BY fates design

Charybdis

She appeared only a few hundred meters away, through a swirl of mist and smoke and water. The first thing Percy noticed was the reef - a black crag of coral with a fig tree clinging to the top, an oddly colourful thing in the middle of a maelstrom. All around it, waves curved into a funnel, like light around a back hole.

Then they saw the horrible thing anchored to the reef just below the waterline - an enormous mouth with slimy lips and mossy teeth the size of row boats. And better yet, the teeth had braces, bands of metal with pieces of fish and driftwood stuck between them.

"Dear gods! It's hideous!" Sirius yelped, his hand shooting up to grasp at his chest. Walburga had a similar reaction, her own hand reaching up to cover her mouth as to contain a very unladylike expression.

As they watched, the entire sea around her was sucked into the void - sharks, schools of fish, a giant squid.

"Lady Clarisse," the captain shouted. "Starboard and forward guns are in range!"

"Fire!" Clarisse ordered. Three rounds were blasted into the monster's maw. One blew off the edge of an incisor. Another disappeared into her gullet. The third one hit of Charybdis retaining bands and shot back at them, snapping the Ares flag off its pole.

"Again." Clarisse ordered. The gunners reloaded but they all knew it was hopeless. They would need to pound the monster a hundred more times to do any real damage and they didn't have that long.

Then the vibrations in the deck changed. The hum of the engine got stronger and steadier. The ship shuddered and they began to pull away from the mouth. "Tyson did it!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Wait!" Clarisse called. "We need to stay close!"

"We'll die!" Percy argued. "We have to move away." He gripped the rail as the ship fought against the suction, Cassiopeia standing calmly at his side, though her face was slightly green. They weren't making much progress but at least they were holding their own. Tyson had somehow given them just enough juice to keep the ship from being sucked in.

Suddenly, the mouth snapped shut. The sea died to an absolute calm. Water washed over Charybdis.

Then, just as quickly as it closed, the mouth exploded open, spitting out a wall of water, ejecting anything inedible, including their cannonballs, one of which slammed into the side of the ship with a ding.

The hall was in uproar as they watched the ship get tossed around like a limp fish. James and Sirius took turns yelling some rather colourful insults at Poseidon while their parents flickered between glaring at the gods and watching Cassiopeia.

They were thrown backwards on a wave around fifteen metres high. Percy used all of his willpower to keep the ship from capsizing, but they were still spinning out of control, hurtling towards the cliffs on the opposite side of the strait.

Another smouldering sailor burst out of the hold. He stumbled into Clarisse, almost knocking them both overboard. "The engine is about to blow!"

"Where's Tyson?" Percy demanded, looking around the sailor.

"Still down there," the sailor replied. "Holding it together somehow, though I don't know for how much longer."

The captain joined the conversation. "We need to abandon ship."

"No!" Clarisse yelled.

"We have no choice, m'lady. The hull is already cracking apart! She can't-"

He never finished his sentence. Quick as lightning, something brown and green shot from the sky, snatched up the captain and lifted him away. All that was left were his leather boots.