In Between Two Worlds (HP/PJO Crossover)

Chapter 71: Annie Tries To Swim Home.

Percy had finally found something he was really really good at. And I was super happy for him.

The Queen Anne's Revenge responded to his every command. He didn't even have to say anything. He knew which ropes to hoist, which sails to raise, which direction to steer.

I couldn't get over what happened on Circe's Island. If it hadn't been for Annabeth and I, Percy would've still be a rodent, hiding in a hutch with a bunch of cute furry pirates.

We sailed through the night.

Annabeth and I tried to help Percy keep lookout, but sailing didn't agree with Annie. After a few hours rocking back and forth, her face turned the color of guacamole and she went below to lie in a hammock. I soon followed as the sun went down. I felt drained. I laid down for a little while but I couldn't fall asleep. I had an strange feeling. Like something was gonna happen, so I went up to talk to Percy.

"Are you OK?" I asked him.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little shook up."

"Yeah. So am I. I just keep thinking about how if Annie and I hadn't noticed you screeching then we might not have ever left."

"Yeah. It's crazy." We fell into silence.

Sometime after midnight, Annabeth came up on deck. We were just passing a smoking volcano island. The sea bubbled and steamed around the shore.

"One of the forges of Hephaestus," Annabeth said. "Where he makes his metal monsters."

"Like the bronze bulls?" Percy asked.

She nodded. "Go around. Far around."

We steered clear of the island, and soon it was just a red patch of haze behind us.

Percy looked at Annabeth. "The reason you hate Cyclopes so much ... the story about how Thalia really died. What happened?"

It was hard to see her expression in the dark. But I knew what look she had on her face. I knew she was close to tears.

"I guess you deserve to know," she said finally. "The night Grover was escorting us to camp, he got confused, took some wrong turns. You remember he told you that once?"

He nodded.

"Well, the worst wrong turn was into a Cyclops's lair in Brooklyn." She said.

"They've got Cyclopes in Brooklyn?" Percy asked.

"You wouldn't believe how many, but that's not the point. This Cyclops, he tricked us. He managed to split us up inside this maze of corridors in an old house in Flatbush. And he could sound like anyone, Percy. Just the way Tyson did aboard the Princess Andromeda. He lured us, one at a time. Thalia thought she was running to save Luke. Luke thought he heard me scream for help. And me ... I was alone in the dark. I was seven years old. I couldn't even find the exit."

She brushed the hair out of her face. "I remember finding the main room. There were bones all over the floor. And there were Thalia and Luke and Grover, tied up and gagged, hanging from the ceiling like smoked hams. The Cyclops was starting a fire in the middle of the floor. I drew my knife, but he heard me. He turned and smiled. He spoke, and somehow he knew my dad's voice. I guess he just plucked it out of my mind. He said, 'Now, Annabeth, don't you worry. I love you. You can stay here with me. You can stay forever.'"

I shivered. The way she told it-even now, six years later-freaked me out worse than any ghost story I'd ever heard. She hadn't gone into this much detail when she had told me.

"What did you do?" Percy asked.

"I stabbed him in the foot."

I stared at her. "Are you kidding? You were seven years old and you stabbed a grown Cyclops in the foot?"