The Next Generation: The Beginning

Mia's POV

I ran to our side and saw Carlos and Bianca standing inside a circle of the campers that made up our team. Carlos was giving a speech.

"Alright guys," he began. "This is it- as soon as Chiron gives the ok there is one mission and one mission only- get the red team's flag and protect ours at all costs. Oh and have fun and stay safe. Now let's do this!" The group erupted into cheers. Carlos walked over to me.

"Nervous?"

"A little." He pulled me into a hug.

"Don't worry; I'll protect you." I laughed.

"And that's why your nickname is il Mio protettore." He laughed with me. Bianca signaled him.

"I have to go- you'll be fine."

"Thanks. Good luck!"

"You too." He hugged me one last time and jogged over to Bianca. I headed to the back of the group and waited.

"Welcome to Capture the Flag!" Chiron announced, causing the two teams to erupt in cheers. "Now experienced campers know the drill, but for the new ones, I'll go over the rules." An audible groan rang out from the older kids. Chiron rolled his eyes.

"Deal with it!" and proceeded to list the rules but I wasn't paying attention; I was planning my route to where we were hiding the flag. Being the final line of defense I have to be as close to the flag as possible. When Chiron got my attention again, he was finishing up his speech.

"You are not trying to hurt anyone severely. And most of all, have fun! Now let the games begin!" The crowd cheered again. Then the horn blew and I ran. I hid in a tree for what felt like hours. No one had breached the first lines of defense so it was pretty uneventful. I was thinking about getting down to see how things were going when I heard footsteps. A twig snapped.

"Be quiet! ... final line of defense...piece of cake... one person... new kid... but they're a really good archer... shut it! We're here." I drew my bow as three kids came into view. One of my best skills with a bow and arrow is the speed I can shoot and reload. One of the kids reached for the flag and not trying to hurt them I saw that he had a baggy sleeve so I let go and pinned him to a tree by his sleeve. I did the same thing to another girl but by the hood of her jacket.

"What the-," the last boy said as I jumped down from the tree. I knew I was running out of arrows and that they wouldn't hold the others to the trees for long. The last boy drew a sword. I knew it would take him a second to get it out and I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I whipped around to shoot an arrow. I pinned the other arm of the first boy and drew my dagger. I met his sword head-on. We engaged in combat for a few minutes then I got his left arm. He hissed. In the distance, the horn blew, causing me to look away. We won! Then I felt a searing pain in my side. Doubling over in pain, I pulled my arm away. Blood.

"I'm so sorry!" The kid who hit me said. "I was just trying to get your arm but then you moved!"

"It's ok," I said through gritted teeth. "Just leave me alone." He left with the others and I headed to join the rest of the team. I saw Carlos being lifted on the shoulders of some kid, raising the flag like a trophy. We locked eyes over the crowd and he got down and jogged over to me. When he reached me, he hugged me, picking me up and spinning me in a circle. I laughed.

"We won! We won!" he put me down. I felt another shooting pain in my side, causing me to wrap my arms around my waist, wincing, and hissing in discomfort.

"Mia, what's wrong?" I shook my head.

"Nothing, I'm fine." I lied.

"You're hurt." This was a statement I neither confirmed nor denied. Against my will, he picked me up and started to take me to the infirmary. I struggled and tried to resist him but he's stronger than me.

"Carlos, if you don't put me down this instant I swear-" he put me down. At first, a smug expression graced my face, but in all my struggling, I hadn't realized that we were already at the infirmary. I shot Carlos a death glare, which he ignored.

"Dad!" Our dad responded to his call, looking up from the patient to which he was currently attending. "Mia got hurt." When he said it, it almost felt like he was tattling on me. Dad rushed over, scanning my body for injuries.

"Dad I'm fine it's really nothing- I'm sure there are patients who are more severely injured than me. He saw the gash and scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, ok." He said sarcastically and started to clean the wound. Then just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, my papà shadow traveled to the infirmary.

"Mia, what in Hades happened to you?!"

"Oh my gods, calm down! It's just a scratch!" He gave me a skeptical look.

"That," he said, referring to the gash. "Is not a scratch." I couldn't really argue but seriously; they can be so overdramatic sometimes! Adding to the list of people here to see me, Joey burst through the door. We locked eyes.

"You good?" I nodded.

"What happened?" Papà asked again. Joey told them the explanation the kid had given me (how he knew it, I don't know).

"You should have seen her!" He stated enthusiastically after the story. "She took on three kids by herself. She shot two of them from a tree and fought the last one with a sword. She's the best one in our class. She should be on the Incoming Camper Protection Team (ICPT)!" My dad hesitated.

"I don't know... that job is for the best, most experienced fighters at camp..." Carlos spoke up.

"She can do it. I've seen her fight."

"But she's never even fought a monster!"

"Oh my gods! Ya know, I'm right here- why not just ask me?!"

"Well, how do you feel?" My papà said.

"I think I can do it." I nodded confidently.

"Well I ask Chiron; if he says it's ok, then you can join the team." My papà agreed. I saw my dad whispering something in Carlos's ear, but I shrugged it off; it's probably nothing.

"Thanks, dad! Grazie papà!" I kissed them each on the cheek and with Joey following behind me, I left the infirmary.

Nico's POV

I saw Will lean in to whisper into Carlos's ear, after which he gave me a look saying I'll tell you once everyone's gone, which he did.

"I told Carlos to bring the kids over tonight- it's time to tell them." I nodded. So at around 7:00, we were all sitting around the kitchen table when Ben spoke up.

"So what did you want to tell us?" I took Will's hand giving it a squeeze and an encouraging smile, which he returned. Then he took a deep breath and said

"Mia's in a prophecy."

*Sigh* Those Di Angelo's, always downplaying their injuries and over exaggerating other peoples'. Oh and: duh duh duuuuuuuuhhhh! Sorry for the cliffhanger! Well, not really ;)