Y/n Pov:
"I got Nobody!" Polyphemus gloated.
Damn, he just doesn't realize how stupid that sounds, right?
No, but I love it.
We crept to the cave entrance and saw the Cyclops, grinning wickedly, holding up empty air. The monster shook his fist, and a baseball cap fluttered to the ground. There was Annabeth, hanging upside down by her legs.
"Hah!" the Cyclops said. "Nasty invisible girl! Already got feisty one for wife. Means you gotta be grilled with mango chutney!"
Annabeth struggled, but she looked dazed. She had a nasty cut on her forehead. Her eyes were glassy.
"I'll rush him," Percy whispered. "Our ship is around the back of the island. You guys—"
"No way," we said at the same time. Clarisse had armed herself with a highly collectable ram's-horn spear from the Cyclops's cave. Grover had found a sheep's thigh bone, which he didn't look too happy about, but he was gripping it like a club, ready to attack. I summoned my bow and arrow.
We should really name that thing.
Yeah. (A/N: No, really, we should. Guys, any ideas?)
"We'll take him together," Clarisse growled.
"Yeah," Grover said. Then he blinked like he couldn't believe he'd just agreed with Clarisseabout something.
"All right," Percy said. "Attack plan Macedonia."
We nodded. We'd all taken the same training courses at Camp Half-Blood. I knew what Percy was talking about. They would sneak around either side and attack the Cyclops from the flanks while I held his attention in the front. Probably what this meant was that we'd all die instead of just me, but I was grateful for the help.
I hefted my bow and shouted, "Hey, Ugly!"
The giant whirled toward me. "Another one? Who are you?"
"Put down my friend. I'm the one who insulted you."
"You are Nobody?"
"That's right, you crispy nipple! I'm Nobody and I'm proud of it! Now, put her down and get over here. I want to stab your eye out again."
"RAAAR!" he bellowed.
The good news: he dropped Annabeth. The bad news: he dropped her headfirst onto the rocks, where she lay motionless as a rag doll.
The other bad news: Polyphemus barreled toward me, a thousand smelly pounds of Cyclopsthat I would have to fight with a very small sword.
"For Pan!" Grover rushed in from the right. He threw his sheep bone, which bounced harmlessly off the monster's forehead. Clarisse ran in from the left and set her spear against the ground just in time for the Cyclops to step on it. He wailed in pain, and Clarisse dove out of the way to avoid getting trampled. But the Cyclops just plucked out the shaft like a large splinter and kept advancing on me. Percy moved in with Riptide. The monster grabbed me. I rolled aside as Percy stabbed him in the thigh.
I was hoping to see him disintegrate, but this monster was much too big and powerful.
"Get Annabeth!" I yelled at Grover.
He rushed over, grabbed her invisibility cap, and picked her up while Clarisse and I tried to keep Polyphemus distracted.
I have to admit, Clarisse was brave. She charged the Cyclops again and again. He pounded the ground, stomped at her, grabbed at her, but she was too quick. And as soon as she made an attack, Percy followed up by stabbing the monster in the toe or the ankle or the hand. I shot arrows at the monster's eyes, which just made him angrier. But we couldn't keep this up forever. Eventually, we would tire or the monster would get in a lucky shot. It would only take one hit to kill us.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grover carrying Annabeth across the rope bridge. It wouldn't have been my first choice, given the man-eating sheep on the other side, but at the moment that looked better than this side of the chasm, and it gave me an idea.
"Fall back!" Percy said.
I rolled away as the Cyclops's fist smashed the olive tree beside me.
We ran for the bridge, Polyphemus right behind us. He was cut up and hobbling from so many wounds, but all we'd done was slow him down and make him mad.
"Grind you into sheep chow!" he promised. "A thousand curses on Nobody!"
"Faster!" Percy instructed.
We tore down the hill. The bridge was our only chance. Grover had just made it to the other side and was setting Annabeth down. We had to make it across, too, before the giant caught us.
"Grover!" I yelled. "Get Annabeth's knife!"
His eyes widened when he saw the Cyclops behind us, but he nodded as he understood. As Clarisse, Percy and I scrambled across the bridge, Grover began sawing at the ropes.
The first strand went snap!
Polyphemus bounded after us, making the bridge sway wildly.
The ropes were now half cut. We dove for solid ground, landing beside Grover. Percy made a wild slash with his sword and cut the remaining ropes.
The bridge fell away into the chasm, and the Cyclops howled...with delight because he was standing right next to us.
"Failed!" he yelled gleefully. "Nobody failed!"
Clarisse and Grover tried to charge him, but the monster swatted them aside like flies.
Percy raised his sword and attacked, forgetting that he was hopelessly outmatched. He jabbed the Cyclops in the belly. When he doubled over Percy smacked him in the nose with the hilt of his sword. Percy slashed and kicked and bashed until the next thing I knew, Polyphemus was sprawled on his back, dazed and groaning, and Percy was standing above him, the tip of his sword hovering over Polyphemus's eye.
"Uhhhhhhhh," Polyphemus moaned.
"Percy!" Grover gasped. "How did you—"
"Please, no!" the Cyclops moaned, pitifully staring up at me. His nose was bleeding. A tear welled in the corner of his half-blind eye. "M-m-my sheepies need me. Only trying to protect my sheep!"
He began to sob.
Percy had won. All Percy had to do was stab—one quick strike.
"Kill him!" Clarisse yelled. "What are you waiting for?"
The Cyclops sounded so heartbroken, just...like Tyson.
"He's a Cyclops!" Grover warned. "Don't trust him!"
"We only want the Fleece," Percy told the monster. "Will you agree to let us take it?"
"No!" Clarisse shouted. "Kill him!"
The monster sniffed. "My beautiful Fleece. Prize of my collection. Take it, cruel human. Take it and go in peace."
"I'm going to step back slowly," Percy told the monster."One false move..."
Polyphemus nodded as he understood. I stepped back...and as fast as a cobra, Polyphemus smacked Percy to the edge of the cliff.
"No!" I shouted.
"Foolish mortal!" Polyphemus bellowed, rising to his feet. "Take my Fleece? Ha! I eat you first."
He opened his enormous mouth, and I winced, not wanting to look.
Then something went whoosh over my head and thump!
A rock the size of a basketball sailed into Polyphemus's throat—a beautiful three-pointer, nothing but net. The Cyclops choked, trying to swallow the unexpected pill. He staggered backwards, but there was no place to stagger. His heel slipped, the edge of the cliff crumbled, and the great Polyphemus made chicken wing motions that did nothing to help him fly as he tumbled into the chasm.
I turned.
Halfway down the path to the beach, standing completely unharmed amid a flock of killer sheep, was an old friend.
"Bad Polyphemus," Tyson said. "Not all Cyclopes as nice as we look."
~
Tyson gave us the short version: Rainbow the hippocampus—who'd apparently been followingus ever since the Long Island Sound, waiting for Tyson to play with him—had found Tysonsinking beneath the wreckage of the CSS Birmingham and pulled him to safety. He and Tysonhad been searching the Sea of Monsters ever since, trying to find us, until Tyson caught the scentof sheep and found this island.
I wanted to hug the big oaf, except he was standing in the middle of killer sheep.
"Tyson,thank the gods," I said. "Annabeth is hurt!"
"You thank the gods she is hurt?" he asked, puzzled.
"No!" I knelt beside Annabeth and was worried sick by what I saw. The gash on her foreheadwas worse than I'd realized. Her hairline was sticky with blood. Her skin was pale and clammy.
Grover and I exchanged nervous looks. Then an idea came to me. "Tyson, the Fleece. Canyou get it for me?"
"Which one?" Tyson said, looking around at the hundreds of sheep.
"In the tree!" I said. "The gold one!"
"Oh. Pretty. Yes."
Tyson lumbered over, careful not to step on the sheep. If any of us had tried to approach theFleece, we would've been eaten alive, but I guess Tyson smelled like Polyphemus because theflock didn't bother him at all. They just cuddled up to him and bleated affectionately, as thoughthey expected to get sheep treats from the big wicker basket. Tyson reached up and lifted theFleece off its branch. Immediately the leaves on the oak tree turned yellow. Tyson started wadingback toward me, but I yelled, "No time! Throw it!"
The gold ram skin sailed through the air like a glittering shag Frisbee. I caught it with agrunt. It was heavier than I'd expected—sixty or seventy pounds of precious gold wool.
I spread it over Annabeth, covering everything but her face, and prayed silently to all thegods I could think of, even the ones I didn't like.
Please. Please.
The colour returned to her face. Her eyelids fluttered open. The cut on her forehead began toclose. She saw Grover and said weakly, "You're not...married?"
Grover grinned. "No. My friends talked me out of it."
"Annabeth," Percy said, "just lay still."
But despite our protests, she sat up, and I noticed that the cut on her face was almostcompletely healed. She looked a lot better. In fact, she shimmered with health, as if someone hadinjected her with glitter.
Meanwhile, Tyson was starting to have trouble with the sheep. "Down!" he told them as theytried to climb him, looking for food. A few were sniffing in our direction. "No, sheepies. Thisway! Come here!"
They heeded him, but it was obvious they were hungry, and they were starting to realizeTyson didn't have any treats for them. They wouldn't hold out forever with so much fresh meatnearby.
"We have to go," Percy said. "Our ship is. . ." The Queen Anne's Revenge was a very long wayaway. The shortest route was across the chasm, and we'd just destroyed the only bridge. Theonly other possibility was through the sheep.
"Tyson," Percy called, "can you lead the flock as far away as possible?"
"The sheep want food."
"I know! They want people food! Just lead them away from the path. Give us time to get tothe beach. Then join us there."
Tyson looked doubtful, but he whistled. "Come, sheepies! Um, people food this way!"
He jogged off into the meadow, the sheep in pursuit.
"Keep the Fleece around you," I told Annabeth. "Just in case you're not fully healed yet. Canyou stand?"
She tried, but her face turned pale again. "Ohh. Not fully healed."
Clarisse dropped next to her and felt her chest, which made Annabeth gasp.
"Ribs broken," Clarisse said. "They're mending, but definitely broken."
"How can you tell?" Percy asked.
Clarisse glared at him. "Because I've broken a few, runt! I'll have to carry her."
Before I could argue, Clarisse picked up Annabeth like a sack of flour and lugged her downto the beach. Grover and I followed.
As soon as we got to the edge of the water, Percy called the Queen Anne's Revenge. After a few anxious minutes, I saw the ship roundingthe tip of the island.
"Incoming!" Tyson yelled. He was bounding down the path to join us, the sheep about fiftyyards behind, bleating in frustration as their Cyclops friend ran away without feeding them.
"They probably won't follow us into the water," Percy said. "All we have to do is swimfor the ship."
"With Annabeth like this?" Clarisse protested.
"We can do it," he insisted. "Once we get to the ship, we're home free."
We almost made it, too.
We were just wading past the entrance to the ravine, when we heard a tremendous roar andsaw Polyphemus, scraped up and bruised but still very much alive, his baby-blue wedding outfitin tatters, splashing toward us with a boulder in each hand.