The Adventure That Lies Ahead | PJO x HP

CHAPTER 23

The siblings were staring at the waves when Annabeth and Tyson found them.

"What's going on?" Annabeth asker. "I heard you two calling for help!"

"Me too!" Tyson said. "Heard you yell, 'Bad things are attacking!'"

"But then who..." Annabeth noticed the four yellow duffel bags, then the Flask in Isa's hands and the bottle of vitamins Percy was holding. "What —"

"Just listen," Isa said. "We don't have much time."

She told them about their conversation with Hermes. Percy taking over on some occasions. By the time they were finished, they could hear screeching in the distance — patrol harpies picking up those scent.

"Percy, Isa," Annabeth said, "we have to do the quest."

Isa agreed.

"We'll get expelled, you know. Trust me, I'm an expert at getting expelled," Percy said.

"So?" Isa asked. "If we fail, there won't be any camp to come back to."

"Yeah, but Annabetb promised Chiron —"

"I promise I'd keep you from danger. I can only do that by coming with you guys! Tyson can stay behind and tell them —"

"I want to go," Tyson said.

"No!" Annabeth's voice sounded close to panic. "I mean... Percy, Isa, come on. You know that's impossible."

Isa remembered their encounter with Cyclopes. She and Tyson looked at the siblings for an answer.

The thing was, Isa was torn. Part of her didn't want Tyson to go. Not because she didn't want to be with him. No, not that. She didn't want Tyson to get hurt during the quest. He was only a baby in Cyclopes terms, maybe seven or eight years old, mentally. Isa could see him freaking out and starting to cry if something bad happens like when they're trying to sneak past a monster or something. There's a possibility he could get them killed. Plus, he isn't the smallest person.

On the other hand... she didn't want to leave Tyson alone at camp. She heard the comments the other campers make about him, and she didn't want to leave him completely vulnerable with them. And she felt bad for the big fella. All he wants to do is help.

And another big factor was the sound of the harpies getting closer...

"He's coming with us," Isa said.

At the same time Percy said, "We can't leave him."

"Tantalus will punish him for us being gone," they said at the same time which freaked all of them out. But they didn't have time to dwell on that.

"Percy, Isa," Annabeth said, trying to keep her cool, "we're going to Polyphemus's island! Polyphemus is an S-i-k... a C-y-k..." She stomped her foot in frustration. As smart as she was, Annabeth was dyslexic, too. They could've been there all night while she tried to spell Cyclopes. "You know what I mean! Isa, do you not remember what happened?"

"Of course I do!" Isa snapped. "Tyson's not like them. He's different. He's not a monster. Tyson can go if he wants to."

Tyson clapped his hands. "Want to!"

Annabeth gave her the evil eye. That must've been their first fight in years. If you could even count it as that. But she guessed Annabeth could tell neither Percy nor Isa would change their minds. Or maybe she just knew they didn't have time to argue.

"All right," she said. "How do we get to that ship?"

As Percy told her about Hermes saying their father would help, Isa remembered her surfboard. She looked around for it to realize it was gone. She started to panic until she saw a note on the floor. She picked it up and thanked whoever put it there that it was in Ancient Greek.