Percy Jackson One Shots and Short Stories

#17 - Stalemate

"Oh, it's on," Annabeth challenged.

Most of Percy's week then consisted of gaining other cabins' allegiances. Fortunately, Hephaestus' head counsellor was Charles Beckendorf, a good friend of Percy's who owed him a favour.

Percy promised to wash out some of their dirty automatons and tools - all he had to do was push water through them - in return for their help in the games.

So it was him and about 6 burly Hephaestus kids against Annabeth. He had no doubt that Annabeth could easily win.

Next stop was Nico Di Angelo.

He didn't have a cabin, so he stayed at the Big House. He wasn't a permanent nor a summer camper, but he was visiting at Percy's insistence, since Nico was still recovering from the battle of the Labyrinth a few weeks ago.

"Want to be on my team?" Percy offered. "We're blue, and I have a feeling we'll work well together."

Nico just shrugged, but Percy had a feeling that he was getting hyped up for this game too.

While Percy was hurrying around with battle plans and discussions, he hardly spoke to Annabeth at all.

This was the first time he and Annabeth had been opposite team leaders, and Percy knew this tactic of hers extremely well. She usually froze out the opponent by ignoring him until the game. She claimed it was so she "could beat them more easily".

Annabeth had already gathered the Hermes cabin through supplying some fireworks and prank ideas, and the Apollo cabin by trading chores.

"Hey, punk!" Clarisse strode in on Percy, Nico and Beckendorf, who were working on battle plans in the fields.

She slammed her dagger down on the pedestal beside them, and Percy gulped. "You've got Ares' pledge."

Percy blinked. "Wait, what?"

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "How thick can one be?" she muttered under her breath.

"I mean," Percy resisted the urge to make a snarky comment. "Why would you help me? You hate me."

"You got that right," Clarisse growled. "But we hate the Athena cabin, and we don't want to see them win. With Hades, Hephaestus and Ares on your side, you're bound to win."

Percy gave her a weak smile. Allying with his least favourite gods? Yippee!

She plopped herself down next to Beckendorf and looked over their sketch of the battlefield. "What is this?"

"That's the forest," Percy explained. "That's the creek, see?"

Clarisse snorted. "That's not even a map, Percy."

"Hey, I'm not Annabeth, okay?" Percy said indignantly. "I'm not some genius who's amazing at drawing and strategic planning."

Clarisse raised an eyebrow. "You think she's amazing?"

Percy's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me? That's what you're focusing on right now?"

"She's got a point," Beckendorf whispered to him. "You're so oblivious that even Clarisse caught on before you did."

Percy silenced him with a look. Nico was starting to look extremely uncomfortable. "Let's just get on with this."

As the game edged closer and closer, tensions in camp spiked high. Opposing cabins refused to even speak to one another, and even sat on opposite sides of the campfire in the evenings.

Percy had never played a game of Capture the Flag that was so real. He'd also never been so excited.

The last cabin he recruited was Dionysus, consisting of Castor and Pollux.