❦𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓮❦ - 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓬𝔂 𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼𝓸𝓷

𝒳𝒱𝐼𝐼𝐼. 𝒫𝑜𝓁𝓎𝓅𝒽𝑒𝓂𝓊𝓈'𝓈 𝐼𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹

𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 you think Monster Island, you think of craggy rocks and bones scattered on the beach like what Percy had described the island of the Sirens as.

The Cyclops's island had a rope bridge across a chasm, which was not a good sign. You might as well put up a billboard that said, SOMETHING EVIL LIVES HERE. But except for that, the place looked like a Caribbean postcard. It had green fields and tropical fruit trees and white beaches. As they sailed toward the shore, Annabeth breathed in the sweet air. "The Fleece," she said.

Zoe and Percy nodded. The brunette couldn't see the Fleece yet, but she could feel its power. She could believe it would heal anything, even Thalia's poisoned tree.

"If we take it away," Percy asked, "will the island die?"

Annabeth shook her head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would normally be, whatever that is."

In the meadow at the base of the ravine, several dozen sheep were milling around. They looked peaceful enough, but they were huge—the size of hippos. Just past them was a path that led up into the hills. At the top of the path, near the edge of the canyon, was the massive oak tree with something gold glittering in its branches.

"This is too easy," Percy said. "We could just hike up there and take it?"

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "There's supposed to be a guardian. A dragon or..."

That's when a deer emerged from the bushes. It trotted into the meadow, more than likely looking for grass to eat, when the sheep all bleated at once and rushed the animal. It happened so fast that the deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves.

Grass and tufts of fur flew into the air.

A second later the sheep all moved away, back to their regular peaceful wanderings. Where the deer had been was a pile of clean white bones.

The three of them exchanged looks.

"They're like piranhas," Annabeth said.

"Piranhas with wool. How will we—"

"Guys!" Zoe gasped, grabbing Percy's arm. "Look."

She pointed down the beach, to just below the sheep meadow, where a small boat had been run aground...the other lifeboat from the CSS Birmingham.

They decided there was no way they could get past the man-eating sheep. Annabeth wanted to sneak up the path invisibly and grab the Fleece, but in the end Percy and Zoe convinced her that something would go wrong. The sheep would smell her. Another guardian would appear. Something. And if that happened, the two of them would be too far away to help.

Besides, their first job was to find Grover and whoever had come ashore in that lifeboat— assuming they'd gotten past the sheep. Zoe knew Percy was secretly hoping that Tyson survived and had been on that boat.

Percy moored the Queen Anne's Revenge on the back side of the island where the cliffs rose straight up a good two hundred feet. He told the girls that the ship was less likely to be seen there.

The cliffs looked climbable, barely—about as difficult as the lava wall back at camp. At least it was free of sheep.

Zoe hadn't really thought about it while they were sailing, but she knew she would not be able to climb in a dress. When Annabeth had gone below deck the night before, the blond had changed into her camp shirt and shorts, but Zoe hadn't been below deck and never got the chance to change. Quickly switching her long white dress for a shirt and shorts, the brunette hurriedly re-did her hair as they rowed a lifeboat to the edge of the cliff.