Rick Riordan The Sea Monsters - 02
Tyson looked doubtful , but he whistled . " Come , sheepies ! Um , people food this way !" He jogged off into the meadow , the sheep in pursuit . " Keep the Fleece around you ," I told Annabeth . " Just in case you ' re not fully healed yet . Can you stand ?" She tried , but her face turned pale again . " Ohh . Not fully healed ." Clarisse dropped next to her and felt her chest , which made Annabeth gasp . " Ribs broken ," Clarisse said . " They ' re mending , but definitely broken ." " How can you tell ?" I asked . Clarisse glared at me . " Because I ' ve broken a few , runt ! I ' ll have to carry her ." Before I could argue , Clarisse picked up Annabeth like a sack of flour and lugged her down to the beach . Grover and I followed .
As soon as we got to the edge of the water , I concentrated on the Queen Anne ' s Revenge . I willed it to raise anchor and come to me . After a few anxious minutes , I saw the ship rounding the tip of the island .
" Incoming !" Tyson yelled . He was bounding down the path to join us , the sheep about fifty yards behind , bleating in frustration as their Cyclops friend ran away without feeding them .
" They probably won ' t follow us into the water ," I told the others . " All we have to do is swim for the ship ." " With Annabeth like this ?" Clarisse protested . " We can do it ," I insisted . I was starting to feel confident again . I was back in my home turf — the sea . " Once we get to the ship , we ' re home free ." We almost made it , too . We were just wading past the entrance to the ravine , when we heard a tremendous roar and saw Polyphemus , scraped up and bruised but still very much alive , his baby-blue wedding outfit in tatters , splashing toward us with a boulder in each hand .
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Chapter Sixteen
I Go Down With The Ship
" You ' d think he ' d run out of rocks ," I muttered . " Swim for it !" Grover said . He and Clarisse plunged into the surf . Annabeth hung on to Clarisse ' s neck and tried to paddle with one hand , the wet Fleece weighing her down . But the monster ' s attention wasn ' t on the Fleece . " You , young Cyclops !" Polyphemus roared . " Traitor to your kind !" Tyson froze . " Don ' t listen to him !" I pleaded . " Come on ." I pulled Tyson ' s arm , but I might as well have been pulling a mountain . He turned and faced the older Cyclops . " I am not a traitor ." " You serve mortals !" Polyphemus shouted . " Thieving humans !" Polyphemus threw his first boulder . Tyson swatted it aside with his fist . " Not a traitor ," Tyson said . " And you are not my kind ." " Death or victory !" Polyphemus charged into the surf , but his foot was still wounded . He immediately stumbled and fell on his face . That would ' ve been funny , except he started to get up again , spitting salt water and growling . " Percy !" Clarisse yelled . " Come on !" They were almost to the ship with the Fleece . If I could just keep the monster distracted a little longer ... " Go ," Tyson told me . " I will hold Big Ugly ." " No ! He ' ll kill you ." I ' d already lost Tyson once . I wasn ' t going to lose him again . " We ' ll fight him together ." " Together ," Tyson agreed .