Camp Hermit-Blood - The Sea of Monsters

Tango

"Gem?" Percy yelled.

The island was silent. It seemed to be deserted.

Vines and plants had taken over the marble structures, and according to Bdubs, it had been Gem's doing. Nobody had bothered to explain to Tango what had happened to her, only that they were back for her now.

All Tango had inferred from what the others said was that Gem had stayed here for some reason, probably against her will. He knew nothing else. Thankfully, Tyson didn't either. At least he wasn't alone.

They were, however, alone on the island, except for a few animals that had probably once been pets, who slunk away from the unfamiliar visitors.

"Gem?" Clarisse called.

"GEEEEEEEEEEEEM!" Bdubs yelled at the top of his lungs, scaring a few birds out of the trees. Everyone flinched. It felt weird to break the silence.

"The pirates you mentioned don't seem to be here either," Zedaph observed.

"WHAT IF THEY KILLED HER," Bdubs said, his voice an octave higher than usual.

The statement hung in the air. Nobody wanted to answer.

"They left," a voice said finally, and a woman came out of a building. "The pirates left."

"What?" several people demanded.

"They took a few prisoners," the girl said. "We're stranded here. Circe is nowhere to be found, we think she's dead. And it's all your fault."

"Circe turned me into a guinea pig," Percy said.

"YEAH!" Bdubs agreed.

Ren poked his head out of Zedaph's pocket and squeaked.

"Do you think those vitamins are still up there?" Annabeth asked. "The ones that weren't eaten by the pirates."

"Maybe," Percy said.

Ren yeeted himself out of Zed's pocket and started climbing the steps. Clarisse sighed, picked him up, and carried him up to the building at the top of the hill.

"This 'Gem' person," the woman said. "She might have been one of the prisoners. If she was, I don't know if she's still alive."

"We're not leaving without her," Percy insisted.

"Then I guess you're going to be here a while," the girl huffed, turning away. "They're gone. Your friend is gone."

She walked away.

"But-" Percy protested.

"There's still hope," Tango piped up. "She might be alive."

"We'll find her," Bdubs said determinedly. "PERCY IS A SHIP GUY. MAYBE HE CAN FIND HER."

"Probably not," Percy said. "They could be anywhere."

"We found a way to get the Fleece, didn't we? There's a way. We just have to see it," Annabeth said.

The group nodded.

Clarisse came back down. Ren was still a guinea pig, which Tango took to mean there were none of the vitamin things left. "We need to figure something else out," Clarisse said.

"And Gem knows how to fight," Zedaph added, bringing the topic back to their previous conversation. "I don't know which is more likely: her dying immediately or becoming a ninja and karate-chopping the pirates until they bring her back to camp."

The Hermits who were present laughed at the thought.

"Let's hope it's the latter," Percy said. "We still need to rescue Grian, too."