Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
"Are they dead?" Silena asked in astonishment.
Ice coated my stomach. A line from the prophecy rang in my ears: And see the world in
endless sleep. I remembered Grover's story about meeting the god Morpheus in Central Park.
You're lucky I'm saving my energy for the main event.
"Not dead," I said. "Morpheus has put the entire island of Manhattan to sleep. The invasion
has started."
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57
Chapter Ten
I Buy Some New Friends
Mrs. O'Leary was the only one happy about the sleeping city.
We found her pigging out at an overturned hot dog stand while the owner was curled up on
the sidewalk, sucking his thumb.
Argus was waiting for us with his hundred eyes wide open. He didn't say anything. He never
does. I guess that's because he supposedly has an eyeball on his tongue. But his face made it clear
he was freaking out.
I told him what we'd learned in Olympus, and how the gods would not be riding to the
rescue. Argus rolled his eyes in disgust, which looked pretty psychedelic since it made his whole
body swirl.
"You'd better get back to camp," I told him. "Guard it as best you can."
He pointed at me and raised his eyebrow quizzically.
"I'm staying," I said.
Argus nodded, like this answer satisfied him. He looked at Annabeth and drew a circle in the
air with his finger.
"Yes," Annabeth agreed. "I think it's time."
"For what?" I asked.
Argus rummaged around in the back of his van. He brought out a bronze shield and passed
it to Annabeth. It looked pretty much standard issue—the same kind of round shield we always used
in capture the flag. But when Annabeth set it on the ground, the reflection on the polished metal
changed from sky and buildings to the Statue of Liberty—which wasn't anywhere close to us.
"Whoa," I said. "A video shield."
"One of Daedalus's ideas," Annabeth said. "I had Beckendorf make this before—" She
glanced at Silena. "Um, anyway, the shield bends sunlight or moonlight from anywhere in the world
to create a reflection. You can literally see any target under the sun or moon, as long as natural light
is touching it. Look."
We crowded around as Annabeth concentrated. The image zoomed and spun at first, so I
got motion sickness just watching it. We were in the Central Park Zoo, then zooming down East
60th, past Bloomin gdale's, then turning on Third Avenue.
"Whoa," Connor Stoll said. "Back up. Zoom in right there."
"What?" Annabeth said nervously. "You see invaders?"
"No, right there—Dylan's Candy Bar." Connor grinned at his brother. "Dude, it's open. And
everyone is asleep. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Connor!" Katie Gardner scolded. She sounded like her mother, Demeter. "This is serious.
You are not going to loot a candy store in the middle of a war!"
"Sorry," Connor muttered, but he didn't sound very ashamed.
Annabeth passed her hand in front of the shield, and another scene popped up: FDR Drive,
looking across the river at Lighthouse Park.
"This will let us see what's going on across the city," she said. "Thank you, Argus. Hopefully
we'll see you back at camp . . . someday."
Argus grunted. He gave me a look that clearly meant Good luck; you'll need it, then climbed
into his van. He and the two harpy drivers swerved away, weaving around clusters of idle cars that
littered the road.