"Right," Annabeth looked around the table, meeting everybody's eye. "Is everyone clear ?"
The head counsellors of the other cabins nodded. Percy raised his hand.
"Yes, Percy?"
"Why exactly am I on border defence?" he asked. "I don't mean to brag, but I'm one of the best fighters we've got…"
"You're on border defence," Annabeth explained patiently. "Because the creek runs across the entire forest. You'll use the water to form a wall, so no hunter will be able to get past."
"What if you need help?" Percy asked.
"Relax, man." Jason smiled. "We got this."
"The hunters will be in their own element in the forest," Jake Mason, the head counsellor of Hephaestus, pointed out. "You want to keep an eye on the trees, whether in offence or defence."
"That's a good point," Annabeth noted. "Anything else?"
Everyone else shook their head.
"The plan looks good," Piper stared at the detailed schematic on the table. "I don't think they can get through."
Percy, studying the complex diagram, agreed. Annabeth had designed it, for one, and for another, he didn't see how anyone could get through their defences even if they wanted to. The whole thing was so complicated that it made his head ache, which was good since the hunters probably wouldn't be able to understand it either.
Percy's creek, as secure as it was, was only the first line of defence, a mere show of force to allay the hunters' suspicions. Once, no, if they managed to get through, they would find themselves in a vast, empty forest. There were no scouts to capture or follow. Every camper apart from the assault team was stationed around the flag, which was guarded by an array of Hephaestus traps and trip wires. The hunters were doubtless skilled at evading such devices, but the flag itself would be surrounded by a massive dome made completely of vines. There was no way to physically get through without alerting the four Demeter campers who'd built the dome, who would then alert the other defenders positioned around the flag.
The defenders' main strength lay in their numbers. Besides the children of Demeter there were four campers each from the Hephaestus and Apollo cabins, a son of Hecate, Malcolm Pace, son of Athena and five volunteers from the other cabins. In all, the defenders numbered twenty campers including Percy, almost half of the Camp Half-Blood contingent.
The other twenty campers were on offence. Jason, Annabeth and Piper were all in the strike force, with the latter two leading a team each. The idea was to have two teams of ten attack simultaneously from either direction in the hope of spreading the hunters thin. Whoever managed to get the flag in the ensuing chaos would signal Jason, who'd instantly fly it up and away. Once he cleared the trees the game was as good as won. No one could shoot through the dense covering of leaves, not even the hunters of Artemis.
"Remember," Annabeth said firmly. "This isn't just about the flag. We only win if we get their flag before they get ours, so no delays. Speed is the most important factor."
"What if we can't get their flag?" Piper asked. "Is there a contingency plan?"
A slow smile spread across Annabeth's face. "Oh yes." she said. "There is."
Over in Cabin Eight the hunters were making their own preparations. Thalia slammed her fist into her palm. "It's Annabeth. We all know what she's capable of, but I have a foolproof plan…"
Friday evening was the perfect night for Capture The Flag. The temperature cooled as the sun went down. The light breeze that had made the trees rustle slowly died down. The forest was calm and silent, perfect conditions for a hunt.
"Hey, Annabeth," Thalia sauntered up to the blue team's table, drawing hostile glances from every side. "Good luck."
"You'll be needing all the luck, Thalia." Annabeth smiled back.
"I think we'll be fine," Thalia caught Percy's eye. "How's your gut?"
"Good as new." Percy arched backwards for dramatic effect.
"You know, I'm a little worried for you," Thalia continued. "Your last game against the hunters didn't go very well, as I remember."
"I remember getting their flag," Percy countered.
Thalia rolled her eyes, remembering how she'd shocked him twice in that game. "Well, I don't want you getting pulverised later on. If you stay out of the way, my girls might not notice."
Percy laughed. "I'll be getting even for last time tonight. I'll be the first one you see, I guarantee you."
"Should be an easy game then," Thalia grinned. "See ya." She walked back to the rest of her group.
"We'll kick her butt," Annabeth said confidently, then raised her voice. "Blue team, move out!"
The Camp Half-Blood team cheered as they headed off towards the northern part of the woods. There were only forty of them, partly to make it a fair game, partly because the other half of the camp wouldn't be able to survive a game against the hunters of Artemis. No one below fourteen was allowed to take part this time. The thirty or forty younger campers not taking part remained in the dining pavilion, watching a live stream from their new Iris-phones.
"Hunters, let's move!" Thalia yelled, raising a ruckus of boos from the remaining campers and a massive cheer from her side.
Nico di Angelo sidled up to Chiron, looking amused. "This'll be good."
"Oh, yes," Chiron agreed. "It certainly will."
"Keep your eyes open," Malcolm Pace warned. "They could be anywhere."
"Relax, man." Jake Mason's armour clanked as he shook his head. "We'll know for sure when they arrive."
They had placed their flag on top of Zeus's Fist, a cluster of rocks that rose six metres above the ground. Twelve defenders stood in a loose square nine metres away, as per the rules. The Apollo campers were in the trees. Three of the Demeter campers were busy growing the dome of vines. Percy was at the creek.
"Any movement?" Percy's voice crackled from Malcolm's walkie-talkie, making everybody jump.
"No," Malcolm replied. "You?"
"Nobody's passed through the creek," Percy said. "They're holding back for now."
Annabeth's group of ten moved at a swift pace around the right of the forest. Nobody really knew where the flag was, but Annabeth knew from experience that a large silver banner wouldn't be hard to spot. They would stumble onto it naturally. Getting the flag would be the hard part.
"Hold up," Lou Ellen, daughter of Hecate, whispered. "It's right ahead of us."
Annabeth halted the group. "You sure?"
"Yep. Some guards, too."
Annabeth pulled out her walkie-talkie. "Jason, we're in position."
"So are we." The voice came from above them.
The campers swore as they looked up. Hunters were perched in the trees around them, easily outnumbering the Camp Half-Blood group.
"Don't move." Lanesra warned.
"Magic camouflage," Lou Ellen spat.
Annabeth considered her options. She counted a dozen archers in her line of sight, and knew there were more behind her. She cursed under her breath. This was bad.
"Just drop your weapons and no one gets hurt." Lanesra said calmly. "We'll march you out of the woods. If you move fast enough you'll be able to get S'mores before the game is over."
Annabeth's mind raced as she analysed the situation. She didn't fancy their chances. They were outnumbered and surrounded, and even if they hadn't been taken by surprise there was no way they could climb the trees before the hunters shot them down. It went against her grain to give up without a fight, but…
Something occurred to her as she frowned. These fourteen or fifteen hunters must have been guarding their left flank. If there was the same number all around…
"You put all your people on defence."
Lanesra laughed. "Thalia figured it would be impossible to outmanoeuvre you, so she decided to put everyone on guard. Take out your offence team first, then move in on the flag."
"You'll never get it." Annabeth tried to stall for time. "You're all going to lose."
"Stalling won't work." Lanesra read the attempt easily. "Last chance. Drop your weapons or we'll shoot."
A few campers bristled at that, but Annabeth held up her hand. The hunters had them at bow-point. There was no point in resisting any further.
"Don't shoot!" Drew Tanaka, the former Aphrodite head counsellor, shrieked. "Seriously, everyone. Drop your bows."
Annabeth blinked as a half-dozen of the hunters' bows fell from the trees. Was this really happening?
"All right," Drew continued, laying on the charmspeak. "You can come down and arrest us now."
Half of the hunters slid down on zip lines. The other half looked confused.
Annabeth laughed as she realised it at last. By carefully crafting her words Drew had made it look like she was co-operating, whereas she had actually been charmspeaking the hunters into disarming themselves. Annabeth didn't waste a moment. "TAKE THEM HOSTAGE!"
After a moment of stunned silence, the campers roared and charged. Too late, Lanesra realised what had just happened.
"FIRE!"
A dozen arrows cut into the mass of campers, but they had scattered in pursuit of the hunters on the ground and only three of them found their target. Hunters screamed as they were battered off their feet by the campers' heavy shields. Artemis's handmaidens had never been front-line fighters and most of them carried only knives. While skilful, they were no match for the campers' heavy armour and long swords.
Annabeth lunged with her drakon-bone sword, aiming for a hunter's shoulder. The young girl, who couldn't have been older than ten, dodged the blow and darted in, silver knives flashing. She was fast, but Annabeth had trained in knife fighting for ten years and knew all the moves. She slammed her shield into the hunter's forehead and the girl collapsed.
Despite the campers' momentary advantage the hunters were still winning. Several had been beaten to a pulp by the campers. A few were still fighting on the ground, but more than ten of them were still safe in the trees. Three of them had been charmspoken into dropping their bows, but the remaining seven continued to fire with deadly aim, picking off the campers one by one with blunt-tipped arrows that rang on their helmets like bells, causing them to stagger around in a daze.
"Don't shoot!" Drew shouted, then Lanesra hit her in the forehead with a slingshot stone and she fell.
"Throw javelins!" Annabeth shouted, but went unheard amidst the chaos and growing panic. She flung her knife into a tree, snapping a hunter's bow, then three arrows hit her shield so hard that she stumbled. An arrow hit her breastplate, knocking her back, then another glanced off her helmet, missing her temple by sheer luck.
An Ares camper in front of her cursed as he swung a javelin around, hitting a hunter on the side of her head. The hunter collapsed like a sock puppet, then a moment later the Ares camper followed suit as two arrows hit him on either side of his helmet. Annabeth threw down her sword and grabbed the long shaft as it fell. She rolled, covering herself with her shield, then came up and rose fully, poised to throw, blood roaring in her ears.
"Stop!" Lanesra shouted.
Annabeth hesitated.
"We don't want to hurt you." For the first time since they'd met, the Second Lieutenant didn't sound like her smug self. "The rest of your group is down. It's over."
Annabeth allowed herself a glance around. Campers and hunters lay unconscious on the forest floor. Nobody was moving. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was clear that she was the last one standing.
"We won't hold back if you throw that javelin. You know how good we are."
Annabeth set her jaw. The hunters had won the last fifty-six capture-the-flag games between them. Not this time, Annabeth thought. Not on my watch.
She wavered her stance slightly, shifted her feet, and threw the javelin with all her strength, saw it knock a hunter out of a tree. Then she threw herself to the ground, curled into a ball under her shield and waited.
A weighted net fell on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Arrows struck her shield so hard that they broke through. More arrows struck the ground all around her and Annabeth groaned as the air filled with the acrid stench of sulfur.
"Your lungs will be rattling for the next few days," Lanesra called, then the arrows stopped and everything became still. Annabeth strained against the net, but couldn't budge it an inch. She realised the hunters had pinned it to the ground with their arrows like tent pegs.
All her weapons were gone. She closed her eyes against the sting of the sulfur and felt around blindly, hoping there was a discarded sword she could use to cut herself free, but there was nothing.
Her lungs burned. Annabeth cursed in her mind, relaxed her body in an attempt to lower her oxygen consumption as much as possible, then took a long, deep breath.
As always, thanks for the views! Next chapter is Thalia V Jason. Who dyou think will win?