𝔗𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔨𝔢𝔯𝔶 - 𝔉𝔢𝔪𝔒ℭ𝔵𝔏𝔢𝔬 𝔙𝔞𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔷

8. My Little Pony, My Little Pony, aaaaaaAAAAAAHHHH

I was staring at the waves when Annabeth, Tyson, and Fletcher found us.

"What's  going on?" Lee asked, grabbing my shoulder with one hand and my face with the other. "I heard you guys calling for help!"

"Me, too!" Tyson said.

Annabeth stared at Percy, "We heard you guys yell, 'Bad things are attacking!'"

"But we didn't call you guys," I said. "We're fine."

"But then who. . ." Annabeth noticed the three yellow duffel bags, then the thermos and the bottle of vitamins Percy was holding. "What—"

"Just listen," Percy said. "We don't have much time."

Percy and I told them about our conversation with Hermes. By the time we were finished, I could  hear screeching in the distance—patrol harpies picking up our scent.

"Kiera, Percy," Annabeth said, "we have to do the quest."

"We'll get expelled, you know. Trust me, Percy and I are experts at getting expelled."

"So? If we fail, there won't be any camp to come back to."

Percy put his face in his hands. "Yeah, but you promised Chiron—"

"I promised I'd keep you two from danger. I can only do that by coming with you! Tyson and Lee can stay behind and tell them—"

Tyson, Lee, and I all watched them fighting, it was like a ping pong match.

"I want to go," Tyson said.

"No!" Annabeth's voice sounded close to panic. "I mean. . . Percy, Kiera, come on. You know that's impossible."

I shook my head. "It's up to Percy to decide. It doesn't matter to me either way, but just saying, we need four people to go on a quest."

Everybody but Lee turned to Percy. He whispered in my ear, "Well, you also need to consult the Oracle. . .don't quite think you've done that."

I elbowed him harshly.

Percy glanced at the cruise ship, and I understood. The thing was, part of me didn't want Tyson along. We had spent the last three days in close quarters with him, getting razzed by other campers and embarrassed a million times a day, constantly reminded that we were related to him. I needed some space. 

Plus, I didn't know how much help he'd be, or how we would keep him safe. Sure, he was strong, but Tyson was a little kid in Cyclops terms, maybe seven or eight years old, mentally. I wanted to keep him away from the life Percy and I started just last summer. . .nobody deserved to go through anything at such a young age, they should get to enjoy their childhood.

"We can't leave him," Percy decided. "Tantalus will punish him for us being gone."

Lee's pinky finger found mine, and I looked down at our hands.

"Percy," Annabeth said, trying to keep her cool, "we're going to Polyphemus's island! Polyphemus is an S-i-k. . . A C-y-k. . . Damn it!" She stamped her foot in frustration. As smart as she was and how she loved to read, Annabeth was dyslexic too. We could've been there all night while she tried to spell Cyclops. "You know what I mean!"

Mood, I hate spelling.

"Tyson can go," Percy insisted, "if he wants to."

Tyson clapped his hands. "Want to!"

"Kiera, please get your idiot of a brother under control. Or overrule him!" Annabeth pleaded.

I shook my head. She glanced down at my hand and her mouth opened. I quickly ripped my hand away, and Fletcher started to cover a laugh until I elbowed him again.