Gracie Jackson

~ Part 9 ~

The plan was simple, me and the rest of the Athena Cabin would distract the opposing team on offense while the rest of our teammates on the Blue Team would work together to protect the flag. Meanwhile, Connor and Fiona would be hiding in the trees, waiting for the perfect moment to swoop down and steal the Red Team's flag. If Fiona could fight to get the flag, there was no question that Connor would be able to get it back to our side and win the game. I watched as Fiona walked over to Connor and told him my plan. He looked at me then back at Fiona and nodded. "Sounds like a great plan," he said.

When we all gathered at the edge of the woods, everyone started putting on their armor and picking out which weapons they wanted to use. When Connor saw me starting to put mine on he rushed over.

"I can help, armor can be tricky to put on.." he stopped mid sentence, when he realized that I had already strapped my armor on perfectly. "How did you..?" he started asking.

"I grew up at Camp Jupiter, remember?" I mocked. "Also your armors crooked." I twisted his armor until it was straight. Connor just stood there, shocked.

"Ok well I can still help you pick out a weapon to use." He said, I had forgotten about my hidden dagger until that moment. I looked down at the silver ring with a piece of seaglass attached to it. I tapped the seaglass in the middle of the ring and watched as my celestial bronze dagger grew to full size, a gift from former preator Hazel Levesque. I pressed the sea glass embedded into my dagger to return it to it's ring form. Connor shook his head with disbelief. "Who are you?" he asked in amazement.

"Stick around and you'll find out." I said as Chiron blew the horn that signaled the start of the game. Connor and Fiona ran for the inner woods while the rest of our team ran towards the clump of boulders called Zeus' Fist, where our flag was hidden. After a few minutes, not much had happened, the Red team kept trying to get past our reinforcements but our team kept them distracted. I hadn't seen Rose yet, so I suspected that she was defending her team's flag. The plan seemed like it was working perfectly, until suddenly, I saw Fiona limping towards me.

"Gracie, we have a problem," she said. "Me and Connor found the flag, but I couldn't get past them. You think their offense is bad? Think again. Their defense is so much worse, like so bad that even I was unable to infiltrate it, they kept trying to make me fall until it worked. Connor is waiting in a tree by the creek for backup." Since Fiona was hurt and everyone else was busy keeping the Red Team away from our flag, I would have to be the one to finish the plan with Connor.

    I started running towards the creek. I hadn't realized that I had never been to the creek and didn't know where to go, my mind was just so focused on the plan that my gut led me to the creek. I ran through the woods, my feet racing even faster than my heart. All I could think about was if my plan got anyone else hurt. Just the thought of having someone's life on my hands always made me squeamish. I am probably one of the only demigods who doesn't have an instinct to kill. So when I felt a pinecone fall on my head, a sigh of relief escaped my breath.

    "What are you doing here blondie?" Connor asked. He dove off his branch that was almost 30 feet in the air and landed perfectly in a forward roll to the ground. "I thought Fiona went to get someone who could fight," he teased.

    "Let's just go, and please be gentle..." before I could finish my sentence, Connor grabbed me by the waist and willed the winds to carry us high above the trees. This time I wasn't facing the ground, I was facing Connor. I watched his face light up as we flew through the clouds where the sun was just about gone from the sky. Connor looked down at me staring up at his face.

    "What?" he asked me. "You're looking at me funny."

    "Oh it's nothing." I said, Connor was so focused on me that he flew into a tree. His body went limp and fell out of the sky, me along with him. "Connor! Connor wake up!" I started screaming. We were directly over the creek. If I fell into the water I would survive, but what about Connor? He couldn't breathe underwater like me and he could die from sheer impact. Below us, there was nothing but forest. I suddenly knew what I had to do. I let loose a horrid scream and felt a tug against my gut, with it, the creek exploded below me and scooped both me and Connor out of the sky. When Connor hit the cold water he woke with a start. He looked around, realizing what was going on and turned his icy blue eyes to face me.

    "How are you? But you're only a descendant of Athena," he spit questions at me in rapid fire. I set us to the ground with us both soaking wet, I was so focused on saving him that I had completely forgotten to stay dry. Yes, I can allow myself not to get wet when I concentrate.

"Look, there's no time to explain. We have to get the Red Team's flag before it's too late. I promise I'll explain everything when this is over," I explained before running deeper into the woods. Reluctantly, Connor followed.