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chapter thirty-two. ☄︎. *. ⋆
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WE WERE SO CLOSE. So, so close.
Some minor god of the Cyclopes' recovery speed must have had it out for us, because Polyphemus seemed to be fine. Even after being blown up by my arrows. And Percy stabbing him in a multitude of places. And Tyson throwing a boulder into his throat.
We were just wading past the entrance to the ravine, a slowly and steadily growing-healthier Annabeth being carried by Clarisse, when we heard a tremendous roar and saw the Cyclops, scraped up and bruised but still very much alive, splashing toward us with a boulder in each hand.
I couldn't help it. I shouted, "What the fuck?"
"Swim for it!" Grover said, and he and Clarisse plunged into the surf. Annabeth clung onto Clarisse's neck and tried to paddle with one hand, the wet Fleece weighing her down.
But the monster's attention wasn't on the Fleece.
"Young Cyclops!" he shouted. "Traitor to your kind!"
"Tyson, come on!" I pulled his arm, but I might as well have been pulling a mountain. Honestly, it kinda made me nervous the way Tyson froze when Polyphemus called him a traitor. My blood ran cold. So I pleaded for him to hurry up.
"You serve mortals!" Polyphemus yelled. "Thieving humans!" He threw his first boulder. Tyson swatted it aside.
"Not a traitor," he said. "And you are not my kind."
"Death or victory!" Polyphemus charged into the surf, but his foot was still hurt, so I stifled a laugh as he stumbled and face-planted into the water. My laughter immediately ceased as he resurfaced, spitting out saltwater and growling.
"Come on, you guys!" Clarisse yelled. I turned; they were almost to the ship.
I met Percy's eyes. He nodded. We both knew they needed just a little longer to make it safely. He drew his sword. I lifted my bow.
Polyphemus advanced carefully, limping worse than ever. But there was nothing wrong with his throwing arm. He chucked his second boulder. Percy and I dove to one side, but we still would've been squashed if Tyson's fist hadn't blasted the rock to rubble.
Suddenly, a huge wave lifted us in the air. We rode toward the Cyclops. Percy kicked him in the eye. I timed my shot just right; as the surf lowered, I aimed upward. The arrow shot directly into his left nostril, erupting into purple putty. That had to have hurt.
"Destroy you!" Polyphemus wailed, waving his hands around blindly, since Percy'd kicked his eye again. For a scary moment, I was flying through the air, and I'd thought he'd caught me with his hand, but then I realized Percy was shooting me up in a wave again so I had a good shot at the Cyclops.
Just as I shot an arrow, Polyphemus's hand made a lucky hit and slammed me into the ocean. I hit the water with a smack so bad it echoed even when I was underwater. My back stung. I cursed, which was hard to do in water.
Percy responded quickly, and the ocean lifted me to my feet within a short moment. I caught his eye and saluted my thanks. He nodded, like, Hey, it's no biggie.
Again, he willed a big wave to lift me into the air. I was ready for Polyphemus's hands, though, and ducked as the huge fingers tried to smack me down. Before the Cyclops's hand could come back down on me, though, I began falling. Percy was distracted. He'd been raked across the back with the olive tree the monster had armed himself with.
"Percy!" I yelled, and the water picked me back up again. He carried me back toward the Cyclops. I was taller than Polyphemus by then. Just as I was in reach of his olive tree, I shot an arrow right into the middle of his big, ugly eye.
I swam away quickly. Percy helped me make it out of arm's reach from Polyphemus. I watched as the monster doubled over in pain, shouting at me.
"Theo!" Percy was waving me over. I rode the wave toward him, breathless and exhausted, but we had to keep swimming.
"Where are you?" Polyphemus screamed. He picked up his tree club and threw it into the water. It splashed off to our right.
Percy summoned the current to carry us, and we started gaining speed. I was starting to think we'd make it to the ship okay, when Clarisse yelled from the deck, "Yeah, Scott! In your face, Cyclops!"
"Shut up!" I yelled. A boulder flew over my head and landed just a few feet ahead of us.
"Yeah, yeah!" Clarisse taunted. "You throw like a wimp! Teach you to try marrying me, you idiot!"
"Clarisse!" Percy shouted. "Shut up!"
Too late. Polyphemus threw another boulder, and this time we watched helplessly as it sailed over our head and crashed through the hull of the Queen Anne's Revenge.
You wouldn't believe how fast a ship can sink. The Queen Anne's Revenge creaked and groaned and listed forward like it was going down a playground slide.
Percy cursed. We all dove as another boulder landed in the water dangerously close to us. I prayed to Poseidon, but I doubted my wishes were as prominent to him as his own son's were.
Shapes began shimmering in the darkness below—horses with fish tails. Hippocampi. Rainbow and his friends glanced in our direction and seemed to read our thoughts. They whisked into the wreckage of Queen Anne's Revenge, and a moment later burst upward in a cloud of bubbles—Grover, Annabeth, and Clarisse all clinging to the neck of a hippocampus.
I passed out the moment I climbed onto the back of my ride.
