Collision Course

Bonus Chapter: a capture the flag game

Chiron started speaking.

"Tonight, we have a specail camper. This is Tira's first time playing. Don't go easy on her, okay?"

Everyone cheered as I glared happily at everyone.

"Tonight's teams... Have already been figured out. Good luck to you all!"

And then he blew the horn a second time, and the crowd cheered louder.

I smiled. This was my first capture the flag game- the famous game that everyone talks about, thinks about, dotes on, and loves. I was very excited.

Lewis grabbed my arm, and tugged me along to a table, and in one swift movement, swiped up two blue-plumed helmets.

Apparently, both of our cabins were in an alliance today. The teams were Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hermes, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon vs. Ares, Demeter, Hephaestus, and Dionysus. I was on team Athena, and we were going to cream the other team- so I have been told.

I looked over at Lewis, grinning. Sure, Athena had more cabins, but for this game, nymphs were allowed to help the other (Red) team, and they also had every other minor god. So in the end, the blue team has a smaller population... of about fifty people. I had no clue how they fit so many people in the Athena, Aphrodite, and Apollo cabins. Or how the gods had so many children in such little time. Actually... I don't want to know.

But the weird thing was, we had the cabins with the most and the least amounts of people. Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus's cabins had the least amount of kids, but they, for some reason, were paired with the biggest cabins. It was logical, but not normal for these games.

Capture the flag was played to represent demigod life. Completely unfair. One team was supposed to have an obvious advantage- in population, weapons, and a random variable. But for some reason the games this week were more evenly matched.

I followed Lewis carefully into the forest. We had been paired for the game today so I didn't go alone- like everyone else was doing. Lewis and I had one small job- offense. I tried to stay in his path, completely, so I didn't fall, walk into trees, or snap any sticks. (Because snapping sticks wouldn't be stealthily. Could you tell?)

I had been doing a pretty good job of stalking his footsteps when I failed miserably.

I had caught a hint of red out of the corner of my eye.

Turning to find out what it was, I not only tripped on a tree root, but I also slammed myself and Lewis, into a tree, and snapped about ten sticks in half.

I know- complete fail.

The red flash had turned out to be a demigod on the other team, and they didn't wait for us to stand up before they were attacking. They didn't even wait until I was off of Lewis. Meanies.

Stumbling to duck, I chucked myself at the demigod's feet.

I grabbed on, and squeezed and felt the demigod stumble. With a swish of the air, I heard Lewis attack. I clenched my eyes shut, and waited until the noises of attack had stopped, and Lewis was guiding me off of the now-prisoner-demigod.

The Ares spawn was death glaring me, annoyed. They didn't normally lose, and din't like it when they did.

The child of the war god was Chloe, one of the most surprising daughters. She had fair blonde hair, and a beautiful smile- out of the game- and a willowy figure. By a quick glance, you wouldn't even think she had any muscle. But she wasn't completely opposite of the regular Ares spawn. She had Ares' battle strategy. She was an amazing tact- oh. Oh no.