End of the Line

#5 - The Sea of Monsters

Chapter 5 - The Sea of Monsters
published: Wednesday, 2 January 2019

Frank stood at the bow of the ship and scanned the oceans.

Nothing but the peaceful ripple of waves and sun on the horizon.

He sighed in a mix of disappointment and relief.

It had been a week on the Argo II, and not a single monster attack.

Frank knew they should be praising the gods for their luck, but all of them were uneasy, since a group as large as them should be attracting monsters by the ton.

Annabeth had told him the other day that she felt it was the "calm before the storm". Frank couldn't help but agree.

Apart from that, tensions on the ship were high.

Annabeth wore holes into the floorboards with her daily pacing. She showed up for meals but never ate, and was always devising some kind of strategy or plan.

Leo missed Calypso so badly that even Frank could tell. He was glum, and without the crew's go-to jester, spirits were pretty much down in the dumps.

Jason was still recovering from his stab wound, which was now a nasty purplish colour. A large bandage was wrapped around his torso and held it together, but Jason could barely walk or move without agonising pain. He was taking ambrosia and nectar as quickly as he could without combusting, but even godly food could only do so much.

And worst of all, Hazel was the most distant Frank had ever seen her. Even the first time they had met, Hazel was friendly and tried to get him to open up.

Nowadays, Frank felt like he hardly ever spoke to her. The only time they ever spoke was during battles or about the quest. Frank missed having her to confide in. She was his best friend.

And in addition to all this drama, Frank was worried sick about Percy and Piper. In the knife's vision, Piper hadn't looked her best. And seeing Percy, even battered and bruised, was a like jolt back to reality for Frank.

They were actually going to find him this time. After all the searching and hopeless times, they were finally going to find him. Frank still couldn't believe it at times.

He wondered how things would go with Percy. Would five years apart be too much for them? What if Percy wasn't the same?

Frank was staring blankly at the water that he didn't even notice when the currents started to form little whirlpools around the boat.

He blinked himself out of the daze and took a step back in surprise. "Um, Leo?"

The son of Hephaestus looked up from fiddling with Festus' tail. "Hm?"

Frank pointed to the water weakly. "Is that normal?"

Leo hurried to join him and peered over the bow just as the whirlpool spat out a hurtling figure that somersaulted and landed on the deck with a loud thump.

"Warrior! Warrior!" Leo hollered, spinning around and punching the warrior in the jaw.

The warrior staggered back but retaliated within split seconds. He whipped out his sword and jabbed at Leo, who jumped out of the way with a yelp.

Frank drew his sword as the whirlpools catapulted more warriors onboard. He parried two blades at once and ducked between them.

One-to-one combat wasn't really his strength. Frank didn't want to risk getting too close to a warrior who could injure Jason and Annabeth, two of the best fighters he knew.