The Seven In High School

Hazel Strikes Out

HAZEL

Hazel ran across the wood clearing as silently as she could. She ducked behind a tree, breathing hard.

They were playing capture-the-flag. It was Athena versus Ares yet again. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hermes, Hephaestus and Hecate were Athena's allies. Aphrodite, Demeter, Nike, Dionysus and Apollo were Ares's. Frank sided with his Greek siblings, so Hazel sided with Nico.

Hazel was on defense. Frank was on offense. She had heard the trumpeting of Frank the elephant a few times already. Hazel had been patrolling the right flank when she got attacked by dandelions. She managed to cause the ground to rip apart and struggle free. A couple of Nike campers then charged out of the bushes, expecting one tied-up Hazel Levesque. Instead they found a very un-tied up Roman centurion. The Nike campers got a faceful of jewels instead.

Hazel didn't actually mean to knock them out. Or give one a black eye. But hey, accidents happened, right?

A rustling came from the bushes. Hazel positioned her calvary sword. The Apollo head counselor, Will Solace emerged. The flat of her sword came down on Will's head, effectively stunning him. Will fell to the ground. (Nico was dating him but that didn't mean she had to go easy on him.) Then an arrow appeared out of nowhere, slicing through the air with a sharp sound and knocking the sword out of her hand. It clattered to the ground.

Gwendolyn Harper stood at the edge of the clearing, wearing a smirk. A quiver of arrows was slung over her back and an another arrow already nocked in her bow.

"Don't move." she enunciated clearly.

Despite the situation, Hazel still felt hopeful. She had one more thing, another power that might help her. Hazel closed her eyes. She imagined herself as Gwendolyn Harper. What would Gwendolyn Harper want to see the most?

"You know, Gwendolyn-" she started.

"Gwen."

"Gwen. You think you've got me? You're right."

An arrow appeared in Hazel's chest. She collapsed, slightly woozy. Hazel hadn't tried anything like this before. Her energy wavered.

"Oh gods." Gwen rushed over, dropping her bow. She touched the arrow in Hazel's chest. Hazel concentrated on keeping the arrow solid.

"I-I did this? But how...I didn't fire my arrow..."

"You didn't." Hazel said. She rose unsteadily, swaying a little. Her sword was in her hand, pointed at Gwen. The arrow in her chest dissolved.

Gwen gasped. "You tricked me! How-" She looked around for her bow frantically. She wouldn't be able to find it. Hazel had concealed it with Mist.

"I win." Hazel said with a small smile. Triumph surged through her.

She whacked Gwen unceremoniously with the flat of her sword. Gwen crumpled to the ground, as motionless as a rag doll.

Suddenly a loud whooping sounded from the other side of the woods. Travis Stoll charged through the trees, followed by his brother and some other Hermes kids'. He held a white silk flag embroidered with a caduceus high in the air.

"Levesque!" Connor yelled. He grabbed his brother's hand, brandishing the flag. "Hermes won! Let's go!"

"How about these two?" Hazel asked, indicating them. Will stirred slightly, muttering something about doctor's orders.

Travis grinned. "You got Will? Cool! And the hot new British chick too."

"You know what I think we should do?" Connor asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"I know! And you know too."

"Let's spare Gwen." Hazel said. She felt a little bad for tricking her like that.

Connor shrugged. "They're your captures." He pulled out a black Sharpie from his pocket and began doodling on Will's face.

***

Capture-the-flag went quite well, at least in Hazel's opinion.

Percy, Jason and Nico had teamed up and formed a killer(not literally) team. Annabeth's strategy won the game. Piper knocked a lot of people out. So did Frank.

But the look on Nico's face when he saw his boyfriend? Priceless.