gonna grill you with mango chutney!"

Luke struggled, but he looked dazed. His eyes were glassy. A concussion was the best-case scenario. I hoped it was only a concussion, and I suddenly wished that Will was here. He'd know at a glance what was wrong with Luke.

"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' 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. I could hardly believe either. Grover was a pacifist. He didn't tend to get along with the bloodthirsty Ares children.

"All right," I agreed, as there was no time to argue. "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. What this meant was that we'd all probably die instead of just me, but I was grateful for the help.

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

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 blind old sot! I'm Nobody! Now, put him down and get over here. I want to stab your eye out again."

"RAAAR!" he bellowed.

The good news: he dropped Luke. The bad news: he dropped him head first onto the rocks, where he lay as motionless as a rag doll, blood pooling around his head in a horrific crimson halo.

The other bad news: Polyphemus barrelled toward me, a thousand smelly pounds of Cyclops that I would have to fight with what suddenly seemed to be 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 and Shaker, feeling myself slip into that zone where my instincts took over and I was focused almost entirely on the fight. Various maneuvers played themselves out rapidly in my mind as I fought.

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

I was hoping to see him disintegrate, but of course, I wasn't that lucky. This particular monster was much too big and powerful.

"Get Luke!" I yelled at Grover, deflecting an attempt to grab my throat. I was pleased to see a line of golden ichor begin leaking from my swipe, though it was only a small amount, and didn't deter him at all. I liked knowing that I had made my enemies bleed before I died.