Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Olympians
the deer had been was a pile of clean white bones . Annabeth and I exchanged looks . " They ' re like piranhas ," she said . " Piranhas with wool . How will we —" " Percy !" Annabeth gasped , grabbing my arm . " Look ." She pointed down the beach , to just below the sheep meadow , where a small boat had been run aground ... the other lifeboat from the CSS Birmingham .
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We decided there was no way we could get past the man-eating sheep . Annabeth wanted to sneak up the path invisibly and grab the Fleece , but in the end I convinced her that something would go wrong . The sheep would smell her . Another guardian would appear . Something . And if that happened , I ' d be too far away to help .
Besides , our first job was to find Grover and whoever had come ashore in that lifeboat — assuming they ' d gotten past the sheep . I was too nervous to say what I was secretly hoping ... that Tyson might still be alive .
We moored the Queen Anne ' s Revenge on the back side of the island where the cliffs rose straight up a good two hundred feet . I figured the ship was less likely to be seen there . The cliffs looked climbable , barely — about as difficult as the lava wall back at camp . At least it was free of sheep . I hoped that Polyphemus did not also keep carnivorous mountain goats .
We rowed a lifeboat to the edge of the rocks and made our way up , very slowly . Annabeth went first because she was the better climber .
We only came close to dying six or seven times , which I thought was pretty good . Once , I lost my grip and I found myself dangling by one hand from a ledge fifty feet above the rocky surf . But I found another handhold and kept climbing . A minute later Annabeth hit a slippery patch of moss and her foot slipped . Fortunately , she found something else to put it against . Unfortunately , that something was my face . " Sorry ," she murmured . " S ' okay ," I grunted , though I ' d never really wanted to know what Annabeth ' s sneaker tasted like . Finally , when my fingers felt like molten lead and my arm muscles were shaking from exhaustion , we hauled ourselves over the top of the cliff and collapsed . " Ugh ," I said . " Ouch ," moaned Annabeth . " Garrr !" bellowed another voice . If I hadn ' t been so tired , I would ' ve leaped another two hundred feet . I whirled around , but I couldn ' t see who ' d spoken . Annabeth clamped her hand over my mouth . She pointed . The ledge we were sitting on was narrower than I ' d realized . It dropped off on the opposite side , and that ' s where the voice was coming from — right below us . " You ' re a feisty one !" the deep voice bellowed . " Challenge me !" Clarisse ' s voice , no doubt about it . " Give me back my sword and I ' ll fight you !" The monster roared with laughter . Annabeth and I crept to the edge . We were right above the entrance of the Cyclops ' s cave . Below us stood Polyphemus and Grover , still in his wedding dress . Clarisse was tied up , hanging upside down over a pot of boiling water . I was half hoping to see Tyson down there , too . Even if he ' d been in danger , at least I would ' ve known he was alive . But there was no sign of him .
" Hmm ," Polyphemus pondered . " Eat loudmouth girl now or wait for wedding feast ? What does my bride think ?"
He turned to Grover , who backed up and almost tripped over his completed bridal train . " Oh , um , I ' m not hungry right now , dear . Perhaps —" " Did you say bride ?" Clarisse demanded . " Who — Grover ?" Next to me , Annabeth muttered , " Shut up . She has to shut up ." Polyphemus glowered . " What ' Grover '?" " The satyr !" Clarisse yelled .