Chapter eight: Clarisse gets "Pulverized"
Y/N POV: TODAY'S THE CAPTURE THE FLAG GAME!!!!! Though on the outside I looked calm, but in the inside I was screaming. At least I got to train for a little while the grateful part of me stated. I was losing my mind trying to come up with a solid plan as to how to go on the quest when there was only supposed to be 3 people (demigods? A satyr?) embarking on the quest to recover Zeus's master bolt. Whap! The sound of Percy getting thrashed by Luke's sword brang me back to reality. "No, not that far up!" Whap! "Lunge!" Whap! "Now, back!" Whap! By the time he called a break, Percy was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, Percy followed suit and I smiled mischievously— already knowing what would come next.
"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."The Hermes kids all gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I kept my best poker face and waited for the action to start. Luke told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.
"This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique." I coughed. "Or swordswoman." He looked at me and corrected. I remembered this part of the book, the feminist in me was flipping out—wanting to punch Luke square in the face.
He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand. "Now in real time," he said, after Percy retrieved his weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"
He nodded, and Luke came after him. 'Somehow' (cue the sarcasm) Percy kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of the sword. He countered Luke's attacks. He stepped forward and tried a thrust. Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press Percy with more force.
The sword looked as if it grew heavy in his hand, and Percy was losing his strength. So, in one last resort, he tried the disarming maneuver.
The blade hit the base of Luke's and Percy twisted, putting his whole weight into a downward thrust. Clang! Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of his blade was an inch from the older boy's undefended chest.
The other campers grew silent while I held a proud smile. (Or was it a smirk? I don't remember) Percy lowered the sword. "Um, sorry." For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak.
"Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show methat again!" This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor.
After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?" Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," He said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword..."
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That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual. At last, it was time for capture the flag.When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables. Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening grey, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.
Percy, obviously confused, turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?" "Yeah."
"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"
"Not always," he said. "But often."
"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do- repaint the flag?"
He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."
"Whose side are we on?" He gave him a sly look, as if he knew something he didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help."
The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded-shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities-in order to win support.
Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble. "Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!" He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.
"Whoa," Percy said. "We're really supposed to use these?" I looked at him as if I were crazy (to keep up my I have been at camp for many years now, and I totally know everything about my life act). Luke and I shared the same look "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here-Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol." He said.
When I finished putting on my blue plumed helmet, Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!," We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.
Despite his unathleticness, Percy managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over the equipment. "Hey." She kept marching, and I snickered.
"So what's the plan?" He asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?" Her hand drifted suspiciously towards her pocket. "Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"
"Border patrol, whatever that means."
"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan." She pushed ahead, leaving him in the dust, like I had done to her this morning. "Okay," Percy mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team." It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed me next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.
Far away, the conch horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.
Great, I thought. Time for me to fight something. I turned back towards the direction of the creek. Or maybe I should tell Annabeth that I want to take on border patrol and "pulverize" some Ares kids. I go to Annabeth, and do just that. But when I came back, I heard some commotion. On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.
Then, a very familiar voice fills the forest. "Cream the punk!," Clarisse screamed.
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Percy POV: They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin.
I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. They surrounded me, and Clarisse thrust at me with her spear. My shield deflected the point, but I felt a painful tingling all over my body. My hair stood on end. My shield arm went numb, and the air burned. Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric. I fell back.
Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt. They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing. "Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair." I saw a shadow in the trees.
I managed to get to my feet. I raised my sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. Now both my arms felt numb.
"Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."
"The flag is that way," I told her. I wanted to sound angry, but I was afraid it didn't come out that way.
"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."
"You do that without my help," I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. I could basically hear Y/N facepalming at me. Did I hear it or was I just imagining things? Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise my shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, I would've been shish-ke-babbed. As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut. Seeing my own blood made me dizzy-warm and cold at the same time.
"No maiming," I managed to say.
"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege." There was a soft whoosh! Noise and a familiar dagger handle nailed itself in an Ares' kid's forehead, knocking him out cold.
One pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash. They all laughed, too busy to notice one of them was down. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die. But then something happened. The water seemed to wake up my senses, as if I'd just had a bag of my mom's double-espresso jelly beans.
Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get me, but I stood to meet them. I knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water.
Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, and they backed off—only to be knocked out by another flying dagger.
Though 2 of her goons were down, and the remaining had left the scene, Clarisse kept coming. The point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, I caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig. I swear I could hear Y/N snickering in the distance.
"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!," She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek.
Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.
"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."
They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.
The game was over. We'd won.
I was about to join the celebration when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero."
I looked, but she wasn't there.
"Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.
I felt myself getting angry. I wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," I said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You probably sent Y/N to knock the Ares campers out with her daggers. You had it all figured out."
Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."
"A plan to get me pulverized."
"I came as fast as I could, and like you said, I even sent Y/N to help. I was about to jump in, but ..." She shrugged. "You didn't need much help." Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?"
"Sword cut," I said. "What do you think?"
"No. It was a sword cut. Look at it." The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared.
"I-I don't get it," I said. Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."
"What-"
"Just do it." I came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. My arms started to go numb again. My adrenaline rush left me. I almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied me.
"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want ... I assumed it would be Zeus... ." Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest. Y/N appeared by Annabeth's side, probably checking out what the commotion was about.
The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: "Stand ready! My bow!"
Annabeth drew her sword. Y/N summoned her weapon.
There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.
It was looking straight at me.