Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Olympians
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" Coach !" I yelled .
Nunley looked up sleepily , but if he saw anything abnormal about the dodgeball game , he didn ' t let on . That ' s the problem with mortals . A magical force called the Mist obscures the true appearance of monsters and gods from their vision , so mortals tend to see only what they can understand . Maybe the coach saw a few eighth graders pounding the younger kids like usual . Maybe the other kids saw Matt Sloan ' s thugs getting ready to toss Molotov cocktails around . ( It wouldn ' t have been the first time .) At any rate , I was pretty sure nobody else realized we were dealing with genuine man-eating bloodthirsty monsters . " Yeah . Mm-hmm ," Coach muttered . " Play nice ." And he went back to his magazine . The giant named Skull Eater threw his ball . I dove aside as the fiery bronze comet sailed past my shoulder . " Corey !" I screamed . Tyson pulled him out from behind the exercise mat just as the ball exploded against it , blasting the mat to smoking shreds . " Run !" I told my teammates . " The other exit !" They ran for the locker room , but with another wave of Joe Bob ' s hand , that door also slammed shut . " No one leaves unless you ' re out !" Joe Bob roared . " And you ' re not out until we eat you !" He launched his own fireball . My teammates scattered as it blasted a crater in the gym floor . I reached for Riptide , which I always kept in my pocket , but then I realized I was wearing gym shorts . I had no pockets . Riptide was tucked in my jeans inside my gym locker . And the locker room door was sealed . I was completely defenseless .
Another fireball came streaking toward me . Tyson pushed me out of the way , but the explosion still blew me head over heels . I found myself sprawled on the gym floor , dazed from smoke , my tie-dyed T-shirt peppered with sizzling holes . Just across the center line , two hungry giants were glaring down at me . " Flesh !" they bellowed . " Hero flesh for lunch !" They both took aim . " Percy needs help !" Tyson yelled , and he jumped in front of me just as they threw their balls . " Tyson !" I screamed , but it was too late . Both balls slammed into him ... but no ... he ' d caught them . Somehow Tyson , who was so clumsy he knocked over lab equipment and broke playground structures on a regular basis , had caught two fiery metal balls speeding toward him at a zillion miles an hour . He sent them hurtling back toward their surprised owners , who screamed , " BAAAAAD !" as the bronze spheres exploded against their chests .
The giants disintegrated in twin columns of flame — a sure sign they were monsters , all right . Monsters don ' t die . They just dissipate into smoke and dust , which saves heroes a lot of trouble cleaning up after a fight .
" My brothers !" Joe Bob the Cannibal wailed . He flexed his muscles and his Babycakes tattoo rippled . " You will pay for their destruction !" " Tyson !" I said . " Look out !" Another comet hurtled toward us . Tyson just had time to swat it aside . It flew straight over
Coach Nunley ' s head and landed in the bleachers with a huge KA-BOOM !
Kids were running around screaming , trying to avoid the sizzling craters in the floor . Others were banging on the door , calling for help . Sloan himself stood petrified in the middle of the court , watching in disbelief as balls of death flew around him .
Coach Nunley still wasn ' t seeing anything . He tapped his hearing aid like the explosions were giving him interference , but he kept his eyes on his magazine .
Surely the whole school could hear the noise . The headmaster , the police , somebody would come help us . " Victory will be ours !" roared Joe Bob the Cannibal . " We will feast on your bones !" I wanted to tell him he was taking the dodgeball game way too seriously , but before I could , he hefted another ball . The other three giants followed his lead . I knew we were dead . Tyson couldn ' t deflect all those balls at once . His hands had to be seriously burned from blocking the first volley . Without my sword ...