7. Flooded
Thunder boomed and lightning crackled across the now cloud covered sky. The rain began coming down in sheets, and the earth rumbled as groundwater began to bubble up out of the soil. Within seconds the water was nearly an inch deep, then two inches, then three.
Hephaestus was still engaged with Mimas, and steam rolled off their blazing hot swords as the rain came into contact with the molten steel.
"I've got it from here, kid!" Hephaestus yelled to Leo. "You'd better get back to the boat. It's about to get deep out here!"
"Got it!" Leo yelled then began running through the ankle deep water toward the Argo II.
…
Dakota continued to slice and stab Mimon as the water he was standing in splashed over the top of his combat boots; soon, it would be up to his knees.
"My Lord!" Dakota yelled up to his father.
"Go on, son," Mars said to Dakota. "I'll take care of it from here."
"Yes, sir," Dakota said then sheathed his sword and began to make his way toward the ship in the quickly rising floodwaters.
…
"Piper!" Aphrodite yelled down to her daughter. "Run! Get out of here!"
"What about you?" Piper asked her mother.
"I'll be fine. You go before the water gets too deep!"
Piper looked down to see the water was covering her ankles.
"Okay, I'm outta here!" Piper yelled to Aphrodite then she began to trudge through the water heading for the Argo II.
…
Reyna, still standing on Apollo's shoulder, squinted her eyes to see her target through the driving rain.
"Reyna," Apollo said. "You'd better get going."
"I can swim," she said not wanting to leave the fight.
"You'll sink with all that armor on."
Reyna thought for a second; her father was right. She was wearing nearly twenty pounds of bronze armor. If she didn't get back to the ship before the rising water got too deep, she'd never be able to swim in all that armor.
"Okay, I'll go," she agreed.
Reyna slid down Apollo's back plate and leaped off of him landing on her feet in ankle deep water. She slung her bow to her back and took off running toward the ship.
…
"Percy, it's time for you to go!" Poseidon yelled to his son.
"But I can help you," Percy argued.
"Your job is to help the others, make sure they all make it to the boat safely. You're the only one who can!"
Poseidon had a point. If any of his friends were unable to make it back to the ship or got trapped in the rising water they could very easily drown from the weight of their armor pulling them under. Percy didn't have to worry about that because he could breathe under water. It would be his responsibility to rescue anyone who couldn't make it to the Argo II before the floodwaters overcame them.
"Go, Percy!"
"Okay, I'm gone!" Percy yelled then took off running across the top of the water toward the ship.
…
Annabeth sheathed her dagger and took off her Yankees cap stuffing it into her back pocket.
"You got it from here?" she yelled up to her mother.
"What are you still doing here?" Athena yelled down to her. "Get to the Argo II!"
Annabeth did as her mother said and began to wade her way toward the ship.
…
Jason had already left Jupiter who was still battling Porphyrion. Jason was trudging through the rising water as quickly as he could. He knew he had to make haste to get back to the ship, but when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of someone struggling through the water, he stopped. It was Annabeth.
"Annabeth!" he yelled, but she didn't hear him.
"Annabeth!" he yelled again, and she stopped turning to see who was calling her name.
"Jason!"
He ran over to her and wrapped an arm around her to help her run through the deep water and heavy rain.
"Great plan, Annabeth," Jason said with sarcasm.
"It's going to work," she insisted.
"I have no doubt the giants will be flooded out, but we all may drown in the process."
"Oh, stop complaining. You can fly, remember? You won't drown."
Jason looked at Annabeth and grinned as he grabbed her tightly with one arm and used the other arm to pull up a gust of wind to lift them up out of the water. They hovered over the water then Jason pushed his arm back causing the winds to thrust them forward toward the ship.
…
When Leo arrived at the Argo II, Percy was already there waiting.
"Leo!" Percy yelled as Leo made his way up the ship's ramp closing it behind him so the rising water wouldn't flood the ship, then he tossed a rope ladder over the side.
"You alright, Percy?"
"I'm fine," Percy nodded. "You alright?"
"Right as rain," Leo grinned. "Dude, you're girlfriend's brilliant. I think this is gonna work."
Percy smiled, "I think so, too."
Leo ran over to the wheel console and fired the ship's engine while Percy looked off into the distance through the driving rain. He saw someone making their way toward the ship, and as they got closer, he realized it was Jason and Annabeth flying through the air. Percy breathed a sigh of relief to see Annabeth safe then Jason and Annabeth soon landed safely on the deck.
Annabeth ran up to Percy and asked, "Where's everyone else?"
Percy shook his head, "I don't know."
Annabeth ran over to the wheel console where Leo was and grabbed the binoculars. She began to glass across the floodplain looking for Piper, Dakota, and Reyna.
"Jason," Percy said as he walked over to him and clasped his arm. "Thanks for getting Annabeth back here safely."
Jason smiled, "No problem, man."
"I don't see them," Annabeth said as she looked through the binoculars. "Leo, we need to get the ship moving."
"I can't, not yet. The water isn't deep enough to float, and it's too deep to take off and fly; we'd never get up enough speed for liftoff."
"What's the current depth?" Annabeth asked Leo.
"Four feet and rising," Leo answered.
"And how deep must it be for the ship to float?"
"Eight feet, and at the rate the water is rising it will be another twelve minutes."
Annabeth looked at Leo and quietly said, "Much over five feet and they'll drown."
Leo nodded, "That gives them about three minutes to make it to the ship."
Annabeth shook her head, "That's not enough time."
Percy, who overheard Annabeth's and Leo's conversation, said, "I'll go back out there."
"What?" Annabeth asked.
"I'll go look for them."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Percy nodded. "I'll find them and bring them back,"
"Okay," Annabeth agreed. "Just be careful, Seaweed Brain."
"Always," Percy winked then ran over to the edge of the ship and leaped overboard.
…
Reyna pushed through the deep water slowly making her way toward the ship. The water was nearly up to her shoulders now making it difficult for her to make any forward progress, especially with her armor weighing her down making it impossible for her to swim. She was about to start shedding her bronze armor when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Dakota.
"Kota."
"Come on, we have to hurry," he said as he threw her arm over his shoulder and began helping her wade through the deluge.
…
Percy used his powers to glide through the five feet of water as easily as a fish, and it wasn't long before he spotted someone struggling in the water; it was Piper.
Percy quickly began making his way over to her, "Piper!"
Piper, who could barely hold her head above water, cried out, "Over here!"
"Piper," Percy said as he grabbed her and helped her keep her head above water.
Piper breathed a sigh of relief, "Percy, thank the gods."
Percy smiled, "Lets get you to the ship."
Percy continued to hold onto Piper as he created a current to push them toward the ship.
"Is everyone else okay?" Piper asked him.
"Reyna and Dakota are still out here somewhere."
"They'll be okay, won't they, Percy?" Piper asked with concern.
Percy shook his head, "I don't know."
…
Annabeth was standing at the ships rail looking through the binoculars out across Phlegra. She soon spotted Percy and Piper approaching the ship.
"Jason!" Annabeth hollered across the deck then pointed toward the port bow. "Percy and Piper!"
Annabeth and Jason ran over to the rope ladder and waited for Percy and Piper to make their way up it and onto the ship.
"Piper," Jason said as he helped her over the rail and onto the deck. "Are you okay?"
She coughed, "I'm fine."
Jason then turned and helped Percy over the rail, "Thanks Percy."
Percy just winked at Jason then he turned to Annabeth who had a relieved look upon her face.
"Any sign of Reyna and Dakota?" he asked Annabeth.
Annabeth shook her head then stumbled as the ship began to rock slightly to the starboard then the port.
"We're afloat!" Leo yelled from the wheel deck.
"We've got to find Reyna and Dakota," Jason said with urgency. "Before they drown."
Percy took the binoculars from Annabeth and began to look out across the floodplain for the two missing heroes.
…
"Kota, I've got to get this armor off before we both drown," Reyna said to Dakota who was holding Reyna's head above water with one arm and paddling through the eight feet deep water with the other.
"It's too late for that," Dakota said.
"I'm weighing you down," she said knowing her bronze armor was much heavier than his leather armor.
"No, you're not. I've got you," Dakota said as he struggled to tread water and keep Reyna from sinking under the weight of her armor.
"Just leave me here, get yourself back to the ship," she told him.
"Not happening, I'm not leaving you behind…not ever."
…
Percy was still looking through the binoculars when he gasped, "Oh, my gods."
"What? What is it?" Annabeth asked.
Percy lowered the binoculars and, with widened eyes, pointed toward a wall of water nearly fifteen feet high coming across Phlegra.
"It's a tsunami!" Leo yelled.
Percy ran over to the wheel console and flipped on the radar and sonar. There were eight blips on the screen.
"There," Percy said pointing to the blip that was nearest to the ship. "That must be Reyna and Dakota."
"Or it could be a giant," Leo said.
"No, it's too small, it has to be them."
"We'll be steering straight into the wave."
"The Argo II can handle it…can't she?" Percy asked.
"Only one way to find out," Leo said as he turned the wheel steering the ship directly toward the quickly approaching wall of water.
…
"There's the ship," Reyna said as she squinted to see the Argo II approaching in the distance. "They found us."
Dakota heard something behind them and turned to see the tsunami bearing down on them, "Oh, no."
"What?" Reyna asked then turned to see what Dakota was looking at. "Oh, my holy gods."
"Grab my neck," Dakota told Reyna.
Reyna did what Dakota told her and wrapped her arms around his neck. Dakota began to swim as fast as he could toward the ship pulling Reyna along behind him.
"We'll never make it!" Reyna yelled.
The wall of water was approaching as quickly as the ship. They wouldn't make it to the ship in time to board before the wave reached them.
…
"There they are!" Piper pointed toward Reyna and Dakota.
"Steer straight for them, Leo," Percy said.
Leo shook his head, "I don't want to run over them."
"You won't, trust me," Percy said. "Just steer the port side hull right for them."
"Whatever you say," Leo said and steered the ship toward Reyna and Dakota.
…
The ship and wave were almost upon Reyna and Dakota, "Reyna, get ready to hold your breath."
"What are you doing?" Reyna asked Dakota.
"You'll have to trust me," he said. "Do you trust me, Reyna?"
She hesitated.
"Do you trust me!"
She nodded, "Yes."
"On three…one, two, three!"
Reyna and Dakota both took a deep breath as the wave overcame them pushing them under the water and straight toward the hull of the Argo II with incredible force. Reyna held onto Dakota for dear life and, with all his might, Dakota reached out and grabbed the rope ladder dangling down the port side hull.
"Brace for impact!" Leo yelled as the ship rolled up the wave.
Everyone held on as the ship rode the wave almost vertical before cresting over the back of the wave and landing safely in the now twenty foot deep water on the other side.
"Woo!" Leo yelled. "What a ride!"
"Heck yeah!" Percy smiled.
Annabeth shook her head, "You two are crazy."
Jason heard coughing and ran over to the rail where he saw Reyna and Dakota making their way up the ladder.
"They made it!" Jason yelled across the ship.
Percy, Annabeth, and Piper ran over to help get them onto the deck. Once safely onboard, Reyna and Dakota sat on the deck leaning their backs against the rail coughing and trying to catch their breath.
"You two alright?" Jason asked as he knelt beside them.
They both nodded.
Jason grinned and shook his head, "You two never can stay out of trouble."
Jason helped Reyna to her feet, and Percy helped Dakota up.
"You must've been reading my mind," Dakota said to Percy knowing he was the one who gave the order to steer the ship directly at them.
"It was the only option, and I figured you knew that," Percy said. "I'm just glad you caught the rope before you got sucked into the propeller."
Dakota smiled, "You and me both."
AN: Apologies for the slow update. I'd been out of town for a week and had a lot of catching up to do once I got back so my writing had to be put on the back burner. Thanks for your patience. -dmac