This Dark Night ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase¹

―viii. capture the flag goes very (VERY) wrong

FRIDAY NIGHT, after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual.

At last, the time for capture the flag had arrived.

When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and everyone stood at their tables.

Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about three meters long, glistening grey, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her siblings ran in with another banner the same size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.

Percy turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"

"Yeah."

"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"

"Not always," Luke said. "But often."

"So if another cabin captures one, what do you do—repaint the flag?" Percy asked.

Luke grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."

"Which team are we on?" Naomi asked.

Luke gave her a sly look, as if he was privy to information Naomi wasn't. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you two are going to help."

The teams were announced. Athena had made alliances with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded—shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities—in order to win support.

Ares had allied themselves with everyone else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what Naomi had seen, Dionysus's kids were good athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had their plant magic and were good with nature, but they didn't seem very aggressive. There were only four Hephaestus kids, but they were all pretty muscular from working in the metal shop all day. Aphrodite's kids seemed less interested in the game and more interested in talking, which Naomi kind of wished she could do instead, too, but alas.

Then, of course, there was the Ares cabin: a dozen of the biggest, meanest kids on Long Island.

Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.

"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound and gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, ox-hide shields coated in metal.

"Whoa," Percy said. "We're really supposed to use these?"

Luke looked at him like he was crazy. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in Cabin Five. Here—Chiron thought these would fit. You and Naomi'll be on border patrol."

Luke handed Percy a shield with a caduceus in the middle, which he struggled to carry. Luckily—to Naomi, at least—she didn't need a shield, seeing as it was unlikely she'd even be able to lift any of the ones on hand. Luke just winked and told her to stay sharp, adjusting the blue-plummed helmet that was just a bit too big.

Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

Everyone cheered and shook their weapons and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at them as they headed off toward the northern side of the forest.