Indigo Eyes

Chapter 25

Cressida was yanked from the calm floating feeling she felt when she began to cough up water. Her body ached and felt very hot as well as wet as she vomited liquid over the side of a boat. Her throat burned as did her nose as she fought to replace the water with air.

"Take it easy, Grapes," said Annabeth's voice.

"You're ok," said another voice that she was sure was Percy's as she let herself hang over the side of the boat for a moment. Her reflection was rather concerning, her face covered in soot and ash, a healing burn on her neck as her hair dangled in front of her face and her head began to pound.

"That hurt," she murmured, as she eased herself into a sitting position, vague memories of her diving into the water before the ship blew up coming back.

"You got blown up, Grapes. You're lucky to be alive," Annabeth said.

"Yeah, we found you face down in the water," Percy continued as she blinked her eyes that still stung with salt water.

"Can I have some nectar...something to make the world stop spinning?" she asked as she held a hand to her head.

"Yeah I think we can risk some more," Annabeth said as she pulled out some ambrosia and broke it into small pieces, making it easier for Cressida to take.

"How long have I been out?" she asked after a few bites.

"A few hours," Annabeth answered. "We used most of the ambrosia from your bag to heal most of your burns over that time."

Annabeth pointed to the tattered bag on the boat next to her still intact one. The fire from the explosion had burned some holes through her bag, most of her stuff gone except for some ambrosia that they used, a bottle of water and a couple of soaked t-shirts. Collectively they also had Hermes' now-empty Flask, their last bag of ambrosia, a couple of sailor's shirts, a bottle of Dr Pepper and Hermes's bottle of multivitamins. Annabeth had even constructed a small mast and sail out of the shirts and some debris.

"No food?" she asked as she felt the pit in her stomach not satisfied by the few pieces of ambrosia that she consumed that healed her neck wound. Her shirt had also been changed, her old one along with her denim jacket probably ruined.

"No. Sorry," Annabeth said. "And I don't suppose you can grow any grapes out here. I'd die for a few of them right now."

"I might be able to," she said as she pushed the strands of her hair out of her face and swallowed the last piece of ambrosia. "If the ocean floor is close enough."

"Whoa, you almost drowned. Are you sure you should be using your powers so soon?" Percy asked.

"Better than starving to death," she replied before she reached over the edge of the boat and placed both her hands into the water.

"Any luck?" Annabeth asked hopefully after a time, her own stomach rumbling pretty badly.

"No," Cressida answered as she pulled her hands out of the water, shaking them off before wiping them on her jeans which were covered in soot and smog but not torn thankfully. "It's too deep. I might as well be on a plane. I can't feel the ocean floor."

"What if you did it together?" Annabeth suggested.

"What?" Percy asked, the air between Percy and Annabeth a little thick after the conversation they had about Tyson and the prophecy before Cressida woke.

"Try using your powers together," she said, and Cressida shrugged.

"What have we got to lose?"

"Wait a minute! How is this going to work? What do I do?" Percy interjected.