The Daughter of the Sky // Wattys 2016

Chapter 15

Capture the flag was a real crowd favorite apparently. The entire camp was restless during dinner. Anxious whispers filled the pavilion as campers tried to guess what cabins would be on what team. 

 Call me crazy, but dueling against angsty, hormonal teenagers with sharp, pointy objects was not my idea of fun.

 I nervously followed Percy to a spacious field that felt vaguely familiar. It was right next to the entrance of the forest where Danny and I had first arrived.

 Percy began to explain the basics of the game. All twelve cabins were to be divided into two teams, red and blue. The objective of the game was to simply capture the opposing team's flag and bring it to base camp. Armor and basic weapons would be provided, and I was highly encouraged to take advantage of what they had to offer. 

"Why would I even need battle armor in capture the flag?" I tugged at the uncomfortable protective layer of metal covering my entire upper body. The stuff weighed about as much as I did and I could feel it dragging me down with each step I took.

"There's this old saying at camp that goes: 'It's much better to be safe than maimed and sorry'."

I assumed he was joking as I made my way through the crowd with him.

"Heroes, heroes," Chiron stomped his foot, or rather, hoof on the dirt floor. "Gather around." The sound of his booming voice resonated loud and clear, capturing everyone's attention at once. He wasted no time and began to thoroughly explain the rules of the game for newcomers. A.K.A: me.

Chiron went into specifics of the game for newcomers. All magical items and abilities were allowed, the entire forest was fair game, and the creek would act as a barrier between teams.

Like Percy mentioned, the camp was usually divided into two teams, with the exception of when the Hunters of Artemis visited - then the whole camp would play against Artemis' huntresses, but according to Percy, we had never won a single game against them.

Today's division would be the blue team, which included the Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes and Dionysus cabins versus the red team; the Ares, Athena, Hades, Demeter, and Hephaestus cabins, plus the other children of minor gods that resided on camp grounds. Percy broke down Apollo's alliance with the Hermes cabin. Combined, their large numbers gave us a tremendous advantage over the opposing team.

"Occasionally, Athena makes an alliance with the Ares cabin. They can be pretty deadly put together. Don't worry too much about the Hephaestus or Demeter cabins. They're not too aggressive."

Chiron would serve as a battlefield medic and co-"referee" along with Mr. D, but Percy said he usually just slept through the games and only served to officially coronate the champions.

"Hey!" Travis and Connor Stoll protested in unison against the division arrangements Chiron had posted outside the forest entry. 

"No fair! The red team gets two war cabins?" Travis grimaced, looking at the list in annoyance.

"Yeah, but you have two children of the big three on your side, doofus." A blonde girl I'd never seen before shoved one of the Twins' heads playfully as she walked into the forest.

"Don't sweat it," Percy's voice interrupted my thoughts as we made our way inside the winding mess of unfamiliar trees, rocks, and rolling hills. "We've got this."

"So, why exactly do we want to win this thing?" I fidgeted with the blue fur coming out of my traditional Greek helmet before slipping it over my head. It was three sizes too big and I could hardly even see out of the thing. Percy nearly doubled over in laughter as I tried to align the slits of the helmet with my eyes.