afraid ツ l. valdez

21. eden is afraid of what the mediterranean brings

The next morning Eden woke up to the ships horn going off in her ears. Despite the fact that her heart skipped a beat as she jumped up in her bed, she quickly ignored it and lay back down. If this was Leo's idea of a joke, she would show him a joke. Everyone knew not to interrupt Eden's beauty sleep.

Just as she was about to fall back asleep, the horn sounded again. This time she noticed something different; it wasn't the same as the Argo II horn. It sounded like it was coming from farther away.

Eden got dressed slowly, knowing that the others could take care of it if the ship were being attacked- well, probably. she hurried up after that thought.

She was the last one on the deck, seeing the others hastily dressed. It seemed like she was the only one who took the time to look presentable.

Frank's Vancouver Winter Olympics shirt was inside out. Percy wore pajama pants and a bronze breastplate, which was an interesting fashion statement. Hazel's hair was all blown to one side, as though she'd walked through a cyclone; and Leo had accidentally set himself on fire. His T-shirt was in charred tatters. His arms were smoking. In more ways than one.

About a hundred yards to port, a massive cruise ship glided past. Tourists waved at them from fifteen or sixteen rows of balconies. Some smiled and took pictures. None of them looked surprised to see an Ancient Greek trireme. Maybe the Mist made it look like a fishing boat, or perhaps the cruisers thought the Argo II was a tourist attraction.

The cruise ship blew its horn again, and the Argo II had a shaking fit. Coach Hedge plugged his ears. "Do they have to be so loud?"

"They're just saying hi," Frank speculated.

"WHAT?" Hedge yelled back.

The ship edged past them, heading out to sea. The tourists kept waving. If they found it strange that the Argo II was populated by half-asleep kids in armor and pajamas and a man with goat legs, they didn't let on.

"Bye!" Leo called, raising his smoking hand.

"Can I man the ballistae?" Hedge asked.

"No," Leo said through a forced smile.

Eden sighed.

Hazel rubbed her eyes and looked across the glittering green water. "Where are—oh...Wow."

Eden followed her gaze. Without the cruise ship blocking their view, she saw a mountain jutting from the sea less than half a mile to the north. It was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. Besides Leo. And herself on the good days.

On one side, the white limestone cliffs were almost completely sheer, dropping into the sea over a thousand feet below. On the other side, the mountain sloped in tiers, covered in green forest.

"The Rock of Gibraltar," Annabeth said in awe. "At the tip of Spain. And over there—" She pointed south, to a more distant stretch of red and ochre hills. "That must be Africa. We're at the mouth of the Mediterranean."

As if their quest hadn't been dangerous already. At least they would be away from the Romans, but Eden thought back to all the stories she'd heard from them. The Mare Nostrum was not a good place.

"What now?" Piper asked. "Do we just sail in?"

"Why not?" Leo said. "It's a big shipping channel. Boats go in and out all the time."

Annabeth gazed at the Rock of Gibraltar. Her expression anticipated trouble. "In the old days," Annabeth said, "they called this area the pillars of Hercules. The Rock was supposed to be one pillar. The other was one of the African mountains. Nobody is sure which one."