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chapter xxix. ( the sea of monsters ) ❝ the cyclops den! ❞
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ANNABETH WOKE US UP ALL REALLY EARLY. It must've been sunrise when she shook me out of the hammock. "Get up," she said.
"Why?"
"Because we're here. We're at Polyphemus's Island."
I could tell Annabeth was upset with me, for multiple things. One: I told her I wouldn't put myself in danger with the Sirens, I did. Two: I refused to say anything about what I saw, and then she stormed off and after that I spoke to Percy instead of her (which wasn't how I intended it to go! But it did); and finally three: we have been rather distant this week and during this quest, and I could tell it was getting to her as much as it was getting to me.
I followed Annabeth up to the top deck, coming to a stop beside Percy by the edge. In the distance I could see what must be Polyphemus' Island. It didn't look like it belonged to a menacing—practically blind—Cyclops. The pastures were a bright green, with tropical trees and white beaches. The only thing that made the place seem a bit creepy was the long rope bridge that connected across a chasm. Annabeth breathed in the sweet air. "The Fleece," she said.
I found myself nodding. I couldn't see the Fleece, but I knew it was there; I could feel it. This could save Camp, this will save Thalia.
Percy had a frown on his face. "If we take it away, will the island die?"
Annabeth shook her head, "It'll fade. Go back to what it would be normally, whatever that is."
In the meadow at the base of the ravine, several dozen sheep were milling around. They looked peaceful, like most sheep, however, they were the size of hippos. Just behind them, ran a path that led up all the way into the hills, towards the top near the edge of the canyon. And there, right by the edge was a massive oak tree where something gold glittered in it's thick and twisted branches.
"This is too easy," Percy said. "We could just hike up there and take it."
Annabeth's eyes narrowed, "There's supposed to be a guardian. A dragon or ..."
A deer emerged from the bushes. It trotted into the meadow, probably looking for something to eat, when all the sheep bleated at once and rushed towards it. It happened so fast that the deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves. A few seconds passed, and the sheep all moved away. Where the deer had been was a pile of clean white bones.
Annabeth, Percy and I all exchanged looks.
"They're like piranhas," she said.
"Piranhas with wool ..." Percy crossed his arms, frowning at the sheep, but something else caught my attention. Down at the beach, just below the sheep meadow there was a small boat that had been run aground—the other lifeboat from the CSS Birmingham—
