GODS AND MONSTERS , pjo

11 , my dream island

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
MY DREAM ISLAND

      Percy woke up about an hour later.

      He tried to sit up but immediately paused.

      "Rest," Annabeth said. "You're going to need it."

      "Tyson...?"

      I let my eyes sink into the sea, trying to drown my feelings.

      "Percy, I'm really sorry."

      We were all silent while the waves tossed us up and down.

      "He may have survived," she said halfheartedly. "I mean, fire can't kill him."

      Aella was staring at me. I knew she wanted to say something, but she didn't.

      Estella sat at the front of the boat, her legs curled to her chest as she stared out into the sea. I knew she was thinking of Clarisse.

      We hadn't been able to find her after the explosion. Between trying to avoid Scylla and the fire, it was kinda hard. We had searched as best as we could, but we found nothing.

      I knew Percy probably didn't care. He never liked Clarisse, she wasn't my favorite either but, she was Estella's sister, I get it if she's sad.

      Waves lapped at the boat. Annabeth showed Percy some things we'd salvaged from the wreckage—Hermes's thermos (now empty), a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia, a couple of sailors' shirts, and a bottle of Dr Pepper.

      We had fished him out of the water and then found good knapsack, bitten in half by Scylla's teeth. Most of his stuff had floated away, but he still had Hermes's bottle of multivitamins, and of course Riptide. The ballpoint pen always appeared back in his pocket no matter where he lost it.

      We sailed for hours. Now that we were in the Sea of Monsters, the water glittered a more brilliant green, like Hydra acid. The wind smelled fresh and salty, but it carried a strange metallic scent, too—as if a thunderstorm were coming. Or something even more dangerous. I knew what direction we needed to go. I knew we were exactly one hundred thirteen nautical miles west by northwest of our destination. But that didn't make me feel any less lost.

      No matter which way we turned, the sun seemed to shine straight into my eyes. We took turns sipping from the Dr Pepper, Aella didn't want any because she said drinking anything would personally make her through up.

      Percy talked about his latest dream of Grover. By Annabeth's estimate, we had less than twenty-four hours to find Grover, assuming his dream was accurate, and assuming the Cyclops Polyphemus didn't change his mind and try to marry Grover earlier.

      "Yeah," he said bitterly. "You can never trust a Cyclops."

      Annabeth stared across the water. "I'm sorry, Percy. I was wrong about Tyson, okay? I wish I could tell him that."

      I knew she meant it just by the look on her face.

      "Annabeth, what's Chiron's prophecy?"

      Everyone turned towards the two. (Even Estella)

      She pursed her lips. "Percy, I shouldn't—"

      "I know Chiron promised the gods he wouldn't tell me. But you didn't promise, did you?"

      "Knowledge isn't always good for you."

      "Your mom is the wisdom goddess!"

      "I know! But every time heroes learn the future, they try to change it, and it never works."