Percy Jackson, the Son of Olympus: The Sea of Monsters

| Chapter XIV || Land? No Thanks |

*August 27 XXXX*

*Artemis' Point of View*

Ugh. We've been drifting for at least two days now, and poor Tyson has puked at least five times over the side of our lifeboat. If I didn't know any better, I would never have believed him to be a son of Poseidon due to the intensity of his seasickness. Those images were seared into my mind. I shuddered at the thought. I'll never be able to look at another peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the rest of my immortal life.

Since the destruction of our sailing ship - my sailing ship - Tyson and I were separated from the others. I feared to think what Percy and Annabeth were doing. Had they come across a vicious sea monster? Would that daughter of Athena be able to think her way out of any problems they faced in this horrendous excuse for an ocean?

I worried for Percy's safety. Of course, I knew he was a son of Poseidon, god of the seas, but this ocean wasn't a part of his father's realm. He had no powers here - at least, as far as I knew - and his skills with a sword, while impressive, wouldn't do much to intimidate a Kraken.

Trying to push my concerns down, I focused on rubbing Tyson's back as he was once again leaned over the side of the boat, emptying the contents of his stomach. How he had so much food in there to puke up, I'd never know.

He finished, giving a long burp and wiping his mouth with a scrap of fabric that I'd ripped from the bottom of my tunic.

"It's okay, big guy," I said as he tried to hand it back to me, "You can keep it."

He nodded absently and sat down, still a little green. Sweat poured down his face, but I knew not to point it out. We were both sweaty and tired and thirsty from bobbing in the sun all day in this little dingy, hoping to spot land in the distance. (By the gods, I missed my powers.) Unfortunately, we had no way of steering or moving this boat forward without oars, so all we could do was drift and hope that the current would take us somewhere with food and shelter.

On the flip side, we hadn't been attacked either. I may be a god, but in this ocean, my powers were heavily damped, and I didn't know if Tyson and I would last against even a particularly aggressive whale shark.

I leaned back against the side of the boat, sighing deeply. Letting the breath out through my mouth, I licked my lips and nearly gagged at the taste of copper. Blood lingered on my cracked lips, the dryness burning all the way down my throat. Hopefully, if Percy and Annabeth had taken the second lifeboat, Scylla hadn't depleted their fresh water and rations, too.

I looked at the ocean once more, hoping against hope to find somewhere for us to go. Then, I saw it.

"Hey, Tyson?" I asked, trying to get his attention.

He raised his head an inch, squinting at me. "Yeah?" he slurred.

"Is it just me, or is that an island over there?"

As soon as I said the words out loud, they clicked in my brain. Both of us immediately jumped up, but then almost at once laid back down to steady the - suddenly rocking - boat. Once we deemed it safe, we peeked over the edge to look in the direction that I'd seen the brownish-greenish blur in the distance.

I was right. It was an island, and it was close. It was so close that I could almost taste the coconuts or whatever strange fruit grew on its bushes and trees. I could almost smell the leaves and almost feel the sand under my toes from the beach.

Like a mad person - which I would never admit to anyone - I leaned over the side of the boat and paddled, my fingers scooping almost uselessly at the water. Tyson did the same on the other side of the wooden boat, and his larger hands did much more to help us move along.