Annabeth Chase and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Chapter 9 - We take a deathly stroll through the woods

The rest of the day passed in a blur - not literally, as I'm not on drugs, but was irrelevant enough to be a blur. The next time I saw Percy was when we were both suited up in our combat armour and ready for whatever Quintus had prepared for us. Usually it would be capture the flag, but I had a feeling that tonight was going to be different. 

"Right," Quintus said, standing on the head dining table as we all gathered around him. Instantly silence came down as we all waited expectantly to hear what this new game was going to be. 

"You will be in teams of two," Quintus began, "which have already been chosen!" he added sharply as everyone began to scramble to get their pairs. "Your goal is simple: collect the gold laurels without dying." Something I always endeavoured to do. "The wreath is wrapped in a silk package, tied to the back of one of the monsters. There are six monsters. Each has a silk package. Only one holds the laurels. You must find the wreath before the other teams. And of course . . . You will have to slay the monster to get it, and stay alive."

Excited chatter broke out amongst the campers. New was always good, as long as it didn't end in death, of course. 

"I will now announce your partners," Quintus yelled, straining to be heard above the demigods. "There will be no trading. No switching. No complaining."

As if to back him up, Mrs O'Leary let out a low "Aroooof!" as she scavenged around for food. 

As Quintus began to read the pairs of a long scroll, I couldn't help but strategise against the teams and their strengths and weaknesses. Silena and Beckendorf wouldn't be too difficult, take Beckendorf out and they'd crumble. As much as I liked Silena, she wasn't much of an asset in war games. The Stoll brothers, difficult, but turn them against each other and they'd turn on each other. Katie Gardner and my brother Malcom had potential but were likely to be too awkward around each other to be a real threat. Clarisse and Lee Fletcher, now that was a real threat, definitely a power combo. 

I was so busy consumed strategising that I barely heard my own name called out, paired with Percy, surprisingly. 

Percy turned to me and grinned. "Nice."

"Your armour is crooked," I blurted out, attempting to hide my pleasure at our pairing. It wouldn't do to let Percy know that this was exactly what I wanted. As I reached up to redo his straps, I couldn't help but notice that he was slightly taller than me now, so I had to look up at him to meet his eyes, which I avoided doing as I turned back to face Quintus, discreetly clearing my throat. 

"Grover Underwood, with Tyson," Quintus read out finally, rolling up his scroll. 

"What?" Grover squeaked. "B-but -"

"No, no," Tyson whimpered. "Must be a mistake. Goat boy -"

"No complaining!" Quintus ordered. "Get with your partner. You have two minutes to prepare!"

Tyson and Grover looked at Percy and I pleadingly, like we could do something to help them. Percy gave them the thumbs up, which only made them look more miserable. 

"They'll be fine," I said, pulling on Percy's arm to get him moving. "Come on. Let's worry about how we're going to stay alive."

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Although it was still relatively early in the afternoon, it got dark as soon as we stepped into the forest, the trees crowding around us to make it feel more ominous and cold. I picked up tracks immediately - it was kind of hard not to when the monsters, whatever they were, had smashed a path through the trees, shattering branches and trampling bushes. Any idiot could have found them.