Blood Of Poseidon

IV. The Oracle

The next night after dinner, the campers were getting ready to beat the Hunters at capture the flag. It was going to be a small game: only twenty Hunters, including Bianca di Angelo, and about the same number of campers. It was a game always held when the hunters came to visit the camp. Everything looked fine. But it was not fine for all. Zoe Nightshade looked pretty upset. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron. The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armor. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying. Percy could guess Zoe had told them about her nightmare. Even Percy was not fine with his nightmare. He still couldn't fully understand what the dream meant. But a thing he could grasp was that both Artemis and Annabeth were in danger. He was disturbed for the whole day due to this. He couldn't talk it out to anyone. Shaking his head from his thoughts Percy looked at his team. On their team, they had Beckendorf and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin (though it still seemed strange that Clarisse wasn't around)Apollo and Athena cabin, the Stoll brothers and Nico from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. It was weird that the Aphrodite cabin wanted to play. Usually, they sat on the sidelines, chatted, and checked their reflections in the river and stuff, but when they heard that they were against the Hunters, they were raring to go. "I'll show them 'love is worthless,'" Silena Beauregard grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!" That left Thalia and Percy.

"What's the plan?" Thalia asked. "You go on offense." Percy said. "I'll be on defense." "Yeah, I was also thinking like that." Suddenly, Nico ran up to them with a big grin on his face. "Percy, this is awesome!" His blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was about six sizes too big. Nico lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?" "Well... no." "But the Hunters are immortal, right?" "That's only if they don't fall in battle. Besides-" "It would be awesome if we just, like, resurrected as soon as we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and-" "Nico, this is serious. Real swords. These can hurt." He stared at Percy, a little disappointed. Percy patted Nico on the shoulder. "Hey, it's cool. Just follow the team. We'll have a blast." Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor. "Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team- Camp Half-Blood-shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis-red team-shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!" "Sweet," Nico whispered next to me. "What kind of magic items? Do I get one?" "Blue team! Follow me!" Thalia called out. They cheered and followed her lead. They set their flag at the top of Zeus's Fist. Percy set Nico on guard duty with Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers. "We'll send out a decoy to the left," Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that." "Got it!" "Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise." Everybody nodded. The plan sounded good. "And don't leave your post!" Everybody nodded and broke into their smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began.

Silena's group disappeared into the woods on the left. Thalia's group gave it a few seconds, then darted off toward the right. Percy asked Charles to set traps around the perimeter before climbing on to a nearby large tree. He could see the game clearly from there. He caught a glimpse of Silena and her two scouts. They ran through a clearing, followed by five of the Hunters, leading them deep into the woods and away from Thalia. The plan seemed to be working. But Percy knew better than to underestimate the hunters. That's when he spotted another clump of Hunters heading to the right, bows ready. They must've spotted Thalia. He could also see an incoming squad in full stealth. "What's happening?" Nico demanded, trying to climb up next to Percy. He looked at Beckendorf. "Can you guys hold the fort?" Beckendorf snorted. "Of course." "I'm going in." Percy whistled for some Ares and Athena campers and instructed them to spread in a perimeter around, "Clarisse, I need decoy defense around here." He said. Clarisse nodded understandingly and signaled her brothers to do so. Percy signaled Apollo archers to hide above the trees and be in watchout. Percy sprinted forward towards the boundary line, crossing it before jumping on to a tree swiftly, seeing a huntress in scout nearby. He watched as the huntress came closer to the tree. He jumped down behind her, the huntress had little time to notch her attack, but Percy knocked here down. "Dead." He whispered. Percy looked around him to see the silver flag up above in a tree. A guard near it who was oblivious to the incoming threat. He recognised the guard as Bianca and wondered why Zoe had left an inexperienced girl as the guard. Then he understood it was a bait. There might be traps around them. But watching Bianca's movements he could understand the trap wasn't there but on the way back. And from the her doe eyes looking around the forest at some points made him understand that there were guards around on standby, Bianca was just a bait. But there was not time left to waste. Percy ran forward, he slammed into Bianca, knocking her down. He jumped on to the tree and ripped the silver silk flag. But instead of running back in the direction he came, he diverted and ran towards Selina's side. Seeing the hunters chasing him while calling out to the other side for help. But Percy diverted his way back to the old course in a sudden and disappeared on to a tree.