You'll Learn to Love Me

Chapter 40: Laylana Gets Yeeted Into the Sea

Laylana groaned feeling the ship lurch to one side. Her eyes snapped open as she nearly fell off the bed she had been laying on. She heard someone gasp and help her remain in bed. When her vision cleared, she caught glimpses of Piper.

"Pipes?" She gasped out weakly. 

"Oh thank the Gods." Piper had tears in her eyes. "We didn't know if you... if you were..." 

"I'm okay, I'm okay." The ship lurched again. "What the fuck is happening up there?" 

"I don't know," Before Piper could protest, Laylana swung her legs off the edge of the bed. She felt the light material of one of her nightgowns that she wore on her body. Her wound stung badly, and was wrapped up tightly in gauze. 

"Help me up, please." 

"You need to rest, you can't-" 

"Pipes, if you don't help me I'll do it myself and risk tearing my wounds back open." Piper shut her mouth before wrapping an arm around her friend and hoisting her up. They stumbled down the hall and up to the main deck, where Piper made Laylana lean against one of the masts as they came face to face with a massive shrimp.

"Holy shit!" Laylana yelled, some of their friends turning to her with shocked looks on their faces.

"Lana, what the hell are you doing out of bed?" Jason yelled over the crashing waves.

"Figuring out what the fuck is going on?" No one had time to say anything as the monster rammed the ship. Laylana almost went tumbling down the stairs as Annabeth, Piper and Jason stumbled along the deck and nearly went overboard. 

"How did it get so close?" Annabeth shouted, pulling herself up on one of the rail shields.

"I don't know!" Gleeson snarled. He looked around for his bat, which had rolled across the quarterdeck.

"I'm stupid!" Laylana could hear her boyfriend scolding himself at the helm. "Stupid, stupid! I forgot the sonar!"

The ship tilted farther to starboard. Either the monster was trying to give them a hug, or it was about to capsize them. Laylana screamed various curse words as she grabbed onto the mast ropes with all the strength she had (which wasn't a lot). Her side burned in protest, but she was not about to be fish food today. 

"Sonar?" Gleeson demanded. "Pan's pipes, Valdez! Maybe if you hadn't been staring into Hazel's eyes, holding hands for so long—"

"What?" Frank yelped.

"Excuse the FUCK out of me?" Laylana cried.

"It wasn't like that!" Hazel protested.

"It doesn't matter!" Piper said. "Jason, can you call some lightning?"

Jason struggled to his feet. "I—" He only managed to shake his head. 

"Percy!" Annabeth said. "Can you talk to that thing? Do you know what it is?"

Laylana's brother shook his head. "Maybe it's just curious about the ship. Maybe—"

The monster's tendrils lashed across the deck so fast, Laylana didn't even have time to scream for help or to tell them to look. One slammed Percy in the chest and sent him crashing down the steps next to Laylana. Another wrapped around Piper's legs and dragged her, screaming, toward the rail. Dozens more tendrils curled around the masts, encircling the crossbows and ripping down the rigging. Laylana felt around her hips and thighs, where she'd usually have her weapons, but found none of them there of course. It was relatively dark, and she hoped that maybe her powers would work for her today.

"Nose-hair attack!" Hedge snatched up his bat and leaped into action; but his hits just bounced harmlessly off the tendrils.

Jason drew his sword. He tried to free Piper, but he was still weak. His gold blade cut through the tendrils with no problem, but faster than he could sever them, more took their place. Annabeth unsheathed her dagger. She ran through the forest of tentacles, dodging and stabbing at whatever target she could find. Frank pulled out his bow. He fired over the side at the creature's body, lodging arrows in the chinks of its shell; but that only seemed to annoy the monster. It bellowed, and rocked the ship. The mast creaked above Laylana like it might snap off. They needed more firepower, but they couldn't use ballistae without harming the ship.