riley doesn't want to hear the ghost story

that night at the campfire, apollo's cabin led the sing-along. 

they requested the aphrodite cabin to join, but most of my siblings were still upset about the birds ruining their clothes. the cabin declined.

the apollo kids tried to get everybody's spirits up, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack. we all sat around a semicircle of stone steps, singing halfheartedly and watching the bonfire blaze while the apollo guys strummed their guitars and picked their lyres.

we did all the standard camp numbers: "down by the aegean," "i am my own great-great-great-great-grandpa," "this land is minos's land." (the last one's a personal favorite) 

the bonfire was enchanted, so the louder you sang, the higher it rose, changing color and heat with the mood of the crowd. 

on a good night, you'd seen it twenty feet high, bright purple, and so hot the whole front row's marshmallows burst into the flames (not fun, i speak from experience). tonight, the fire was only five feet high, barely warm, and the flames were the color of lint.

dionysus left early. after suffering through a few songs, he muttered something about how even pinochle with chiron had been more exciting than this. then he gave tantalus a distasteful look and headed back toward the big house.

when the last song was over, tantalus said, "well, that was lovely!"

he came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casual-like. but before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.

"smart marshmallow," i muttered.

cayden snickered. "if only some humans had that kind of brain."

aurora laughed loudly at that.

tantalus glared at her, and she matched his with an ever dirtier glare. tantalus realized she wasn't going to back down, and he looked away.

tantalus turned back toward the rest of them, smiling coldly. "now then! some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."

"sir," percy said.

tantalus's eye twitched. "our kitchen boy has something to say?"

percy looked at me, and annabeth and i both stood with him.

percy said, "we have an idea to save the camp."

dead silence, but i could tell we'd gotten everybody's interest, because the campfire flared bright yellow. (pro of having a fire that can read emotions).

"indeed," tantalus said blandly. "well, if it has anything to do with chariots—"

"the golden fleece," percy said. "we know where it is."

the flames burned orange. before tantalus could stop him, he blurted out his dream about grover and polyphemus's island. annabeth, and i stepped in from time to time and reminded everybody what the fleece could do. 

"the fleece can save the camp," i concluded. "we're certain of it."

"nonsense," said tantalus. "we don't need saving."

everybody stared at him until tantalus started looking uncomfortable.

"besides," he added quickly, "the sea of monsters? that's hardly an exact location. you wouldn't even know where to look."

"yes, i would," percy said.

i looked at him. he never told me he knew. i leaned towards him, in front of me and whispered, "you would?"

he nodded.

"30, 31, 75, 12," he said.

my eyes widened. the gray sister's revealed those numbers. they're the key to finding the golden fleece.

"ooo-kay," tantalus said. "thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."

"they're sailing coordinates," he said. "latitude and longitude. i, uh, learned about it in social studies."

"30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. he's right! the gray sisters gave us those coordinates. that'd be somewhere in the atlantic, off the coast of florida. the sea of monsters. we need a quest!" i exclaimed.

"wait just a minute," tantalus said.

but the campers took up the chant. "we need a quest! we need a quest!"

the flames rose higher.

"it isn't necessary!" tantalus insisted.

"we need a quest!! we need a quest!!"

"fine!" tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "you brats want me to assign a quest?" 

"yes!!"

"very well," he agreed. "i shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the golden fleece and bring it back to camp. or die trying."

i grew excited. i wasn't going to let anything get in my way. i needed to rescue grover. he's in danger.

"i will allow our champion to consult the oracle!" tantalus announced. "and choose two companions for the journey. and i think the choice of champion is obvious."

tantalus looked at annabeth, percy and i as if he wanted to flay us alive. "the champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. you shall lead this quest... clarisse!"

the fire flickered a thousand different colors. mixed emotions were shown on the faces of the campers. the ares cabin started stomping and cheering, "clarisse!! clarisse!!"

clarisse stood up, looking stunned. then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride. "i accept the quest!"

"wait!" percy shouted. "grover is my friend. the dream came to me."

"sit down!" yelled one of the ares campers. "you had your chance last summer!"

"yeah, he just wants to be in the spotlight again!" another said. (mark, the one who slashed percy).

clarisse glared at him. "i accept the quest!" she repeated. "i, clarisse, daughter of ares, will save the camp!"

the ares campers cheered even louder. annabeth protested, and the other athena campers joined in. i protested against and my siblings started backing me up. 

everybody else started taking sides — shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows. it was turning into a s'more war until tantalus shouted, "silence, you brats!"

his tone stunned even me.

"sit down!" he ordered. "and i will tell you a ghost story."

"no thanks," i muttered to cayden and aurora who were on either side of me. "i've been scarred enough times by my dad."

i didn't know what he was up to, but we all moved reluctantly back to our seats. the evil aura radiating from tantalus was as strong as any monster i'd ever faced.

"once upon a time there was a mortal king who was beloved of the gods!" tantalus put his hand on his chest, and i got the feeling he was talking about himself.

"this king," he said, "was even allowed to feast on mount olympus. but when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe — just one little doggie bag, mind you — the gods punished him. they banned him from their halls forever! his own people mocked him! his children scolded him! and, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. children-just-like-you."

he pointed a crooked finger at several people in the audience, including percy, and i.

"do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?" tantalus asked softly. "do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? he invited the olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. no one noticed that his children were missing. and when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?"

no one dared answer. the firelight glowed dark blue, reflecting evilly on tantalus's crooked face.

"oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife," tantalus croaked. "they did indeed. but he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? his children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. and do you know what? rumor has it that the king's spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. and so... are there any more complaints, before we send clarisse off on her quest?"

silence.

tantalus nodded at clarisse. "the oracle, my dear. go on."

she shifted uncomfortably, like even she didn't want glory at the price of being tantalus's pet. "sir—"

"go!" he snarled.

she bowed awkwardly and hurried off toward the big house.

"what about you, percy jackson?" tantalus asked. "no comments from our dishwasher?"

percy didn't say anything. his hands were balled into fists on either side of him. i put a hand on his back, from my spot behind him, and he relaxed slightly.

"good," tantalus said. "and let me remind everyone — no one leaves this camp without my permission. anyone who tries... well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that. the harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! good night, my dear campers. sleep well."

with a wave of tantalus's hand, the fire was extinguished, and the campers trailed off toward their cabins in the dark.

"well, that was an eventful campfire." cayden snorted.

"that's one way of putting it," i muttered, going to change.

i walked in and at the same time silena walked out, and almost screamed.

"shh." i told her, covering her mouth. "the younger kids are already asleep." 

"yeah. don't want to wake them." she muttered.

"are you okay?" i asked her. "you look pale, and you're sweating."

"oh-huh. it's nothing, really. just, y'know the story tantalus told. it kind of freaked me out." she stuttered. 

i shrugged, "eh. wasn't that bad." 

i walked into the changing room.

i pulled a t-shirt over my head. it was a weird gag gift that had a single picture. on the side, it looked like a rabbit, and straight-on it looked like a duck. it looked weird, but it was very comfortable. i pulled on sleeping shorts, and went to comb my hair. 

the birds left some crazy knots that i had to work really hard to get out. it took twenty minutes, and three of my siblings helping me. i let my siblings go to sleep, and did the last few myself. 

i finally pulled the last one out and left my hair out. i had to spray some moisturizer in my hair because it was all frizzy. i went to the bunks, and noticed most of the cabin already asleep. the curtain separating the boys and girls was drawn. 

i laid on my bunk for a while. i tossed and turned and i couldn't sleep. whenever i closed my eyes, i saw grover. i saw him about to get eaten. i saw the camp starting to die. the tree, poisoned.

i sat up, and groaned. i needed to clear my head. 

i pulled on some sweats, over my shorts, and shoes on my feet. i pulled a random hoodie on my shoulders. i looked at my drawer, and decided to take my heishi bracelet with J.A.R.V.I.S. i'm not sure why, i just felt like it.

i slipped out of the cabin and went towards the beach. 

i was walking past the poseidon cabin when, i stumbled upon the weirdest duo ever. tyson and annabeth.

i jogged over to then.

"what are you guys doing here?" i asked.

"nothing. i just needed to take a walk, when i bumped into him." annabeth said, giving tyson a weird look.

"what about you?" i asked tyson.

"percy. he has been gone for a while. he took coke and left." tyson said.

"where'd he go?" i asked, slightly worried.

tyson pointed down the beach. "there."

"help! they're attacking!!" i heard percy's voice yell.

i shared a panicked look with annabeth and tyson. we ran towards the sound. tyson slipped a few times in the sand, but we made it. 

there, percy was standing, staring at the waves. there were no monsters, or any sign of threat near him.

"what's going on?" annabeth asked. "i heard you calling for help!"

"yup." i said. "you called for help."

"me, too!" tyson said. "heard you yell, 'bad things are attacking!'"

"i didn't call you guys," percy said. "i'm fine."

"but then who..." i trailed of when i noticed the four yellow duffel bags, then the thermos and the bottle of vitamins he was holding. "what—"

"just listen," percy said, cutting me off. "we don't have much time."

he told us about his conversation with hermes. by the time he was finished, i could hear screeching in the distance —patrol harpies picking up our scent.

"shit," i cursed.

"percy," annabeth said, "we have to do the quest."

"we'll get expelled, you know. trust me, i'm an expert at getting expelled."

"so? if we fail, there won't be any camp to come back to."

"she's right. we have to do this. this is our only chance. hermes sent us here for a reason." i agreed with annabeth.

"yeah, but you guys promised chiron—"

annabeth spoke up, "we promised we'd keep you from danger. we can only do that by coming with you! tyson can stay behind and tell them—"

"i want to go," tyson said.

"no!" annabeth's voice sounded close to panic. "i mean... percy, come on. you know that's impossible."

"annie." i said softly. "hermes sent him here. with both of us for a reason. this wasn't a coincidence. he's meant to come with us."

percy was silent for a while, and i had the feeling he might leave tyson behind. finally he spoke up, "we can't leave him," percy decided. "tantalus will punish him for us being gone."

"percy," 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 stamped her foot in frustration. as smart as she was, annabeth was dyslexic, along with percy, and i. i was better than them at reading english, because i picked it up at an early age.

 "you know what I mean!" she growled.

"c-y-c-l-o-p-s." i spelled out for her.

"that." she muttered, bitterly.

"tyson can go," percy insisted, "if he wants to."

tyson clapped his hands. "want to!"

annabeth gave percy the evil eye, but i guess she could tell he wasn't going to change his mind. or maybe she just knew we didn't have time to argue. she gripped my forearm, and i placed my other hand on top of hers trying to get her to calm down.

"all right," i said. "how do we get to that ship?" i motioned to the one in the distance. the one that hermes talked about.

"hermes said my father would help."

"well then, seaweed brain? what are you waiting for?"

percy hesitated, but he stepped into the waves.

"urn, dad?" he called. "how's it going?"

"percy!" annabeth whispered. "we're in a hurry!"

"we need your help," he called a little louder. "we need to get to that ship, like, before we get eaten and stuff, so..."

at first, nothing happened. waves crashed against the shore like normal. the harpies sounded like they were right behind the sand dunes. then, about a hundred yards out to sea, four white lines appeared on the surface. they moved fast toward the shore, like claws ripping through the ocean.

as they neared the beach, the surf burst apart and the heads of four white stallions reared out of the waves.

tyson caught his breath. "fish ponies!"

as the creatures pulled themselves onto the sand, i could see that they were only horses in the front; their back halves were silvery fish bodies, with glistening scales and rainbow tail fins.

"hippocampi!" annabeth said. 

"they're beautiful." i breathed.

the nearest one whinnied in appreciation and nuzzled me. i ran my hand over it softly. It felt soft, like what i imagine a cloud to feel like. it nuzzled closer to me.

"we'll admire them later," percy said. "come on!"

"there!" a voice screeched behind us. "bad children out of cabins! snack time for lucky harpies!"

five of them were fluttering over the top of the dunes-plump little hags with pinched faces and talons and feathery wings too small for their bodies. 

they reminded me of miniature cafeteria ladies who'd been crossbred with dodo birds. they weren't very fast, thank the gods, but they were vicious if they caught you.

"tyson!" percy said. "grab a duffel bag!"

he was still staring at the hippocampi with his mouth hanging open, "tyson!"

"uh?"

"come on!"

annabeth and i helped percy get tyson to move. we gathered the bags and mounted our steeds. poseidon must've known tyson was one of the passengers, because one hippocampus was much larger than the other three— just right for carrying a cyclops.

"giddyup!" percy said. his hippocampus turned and plunged into the waves. the rest of our hippocampi followed close behind.

the harpies cursed at us, wailing for their snacks to come back, but the hippocampi raced over the water at the speed of jet skis. the harpies fell behind, and soon the shore of camp half-blood was nothing but a dark smudge. part of me wondered if it would be last time i saw the place. i scolded myself for thinking like that.

the cruise ship was now looming in front of us, our ride toward florida and the sea of monsters.

riding the hippocampus was even easier than riding a pegasus. 

we zipped along with the wind in our faces, speeding through the waves so smooth and steady i hardly needed to hold on at all. my hair flew into my face, and i quickly tied it up. i pulled my hoodie closer to me.

as we got closer to the cruise ship, i realized just how huge it was. it was the size of a building. the white hull was at least ten stories tall, topped with another dozen levels of decks with brightly lit balconies and portholes. the ship's name was painted just above the bow line in black letters, lit with a spotlight. princess andromeda.

i remembered the myth about andromeda and how she had been chained to a rock by her own parents as a sacrifice to a sea monster. i don't know what she did to piss her parents off, but they did it. that's when percy's namesake, the original perseus (son of zeus, btw), had saved her just in time and turned the sea monster to stone using the head of medusa. (we already fought her, and percy sliced her head off, sent it to olympus.)

attached to the bow was a huge masthead-a three-story-tall woman wearing a white greek chiton, sculpted to look as if she were chained to the front of the ship. she was young and beautiful, with flowing black hair, but her expression was one of absolute terror. 

why anybody would want a screaming princess on the front of their vacation ship, i had no idea. just looking at it gave me the creeps.

"how do we get aboard?" annabeth shouted over the noise of the waves, but the hippocampi seemed to know what we needed. 

they skimmed along the starboard side of the ship, riding easily through its huge wake, and pulled up next to a service ladder riveted to the side of the hull.

"you first," percy told me, since i was the closest to the service ladder.

i slung my duffel bag over my shoulder and grabbed the bottom rung. once i'd hoisted myself onto the ladder, my hippocampus whinnied a farewell and dove underwater. 

i began to climb.  once i was a few rungs up, annabeth followed. once she was up a few rungs percy followed. i made it to the top and helped annabeth, get up to the top. 

it was a deck with lifeboats. percy and tyson took awhile, but they reached the top. there was a set of locked double doors on the end. i pulled a bobby pin from my pocket (yes, i carry them in my hair or pocket. they can come in handy.) i picked the lock, and after a lot of cursing, from both annabeth and i, the lock opened.

i'd never snuck onto a cruise ship before, but i figured we'd have to sneak around, being stowaways and all. but after checking a few corridors and peering over a balcony into a huge central promenade lined with closed shops, we began to realize there was nobody to hide from.

i mean, sure it was the middle of the night, but we walked half the length of the boat and met no one. we passed forty or fifty cabin doors and heard no sound behind any of them.

"it's a ghost ship," percy murmured.

"no," tyson said, fiddling with the strap of his duffel bag. "bad smell."

annabeth frowned. "i don't smell anything."

"cyclopes are like satyrs," percy said. "they can smell monsters. isn't that right, tyson?"

he nodded nervously. 

"okay," annabeth said. "so what exactly do you smell?"

"something bad," tyson answered.

"great," annabeth grumbled. "that clears it up."

we came outside on the swimming pool level. there were rows of empty deck chairs and a bar closed off with a chain curtain. the water in the pool glowed eerily, sloshing back and forth from the motion of the ship.

above us fore and aft were more levels-a climbing wall, a putt-putt golf course, a revolving restaurant, but no sign of life.

and yet... i sensed something familiar. something dangerous. i had the feeling that if i weren't so tired and burned out on adrenaline from our long night, i might be able to put a name to what was wrong. 

"we need a hiding place," percy said. "somewhere safe to sleep."

"sleep," annabeth agreed wearily.

"please." i groaned. normally, i could go a long time without proper sleep, but right now, i felt so drained. i just wanted to sleep for a hundred years.

we explored a few more corridors until we found an empty suite on the ninth level. the door was open, which was definitely weird. there was a basket of chocolate goodies on the table, an iced-down bottle of sparkling cider on the nightstand, and a mint on the pillow with a handwritten note that said: enjoy your cruise!

we opened our duffel bags for the first time and found that hermes really had thought of everything — extra clothes, toiletries, camp rations, a ziploc bag full of cash, a leather pouch full of golden drachmas. he'd even managed to pack tyson's oilcloth with his tools and metal bits, annabeth's cap of invisibility, and my cellphone, which made all of us feel a lot better.

"we'll be next door," i said. "you guys don't drink or eat anything," i added as an afterthought.

"you think this place is enchanted?" percy asked.

i pursed my lips. "i don't know. something isn't right. just... be careful."

we left percy's room, and annabeth and i went to our own room, next door.

"do you really think this place is enchanted?" annabeth asked me, fixing her pillow.

"there's something wrong, that's for sure." i said.

i pulled my sweats, and hoodie off, and put them to the side. i crawled into the bed, and fell closed my eyes. 

feeling mentally, and physically drained, sleep came easy.

REY WRITES !

thanks for reading !

questions?

thoughts?

comments?

headcanons?

theories?