Annabeth Chase and the Sea of Monsters

Chapter 39 - Tyson gets a gun

I confessed my sins to Chiron as the herd of centaurs ran. They were running so fast that the landscape blurred around us, flashes of the city followed by fields then forests as the kilometers were eaten up below us. I could feel Grover struggling not to vomit behind me and I was praying to whoever the god of vomit was that he could hold it in. Satyr vomit was dangerous from the amount of tin cans they eat.

Chiron wasn't pleased when I admitted that I told Percy about the Great Prophecy. He kept absolutely silent, which is worse than if he was yelling.

"He needed to know," I said, trying to plead my case. "We can't keep him in the dark forever. Especially if he is the one."

"He might not be the one," Chiron said shortly.

"But he might be. Who else is there?"

Chiron didn't answer, facing forward as we continued to race along. I didn't know what to think or feel as I clung to his chest, really not wanting to fall off at the speed he was running. So much had happened in such a short amount of time that I couldn't just concentrate on one thing.

The one thing that I was hoping about above all else was that the quest was over. All I wanted was to sleep in my own bed again, surrounded by my blueprints.

Chiron started to slow down, all of the other centaurs coming to a stop around us. I found that we were in what looked like a deserted trailer park, all of the trailers being horse-mobiles. It was hidden behind a screen of trees and right on a lake, making it an ideal holiday park. Refrigerators and televisions scattered the area and already a party was starting, even though we had only just arrived.

"Dude!" one of the party ponies said as he grabbed a can out of the fridge. "Did you see that bear guy? He was all like, 'Whoa, I have an arrow in my mouth!'"

One of the centaurs laughed. He was wearing googly-eye glasses. "That was awesome! Head slam!"

The two centaurs charged at each other, heads down and slammed at full force. They both fell backwards then staggered off, grinning crazily.

Chiron sighed as he trotted over to where Percy was sitting on a picnic rug, setting Grover and I down beside the son of Poseidon. "I really wish my cousins wouldn't slam their heads together. They don't have the brain cells to spare."

Percy still looked a little stunned as he looked up at the centaur. "Chiron. You saved us."

He smiled dryly. "Well now, I couldn't very well let you die, especially since you've cleared my name."

"But how did you know where we were?" I asked, having forgotten to ask him that before.

"Advanced planning, my dear. I figured you would wash up near Miami if you made it out of the Sea of Monsters alive. Almost everything strange washes up near Miami."

"Gee, thanks," Grover mumbled.

"No, no," Chiron tried to amend. "I didn't mean . . . Oh, never mind. I am glad to see you, my young satyr. The point is, I was able to eavesdrop on Percy's Iris-message and race the signal. Iris and I have been friends for centuries. I asked her to alert me to any important communications in this area. It then took no effort to convince my cousins to ride to your aid. As you can see, centaurs can travel quite fast when we wish to. Distance for us in not the same as distance for humans."

Over by the campfire, Tyson was being taught by three party ponies how to shoot a paintball gun. I immediately started looking for shelter.

"So what now?" Percy asked Chiron. "We just let Luke sail away? He's got Kronos aboard that ship. Or parts of him, anyway."

The centaur knelt beside Percy and began to clean the son of Poseidon's wounds, starting with the gash on his chest. "I'm afraid, Percy, that today has been something of a draw. We didn't have the strength of numbers to take that ship. Luke was not organized enough to pursue us. Nobody won."

"But we got the Fleece!" I protested. "Clarisse is on her way back to camp with it right now."

Chiron nodded, but I noticed that something was still bugging him. Wasn't he happy that we had exactly what we needed to save Thalia's tree?

"You are all true heroes," he said. "And as soon as we get Percy fixed up, you must return to Half-Blood Hill. The centaurs shall carry you."

"You're coming, too?" Percy asked.

"Oh yes, Percy. I'll be relieved to get home. My brethren here simply do not appreciate Dean Martin's music." Percy and I locked eyes, remembering that demon pigeons didn't either. "Besides, I must have some words with Mr D. There's the summer to plan. So much training to do. And I want to see . . . I'm curious about the Fleece."

I didn't like the way he said that. I had a feeling some thing bad was going to happen.

By the campfire, Tyson fired the paintball gun. Before I had time to duck for cover, a blue bullet hit a centaur in the rump, knocking him into the lake. I thought when he came out he'd unleash his horse-ninja skills, but instead he merely grinned and gave Tyson two thumbs up.

"Annabeth," Chiron said suddenly, "perhaps you and Grover would go supervise Tyson and my cousins before they, ah, teach each other too many bad habits?"

I looked at him and saw him watching me keenly. I could see in his eyes that he was going to talk to Percy about the Great Prophecy, a topic I really didn't want to hear.

"Sure, Chiron," I said immediately. "Come on, goat boy."

"But I don't like paintball," he whined.

"Yes, you do," I corrected, hoisting him to his feet and dragging him by a horn to the campfire.

Sitting by the campfire, we spent most of the time diving behind the logs as Tyson went wild with the paintball, neither of us daring enough to get close enough to him to take it away from him. The centaurs thought it was a huge game as they ran around, cheering and head butting each other while Tyson spun in circles while firing off shots.

I found myself smiling as I watched the chaos around me, laughing as I saw centaurs being splattered with blue paint or having a contest to who could balance the best while drunk.

Grover didn't think as much of it though, especially when he got hit by one of Tyson's stray shots, then forced by the centaurs to head slam with one of them. Surprisingly Grover won, although I suppose he had an advantage having horns and all.

The centaurs tried to include him in all the games on the principle that they had hooves, he had hooves, therefore he was one of them. I could see Grover pleading with me to get him out of there, but I merely waved and laughed as they decked him out in flamboyant clothes and hats that had straws leading from the cans on the side.

I was having so much fun, that I almost forgot about Percy and Chiron. When I remembered them and looked back, I could see that Chiron had a glum look on his face while Percy looked close to despair. Whatever they were taking about, it was nothing good, and at the moment, I just didn't want to know.

I was keen to get back to camp. It had been so long and I wanted to see what state camp was in. I hoped it was still standing.