HORIZON ⸺ jason grace

viii. a not-so-friendly visit with tyson's relatives

THESE CYCLOPS' were not like Tyson at all.

For example, the only time her one-eyed brother would ever hang her upside down from a newly-healed ankle would be in excitement. And the only thing these three Cyclops' were excited about was eating her and her friends.

They were huge and ugly; Tyson had a childish kindness that radiated from him, and he was smaller than average (well, Cyclops average. He was twice Violet's height). They had none of his soft nature; they lumbered around the fire ungracefully.

Next to her were Jason and Piper. Both hung upside down, tied by their ankles and cocooned with chains up to their necks. Piper was flailing around, trying to free herself — her mouth was gagged to prevent her from charmspeaking.

Jason didn't look so good. He hung limply, his eyes rolled up in his head. A red welt the size of an apple had swollen over his left eyebrow.

Violet simply stayed still, her mind racing with possible escape plans.

"Leo, help me! Help—" One of the monsters called out, imitating Piper's voice. Then the voice changed, becoming a masculine snarl. "Bah, there's nobody out there. No demigod could be that quiet, eh?"

The first monster chuckled. "Probably ran away, if he knows what's good for him. Or they were lying about another demigod. Let's get cooking."

Snap. A bright orange light sizzled to life — an emergency flare — and Violet was temporarily blinded. She blinked fast, regaining her vision and finally taking in the situation.

The bed of the unfinished pickup truck was being used as a fire pit. The emergency flare had ignited a mixture of tires and wood, which, from the smell of it, had been doused in kerosene. A big metal pole was suspended over the flames —a spit, which meant this was a cooking fire.

But most terrifying of all were the single-eyed cooks. Monocle Motors: that single red eye logo. Violet cursed herself for being so stupid.

The three massive humanoids gathered around the fire. Two were standing, stoking the flames. The largest one crouched. The two facing her were each ten feet tall, with hairy, muscular bodies and skin that glowed red in the firelight. One of the monsters wore a chain mail loincloth that looked extremely uncomfortable. The other wore a ragged fuzzy toga made of fiberglass insulation, which Violet thought was an interesting choice. Other than that, the two monsters could've been twins.

The Cyclops in the chain mail loincloth walked over to Piper, who squirmed and tried to head-butt him in the eye.

"Can I take her gag off now? I like it when they scream."

The question was directed at the third Cyclops, apparently the leader. The crouching figure grunted, and Loincloth ripped the gag off Piper's mouth.

She didn't scream. She took a shaky breath like she was trying to keep herself calm. Meanwhile, the monster came over and nudged Violet's body so that she swung slightly.

"This one's quiet."

"Can I get that in writing?" Violet asked seriously. "I know a few people I'd like to see to that."

The Cyclops in the toga poked at the fire, which was now blazing away and billowing noxious black smoke toward the ceiling. His buddy Loincloth glowered at Piper, waiting for her to do something entertaining. "Scream, girl! I like funny screaming!"

When Piper finally spoke, her tone was calm and reasonable, like she was correcting a naughty puppy. "Oh, Mr. Cyclops, you don't want to kill us. It would be much better if you let us go."

Loincloth scratched his ugly head. He turned to his friend in the fiberglass toga. "She's kind of pretty, Torque. Maybe I should let her go."

Torque, the dude in the toga, growled. "I saw her first, Sump. I'll let her go!" Sump and Torque started to argue, but the third Cyclops rose and shouted, "Fools!"