Chapter Seven:

I looked at the clothes, not much but cute, I guess. They gave me a black jacket with different zipper pockets along the arms, a sky blue v-neck t-shirt with a very small spaghetti stain on the sleeve. Then there was a forest green long sleeve plain shirt. Blue jeans and knee high slightly worn boots. Apparently some of these Aphrodite kids do not wear their clothes twice.

I quickly jumped into the jeans and layered the blue shirt on top of the green and threw on the jacket. I looked in the mirror and I swear I saw my Mom in the mirror instead of me. No not like I was so much like her that I practically was her, no this was Mom. She lifted her hand to the mirror, I lifted my own hand as if to try and touch her. Our hands met together but the mirror seemed to separate us, “Save the Olympians.” She whispered.
“Yes Mom!” I cried out, “How?”
The image of my mother began to fade and disappear, “Mom!?”
Before she completely vanished she replied, “Be ready.”
“MOM!”
It completely faded away. “Mom!”
“Be ready.” Her voice whispered again.

Later that night...

As you might imagine there must have been some argument as to what team I would play on. Well Thalia, and some of the other Hunters, hate my guts and hated me for the literal fact for existing. Then there was a technically that this game was against the campers and the hunters: technically I wasn't a hunter well I'm just not a hunter. So I was with team Camp Half-Blood.

A girl named Annabeth from Athena's cabin was devising the strategy while another girl named Clarisse from Ares cabin was trying her hardest to get Annabeth to go with her strategy.
“Come on! Make this simple: post a couple of guards to the flag and send everyone else into distract the Hunters and then send Ares to get the flag!” Clarisse complained.

Annabeth wasn't very good at listening obviously, “Let's use each cabin for their gifts: Percy, Iris Cabin, Aphrodite, you guys are going to draw the hunters to the lake side. Do anything to grab their attention.” A guy with dark hair and sea green eyes gave a smirk and a leisure salute and replied with a smirk on his face, “Sure thing Wise Girl.”
Annabeth ignored him, “Dionysus you draw the Hunters out to the other side of the woods.”
“Party on the west side!” One kid replied

“Now to the defenses! Hecate: you will guard the border, control the mist make it hard to see for them. Next layer: Hephaestus, use anything that won't kill them.”
“Aww man!” My attention was diverted to a bunch of kids with greasy clothing as one guy with curly brown locks and a large tool belt stomped the ground, “That makes it less fun!”
“Killing someone?” A camper asked.
The guy put out his arm and waved his hand, “Pish, naw! Just the thought that you could be killed raises the steaks!”

Annabeth rolled her eyes and looked back at her map, “Hypnos you'll be behind them, put them to sleep. But make sure we'll be able to wake them when the game is over.”
Annabeth continued, “Aphrodite, I'm counting on you guys to push them back with whatever you can use. Unclaimed kids you need to fool them where the flag is and lead them away as much as possible. I need a few volunteers from my cabin, Ares, and Hermes to stay behind to help with the defenses.” Annabeth looked up and waited for the volunteers, a couple from each cabin raised their hands.
“Alright. To the offensive: Ares, Apollo, Athena our job is to create a gap large enough for Hermes to get through and steal the flag.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Annabeth looked around the team of campers, “Did I leave anyone out?”
I looked around for a second and shyly raised my hand.
“Oh yes Hannah! You'll be guarding the flag.” Annabeth's attention returned to the whole group, “Everyone got it?”
We all nodded our heads. Annabeth then turned to Clarisse and smiled, “Lead on the offensive!”
Clarisse smiled, and sheathed her sword and raised it high, “FOR CAMP HALF-BLOOD!” The Ares cabin joined in her in her battle cry and so did others for the fun of it. I leaned to Darren who was beside me, “Wow you guys really take this seriously.”
Darren laughed, “We've never won against The Hunters before.”
“We haven't?”

Before Darren ran off with his siblings he playfully punched my shoulder and shouted, “Good luck!” as he ran into the forest, and before I knew it I was alone. The torches went out and I was in the dark. But a strange thing happened and I could see in the dark, not like night vision. No like it was dark but I could see anything and everything. I didn't time to marvel at this and quickly climbed up a tree. I stopped up at the highest branch that would hold me, (which was seriously high but this time heights didn't bother me), and just waited.

Well being up a tree was boring! I turned on my back and stared into the night sky, the stars were few cause of the camp's lighting, but it was still pretty. I stared at the moon and I was reminded of Mom again. “Be ready” She had warned me. Ready for what?
“Hannah Batson?”

At this point I was in a slight balancing act on a branch, and hearing my name by someone who was directly behind me, scared the living daylights out of me. Which in turn made me fall out of my perch, and plummet to the ground.
Then a body appeared beside me and then suddenly caught me, “We can't have you fall to death can we?”
He, yes I had determined that this was a guy, floated down to the ground and gently set my feet on the ground. I was able to see him fully now, and this was a legit mailman that just saved me! Let me tell you this now: The Demigod life is weird. The guy tipped his mailman cap, “Hermes Messenger of the gods, and the god that has anything to do with a road. I have a package,” He reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a long rectangular package, “for a,” he stared at the white tag on it, “Hannah Batson.”

He looked at me, “You're Hannah Batson correct?”
I nodded, “Yes I am.”
He whipped out a clipboard and handed it to me with a pen, “Sign here please.” He said pointing to a dotted line. I quickly jotted down my name and I handed the clipboard back to him. Hermes smiled and replied, “Good deal.” the clipboard went up in a puff of smoke and it transformed into his caduceus thing, and he handed me the package. “Have a good day Miss Batson.” He tipped his hat again and started to glow. The glowing intensified, and he added, “Oh you might want to look away if you don't want to disintegrate!” I took his advise, and blocked my eyes with my arm. Then a flash of light, and he was gone.

My eyes adjusted to the dark, and I quickly clamored up my tree again and perched on a high branch. I saw an envelope on the package, and gently tore it off the box. “Hannah Batson” It read. Yeah I can probably read in the dark, but the writing seemed to have been written in liquid sun or shimmering gold. I opened the envelope and began to read the letter

Ok, here's the deal:
As you probably know your Mother (my sister) is in “goddess time out” I totally wish I could crash the epic game of Capture the Flag, but thanks to the recent grounding that happened I have to drive both the sun AND the moon across the sky. But anyway I think this whole deal was put together by Hades.

But here's what I need you to do for the time being: open the box-”

I pulled out my hunting knife that I got from Piper and very extremely very quietly cut the tape, and opened the box. Inside was a set of bow and arrows, there were silver and engraved with different markings, it was silver and it glowed like the moon. I easily recognized them as Mom's. I dared to touch them but my hand jerked back. I looked back to the note:

Yes they are your Mother's. They were taken from her 'cause well you get the picture. But a certain god of thieves that just happened to be sympathetic to our cause took it off of Hades' hands. Anyway take these and two other demigods, that you KNOW you can trust, and go to a small town in Louisiana called “Oak Grove” meet me at the ice cream shop in town in four days. Oh and walk up to Rachel the oracle and she'll give you a prophecy for your quest. DO NOT TELL ANYONE about this quest other than the two that are coming with you. I do not know all that are on our side. So be careful.
Bring the letter with you as well.

Signed,
Apollo

I looked back at the box, “Ok what do I do with the extras?” I then touched the bow and it suddenly turned to mist, and I jumped back as the mist traveled up my arms and came to my back. It covered my quiver (the little bag that whole the arrows) and the next thing I knew I didn't just have a training bow and arrows, it was my Mother's set. I smiled and took my mother's silver bow in my hands. Then I looked back at the moon, “I miss you mother.”

Then my alarms went off, I heard a rustling as the wind picked up. My eyes darted around listening for someone. But these were hunters: they were trained by Artemis for perhaps thousands of years! Oh cow, I might be in more trouble and this wasn't even real combat. Yikes, and I was already on they’re bad side. I crouched like a panther on my branch and peered over the side and watched the flag. A lone hunter came in the clearing. I looked closer and I recognized that it was Thalia. I pulled a shaft out of my quiver and readied my bow.

Thalia looked around surveying the immediate area. She didn't even think about looking up at me, but once she thought she was safe she reached for the flag. I fired my bow and it silently sailed through the air and it caught on Thalia's shirt and the pull was so strong that I pinned her to a tree. I quickly jumped to another tree and pulled another arrow out of my quiver and shot another arrow and ended up pinning Thalia's other arm. I disappeared into another tree and I saw Thalia looking around the trees to find me. I stayed in the shadows waiting for her move. Then my alarms kicked in again as I heard something. This time it wasn't for a game, but for real, I sensed something evil coming. I pulled out another shaft and readied my bow scanning the immediate area.

Then a someone in a hood and cloak came into the clearing. Thalia looked at her, “Who are you?!” She demanded. The person in the hood said nothing. I lept from my spot in the tree and tumbled on the ground and stood up pointing my bow at the person in the hood. Thalia saw me and I saw her eyes had both rage for pinning her, and thankfulness for help. “You heard her,” I said, “Who are you?” The person turned and, yes it was a girl, that was African American, and had cinnamon colored curly hair peeking out of the hood. Even under the darkness of the hood I could see her face but I couldn't tell what eye color she had, she smiled. She then quickly grabbed Thalia by the neck and melted into the shadows. It was so quick I couldn't even get my shot off.

When they were gone I just stared in disbelief. I put my hand to my head and tried to figure out what just happened. Then I ears picked up a cry for help, it sounded like that kid that wanted to raise the steaks to make this game more fun. I hurried into the woods and saw columns of fire bursting from, the guy! “HAZEL I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S COME OVER YOU-!” He shouted. I came close, the guy pulled out a wrench out from his tool belt, and swung it around him in a circle.

I readied my bow again and tried to fire at an invisible enemy. “Hey!” I shouted.
The guy turned to me, “Hey new girl!”
I joined up with him, “Back to back!” I shouted.
He grinned and we protected each other's back. “The name's Leo.” he replied.
I kept my aim up, “Hannah. Who is this Hazel?”
“A friend of mine.” Leo replied.
“What she look like?” I asked, my eyes still searching for an enemy.
“Black, has golden eye, and cinnamon curly hair, but she was wearing this cloak I never saw her wear before.”

I gasped, “She just took Thalia!”
“What? That doesn't sound like her.”
I looked over my shoulder, “She did just attack you.”
“Tou-”

Leo sentence was cut short and I no longer felt the heat of someone behind me. I turned around and found that Leo was gone!