Any suggestions?

“Annabeth! Annabeth!” Someone was shaking me.

I opened my eyes. “M-m-malcolm?”

“Yes, Annabeth, it’s me, Malcolm. What’s wrong?” Malcolm, my second-in-command, asked me. His gray eyes were full of worry.

“I’m fine. What time is it?” I asked sitting up.

“You are definitely NOT fine! Why were you screaming?”

“I’ll answer your question after you answer mine.”

“You missed breakfast. It’s almost 10:30. Now, why were you screaming?”

I stretched and yawned. “I was having a nightmare. Isn’t today Friday?”

“Yeah. Come on, you need to get ready for Capture the Flag. This time, it’s us against the Ares cabin. And don't worry, Percy's on OUR team."

“Alright, let’s get it going.” I stood up and got my sword from under my bed. I had shown it to Nyssa, second-in-command to Leo, and she had stared at it in wonder. The blade was supposedly magically enhanced; the blade, the grip, even the tiniest point on the tip of it would never change. Well, it could be changed, but Nyssa couldn’t find out how.

I sheathed it as Malcolm said, “We want to put to flag on what was once Zeus’ Fist, but we weren’t sure how you would react to it.”

“Please no. I still have images of the battle imprinted on my mind.” They flashed into view. Kampe fighting, her poison blades slicing through the air. Briares, throwing the many rocks, burying Kampe were Zeus’ Fist once was. The skeleton warriors Nico had summoned fighting with no end.

“That’s what we thought. We could just go behind Zeus’ Fist, in that clearing near Juniper’s tree, remember?”

I nodded. “That place is very sheltered. I guess that works. Come on, let’s go.”

We walked toward the creek.

Percy stood there grinning. His armor was crooked. “Hi, Owl Head. You really were being such an owl today.”

“Your armor is crooked, Seaweed Brain.” I straightened it out. “I just had a nightmare.”

“Oh. Was it about the new kid?”

“How do you know about Jacob?” I asked.

“Chiron introduced him during breakfast. He’s being put in the Big House for now. But for Capture the Flag, he’s in the Hermes cabin. And meals.”

“Okay. So, you have a plan?”

“Yep. So I take a group over to one side of the creek. Clarisse will probably follow me, because she’s still wanting revenge from the toilet thing. Then three other groups will split off, one on the east side, one in the middle, and one on the west side. They will curve around the sides, catching any guards. After a few more minutes, you will lead a group through the forest and up to the flag. Your group will take the flag and run toward the creek, unless one of the three groups gets to the flag. Then we win!” He pumped his hands in the air.

“Yeah, but there’s a problem. Do we have that many people?”

Percy looked around. “I think we do.”

I laughed. “We might have just barely enough, Seaweed Brain.”

He relaxed. “Oh, good. I was thinking we might not-” I suddenly felt queasy. Percy must’ve too, because he leaned over, clutching his stomach, and groaned, “What was -urg- that?”

Black clouds darkened the sky. The silvery voice cackled. “My nightmare.” I said.

“Are you prepared, demigods?” He said. “Are you… ready?” He cackled again.

Chiron galloped over to the edge of the demigods. “You are not welcome here.”

The voice laughed. “Really? What can you say, centaur? My servants released me from my prison. I will change the world… Forever!” A face leaned out of the clouds, a giant face. It looked at all of us demigods, and it was really creepy. It faced Chiron and said, “Boo.”

Everything deteriorated into chaos.

Notes