Fated To Fall: PJO

Capture the Flag

After dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual. Theo could feel it.

At last, it was time for capture the flag.

When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and everyone all 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 ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree.

From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but a blood red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.

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

"Yeah."

"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"

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

"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do-repaint the flag?"

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

"Whose side are we on?"

He gave him a sly look, as if he knew something he didn't. The scar on his
face made him look almost evil in the torchlight.

"We've made a temporary
alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help."

The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance 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 everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.

From what Theo had seen, Dionysus's kids were extremely good athletes, but there were only two of them.

Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff, but they weren't outwardly aggressive, if he had to guess, they'd be defending.

Aphrodite's sons and daughters Theo was very worried about. From what he had seen, they sat out of a lot of activities but they're voices were terrifying. He had watched one of them talk an Ares kid into repainting the outside of their cabin.

Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They would definitely be a problem. Theo made a mental note to keep track of traps while walking.

That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, aggressive kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet. They were skilled in every kind of combat imaginable and had immeasurable strength. Even their weakest could bench Percy and Theo's weight combined.

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 or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

Theo stared at Luke with wide eyes, those were the rules?

Chiron spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.

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

Luke looked at him as if he were crazy. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here-Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."