Sea Green Eyes

Chapter 28

When they got back onto the ship, Frank having flown them, he ran off to get Leo to take off while the rest of them lay on the deck. Gleeson's shoes were gone as he muttered 'Awesome,' over and over again as Percy was hugging Cressida. The girl was soaking wet and shivering as she was covered in scratches like Percy, but Percy just looked extremely dizzy as Annabeth crouched by them, and he grabbed her shoulder weakly in an attempt to steady himself.

Leo, Piper, and Jason, who'd been eating in the mess hall, came rushing up the stairs.

"What? What?" Leo cried, holding a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich. "Can't a guy even take a lunch break? What's wrong?"

"Followed!" Frank yelled again.

"Followed by what?" Jason asked.

"I don't know!" Frank panted. "Whales? Sea monsters? Maybe Kate and Porky!"

Annabeth looked like she wanted to strangle the guy because of his inability to form a sentence. "That makes absolutely no sense. Leo, you'd better get us out of here."

Leo put his sandwich between his teeth, pirate style, and ran for the helm.

"Piper, Hazel, get the med-kit and a blanket and towel for Cress. Jason come with me," Annabeth ordered as they followed her instructions.

She and Jason manned the aft crossbows, waiting for pursuit of creatures that never came.

Hazel had fed Percy some ambrosia that closed up most of his wounds while Piper tried to dry off Cressida and warm her up after getting some nectar down her throat.

"Charleston," Percy panted. He still sounded pretty shaken up. "Set course for Charleston."

"Charleston?" Jason said the name as if it brought back bad memories as he and Annabeth came back. "What exactly did you find in Atlanta?"

Frank unzipped his backpack and started bringing out souvenirs. "Some peach preserves. A couple of T-shirts. A snow globe. And, um, these not-really-Chinese handcuffs."

Annabeth forced herself to stay calm. "How about you start from the top—of the story, not the backpack."

They gathered on the quarterdeck so Leo could hear the conversation as he navigated. And despite the fact that Cressida was still annoyed at him for the whole Nico thing, Percy still forced her to stand by him as Leo warmed her up, the colour already coming back to her skin as he held her hand.

Percy and Frank took turns relating what had happened at the Georgia Aquarium, with Coach Hedge interjecting from time to time: "That was awesome!" or "Then I kicked her in the head!"

And then he crushed Cressida in a hug as he went on about how she bravely used the switchblade he gave her to free them.

On the bright side, at least he'd forgotten about Cressida and Percy sleeping in the same bed.

When Percy explained about the captive sea creatures in the aquarium, everyone else understood why he was so upset.

"That's terrible," Annabeth said. "We need to help them."

"We will," Percy promised. "In time. But I have to figure out how. I wish..." He shook his head. "Never mind. First, we have to deal with this bounty on our heads."

Coach Hedge had lost interest in the conversation—probably because it was no longer about him—and wandered toward the bow of the ship, practising his roundhouse kicks and complimenting himself on his technique.

Annabeth gripped the hilt of her dagger. "A bounty on our heads... as if we didn't attract enough monsters already."

"Do we get WANTED posters?" Leo asked. "And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?"