The Sea of Monsters

Percy uses the wind Hermes gave them to get away from the Princess Andromeda. They land at Virginia Beach, and Annabeth leads them to a shelter she built while on the run with Thalia and Luke. Tyson goes to hunt for food, and Percy and Annabeth discuss escaping the Princess Andromeda. They agree their escape was too easy and wonder at Luke’s motives. Percy starts to ask why cyclops aren’t trustworthy, but Tyson returns with a box of powdered donuts that he got from a “monster Donut shop” (141).

The three investigate the store, which is all by itself in the middle of the woods. While they wonder what it means, a hydra (multi-headed dragon-like creature) attacks. Percy cuts one of the heads off, and two grow in its place—only fire can kill a hydra. The monster backs the group up to the water, and a steamship arrives, manned by Clarisse and “zombies in gray uniforms” from the Civil War era (147). They rescue Percy and his friends, and Clarisse invites them aboard.

The ship is called the CSS Birmingham, and Ares (Clarisse’s father) provided it, along with the crew of Confederate soldiers. Annabeth and Percy try to warn Clarisse that Luke is after the fleece, but Clarisse refuses to listen, believing they’re trying to influence her quest prophesy.

That night, Percy dreams about Grover again. Polyphemus catches Grover unravelling the wedding dress Grover claimed to be sewing and takes Grover outside to retrieve magic wool from one of the many grazing sheep. Percy sees the Golden Fleece hanging from a tree and can almost feel its restorative power.

Percy wakes to an alarm blaring and the zombie soldiers searching for Clarisse. The ship approaches the entrance to the Sea of Monsters. On his way up to the deck, Percy overhears a conversation between Clarisse and Ares. Ares demands Clarisse not allow Percy to steal her quest. Clarisse tries to site a prediction from the camp’s quest prophesy as protest, but Ares interrupts with a final warning not to fail before disappearing.

Percy goes up on deck. At first, he doesn’t see anything ahead, but then an island of jagged rock and a roiling storm appear on the horizon. Clarisse identifies them as Scylla and Charybdis, respectively. The only way into the Sea of Monsters is to go between them. She sets course for Charybdis, which sounds like “the galaxy’s biggest toilet being flushed” (158).

When the ship is in Charybdis’s range, the monster starts to suck it into its whirlpool. Clarisse tries to reverse, but the engine blows. Tyson goes below deck to fix it, which holds until Charybdis sends the boat rocketing backwards on an enormous wave. They land in Scylla’s territory, and giant reptilian heads snatch up the crew. One grabs Percy. He jabs it in the eye, and it lets go, sending him into a free-fall over the exploding CSS Birmingham. Percy slams into the water “with a crash that would’ve broken every bone in my body if I hadn’t been the son of the Sea God” (164). He starts to sink, thinking about how Tyson is gone, and falls unconscious.