CLARISSE GRABBED A PAIR OF BINOCULARS FROM A ZOMBIE OFFICER AND PEERED TOWARD THE HORIZON .
"At last. Captain, full steam ahead!"
Viviene looked in the same direction as she was, but she couldn't see much. The sky was overcast. The air was hazy and humid, like steam from an iron. If Viviene squinted real hard, she could just make out a couple of dark fuzzy splotches in the distance.
Percy's nautical senses told him they were somewhere off the coast of northern Florida, so they'd come a long way overnight, farther than any mortal ship should've been able to travel.
The engine groaned as they increased speed.
"Too much strain on the pistons. Not meant for deep water." Tyson muttered nervously
Percy wasn't sure how he knew that, but it made him nervous.
After a few more minutes, the dark splotches ahead of us came into focus. To the north, a huge mass of rock rose out of the sea-an island with cliffs at least a hundred feet tall. About half a milesouth of that, the other patch of darkness was a storm brewing. The sky and sea boiled together in a roaring mass.
"Hurricane?" Annabeth asked.
"No," Clarisse said. "Charybdis."
Annabeth paled. "Are you crazy?"
"I should have let dad hit you. Maybe you would have gained a few more brain cells." Viviene grumbled, glaring at her sister. "We can't! "
"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."
"Don't you know anything? If I tried to sail around them, they would justappear in my path again. If you want to get into the Sea of Monsters, you have to sail through them." Clarisse rolled her eyes.
"What about the Clashing Rocks?" Annabeth said. "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 the captain. "Set course for Charybdis!"
"Aye, m'lady."
"Don't watch and learn," Viviene told Annabeth, transforming her ring into a sword. "we'll all get killed because of her."
The engine groaned, the iron plating rattled, and the ship began to pick up speed.
"Clarisse," Percy said, "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 on those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come down and start plucking sailors off the ship."
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RED ¹ / Percy Jackson !
Fanfiction"I suggest you stop this nonsense." "No. No unless she does as I say, or I swear, I will murder Percy right here right now." "Don't you dare touch a single hair on Percy, do you hear me?" Viviene yelled, taking a step closer to her father. " I fucki...
