Annabeth Chase and the Sea of Monsters

Chapter 34 - I dream while my friends fight

Being dangled by my legs isn't fun, especially when you're concussed. Blood dripped into my hair from the cut on my forehead and my head felt like it was going to explode. I couldn't even see straight, my eyes all blurring and rolling. I tried my best to struggle, but Polyphemus shook me hard, rattling my entire body. It dislodged the cap from my head, revealing my body.

"Hah!" Polyphemus yelled. "Nasty invisible girl! Already got feisty one for wife. Means you gotta be roasted with mango chutney!"

I didn't like the sound of that. Especially the mango chutney part. I didn't like mangoes.

Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly in the state to do anything about it. Fortunately, my friend were.

"Hey, Ugly!" I heard Percy yell, although I couldn't see him due to my blurry vision.

"Another one?" Polyphemus exclaimed. "Who are you?" He spun around to face Percy, whipping me around painfully, my ribs cracking in an unnatural way.

"Put down my friend. I'm the one who insulted you."

"You are Nobody?"

I had no idea what Percy was doing, but if he managed to get Polyphemus to put me down rather than use me as a twirling stick, I'd appreciate it.

"That's right, you smelly bucket of nose drool!" Percy yelled, making me cringe at his insults. Even as dazed as I was, I could still do better. "I'm Nobody and I'm proud of it! Now, put her down and get over here. I want to stab your eye out again."

"RAAAR!"

His grip on my ankles loosened and I slipped from his grasp. Unfortunately, as I was upside-down, I landed on my head. Instantly, blackness overcame me and I lost consciousness.

----||==========>

When I opened my eyes, I was in the throne room of the gods. It was dark, so dark that I couldn't see much beyond the boy standing in front of me.

He was slightly taller than me and lean, an athletes build to him. He held a sword in his right hand and his back was to the hearth fire so his face was shadowed. Yet despite his threatening view, I felt no fear from him. He would never hurt me.

"Percy," I said as he stepped forward, his distinctive black hair and green eyes becoming visible in the darkness, "what's wrong? What's happening?"

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," he whispered, raw pain in his voice. "I failed."

"Failed what?" I asked, stepping forward. "Percy -"

His face changed, agony washing over his expressions. I stepped forward as the tip of a sword appeared out of his chest, punching through his shirt. As quickly as it appeared, it slid out again and Percy slumped.

A scream formed in my throat as he collapsed limply in my arms, his weight bearing me down. His blood soaked my front as I fell to my knees, his cooling body clasped tightly.

"NO!" I cried as I bent over him, seeing his green eyes staring off lifelessly to the side.

Tears blurring my vision, I looked up to see another boy standing before me, a bloodied sword in my hand. Again, I couldn't make out any features through his back being to the fire. This time, I did feel threatened, his presence scaring me.

"Why?" I screamed at him.

His shadowed face stared down at me. I felt like I should know who it was, but I couldn't remember. "The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap." The boy intoned.

My heart jarred. No, it couldn't be. Not the Great Prophecy.

Yet as I watched, the boy's sword flickered from its current shape into a scythe and back again. His skin started to change too, becoming a bright gold, so bright that it lit up the room. I started to make out other features such as the gods' chairs. They were all trashed, arm rests loped off, cushions slashed and some reverted to rubble.

I looked back at the boy as he raised his scythe, aiming it at me. I gripped Percy's body tighter as the scythe fell.

But it didn't touch me. Instead, a warmth filled through my body, all the way from my head to my toes. A golden light filled my vision, blocking out the boy and blinding me. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again, I found myself in a different place.

There was something heavy lying on me and when I looked down, I saw the Golden Fleece had been draped over my body like a blanket. Three familiar heads bent over me, blocking out my view of a blue sky and all creased in varying stages of worry. Clarisse looked more irritated than anything else, Grover looked concerned and Percy looked like he was about to collapse with worry.

I smiled weakly at Grover. "You're not . . . married?"

He grinned back. "No. My friends talked me out of it."

"Annabeth," Percy said, sounding like a pedantic mother, "just lay still."

I felt fine though so I sat up, the Fleece falling off me. My ribs made a slight protest within me and only a faint drumming in my head reminded me of my concussion. When I reached up to feel the cut on my forehead, I discovered that it was nearly healed although all the blood remained, coating my hair.

I looked around to see we were on the opposite side of the crevice, near where the rope bridge had once hung. There was no sign of Polyphemus but another familiar Cyclops stood nearby in the middle of the flock of carnivorous sheep.

My eyes bulged as I recognized Tyson struggling to control the man-eating sheep, looking as well as he did before the CSS Birmingham blew up. I'd been so convince that he was dead that my heart nearly stopped in shock to see him alive and well. I probably would have collapsed hadn't the Fleece been still on me.

"We have to go," Percy said, still looking worried although now not all of that was aimed at me. "Our ship is . . ." He trailed off, remembering that the ship was on the other side of the crevice, one that was now missing its bridge. The only other way was through the man-eating sheep. "Tyson, can you lead the flock as far away as possible?"

"The sheep want food," the Cyclops called back.

"I know! They want people food! Just lead them away from the path. Give us time to get to the beach. Then join us there."

Tyson called to the sheep and jogged away, the woolly carnivores chasing after him. Percy turned back to me.

"Keep the Fleece around you," he said, hovering over me in a suffocating but endearing way. "Just in case you're not fully healed. Can you stand?"

I made it to my knees but then my ribs flared, making me gasp with pain and fall back, Percy catching me before I hit the ground. "Ohh. Not fully healed."

Clarisse game to a knee beside me and placed a hand on my chest, feeling my ribs. I gasped in pain.

"Ribs broken," she assessed. "They're mending, but definitely broken."

"How can you tell?" Percy asked.

Clarisse glared at him. "Because I've broken a few, runt! I'll have to carry her."

Giving me no warning, she scooped me as easily as she would a child and headed down the path to the beach, Percy and Grover following. When we reached the beach, Percy willed the Queen Anne's Revenge to sail towards us although it couldn't make it all the way to the beach.

"Incoming!" Tyson yelled, running towards us, the man-eating sheep growling in annoyance as he left them up on the path.

"They probably won't follow us into the water," Percy reasoned. "All we have to do is swim for the ship."

"With Annabeth like this?" Clarisse asked, her arms still around me although I had my feet in the ground. I had to admit, I didn't like my chances of making it to the ship.

"We can do it," Percy said determinedly. "Once we get to the ship, we're home free."

I would have believed him hadn't at that moment Polyphemus showed up to ruin the party.