Advanced Lessons in Free Fall
"Aaaah!" Percy shouted as he threw all his strength into pushing the boulder. Veins stood out along his arms and neck, his face turning red with the strain. The rock shifted, just barely. Too little. Not even enough to feel like a victory. Just enough to leave a narrow gap between it and the cave before Percy finally gave up.
"Ha… like it's made of the mountain itself," he muttered, letting out a breath.
Annabeth wanted to say, of course it is, but the fact that he had managed to move it at all was honestly impressive.
"Grover!" Percy shouted through the small opening, trying to peer inside. He could barely see anything. It wasn't angled toward where they were tied up. Still, he could make out a light coming from above and a large pot set in the center, as if it were already waiting to cook a massive stew.
Then, suddenly, muffled, nervous shouting echoed from inside. Grover and Clarisse.
"We're here to rescue you!" Percy yelled again, even though he could not understand what they were saying. He glanced around for another way in, until his eyes fixed on the tree jutting out right above the cave. There, between the branches, the Fleece rested. And he remembered the bright glow he had seen inside the cave. This definitely did not look like a place with electricity.
"Guess I'll have to keep climbing," Percy said, looking up at what remained of the slope.
"Go. I'll keep watch on Polyphemus. We don't know how long he'll take to come back," Annabeth said immediately.
"Tsk. Just say you don't feel like climbing anymore," Percy shot back, giving her a look.
Before she could respond, Percy jumped, catching himself between the rocks, and with far more speed than before began to climb, proving that the only reason he had followed behind Annabeth earlier was to make sure she did not fall.
Annabeth watched him for a moment before turning her attention toward Polyphemus. In the distance, the Cyclops could be seen walking with a basket full of strange meat, tossing it to the enormous carnivorous sheep who, unfortunately, did not seem to consider him a snack.
…
Inside the cave, Grover and Clarisse struggled against the ropes. The same ropes Clarisse had prepared to escape with had ended up binding them instead. They were made from a special kind of wool, which made them far tougher than they looked.
No matter how hard they pulled, they would not give an inch.
To make it worse, that idiot Percy was right outside, completely ignoring her warning.
"That idiot… he definitely did not read my warning," Clarisse muttered, though with the gag in her mouth it came out as nonsense. Grover could guess anyway. He could also guess that the note Clarisse had left was probably not very clear.
"What do we do?" Grover managed through his gag.
Clarisse scanned the cave, searching for anything that could free them from those cursed ropes. The only thing worse than this would be being rescued by Percy. She would rather let the Cyclops chew her first.
So she kept looking for something sharp.
Her eyes landed on what looked like a loom. More specifically, on the fabric Grover had been using to make his bridal veil. And right beside it, a pair of scissors. The very scissors Grover had been using to undo the veil over and over, buying time so he would not become the bride of a giant Cyclops who ate demigods and satyrs.
Clarisse began to struggle harder. Since they were tied together, she ended up shaking Grover along with her.
"What are you…?" Grover started, confused, before feeling himself lifted slightly by Clarisse's back.
"Whoa," he let out in surprise. He really did not weigh much. More like an eleven or twelve year old. Still, being lifted that easily stung his pride a little.
"No wonder Polyphemus thought you were a girl," Clarisse said when she realized how light he was.
"It's because I'm a vegetarian," Grover defended himself as Clarisse managed to get to her feet and start moving toward the loom. Grover could only let himself be dragged along, glancing down at his stomach for a moment and wondering if maybe he should put on a bit of weight. Muscle weight, preferably. Just to prove he was a man. And not get mistaken for a woman again.
Clarisse focused on grabbing the scissors, which was not easy with her hands tied. When she finally managed to hook them, she wasted no time cutting at the ropes. They were thick, so she had to make several cuts, squeezing the handles as hard as she could to weaken them little by little.
"Hey! Are you there? I'll find something to climb down with!" Percy's unmistakable voice called from above.
Like a race against time, that made Clarisse cut faster and harder.
"Ouch," Grover said when he felt a small jab in his backside from the movement of the scissors. "Be more careful."
But Clarisse was not just fighting to free herself. She was fighting so Percy would not get the satisfaction of saying he had saved her.
Meanwhile, Percy stood on top of the cave, right beneath the great tree, looking around for a way down. For a moment, his eyes lingered on the Fleece. It almost seemed to feel… strange. But he pushed that thought aside. First, it was time to rescue the two damsels in distress down there.
He had nothing to climb down with. So he quickly ran through his options while staring into the opening. It looked at least two, maybe three stories high. Jumping was not an option. It would hurt a lot more than he liked to admit. And obviously, Polyphemus did not keep a rope ladder for guests.
Then he remembered the poisons in his pouch.
He rummaged through it and pulled out a specific vial. Paralysis poison. A grin spread across his face. The kind of grin he thought geniuses probably had.
He picked up a rock and dropped it into the cave, counting how long it took to hit the bottom.
"Three seconds. Good. I don't need Annabeth's tiara to figure out something that simple. Still, just in case, I'll drink enough for five seconds," he muttered confidently to himself, glancing from the vial to the opening.
Convinced he was a misunderstood mastermind, he took a confident swallow.
Half the vial.
Perfect.
He stepped right to the edge of the cave with that reckless smile, waiting for the effect.
It did not take long.
His body went rigid all at once. Every muscle, every bone locked in place. Completely paralyzed. Only his eyes could still move.
Then his body tilted slightly.
And fell… sideways. Right at the edge of the opening.
Percy moved his eyes. It was the only thing he could move.
He had miscalculated the one thing that mattered.
The fall.
To make it worse, his stiff body began to slide slowly toward the opening. All his brilliant calculations had gone wrong.
Gravity does not negotiate. It never has.
He started falling, still petrified.
Except halfway down, the effect ended completely. And that was when he realized something was very wrong with his very stupid math.
"Aaah!" Percy yelled as he understood this was going to hurt.
But before he could slam fully into the ground, two arms caught him on instinct.
Percy went quiet as he looked at the person holding him.
Clarisse.
Who was staring at him with absolute dryness.
"Uh… this isn't what it looks like. This is how I usually come down," Percy said.
Clarisse dropped him without a trace of remorse.
"Ow!" he yelped as he hit the ground. The impact was far lighter than it would have been if his brilliant plan had actually played out. Luckily, Annabeth had not seen it. No one had seen it. At least, he hoped so. And he was definitely throwing that poison away the second he survived this.
"I… came to rescue you. Sort of," Percy said, standing up and brushing himself off, embarrassed by his own stupidity.
"Yeah, sure," Clarisse replied flatly.
"Percy," Grover said, genuinely relieved to see him.
"Nice dress," Percy told him, glancing at the bridal veil.
"This is not the time to flirt, idiot. The whole thing was a trap. Didn't you read my note?" Clarisse snapped, glaring at him.
"What?" Percy frowned. "You mean the word death spelled wrong?" he added, pulling Clarisse's spear toward her, which she grabbed immediately without hesitation.
"And what do you think a note that says death means? Obviously it means if you step onto the island unprepared, you die. Because the Cyclops guarding it already knows you're here," Clarisse shot back.
"Wow. That's a lot of meaning for one word," Percy said, earning a murderous look from her.
"Wait… if it's a trap…"
Percy's expression shifted. The joking stopped. He ran toward the cave entrance where the massive rock blocked it, leaving only a narrow gap to see outside.
"Percy! This is bad! Polyphemus is heading this way!" Annabeth shouted from the other side.
"Annabeth, hide! He already knows we're here!" Percy yelled back instantly.
The footsteps made the ground tremble, closer and closer. Like a train with no brakes.
Outside, Annabeth looked up. The giant was not far anymore. With just a few more strides, he was almost at the cave entrance, far too easily.
And with every step, the rock beneath their feet shook.
Each one closer than the last.