Momo experiences her first camp game of capture the flag. 

/ 

The bathhouse was quaint—which was to say it was excessively lavish from ceiling to floor. She appreciated the Greek marble decor nonetheless. Momo took her time cleaning off all the grim from the training earlier. Nayeon definitely knew how to spar, as expected from a Daughter of Ares.

A little later and Momo was on the path to the Dining Pavilion, now spick and span and not looking like an extra on a zombie movie set.

There was already a ruckus emanating from the direction of the courtyard. Campers were sitting around and eating their food, conversing with others. The torches lit the area as it slowly got darker.

Momo grabbed a plate and scraped her offering into the fire. She ate at the Hermes table as she was still undetermined. 15 minutes flew by fast before she got up. Spotting the others, she quickly made her way over to their usual table.

“Hey! How was training?” Jihyo greeted her with a sunny disposition as usual. Momo suspected that Jihyo would still be as bright and kind even if she wasn’t a Daughter of Apollo.

“Ugh. Brutal.” Momo swiped a cookie from Chaeyoung’s accumulated pile of desserts. “Nayeon says I’m pretty good with my sword and spear though.”

She turned to Chaeyoung across from her. “Which, by the way, is awesome !”

A big close-lipped smile turned up on Chaeyoung’s face. She fist-bumped Momo before returning to her excessive mountain pile of sweets.

“So does that mean you’re ready for a game of Capture the Flag?” Dahyun grinned mischievously. “The next game is tonight, actually.”

“Capture the Flag?” Momo questioned as she munched on her cookie.

Mina explained the game with unexpected enthusiasm. “Yeah! We play it every Friday night in the woods. The camp is split into two teams and each is given a flag. The first team that captures the other team’s flag and carries it across the creek wins. The winning team gets to have first pick on the activity and camp chore schedule.”

“ That , sounds awesome!” Momo could feel herself get hyped up. This sounded like an epic camp game.

“So you’re in?” Mina asked with an excited smile.

“Of course! When is it?”

“Since today is Friday, it’ll be after dinner. Chiron usually announces the teams here.” Sana cut into the conversation smoothly.

Momo almost didn’t expect Sana to answer.

Ok, stay calm. You can talk to pretty girls all the time… ok, that’s a lie.

Wait, she’s still looking at me—oh wow… her smile is so pretty.

Oh crap—did I forget to respond? What do I say?!

Chiron’s hoofsteps echoed on the Dining Pavilion’s marble floor, inadvertently saving Momo from her internal dilemma.

“Oh, speak of the centaur.”

The group turned as Chiron stood near the center of the Dining Pavilion. With the big fire roaring behind him, Chiron looked different. Rather than the Camp Half-Blood director that she knew him as, he looked like the thousand year old centaur that trained the famous demigods heroes: Hercules, Perseus, and all the others.

Chiron easily gathered the campers’ attention with a resounding hoof stomp. “Campers! It is time for our traditional game of Capture the Flag!”

He was met with loud and excited cheers from the crowd of demigods.

“The teams for tonight’s game are: Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Zeus, and Hypnos VS Athena, Apollo, Demeter, Hecate and Nike.”

When the teams were announced, the cabins responded with loud cheers and yells of battle taunts. Momo looked at the Ares cabin who looked eager and ready to fight. She wouldn’t be surprised if one of them started a food fight right then and there.

“The rest of the cabins will either be on the medic team or part of the game referees. You may prepare now. When you are ready, meet at the entrance of the Woods.”

The crowd was buzzing with excitement. Some campers left in a hurry to prepare. Momo turned back to the group.

“So… do we leave now?”

“Yes. We should be off preparing. See you guys at the Woods!” Jihyo said before she got up.

Half the table left. Momo looked around; Chaeyoung, Jeongyeon, Nayeon, and Dahyun were the remaining members.

Jeongyeon beamed at her. “Since you’re still unclaimed and staying with the Hermes cabin, you’ll be on our team for tonight’s game.”

Momo smirked. “ Please tell me you have traps prepared.”

Jeongyeon fake-scoffed at her question. “The Hermes Cabin is always ready with traps.”

“C’mon, let’s get our gear. I still need to get revenge on the Athena cabin for the last game.” Nayeon had a wicked smirk as she stood up. That prompted the others to do the same.

“Grab what you need and let’s get to the Woods.”

//

The five met up with their team near the entrance of the Woods. Momo was walking beside Chaeyoung before they all stopped.

The crowd was split right down the middle, both teams on either side. Nayeon and Sana locked eyes and made dissing gestures towards each other. They were joking of course, their gestures turned into laughter shortly after.

Chiron stood in the middle and cleared his throat. The crowd quieted down and the centaur began speaking quickly.

“Alright campers, you know the rules. The first team over the creek with the flag wins. The entire forest is the playing field. NO maiming or killing. Yes, prisoners are allowed. Magical items and weapons are permitted.”

Chiron looked around at the campers before saying his final piece. “You may go now. The sound of the horn will be the start of the game. Beware the monsters!”

The campers scattered—everyone ran into their team’s side of the woods. Momo kept pace with her own group as they marched.

Passing through the woodland terrain, Momo asked Dahyun next to her. “Monsters?”

“Oh! Yeah, there’s plenty of them in the woods. Chiron said it’s part of training. Eventually, we’ll encounter monsters in the outside world so better to be prepared now.”

The team stopped as they reached their flag. It was planted in the ground where a pile of rocks and trees surrounded it.

Nayeon got up on the top of a rock and clanked her spear and shield together, gathering the demigods’ attention. Momo fastened the straps on her armor as Nayeon prepared her speech.

“Alright campers! Here’s our strategy towards victory tonight.” The crowd roared at the early notion of victory.

“Hermes cabin; go ahead and scatter your traps through the woods. Do what you do best! Ares cabin, with me! We’ll be on the offensive. Hephaestus cabin; I need you on the defensive. They’ll try to blindside us on the sides. Make sure you and Hermes cabin cover the area. The Hypnos cabin will be guarding our flag here.”

Nayeon turned towards her direction next and said, “Momo, you’re with Dahyun. You two will try to sneak in and grab the flag. There will be other pairs sneaking in throughout the night so watch out for each other. Everybody got it?”

The demigods roared their response with their weapons in the air. The energy was simply infectious and Momo was compelled to join in.

Just then the sound of a horn resonated throughout the forest—the game has begun.

“If you’re patrolling or on guard duty, get to your stations now! The rest of you, stick to the plan!”

The campers moved quickly, each getting to their assigned role. Momo spotted Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung running to the side, wicked grins were set on their faces as they carried crates in their arms. Momo didn’t want to know—she could smell the content’s strong scent from far away.

“Ares cabin, with me!” Nayeon shouted. The Ares kids’ spears and shields metallically clanked and rattled as they fell in line with a “HOO-RAH!” and the sound of stomping carried them away towards the direction of enemy territory.

Momo made eye contact with Dahyun. Both of them sported an infectious grin.

“You ready?”

“Hell yeah!”

They ran towards the median of the woods—the creek. Momo knew where the source of water was even though she’s never been in these woods before. She found the fact to be strange but didn’t question it in the middle of the game. They found the creek before long.

“Let’s cross quickly! They’ve got the Apollo cabin on their side. Archers everywhere man!” The splashing of their shoes disrupted the otherwise quiet water.

The two snuck across the creek and into the woods, using the thick trees and foliage as cover. Momo saw movement in the distance but recognized them as campers from the Hermes cabin. They were laying tripwires and hanging nets of water balloons on tree branches.

Dahyun and Momo resumed their sneaking. Shouting and fighting noises began a few yards in front of them. Surprised by the sudden clamor of battle, they quickly ducked behind some trees. Momo could clearly hear Nayeon above the din of battle. She was doing a great job of taking down campers and disarming them.

A rain of arrows interrupted the Ares cabin’s decimating attack. Momo peeked around a thick tree trunk to see the Apollo cabin on the trees, firing down.

“Shields up! Turtle formation!” Nayeon commanded. A dome of shields suddenly formed. Momo was left awestruck at the cabin’s flawless movements in sync.

“Charge!” Mina’s voice carried over the woods as her and a number of campers descended from behind the eastern treeline.

“Ambush!” An Ares kid at the forefront of the shield dome yelled out.

Despite his warning, his cabin still suffered under the Apollo cabin’s volley of arrows so they weren’t quick enough to form ranks against the Athena cabin’s rush.

Jihyo and Tzuyu were quick to rain down some more arrows while they were perched up high. “Archers—keep firing! They don’t stand a chance!”
 

“Quick! While everyone’s distracted!” Dahyun whispered.

Momo followed after her, ducking further into the foliage and sneaking around the battle. Running from the battle felt wrong to her, especially since the Ares cabin looked like they were faltering against the enemy’s combo attack. But she had to remind herself to keep her mind on the prize: the flag.

“Keep your eyes on the treeline!” Another hushed whisper from Dahyun.

Momo kept her eyes up for archers while Dahyun watched the ground for any hidden traps. The two snuck their way around the main forces until they reached the enemy camp. They spotted the enemy’s flag in the middle of it all. It was planted into the ground and two campers stood guard 12 yards away from it.

The two demigods observed the seemingly empty encampment from their hiding place in the bushes. It was quiet until Dahyun whispered to her.

“Ok, I’ll distract them. You should stay hidden until they’re both gone. Then take the flag and cross the creek!”

Momo nodded and prepared herself. Dahyun dashed out of their cover as soon as she saw Momo nod.

Being a Child of Zeus, Dahyun quickly gained speed before taking off the ground with a muffled yelp. She grabbed one of the guards and zipped away. The other guard was startled and started chasing after her.

Momo waited for a minute before dashing out. She grabbed the flag and tied it to her belt before running back towards the creek. Once again, her instincts told her where the water was.

After a couple minutes of running, Momo heard another set of footsteps. The hairs on her neck stood up, prompting her to duck just as a sword swung over her head. Momo rolled forward, evading another sword swing.

Momo drew her sword out and faced the attacker. She was surprised to see that it was Sana. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t see her during the Athena cabin’s ambush.

“Impressive. But you won’t be going any further from here.” Sana held her sword and shield up, her steady and calculating gaze kept Momo at bay.

Momo mimicked her stance, drawing her sword arm up in a defensive posture. Her eyes darted around, trying to see if there were anybody nearby to help her.

“Sorry but I gotta get back to camp. I’m trying to win this game, ya know?” She replied cheekily, prompting Sana to grin at her confident-filled words.

“Been here for a few days and Nayeon’s already inflated your ego, huh.”

Sana started to move slowly. Momo followed along and now the two were circling each other.

“I dunno, I’m a fast learner.”

Momo locked eyes with Sana. She could feel the tension and anticipation build as their circling slowed down.

For a brief moment, nothing but the distant sound of battle traveled through the air.

Momo felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up from the tense silence between them.

Sana struck first, her sword lashing out with a speed only an experienced demigod possessed.

Momo barely recovered from the sudden attack with a horizontal parry. She pushed Sana away by putting her weight behind her sword. Sana sprung back at her with a rebounding shield bash. Momo had to leap out of the way. She did not want to be hit with that. The thing looked heavy enough with Sana just holding it.

The two exchanged blow after blow. Each swing of her sword would clang off of Sana’s sword or shield.

Sparks flew.

Momo noticed Sana’s wide grin during the whole exchange, noticed how it mirrored her own.

While warding off Sana’s attacks, she heard movement in the clearing ahead. Momo was in enemy territory so it was most likely Sana’s teammates. She couldn’t afford to be captured here. The flag was with her and the creek wasn’t too far off. Victory was so close!

She had to move .

“Sorry but looks like I gotta go!”

With a surprising lunge, Momo crossed swords with Sana. Sana parried it of course, but Momo was counting on that. With their swords locked, Momo tightened her grip before locking their hilts together and sweeping her sword in an arc. The movement caught Sana off guard and resulted in the disarming of her sword hand.

Momo grinned victoriously. She took in the sweet image of Sana’s stunned face before running away. Sana stood stunned for a couple more seconds, giving Momo the opportunity to further the distance between them.

Momo ran like she never ran before—and she’s a college track athlete so that’s saying something. Excitement of the upcoming victory and the adrenaline from the recent fight pumped through her body, giving her the energy to sprint through the woods.

A zipping sound came behind her. Momo turned her head to see Dahyun.

“Hey you did it! Jump!"

Dahyun got excited when she saw the flag secured to Momo’s belt. She flew behind and got closer to the ground and to her friend. Momo jumped up, her hands reaching out. Dahyun caught her in time.

Gotta love the Eagle.

The two zoomed through the woods. Getting closer and closer to the creek.

“A little more! I can practically taste the victory party!” Dahyun shouted just as the creek came into view.

Momo was never so happy to see water before.

We crossed it!

Dahyun landed them on their side of the creek, effectively making them the winners. She and Momo started jumping around and cheering. Seconds later, the sound of the horn blew again, signaling the end of the game.

Slowly, the rest of the campers emerged from the woods. The winning team circled Dahyun and Momo, cheering loudly as a group. The campers started chanting something in Greek. Momo didn’t catch what they said due to the sheer loudness but she understood the joy in their tone all the same.