Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Olympians
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Annabeth nodded . “ I remember now . When the Titans ruled , they imprisoned Gaea and
Ouranos ’ s earlier children — the Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires .” “ The Heka-what ?” I asked . “ The Hundred-Handed Ones ,” she said . “ They called them that because … well , they had a hundred hands . They were elder brothers of the Cyclopes .” “ Very powerful ,” Tyson said . “ Wonderful ! As tall as the sky . So strong they could break mountains !” “ Cool ,” I said . “ Unless you ’ re a mountain .” “ Kampê was the jailer ,” he said . “ She worked for Kronos . She kept our brothers locked up in Tartarus , tortured them always , until Zeus came . He killed Kampê and freed Cyclopes and Hundred- Handed Ones to help fight against the Titans in the big war .” “ And now Kampê is back ,” I said . “ Bad ,” Tyson summed up . “ So who ’ s in that cell ?” I asked . “ You said a name —” “ Briares !” Tyson perked up . “ He is a Hundred-Handed One . They are as tall as the sky and ” “ Yeah ,” I said . “ They break mountains .” I looked up at the cells above us , wondering how something as tall as the sky could fit in a tiny cell , and why he was crying . “ I guess we should check it out ,” Annabeth said , “ before Kampê comes back .” *** As we approached the cell , the weeping got louder . When I first saw the creature inside , I wasn ’ t sure what I was looking at . He was human-size and his skin was very pale , the color of milk . He wore a loincloth like a big diaper . His feet seemed too big for his body , with cracked dirty toenails , eight toes on each foot . But the top half of his body was the weird part . He made Janus look downright normal . His chest sprouted more arms than I could count , in rows , all around his body . The arms looked like normal arms , but there were so many of them , all tangled together , that his chest looked kind of like a forkful of spaghetti somebody had twirled together . Several of his hands were covering his face as he sobbed . “ Either the sky isn ’ t as tall as it used to be ,” I muttered , “ or he ’ s short .” Tyson didn ’ t pay any attention . He fell to his knees . “ Briares !” he called . The sobbing stopped . “ Great Hundred-Handed One !” Tyson said . “ Help us !” Briars looked up . His face was long and sad , with a crooked nose and bad teeth . He had deep brown eyes — I mean completely brown with no whites or black pupils , like eyes formed out of clay . “ Run while you can , Cyclops ,” Briares said miserably . “ I cannot even help myself .” “ You are a Hundred-Handed One !” Tyson insisted . “ You can do anything !” Briars wiped his nose with five or six hands . Several others were fidgeting with little pieces of metal and wood from a broken bed , the way Tyson always played with spare parts . It was amazing to watch . The hands seemed to have a mind of their own . They built a toy boat out of wood , then disassembled it just as fast . Other hands were scratching at the cement floor for no apparent reason . Others were playing rock , paper , scissors . A few others were making ducky and doggie shadow puppets against the wall .
“ I cannot ,” Briares moaned . “ Kampê is back ! The Titans will rise and throw us back into
Tartarus .” “ Put on your brave face !” Tyson said . Immediately Briares ’ s face morphed into something else . Same brown eyes , but otherwise totally different features . He had an upturned nose , arched eyebrows , and a weird smile , like he was trying to act brave . But then his face turned back to what it had been before . “ No good ,” he said . “ My scared face keeps coming back .” “ How did you do that ?” I asked . Annabeth elbowed me . “ Don ’ t be rude . The Hundred-Handed Ones all have fifty different faces .” “ Must make it hard to get a yearbook picture ,” I said .