CHAPTER TWELVE:
I CAN'T SWIM
I sat against the railing, my legs hanging between two bars, and my eyes drifting through the dark waves in the ocean.
"Sorry, again" Percy said after quietly sneaking up behind me. "For the whole Guinea pig thing"
I laughed "it's fine, I've always known you weren't the brightest"
He sat down beside me, his back against the rail "it's just...she said somethings, and they really got to me so—"
I cut him off "you don't have to explain yourself Percy. I get it"
He looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated. I knew what he was think because i was thinking it too. "you're thinking of Tyson aren't you?" I asked.
He looked down "the whole time we knew each other I felt ashamed"
I placed my hand on his shoulder "I've been ashamed of you my whole life" I said earning an annoyed look from Percy. "Sorry" I paused "you regret it right?"
He nodded.
"Well, I know Tyson would forgive you"
He sighed "he's too nice" he turned around sliding his legs through two openings. "So are you"
I looked over at him a little confused "did you just call me nice" I almost laughed.
I like to say I'm nice all the time because, when it comes down to important things, I can be really nice. Percy, however, has always believed I was hades born again, but I'm his sister, so he's supposed to think that.
"You can be" He smiled.
Calling me (his sister) nice, was the equivalent of calling me a failure.
"If you couldn't breath underwater I would so drown you right now" he laughed as I pushed his head to the side.
It went quiet for a minute, both of us staring out into the sea, watching as the waves crashed against the side of the boat and the sun disappeared behind the sea.
"How is that going" he asked.
I turned back to him confused again "how's what going?"
"The whole, being scared of the water thing" he looked away from the water and towards me with his big brother stare.
I rolled my eyes "well, I try not to think of it because it makes me wanna barf, and I don't want to do that" I spaced out a little.
There was a loud bang come from the other side of the ship. Percy and I shared a look before hopping up and going to check out what was going on.
On the other deck, Annabeth stood by the rail looking out at the ocean with what looked like really old binoculars, and Estella and Aella looked to be bowling with random stuff they found on the ship.
After sharing a loud high-five the two girls turned to us as we entered the area.
"I'm winning" Aella widely smiled clapping her hands together.
I wanted to crumble to dust just from looking at her smile. She seemed so happy by such a small thing, and it made me so happy that she found something to be happy while we were sailing into a nest of monsters that have probably killed many of our relatives.
Annabeth tried to keep lookout, but sailing didn't agree with her. After a few hours rocking back and forth, her face turned the color of guacamole and she went below to lie in a hammock.
Percy and I watched the horizon. More than once we spotted monsters. A plume of water as tall as a skyscraper spewed into the moonlight. A row of green spines slithered across the waves—something maybe a hundred feet long, reptilian. I didn't really want to know.
After maybe an hour Estella and Aella finished their game. Aella then disappeared below deck and Estella passed out on a chair by the stairs.
Once I saw Nereids, the glowing lady spirits of the sea. I tried to wave at them, but they disappeared into the depths, leaving me unsure whether they' d seen me or not.
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?"
She nodded. "Go around. Far around."
We didn't need to be told twice. We steered clear of the island, and soon it was just a red patch of haze behind us.
"The reason you hate Cyclopes so much...the story about how Thalia really died. What happened?" Percy asked out of the blue.
I turned towards Percy with wide eyes. He always asked questions that'll get him in trouble.
It was hard to see her expression in the dark.
"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."
"They've got Cyclopes in Brooklyn?" I 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. 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. Aella heard her sister, 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, Luke, Aella 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. "What did you do?" Percy asked.
"I stabbed him in the foot."
We stared at her. "Are you kidding? You were seven years old and you stabbed a grown Cyclops in the foot?"
"Oh, he would've killed me. But I surprised him. It gave me just enough time to run to Thalia and cut the ropes on her hands. She took it from there."
"Yeah, but still...that was pretty brave, Annabeth."
She shook her head. "We barely got out alive. I still have nightmares. The way that Cyclops talked in my father's voice. It was his fault we took so long getting to camp. All the monsters who'd been chasing us had time to catch up. That's really why Thalia died. If it hadn't been for that Cyclops, she'd still be alive today."
I felt bad for her, I didn't even want to imagine having to go through something like that so young.
Sometimes I wondered about Thalia. Stupid things like what she looked like, how she acted, or what she liked. I would never ask either of the girls because I knew it hurt them to think about her, I would never ask luke because I hated even thinking about him, and Grover was currently stuck in a life endangering situation.
I turned back towards as Aella barged through the door causing Estella to leap out of her chair, ready for battle with a dagger now in her hands.
We all stared at the two as Estella helped Aella stand up.
"I tripped" Aella said once she caught us staring.
I Bit back a laugh "you tripped? Upstairs?" I asked now leaning against the railing.
"It happens" Aella dusted off her pants while Estella sat back down in her chair.
"Rarely" I walked towards her. "Did you have a good nap?" I asked.
She nodded.
We sat on the deck, watching the Hercules constellation rise in the night sky.
After maybe 5 or 10 minutes Percy walked over "I'm heading down below, taking a nap" he said, popping the 'p' "you should probably get some rest too, Riv" he patted my shoulder as he walked away.
"He's right" Aella said with a shrug.
"I know" I sighed "I just don't think I can"
With the boat rocking back and forth and the knowledge of being in the middle of the extremely deep ocean sailing through the most dangerous part of the ocean was bad enough while awake. I don't even wanna think about the nightmares it would give me.
I looked over at to the girl who was already looking at me "the ocean maybe be pretty, but it scares the shit out of me" like many other things.
Aella smiled before turning to look at the ocean. I couldn't see her perfectly because of how dark it was, but I believe she didn't stop smiling for at least a whole minute.
I couldn't help but admire her. She was so effortlessly beautiful. As she stared into the sea the moon shined across her face, showing a perfect silhouette of her face.
She looked deep in a complicated thought, as if whatever the answer was could destroy or save the world. I know a lot about those kind of thoughts.
Unfortunately my mind began to wander towards the future.
I hadn't really thought much about it, but now that I know I have a deadline, I probably should think more about it.
I don't know what the prophecy is about, I don't expect I will for another few years, but with the limited information I know Percy and/or I will have to make a big decision when we're 16 that will either save or destroy Olympus.
I'm not the best decider so I hope it's not me.
We were probably standing on the deck for an hour or two before Annabeth turned to us and announced that we were almost at an island with sirens. I wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that until Aella explained to me that she meant sea monsters and not megaphones.
I could barely make out the island ahead of us-just a dark spot in the mist.
"I want you to do me a favor," Annabeth said. "The Sirens...we'll be in range of their singing soon."
"No problem," Percy assured her. "We can just stop up our ears. There's a big tub of candle wax below deck—"
"I want to hear them." She Cut him off.
"Why?" Percy asked at the same time Estella and Aella said "What" both surprised.
I didn't understand why they were so shocked that she wanted to listen to a song.
"They say the Sirens sing the truth about what you desire. They tell you things about yourself you didn't even realize. That's what's so enchanting. If you survive...you become wiser. I want to hear them. How often will I get that chance?"
Aella scoffed "of course you would want to get wiser"
Coming from most people, this would've made no sense. But Annabeth being who she was—well, if she could struggle through Ancient Greek architecture books and enjoy documentaries on the History Channel, I guessed the Sirens would appeal to her, too.
She told us her plan. Reluctantly, they helped her get ready. I just went with the flow.
As soon as the rocky coastline of the island came into view, Percy ordered one of the ropes to wrap around Annabeth's waist, tying her to the foremast.
"Don't untie me," she said, "no matter what happens or how much I plead. I'lI want to go straight over the edge and drown myself."
"Are you trying to tempt me?"
"Ha-ha."
I rolled my eyes at the two and looked over at Aella who seemed to be thinking the same thing.
He promised he'd keep her secure. Then we took two large wads of candle wax, kneaded them into earplugs, and stuffed our ears.
I did not like it.
The silence was eerie. I couldn't hear anything but the rush of blood in my head. As we approached the island, jagged rocks loomed out of the fog. Percy willed the Queen Anne's Revenge to skirt around them. If we sailed any closer, those rocks would shred our hull like blender blades.
I glanced back. At first, Annabeth seemed totally normal. Then she got a puzzled look on her face.
Her eyes widened.
She strained against the ropes. She called our names—I could tell just from reading her lips. Her expression was clear: She had to get out. This was life or death. I had to let her out of the ropes right now.
She seemed so miserable it was hard not to cut her free.
We all forced ourselves to look away. Percy urged the Queen Anne's Revenge to go faster.
I still couldn't see much of the island—just mist and rocks—but floating in the water were pieces of wood and fiberglass, the wreckage of old ships, even some flotation cushions from airplanes.
How could music cause so many lives to veer off course? I mean, sure, there were some Top Forty songs that made me want to jump off a cliff, but still...What could the Sirens possibly sing about?
For one dangerous moment, I understood Annabeth's curiosity. I was tempted to take out the earplugs, just to get a taste of the song. I could feel the Sirens' voices vibrating in the timbers of the ship, pulsing along with the roar of blood in my ears.
Annabeth was pleading with us. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She strained against the ropes, as if they were holding her back from everything she cared about.
"How could you be so cruel?" She seemed to be yelling. "I thought you were my friends."
I didnt notice anything was wrong until Percy ran towards the back of the ship.
I turned around as he ran past me.
Annabeth was gone, there was a heap of cut ropes and Annabeth's bronze knife lay on the deck. Aella was on the ground, her head between her knees and her hands and her ears. She was rocking back and forth so I'm assuming she was singing, so that she wouldn't hear the song.
I rushed towards the girl curled up on the floor. I placed my hand on her shoulders, just so she knew I was there, she didn't stop singing, but she did look up at me.
Percy rushed to the side of the boat to see where Annabeth went.
He screamed her name, but if she heard him, it didn't do any good. She was entranced, swimming toward her death.
Percy looked back at us and (I think) yelled, "Stay!" As if we were dogs, Then he jumped over the side.
I panicked and ran towards the rails.
He was swimming through the water as if he were a shark. I guess I shouldn't have been that surprised knowing his parentage.
I turned around to the other two girls to see Estella giving Aella a cautious Look as she stared blankly into the floorboards, her hands by her side and she was no longer singing.
She heard them.
"Aella" I called out, which just sounded like buzzing in my ears.
She didn't look at me, but I knew she heard me.
I repeated myself and this time instead of looking up at me, she looked towards the island. A look of sadness suddenly washed over her. I knew what she saw, I didnt have to see, I just knew it.
Aella began to walked towards the edge of the boat, her eyes never leaving the island. Before she could jump I lunged forwards grappling her in a hug.
She fought, hard.
I kept yelling her name, hoping that it would eventually snap her out of her trans, but I had no luck.
She paused for a minute, as if she finally realized what was going on, but just as quickly as she stopped, she started again. This time she sent her elbow straight into my gut.
I let go of her with a small groan placing a hand on my stomach, but a second later her hands collided with my shoulders and I went stumbling backwards.
Because of my luck I went straight towards the edge, my foot slipped on something, and I flipped over the railing.
I hit that water within seconds.
I began to try to swim, or in other words, flail around. As most of you know I'm not a very good swimmer, which is pretty ironic considering who my father was. And the fact that I spend a large amount of time at the beach as a child.
I sank further into the darkness.
I felt as if the water was trying to pull me down, like a hand was wrapped around my ankle and pulling me further.
The bottom shouldn't be that far, we are right next to the island.
I heard a splash above me and I knew Aella was gone. She was swimming forwards the island where she would get eaten by a crazy siren lady (or whatever they do) and there was nothing I could do about it.
I was maybe 5 seconds away from fainting or inhaling ocean water and I didn't know how to swim.
Long Story Short, im about to die.
This is how I, a daughter of Poseidon (the sea god), would die. By drowning.
I had been panicking for so long i didn't even noticed the hand that had grabbed onto mine until it began pulling me up.
Had Estella jumped in for me?
That would be weird considering she didn't know I couldn't swim.
The hand ended up pulling me towards a body, then up to the surface.
It took my mind a minute to process what had happened between coughing up half the water I accidentally swallowed and taking in every breath I could manage.
"River" her other hand grabbed onto the side of my face, holding it still so that I was now staring into her eyes. "It's okay" she brushed the hair out of my face. "You're okay"
Aella?
I had recognized her voice. It was kind but with a hint of the 'listen to me or get punched in the face' tone.
How had she managed to get away from the siren song?
I finally stopped panicking and just stared at her.
I hadn't gotten a good breath of air yet, but I managed "Why" though coughs.
Aellas eyes rested in mine "you can't swim"
It was such a small thing, I don't even know how she remembered, I had only mentioned it once before (I think).
It's silly I know, but the fact that she remembered that made me feel all tingly inside.
Estella threw down the ladder for us and we climbed up.
We could tell the song was still getting to Aella, so she went below deck, probably to rest.
At first I was worried about Percy and Annabeth as we continued to sail away from the island, but at one point I saw them in the water. I think they were in a bubble.
Once they surfaced and their air bubble popped, Estella let down the rope ladder and they climbed aboard. We kept our earplugs in, just to be sure. We sailed until the island was completely out of sight.
While I just stood there with a towel rapped around my head, Annabeth sat huddled in a blanket on the forward deck. Finally she looked up, dazed and sad, and mouthed, safe.
We took out the earplugs. No singing. The afternoon was quiet except for the sound of the waves against the hull. The fog had burned away to a blue sky, as if the island of the Sirens had never existed.
"You okay?" Percy asked her.
"I didn't realize," she murmured.
"What?"
Her eyes were the same color as the mist over the Sirens' island. "How powerful the temptation would be."
"I saw the way you rebuilt Manhattan," he told her. "And Luke and your parents."
I was beyond confused, but I didn't ask.
She blushed. "You saw that?"
"What Luke told you back on the Princess Andromeda, about starting the world from scratch...that really got to you, huh?"
She pulled her blanket around her. "My fatal flaw. That's what the Sirens showed me. My fatal flaw is hubris."
I wonder if Aella knows what hers is now?
"That brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?"
I bit back a laugh.
She rolled her eyes. "No, Seaweed Brain. That's hummus. Hubris is worse."
"What could be worse than hummus?" Percy said looking at me for reassurance. I just nodded.
"Hubris means deadly pride, Percy. Thinking you can do things better than anyone else...even the gods."
"You feel that way?"
She looked down. "Don't you ever feel like, what if the world really is messed up? What if we could do it all over again from scratch? No more war. Nobody homeless. No more summer reading homework."
"I'm listening."
"I mean, the West represents a lot of the best things mankind ever did—that's why the fire is still burning. That's why Olympus is still around. But sometimes you just see the bad stuff, you know? And you start thinking the way Luke does: 'If I could tear this all down, I would do it better.' Don't you ever feel that way? Like you could do a better job if you ran the world?"
If I ran the world, it would fall apart.
"Um...no. Me running the world would kind of be a nightmare."
I laughed at the fact that we basically thought the same thing.
"Then you're lucky. Hubris isn't your fatal flaw"
"What is?"
"I don't know, Percy, but every hero has one. If you don't find it and learn to control it...well, they don't call it 'fatal' for nothing."
Percy's mind wandered off for a minute before he turned to me with a confused look "why is your hair wet"
This time Estella laughed "Aella kicked her ass then pushed her overboard"
Percy looked even more confused "why"
"Sirens" i answered.
He paused for a minute before shrugging it off and turning back to Annabeth "So was it worth it?" He asked Annabeth. "Do you feel...wiser?"
She gazed into the distance. "I'm not sure. But we have to save the camp. If we don't stop Luke" She didn't need to finish. If Luke's way of thinking could even tempt Annabeth, there was no telling how many other half-bloods might join him.
We all began to space out this time.
Suddenly Annabeth's eyes widened. "Guys."
I turned.
Up ahead was another blotch of land—a saddle-shaped island with forested hills and white beaches and green meadows.
My nautical senses confirmed where we were. 30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west.
We had reached the home of the Cyclops.
AUTHOR TALKS!!
For a while I kinda debated making a book from Aella because there are so many times when Aella's just staring at River admiring her beauty and river just assumes she's spacing out. Let's not forget river even calls herself an unreliable narrator.
Aella's like madly in love with river she just doesn't know it yet.