Chapter 14! You know what I noticed about last chapter? It's about Jo, and her bad Luck, and how she was born on Friday the 13th, and it was also chapter 13! I'm like freaking out because it was also 1,111 words long (if you don't count the sentences where I was telling you that). And I didn't even plan it out!
By the third day of my regaining consciousness, I was well enough to walk around the room. By the third week, I was fully recovered. When I stepped out if the big house, I had never been so happy to see the sun. I immediately headed towards the cabins for a well missed prank.
One day at diner I heard Chiron pound his hoof on the marble floor. "I want to remind everyone that capture the flag is tomorrow".
The whole camp burst into whoops of cheer. Capture the flag? I thought. Not exactly the sort of game for a demigod training camp. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
The next day, Annabeth helped me strap up my armor for capture-the-flag. The armor was huge on me. I wondered how I would manage to move in it.
"You nervous?" Annabeth asked while she laced it up.
"Kind of," I admitted. "I've never played capture-the-flag".
"Well I have a feeling you'll like it," Annabeth smiled. "I remember my first game. And Percy's".
I strapped my dagger, Ataxies, and headed off towards the woods.
"So who's on my team?" I asked.
"Our team, the blue team, is mainly Athena, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Demeter, and most of the minor cabins. Ares, Poseidon, Hephaestus, Hermes, and all the other smaller cabins," Annabeth explained.
I thought about that for a second. "That makes a lot of enemies of mine on the opposing team. Some people from Hermes and Ares".
Annabeth smiled. "Don't worry. Athena's on your side. Athena always has a plan".
"So what am I going to be doing?"
"Since it's just your first game, I figured I'd put you on border patrol".
Just then Clarisse walked by and grabbed me by the shirt. "Prepare yourself girly," she growled. "This is going to be a battle you'll never forget, to remind you never to mess with me".
She stalked away, growling.
I gulped. "Well, looks like I'll be on invisible border patrol then".
Annabeth was looking in the direction of Clarisse. I could see in her eyes that she was formulating something. "What's up with Clarisse's skin?" she asked. "It's orange. And she smells like pickles".
"Oh, that's a prank I pulled on her," I said passively.
"You did that?" Annabeth asked, slightly in awe.
"Yeah".
"That's really brave," the blonde said, and I could see the gears in her head turning. "To stand up to Clarisse. You know what? I think I have something different in mind for you for capture-the-flag…"
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"Are you ready?" Annabeth asked.
"Am I ready?" I said, my tone laced with sarcasm. "Annabeth, I was born ready for these things".
Annabeth smiled. "Ok, now remember to stay off the path".
"Right".
"And out of sight".
"Of course".
"And if you need any help, just blow this whistle," Annabeth handed me a small, slender silver whistle. "It's enchanted so that only people on our team will hear it. If you blow it, a team member will come to your aid. Probably a satyr since they have the best ears…"
I took the whistle and put it in my pocket. I shouldered my backpack. I heard a horn in the distance, and the game was on.
I skulked in the shadows on the trees, not making a sound. I moved with fluid-like agility through the forest, so much so that no member from the red team even had the suspicion I was there.
I ducked behind a tree and slipped the backpack off my shoulders. Out of it I produced a rope, a can of sardines, a balloon, and a small flare rocket. I quickly set to work, and my small scheme was complete. I peeked an eye around the tree and saw two kids with bows: children of Apollo. I nimbly climbed the tree and peered down at my victims. I hefted the balloon, which, of course, was filled with sardines, and chucked it soundlessly at the two demigods. It exploded all over them, creating just the right effect of surprise. The stunned half-bloods looked up, and because they weren't looking at the ground, they didn't see the rope at their feet. Suddenly they were zipped through the air and were dangling by their feet in the ropes high in the tree blanches.
I climbed down, smiled up at them, and shot off the first flare, which, being blue and invisible to the red team, would alert my team to come and pick up their captives.
Walking casually away, I planned my next move of attack.
It was some time before I found my next victim. And, as Luck would have it, it was Percy and Leo.
Percy and Leo were scouting their territory, searching for members of the blue team.
Immediately I ducked into a bush. Grabbing a rubber duck, a net, honey, and a bag of feathers, I quickly climbed a tree, set the net on one of its branches and tied a string to it, and slipped back into the bush without Percy or Leo noticing.
This, except for the net, was a prank I had created long ago, and I liked to call it, "Operation Birdie". From inside the bush, I tossed the rubber duck out into the open.
Percy saw it first. He eyed it, brows furrowed, sword drawn. Then he inched forward and picked it up, finally calling to Leo, "Hey, look". The two looked confusedly at the small rubber toy, and because they were looking down at it they didn't see the mass on honey that poured out of the tree tops and covered them. Percy and Leo both shouted, "Ew!" and tried without success to rid themselves of the sticky goo. Then a huge pile of feathers rained down from the heavens and covered them, so they looked like birds. The feathers were followed by a net, which trapped them.
Flare in hand, I appeared out of the bush and strolled to Percy and Leo with a smile.
"Jo?" Percy said, somewhat in unbelief.
"That's my name, don't wear it out," I said.
"Jo, I should have known," Leo said, trying to spit a feather out of his mouth.
I smiled again. "Yeah, I little proposition Annabeth had. I sent the flare and walked away.
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
The game was amazing. One after another I pranked and successfully captured several of the enemy. And I was having the time of my life. But then, as most things in my life do, it went bad.
I was sneaking through the forest when I came upon something. Atop a pile of rocks was a flag with the head of a boar on it. I felt excitement rise in me because I knew this was the flag of the other team. I looked around. There was nobody guarding it. I looked at the flag once more. If I could get the flag and make it to the other side, I would win the game. Without much hesitation, I sprinted to the flag.
But before I could get there, I was tripped by none other than Clarisse.
"Well, well," she growled, "What do we have here? The little prankster thought she could just steal my flag? Rookie mistake, imp".
I struggled to my feet and attempted to run, but Clarisse grabbed the back of my shirt, for I had long ago shed my armor. "Not so fast imp," Clarisse said.
I didn't know what else to do, so, following instinct, I drew my dagger. Clarisse chuckled and pulled out a spear that crackled with electricity. She swung the spear, and I just barely dodged it. The hairs on my head stood on end.
Clarisse came at me again, and this time I acted. I swiped with my dagger, and then Clarisse's spear lay in two pieces on the ground.
"What?" Clarisse seemed genuinely confused. I was shocked as well. In a battle with a spear and dagger, surely the dagger wouldn't win. I looked at the blade. It gleamed bronze, with a black leather bound hilt. On the end of the hilt was a ruby in the shape of an apple.
I was distracted for too long, because I suddenly felt a punch in the jaw, and I was on the ground again. Before I knew it, Clarisse was standing over me, a smile spread on her face. I closed my eyes and raised a hand, like that would protect me. I awaited Clarisse's attack, but it never came. I opened my eyes and saw Clarisse gone. There were no foot prints, nothing to indicate that she hadn't just vanished into thin air.
I stood up and looked around. What I saw froze me in my place and stole a scream from my throat. It was a huge mass of scales, teeth, and claws. A dragon.
But not just any dragon. This dragon had so many heads, I couldn't even see them all at the same time. The dragon hissed with all of its many heads and breathed fire, and I just barely ran out of the way in time.
I had learned about demigod battle reflexes, otherwise known as ADHD, but I had never seen, or felt, it in action. I knew I had no chance at killing this beast with only a dagger, but my reflexes didn't listen. I dodged and weaved through the dragon's many heads with ability I never knew I had.
A dragon head lashed out and snapped at me, but at the last second I unsheathed my dagger and stabbed it in the eye. The dragon screamed in agony, but it had many more heads to see.
Suddenly I heard a sound that was a cross between a roar and a bleat, and Mandy was beside me.
"What have you done?!" he yelled, hefting a huge club.
"What have I done?" I yelled, kicking a dragon head. "I'm being attacked by a hundred-headed dragon, and all you can do is pin it on me?"
"Well," Mandy said, whacking a dragon head and dodging fire, "You do have a reputation for doing things".
I slashed with my dagger and looked at Mandy incredulously, then nodded and shrugged. "Can't deny that, but how do I kill this thing?!"
"I—" Mandy said. "I'm not sure". Suddenly Mandy was whacked with the dragon's tail and was sent flying through the air, where he hit a tree and slumped to the ground.
"Mandy!" I screamed. I turned back to the dragon. It stared at me with eyes of hate. I knew the end was near. There was no way I was going to defeat this thing. I prayed to every god I could think of that I would make it to Elysium. Please Hades, I thought, I didn't mean all those pranks. It was just a bit of fun.
Suddenly I noticed my pocket was heavier. My eyes widened as I pulled out the whistle Annabeth had given me. without hesitation, I blew on it as hard as I could. A sharp, high-pitched sound rang in the air.
In a matter of minutes I heard a bleating sound, and a satyr came into view. It was Grover.
"Jo!" he yelled when he saw the dragon. "What did you do?!"
"Why does everyone think I did it?" I shouted.
Grover groaned and dodged a dragon head. "I have an idea," he said.
"Ideas are good," I said, slashing with my dagger.
"You distract it," Grover said.
"Ok," I said, then ran off in the opposite direction, screaming. The dragon roared and turned toward me and away from Grover. I slashed and dodged, while I trusted that Grover knew what he was doing.
Out of his pocket, Grover produced a pair of reed pipes. He lifted them to his lips and began to play. The weeds around the dragon's feet began to twist and grow.
I looked at Grover in amazement, but quickly discovered not to get distracted when fighting a dragon. I kicked and the one of the dragon's heads screamed.
The weeds grew and grew, encasing the dragon in roots. Finally the whole thing was encased in a tree, and was nothing more than another tree in the forest.
I sighed and leaned against the tree. "Nice job Goat boy".
Grover squinted his eyes at the name, but nodded.
I looked up at the tree. "Wow. Do you think it's still alive?"
A muffled roar from inside the tree answered me, and I stepped away from it. Then I remembered. "Mandy!" I ran over to the older satyr. Mandy was breathing, but unconscious.
"Oh, come on Mandy," I murmured. "Wake up".
Grover walked over, but didn't say a word. The look on his face was one that I couldn't quite place.
Mandy's eyes fluttered open. "What?" he said.
"Mandy, you're alive!" I hugged him.
"Um, yes," Mandy said, trying to stand. Then he saw Grover, and he froze.
"Mandy," Grover said.
I looked between the two satyrs. "You know Mandy?"
Mandy put a hand to his forehead. "Oh, no".
"Mandy, I thought you were dead!" Grover yelled. "All these years!"
"I know, and I'm sorry Grover, but it was for the best".
"How is it the best when I'm lied to?"
"Wait!" I said. "Mandy, how do you know Grover?"
"Jo," Grover said. "Mandy is my uncle".
So there's chapter 14! hope you liked it!