They drifted aimlessly for a couple of hours before Percy groaned. He blinked a few times and tried to sit up, but paused with a woozy expression.
"Rest," Annabeth told him. "You're going to need it."
Percy hesitated before asking. "Tyson...?
Annabeth frowned and shook her head. "Percy...I'm really sorry."
They were silent while the waves continued tossing them up and down. Percy looked to his right. Jinora was sitting near the front end of the dingy, only just now looking back at him. Her eyes were red.
"He may have survived," she suggested halfheartedly. "I mean, fire can't kill him, right?"
Percy nodded, but none of them had a reason to feel hopeful. They'd all seen the magnitude of the explosion, the way it ripped through solid iron. If Tyson had been down in the boiler room...well, there was no reason for them to believe he could have lived.
Jinora turned her face back toward the endless waves and cloudless, blue sky, squinting as the sun blared from all directions. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes again. Tyson had given his life for them, and all she could think about were the comments she made about him being a monster and nothing more. She sniffled softly and wiped her nose with her sleeve.
Waves continued lapping at the boat while Annabeth showed Percy the things she'd been able to salvage. Hermes' thermos (now empty. Thanks, dad), a ziploc bag full with ambrosia, a couple of sailors' shirts, and a bottle of Dr. Pepper. Jinora only half-listened as Annabeth recounted pulling him out of the water and retrieving what was left of his knapsack, which had a Scylla sized bite mark. Most of it had floated away, but he still had Hermes' bottle of multivitamins and, of course, Riptide.
Annabeth cracked open the Dr. Pepper and took a sip, passing it to Percy who did the same. When Annabeth called Jinora's name and held out the Dr. Pepper for her to take, she shook her head. Despite her mouth and throat begging for sustenance, she couldn't bring herself to drink anything. Annabeth frowned and lowered the drink.
They sailed for hours. Now that they were in the Sea of Monsters, the water glittered a more brilliant green like the Hydra acid. The wind smelled fresh and salty with a touch of metallic in its scent–as if a thunderstorm was coming. Or, gods forbid, something more dangerous.
Percy and Annabeth continued taking turns sipping from the Dr. Pepper. Eventually, Jinora moved from the front of the dingy and sat with them. After some more urging from Annabeth, Jinora relented and took a sip from the soda. It was a sorry excuse for a sip, but it appeased her friend.
Jinora's caramel skin cooked even underneath her sleeves, and she was sure her face was burning, as Percy recalled his latest dream of Grover.
Annabeth estimated that they had less than twenty-four hours to find Grover, assuming his dream was accurate, and assuming the Cyclops Polyphemus didn't change his mind and try to marry Grover earlier than planned.
"Yeah," Percy grumbled. "You can never trust a Cyclops."
Jinora stared out into the water and deepened her frown. "I'm sorry, Percy. I was wrong about Tyson, okay? I wish I could tell him that."
She lowered her gaze to her criss-crossed lap, catching a glimpse of the storm raging in Percy's eyes before deciding to focus on the crinkles in her light blue socks, tugging on a loose string.
Jinora wasn't sure how much time before Percy spoke again. "Guys, what's Chiron's prophecy?"
Annabeth pursed her lips. "Percy–"
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Melancholy Kaleidescope | PJO
Random"Do you ever think before you do anything?" "Not really, no." . Jinora Hayes sought purpose and a chance to prove herself. She didn't expect that chance to be delivered gripping the horn of the Minotaur. . The Lightning Thief-The Last Olympian percy...
