[Percy's POV]
"Thermos!" I screamed as we hurtled toward the water.
"What?" Annabeth must've thought I'd lost my mind. She was holding on to the boat straps for dear life, her hair flying straight up like a torch. But Tyson understood.
He managed to open my duffel bag and take out Hermes's magical thermos without losing his grip on it or the boat. Arrows and javelins whistled past us.
I grabbed the thermos and hoped I was doing the right thing. "Hang on!"
"I am hanging on!" Annabeth yelled. "Tighter!" I yelled. I hooked my feet under the boat's inflatable bench, and as Tyson grabbed onto Y/N's body tightly, as well as putting a hand on the back of Annabeth's shirt. I gave the thermos cap a quarter turn.
Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the thermos and propelled us sideways, turning our downward plummet into a forty-five-degree crash landing. The wind seemed to laugh as it shot from the thermos, like it was glad to be free.
As we hit the ocean, we bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then we were whizzing along like a speed boat, salt spray in our faces and nothing but sea ahead.
I heard a wail of outrage from the ship behind us, but we were already out of weapon range. The Princess Andromeda faded to the size of a white toy boat in the distance, and then it was gone.
As we raced over the sea, Annabeth and I tried to send an Iris-message to Chiron. We figured it was important we let somebody know what Luke was doing, and we didn't know who else to trust. The wind from the thermos stirred up a nice sea spray that made a rainbow in the sunlight, perfect for an Iris message, but our connection was still poor.
When Annabeth threw a gold drachma into the mist and prayed for the rainbow goddess to show us Chiron, his face appeared all right, but there was some kind of weird strobe light flashing in the background and rock music blaring, like he was at a dance club.
When he saw Y/N's bruised and bleeding body he demanded answers. We gave him what he wanted, and when we explained that Luke was the one who had done all this, I could've sworn that some sort of fire erupted in his eyes.
Then we told him about sneaking away from camp, and Luke and the Princess Andromeda and the golden box for Kronos's remains, but between the noise on his end and the rushing wind and water on our end, I'm not sure how much he heard. "Percy," Chiron yelled, "you have to watch out for-"
His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him. A bunch of voices whooping it up like Comanche warriors.
"What?" I yelled. "Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of sight. "Annabeth, you and Y/N shouldn't have let Percy leave camp! But if you do get the Fleece-"
"Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron yelled. "Woohoooooo!" The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made our boat vibrate. "Miami," Chiron was yelling. "I'll try to keep watch-" Our misty screen smashed apart like someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.
A good length of our ride was spent checking to see that Y/N was still breathing. Luckily, he was, but it wasn't much. Annabeth cleaned his wound as best she could, and tried making him drink nectar, but he physically couldn't swallow it.
Eventually, we stopped trying, and against Annabeth's better judgment, decided we'd wait to see what would happen when he woke up.
An hour later we spotted land. A long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed on our starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look. I guess it isn't every day they see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by three kids.
"That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth said as we approached the shoreline. "Oh my gods, how did the Princess Andromeda travel so far overnight? That's like-"
"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," I said. She stared at me. "How did you know that?"
"I-I'm not sure." Annabeth thought for a moment. "Percy, what's our position?"
"36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west," I said immediately. Then I shook my head. "Whoa. How did I know that?"
"Because of your dad," Annabeth guessed. "When you're at sea, you have perfect bearings. That is so cool." I wasn't sure about that. I didn't want to be a human GPS unit. But before I could say anything, Tyson tapped my shoulder. "Other boat is coming."
I looked back. The coast guard vessel was definitely on our tail now. Its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed. "We can't let them catch us," I said. "They'll ask too many questions." I looked down at Y/N. "Especially about him."
"Keep going into Chesapeake Bay," Annabeth said. "I know a place we can hide." I didn't ask what she meant, or how she knew the area so well. I risked loosening the thermos cap a little more, and a fresh burst of wind sent us rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into Chesapeake Bay.
How did we know this plan would work? We didn't.
The coast guard boat fell farther and farther behind. We didn't slow down until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side, and I realized we'd entered the mouth of a river.
I could feel the change from saltwater to freshwater. Suddenly I was tired and frazzled, like I was coming down off a sugar high. I didn't know where I was anymore, or which way to steer the boat. It was a good thing Annabeth was directing me. "There," she said. "Past that sandbar."
We veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass. I beached the lifeboat at the foot of a giant cypress. Tyson hoisted Y/N over his shoulder, while we set off, following Annabeth to wherever it was she was leading us. Vine-covered trees loomed above us. Insects chirred in the woods. The air was muggy and hot, and steam curled off the river. Basically, it wasn't Manhattan, and I didn't like it.
"Come on," Annabeth said. "It's just down the bank."
"What is?" I asked. "Just follow." She grabbed a duffel bag. "And we'd better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention."
After burying the lifeboat with branches, Tyson and I followed Annabeth along the shore, our feet sinking in red mud. A snake slithered past my shoe and disappeared into the grass. "Not a good place," Tyson said. He swatted the mosquitoes that were forming a buffet line on his arm. After another few minutes, Annabeth said, "Here."
All I saw was a patch of brambles. Then Annabeth moved aside a woven circle of branches, like a door, and I realized I was looking into a camouflaged shelter. The inside was big enough for all of us, even with Tyson being in here too. The walls were woven from plant material, like a Native American hut, but they looked pretty waterproof.
Stacked in the corner was everything you could want for a campout-sleeping bags, blankets, an ice chest, and a kerosene lamp. There were demigod provisions, too-bronze javelin tips, a quiver full of arrows, an extra sword, and a box of ambrosia. The place smelled musty, like it had been vacant for a long time.
"A half-blood hideout." I looked at Annabeth in awe. "You made this place?"
"Thalia and I," she said quietly. "And Luke." That shouldn't have bothered me. I mean, I knew Thalia and Luke had taken care of Annabeth when she was little. I knew the three of them had been runaways together, hiding from monsters, surviving on their own before Grover found them and tried to get them to Half-Blood Hill.
But whenever Annabeth talked about the time she'd spent with them, I kind of felt... I don't know. Uncomfortable? I mean, after what Luke had done, it was weird to think about the idea of him ever being a decent person. Now he's beaten one of my friends almost to death, twice.
"So... " I said. "You don't think Luke will look for us here?" She shook her head. "We made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares."
She threw herself down on the blankets and started going through her duffel bag. Her body language made it pretty clear she didn't want to talk.
"Um, Tyson?" I said. "You wanna come with me and scout around outside? Like, look for a wilderness convenience store or something?"
"Convenience store?" he muttered, confusedly. "Yeah, for snacks. Powdered donuts or something. We just can't go too far."
"Powdered donuts," Tyson said earnestly. "We will look for powdered donuts in the wilderness." He headed outside and started calling, "Here, donuts!" I smirked softly and looked at Annabeth sadly. "We'll be back in a bit." She nodded, so I left.
[Y/N's POV]
Again with this.
I really need to stop getting my head kicked in. It's not a very successful recipe. Especially when I barely have control over my own body. I mean, floating in nothingness watching yourself move through a screen isn't fun. Let me be the first to tell you.
All I could do was drift after the demon had been knocked out. I never even got to know what happened to my friends. Maybe I was dead. Maybe they were too. I didn't really know anything until the demon spoke to me again.
"Your body is weak, child! Where is your strength!" It yelled, causing my head to ache. Or at least what felt like my head. I wasn't even sure if I had a physical body in this. I thought, 'Says the one who only shows up when I'm about to die.'
The voice cackled, evilly, and it shook me to my core. "I am able to take over whenever I wish, boy! It is in my best interest to not interfere if I can help it! I took over so that you would not die. For if you were to lose yourself to Thanatos, my creator's entire plan would be for waste!"
'Creator?' I thought. 'What creator?' The possibilities raced through my mind, as the demon spoke once more. "He created me to be the one to help overthrow the gods! I will fulfill that prophecy you were given! 'Commanded by the darkest decay' That is me! Once your body has become suitable, I will gain control for good!"
The creature cackled, and slowly disappeared, leaving me simply drifting along in the darkness, with no clue of what was going on in the outside world. I wish I could just be useful to my friends. I need to be stronger. To be better.
I mean, clearly, getting beat near death wasn't the way to do it. I don't even know if they were still alive. I didn't even know if I was alive... I don't even want to think about it. All that happened, was in the endless, cold, unforgiving darkness... I felt something.
A tear. One single tear. I felt it running down my face, and then I touched it with my hand. And before any of this new information could be registered, everything felt like someone stuck me in a catapult, because I was slung forward, and my eyes opened to greenery and sunlight.
I sat up as a fresh breath flooded into my system, as something near me screamed. Before that though, I felt all of the rest of the damage that was done to me while the demon was in control.
The cut in my side, the pounding pain in the back of my head, and most of all, the fear that I hadn't seen any of my friends around in the few seconds since I had woken up. That problem was fixed shortly, as a mess of tangled blonde hair flew in front of my face, and my back hit the ground.
Annabeth started spitting out some words so quick and stuffy I couldn't understand them,. I groaned in pain, feeling everything in my chest compressed. Couldn't really breathe. She panicked, jumping off of me, and apologized frantically, with countless sorry's.
I was somewhat okay, because at least I knew one of my friends was alive, and if she was alive, that meant Percy was probably still around. And if Percy was still alive, then I'd bet Tyson was too, and that meant we still had a chance to find Grover. So, aside from the constant pain in just about every part of my body, I felt better.
I looked at Annabeth who was mouthing things, nervously wiping her blonde hair out of her face. And I realized, she wasn't mouthing anything, I just wasn't paying attention.
I tuned into the rest of her words. "-glad you're alive." she said in a hushed tone, made less understandable by the waver in her voice and the tears starting to brim in her eyes. She looked up at me, and I could tell she was crying for something else too.
"Forget me. Are you alright?" I asked her, fighting the pain to get my words out. Annabeth nodded softly, but unconvincingly. She dug into one of the big duffel bags while I surveyed the surrounding area. It felt humid, and gross. But I'd had this kind of place described to me before. "This was one of your hideouts wasn't it?" I aksed. Annabeth stopped digging through the bags abruptly.
Her head drooped, and she hesitated again. "Yeah... This was one of them." she softly said. I scooted over to her and didn't say a word, hoping to just be a comforting presence. I placed a hand on a patch of grass, feeling some of the earth's energy entering my body. It stung slightly, but the benefits outweighed the bad stuff.
I held onto the grass for a few seconds before feeling the energy to be able to stand again. So I did. Groaning every little motion, I tried to reach my feet but Annabeth gripped my arm, pulling me back down. "You're not going anywhere, Y/N. You're going to sit here and heal."
I sputtered. "But-"
"No buts. Sit still. Take this." She handed me a vial of nectar. "You couldn't drink any while you were out of it, so take some now." She said, demandingly. It was different seeing her openly order me around, rather than just make a few suggestions that were secretly demands, but I didn't mind. At least she wasn't crying anymore.
"Yes ma'am." I sent her a sarcastic two finger salute and downed the nectar in one go. It burned, but instantly I felt some of the pain alleviate. I tried to decline any ambrosia, but was forced to eat it at knife point. Crude, but effective.
Once I had finally eaten the square, she gave me a relieved expression. I thought for a moment. "Where exactly are we?" I asked. Her relief faltered. "Chesapeake bay." she muttered. "How did we get to Virginia?!" I shouted. "Shush!" She whispered. "Keep it down."
"Okay... Okay. How did we get here?" I asked, quieter. "Once we got away from Luke, we jumped in a lifeboat and just sailed until we saw land. This was where we saw first." I made an 'mm' noise of understanding. "Percy and Tyson?" I asked. "Looking for food." she nervously chuckled. I could tell she was hesitant to talk about Tyson still, but there was something more in her eyes. Pained thoughts.
"Hey, I- I'm sorry you had to see that." I muttered. She scoffed. "It's not your fault." A breath came out of my nose. "Well, I mean. I got my ass handed to me, so. It kind of is my fault." Annabeth shook her head. "No, it's Luke's fault. I never should've trusted him in the first place. And now he's almost killed you. Again."
She pulled out her knife and started cleaning the blade with a loose rag. "He let us go too easily." she muttered. "Did he? I don't really remember." I said, jokingly. Lucky for me, as this was my intention, a small smile crept up onto her face. "What we overheard him say about a gamble, and 'they'll take the bait'... I think he was talking about us."
"Does he think Grover's the bait, or the fleece?" I asked aloud. "I mean, we know where they are. Who's to say he won't follow us."
She studied the edge of her knife. "I don't know, Y/N. Maybe he will. Maybe he wants the Fleece for himself. Maybe he's hoping we'll do the hard work and then he can steal it from us. I just still can't believe he would poison her tree."
"Being on the receiving end of his sword a few times, I would have to disagree. He sucks." She sputtered, and started shaking. "He- He said Thalia would be on his side." she muttered, fighting back a sob. I took a deep, ragged breath.
"I didn't know her..." I started, making this up as I went. "But I do know that Luke's wrong. Thalia gave her life to save you guys. No way she would agree with what he's doing." I said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She looked at me sadly. "You remind me of Thalia, Y/N. You would have been good friends with her. Either that or try to kill each other." she said, a choked sob escaping her mouth. "Well, I'd hope we'd be friends. I owe her my life."
"You... what?" She asked. Apparently, she really didn't remember anything about that. "Well. Last year. Before Luke got away, Thalia's tree sent him away with some pulse of electricity, and then Chiron showed up, so he ran. I got to live because of it." Annabeth tilted her head in confusion.
I took a deep breath through my nose. She looked like she wanted to ask several other questions, but no more were asked. Annabeth looked down at the ground for a moment. She sputtered out a few syllables for a while, but looked up at me and spoke her mind.
"Thalia got pretty angry at her dad sometimes. I know you hate your mom. Would you turn against Olympus because of her?"
I scoffed, running a calloused hand through my growing hair. "No." Annabeth looked at me in surprise, silently asking me to elaborate. "I could never turn on Olympus, because that would mean turning on you..." Her face turned slightly pink as I took a deep breath in.
"And Percy and Grover and all the people I know at camp. I couldn't do that."
She shook her head and said "Neither could she. Luke's wrong." Annabeth stuck her knife blade into the dirt. "Well, there's your answer. If Thalia and I are alike, then we both hated our parents, and we would both rather die than let our friends get hurt." I told her, confidently. Annabeth went silent.
Her body started shaking. I leaned forward and saw her crying again. She put her hand up to her face and wiped the tears away as I thought of what I could do to help her out. I did the first thing that came to mind. I hugged her. She hesitated, but draped her arms around me.
Through sobs and sniffles, she eventually managed to say, "I- I don't want to lose you too. Thalia was bad enough. Luke was terrible, but if I lose another friend, I don't think I can take it." She put her head down on my shoulder. "You won't lose me. Or Percy, or anybody. We'll be fine." I said, lightly rubbing her back. She continued sobbing, but looked up at me and said, "I want you to promise me you'll stop trying to get yourself killed."
That caught me off guard. I didn't know if I could promise that, but one deep look into her broken, stormy gray eyes, told me the answer that she needed. "I promise I'll try, Annabeth." She looked relieved, and dropped her head back onto my shoulder. I rocked her back and forth, trying to ease some of the pain she was feeling, but the moment was interrupted when Percy and Tyson burst into the hovel.
"Powdered donuts!" Tyson said proudly, holding up a pastry box. Percy burst in, looking at us with a shocked, and then a smug look. Annabeth quickly pushed away from me, wiping some of the tears from her face. She stared at them. "Where did you get that? We're in the middle of the wilderness. There's nothing around for-"
"Fifty feet from here." Percy huffed, putting his hands on his knees. "Monster donuts shop."
My eyes widened. "This is bad," Annabeth muttered. I nodded and we filed out of the hut, taking up position crouching behind a tree leering into the random donut shop set up right in the middle of the Virginian woods. It looked like it was just built. Brightly lit windows, a parking lot, and a little path leading off into the woods, even though there was nothing else we could see around the shop besides the greenery.
There was a monster sitting behind the counter, reading a magazine. This was probably on my top 15 weirdest things I've seen in the woods. On the sign above the store, was the logo and the name of the shop. It read, "Monster Donut" The logo was a cartoonish ogre taking a large bite out of the O in Monster, which was a frosted donut covered in sprinkles. It wasn't a bad logo design. I doubt I could've come up with anything better.
If you ignored the stench of monsters, the place smelled incredible. Chocolate, vanilla, fresh bread, and the combination of them all that were donuts fresh out of the oven. My stomach started rumbling, and Annabeth looked back at me, wordlessly telling me to keep it down. I tried my best not to think about how the food would taste, or how good it smelled or-
"This shouldn't be here," Annabeth whispered. "It's wrong."
"What?" Percy asked. "It's a donut shop."
"Shhh!"
"Why are we whispering? Tyson went in and bought a dozen. Nothing happened to him."
"He's a monster."
"Aw, c'mon, Annabeth. Monster Donut doesn't mean monsters! It's a chain. We've got them in New York."
"A chain restaurant. Think, Percy. Isn't it a little suspicious that the shop showed up just when you guys went looking for food. Right here in the middle of the woods? Nothing at all about that seems odd?" I asked him.
His eyes went dull for a moment as he tried to think. It was pretty visible that the gears were turning in his mind. "It could be a nest," Annabeth explained.
Tyson whimpered. I doubt he understood what Annabeth was saying any better than I did, but her tone was making him nervous. He'd plowed through half a dozen donuts from his box and was getting powdered sugar all over his face. I quietly asked for one, and Tyson smiled widely and handed me a couple. I wolfed one down myself, finally quenching some of the built up hunger I had.
"A nest for what?" Percy asked.
"Haven't you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast?" Annabeth asked. "One day there's nothing and then the next day-boom, there's a new burger place or a coffee shop or whatever? First a single store, then two, then four-exact replicas spreading across the country?"
"Um, no. Never thought about it."
"Percy, some of the chains multiply so fast because all their locations are magically linked to the life force of a monster. Some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s. They breed-" She froze. "What?" I asked. "Why'd you stop?" I lifted the other donut to my mouth but she smacked it out of my hand, and I remorsefully watched as the donut clattered to the dirt covered ground. "Aw, man."
"No sudden moves," Annabeth said, like her life depended on it. "Very slowly, turn around." Then I heard what she was worried about. Something large dragging itself around in the woods behind us.
We turned and saw something roughly the size of an elephant covered by the shadows cast from the leaves moving towards us. It was hissing angrily, the multiple heads writhing around. Seven to be precise. Its skin was leathery, and under each neck it wore a plastic bib that read: 'I'M A MONSTER DONUT KID!'
I reached back and put a hand on my sword. Percy whipped out his pen, but Annabeth glared at us, warning the two of us to wait. That's a good point. Monsters usually have bad eyes, and in my case if I stood still, it's not like my scent would tip the thing off. But if we pulled out our weapons all crazy like, we'd certainly get the Hydra's attention.
We waited.
It was only a few feet away. It seemed to be sniffing the ground and the trees like it was hunting for something. Then I noticed that two of the heads were ripping apart a piece of yellow canvas. One of our duffel bags. The thing had already been to our hideout. It was following our scents.
My heart started racing. Each head was shaped and colored like a Diamondback. I'd been bitten by one of those before, and let me tell you. It wasn't fun. And it most definitely would suck 100x times more coming from something 100x its size.
Tyson was trembling. He stepped back and accidentally snapped a twig. Immediately, all seven heads turned toward us and hissed. "Scatter!" Annabeth yelled. She dove to the right.
I jumped into the canopy of leaves above. The hydra spat some foul green liquid that landed right into the base of the tree I was in. It started smoking and melting. I hopped back down to the ground, joining Percy and Annabeth.
Tyson was standing right where he was, frozen in fear. "Tyson!" I yelled out, diving towards him and putting all of my energy into my jump, barely managing to move him, tackling him just enough to escape the chomping jaws of two hydra heads. I scrambled to my feet and drew my sword. "We gotta move, big guy!" that finally got him going, as the Hydra wailed, wrenching its heads from the destroyed tree it smashed through. I yelled at the Hydra, "Hey ugly!" trying to get its attention.
It worked.
As soon as the Hydra wheeled around to me, all seven heads hissed and the middle one lunged, baring the countless dark fangs. I heard Percy yell out, "NO!" and his sword formed, but Annabeth also shouted, "NO!" for a different reason.
He sliced off the hydra's head that was coming straight at me. The head rolled away into the grass, leaving a flailing stump, which immediately stopped bleeding and began to swell like a balloon. In a matter of seconds the wounded neck split into two necks, each of which grew a full-size head.
Now I was looking at an eight-headed Hydra. I grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. "Percy, you idiot! Why'd you do that?!" I asked him. Percy swatted my hands off. "Would you rather me just let you die!"
"YES!" I shouted. "Percy!" Annabeth scolded. "You just opened another Monster Donut shop somewhere!"
He dodged a spray of acid. "We're about to die and you're worried about that? How do we kill it?"
"Fire!" Annabeth said. "We have to have fire!"
That's what Hercules did after all, and we were supposed to replicate that, with no visible sign of fire. I got the Hydra's attention again. All eight heads locked eyes with me. I gulped, taking a few steps back. Annabeth moved in on my left and Percy on my right, trying to distract some of the heads from just trying to eat me, and they deflected the sharp teeth of the Hydras with their blades, but another of the heads swung sideways like a club and knocked Annabeth off her feet.
The head lunged at her, but I leapt in its path, trying to give them time to recoup, but while I was mid-air, Tyson shouted, "No hitting my friends!" He charged in, putting himself between the Hydra and us. As I landed in the muck myself for what was now no reason, Annabeth got to her feet.
Tyson started smacking the different heads with his fists so fast it felt like one of those 'Rock em sock em robots' games you could get at Walmart. Despite Tyson's brute strength, even he couldn't fend off a Hydra alone. The hydra smacked Percy toward us. I grabbed his arm and pulled him up.
We all kept scooting backward, deflecting heads, trying our best to not cut them off, while also dodging splashes of acid goo, but this was just prolonging the inevitable. We were going to slip up eventually, and we'd die.
I called out to my friends, "Run!" but they all replied, "NO!" forcefully. I shrugged my shoulders and faced the Hydra again, ready to go down fighting. Oddly enough, I had only felt minimal amounts of pain throughout this whole thing. Guess that was the whole, 'being in nature thing.'
The weirdest thing, was that I heard this strange chugga chugga sound coming from the water. It
was so powerful it made the riverbank shake. "What's that noise?" Annabeth shouted, keeping her eyes on the Hydra.
"Steam engine," Tyson said.
"What?" I ducked as the Hydra spat acid over my head. Then from the river behind us, a familiar female voice shouted: "There! Prepare the thirty two pounder!" I didn't risk looking away from the Hydra, but that voice was familiar. Too familiar for my liking. There really was no way to actually win in this situation. "Oh no." Percy muttered. "Not her."
A gravelly male voice said, "They're too close, m'lady!"
"Damn the heroes!" the girl said. "Full steam ahead!"
"Aye, m'lady."
"Fire at will, Captain!"
Annabeth realized what was going on just a fraction of a second before I could do anything. She yelled, "Hit the deck!" and we dove for the ground as an earth-shattering BOOM echoed from the river. There was a flash of light, a column of smoke, and the Hydra exploded right in front of us, showering us with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do.
"Gross!" screamed Annabeth. "Oh gods this is disgusting!" Percy shrieked. I rubbed some of the slime from my eyes as Tyson yelled, "Steamship!" We stood up, while I tried clearing my vision, and I started coughing. There was a cloud of gunpowder wafting along the edge of the water.
A giant warship was chugging down the river. It rose low in the water, the sides plated with armor, looking as red as blood. This one also looked like the drawing of a disturbed child, with zombies in Civil War gear, with shimmering faces, looking like the guards of Hades' palace. Lining the deck were zombies in gray uniforms-dead soldiers with shimmering
Through the smoke, I could barely make out the words on the side. The CSS Birmingham, was headed straight for us. At the helm, in full greek armor, was the fifth worst person that could have shown up. Clarisse La Rue. "Losers," she sneered. "But I suppose I have to rescue you. Come aboard."