text: [Themes: family friendly]
  
  There's no point in taking stupid risks. Now that you know where the flag is, if you survive, you can bring back the information to your teammates and make a plan of attack. You leap to your feet, and sprint through the trees. The sound of twigs snapping tells you there's someone crashing behind you, but you think you're gaining distance on them. You're sure you can make it back to your territory before they catch you.
  
  That said, you haven't got time to be choosy about where you put your feet. You scowl as you splash through a swampy patch of woods. At least it'll soak your pursuer too.
  
  Soon, the stream that marks the border is in sight. You jump over with undue confidence, and then whip around, prepared to seriously taunt your pursuer.
  
  There's no one there.
  
  "Rats," you mutter, and scan the branches. Nothing. You were so sure you heard someone chasing you... maybe they just gave up after you ran through that pond junior a while back.
  
  Either way, the question is, what now?
  
  You've still seen neither hide nor hair of Stacy and Katherine, and you haven't the faintest idea where you'd start to look for them. You could head back into enemy territory. That might help you find the pair, and if not, you'd have the chance to make another pass at the flag, only this time from a better angle. Or, you could head back over to your side and meet up with the defense. It's possible Stacy and Katherine went back over there to meet up after you were separated.
  
  > go back into your territory
  It's best if you take a moment to get everything sorted out with your teammates. Besides, they need to know where the flag is in case you get captured. You jog back into your side of the woods.
  
  It doesn't take long to get to the flag, since you know where you're going. On the way, you run into Mike patrolling near the flag. "Hey," you say. "Have you seen Stacy and Katherine?"
  
  "No," he answers. "Why? Are they missing?"
  
  "We got separated," you explain. "I haven't seen them since."
  
  "Maybe Harriet's seen them." Mike starts off into the woods. "She should be right over here, let's go."
  
  You follow Mike a short ways before the pair of you run into Harriet, patrolling a little closer to the border. "Have you seen Stacy and Katherine?" you ask, but she shakes her head. Well, you'll have to use plan B then.
  
  You explain to Harriet and Mike what happened while you were gone, and where the flag is. "Problem is, it's going to be hard to sneak up on them in that position, especially since they know I know where it is now."
  
  "I'd like to try going on offense, if that's okay," says Harriet. "I have a few ideas."
  
  "But then I'd be the only one left on defense," points out Mike. "And none of them are out yet."
  
  > go with Harriet on offense
  "They're not going to attack you all five at once," you reassure. "If we're quick about finding Stacy and Katherine, we can send some people back to you in no time."
  
  Mike doesn't look happy, but he doesn't argue either. You suppose you'd be equally dissatisfied if YOU were the only one defending the flag. But you're sure this is the best option.
  
  You and Harriet jog through the woods over to the brook, then cross. It's important that you move fast, so you don't bother to be as quiet as you normally would.
  
  "Where did you last see Stacy and Katherine?" asks Harriet.
  
  "Oh, over here," you say, altering course. "Careful, it's really muddy." You step cautiously in the mud, it's practically pulling your shoes off.
  
  "Are those your footprints?" she asks, pointing at the ground.
  
  You squint. "No," you say, leaning closer. "They're not!" The footprints are definitely not yours, you were never in quiet this part of the woods, and there are a lot of them. They get mixed up at first, but then all lead away in the same direction.
  
  "There's three sets," you realize.
  
  "So?" asks Harriet.
  
  "That means they must have been captured." You and Alexsis usually play with the rules that when someone is tagged, they go to a jail. Someone who's in can tag someone who's out back out of jail, but once you're tagged back in, you have to run back to your own territory before you can rejoin the game. Getting the pair of them out of jail will be difficult, and... you already know where the flag is.
  
  > go get Stacy and Katherine out of jail
  "Let's go after them," you decide. "We'll have to be careful, but it'll be a lot easier to get the flag with more of us."
  
  "They lead this way," says Harriet, and the pair of you make your way through the swamp.
  
  It only gets swampier as you go. By the time the sound voices up ahead becomes distinguishable, you and Harriet are basically clinging to tree roots to avoid losing your shoes in the muck.
  
  "There they are," you whisper, peering through the leaves. The opposing team's jail seems to be a dry space in between and on top of the roots of a large tree. Stacy and Katherine are chatting with Jonathan, who seems to be the one guarding them.
  
  "I have an idea," whispers Harriet. "But I need you to be the distraction."
  
  You hesitate. You're not sure how skilled a player Harriet is, and you don't know how you feel about being the distraction for a plan that has no guarantee of success.
  
  > Agree to be the distraction
  "Alright, sure," you decide. "I'm going to circle around the right, and pretend to go for them. Then you can come in from the left." Harriet nods, and runs off.
  
  You cross the overlapping tree roots carefully until you get into position. You give it about a minute to make sure Harriet's ready, and then step out into the open, waving cheerfully. "Hi Jonathan!"
  
  "You moron!" yells Katherine. "You're supposed to sneak up on him!"
  
  Jonathan jumps slightly—he hadn't heard you coming. He starts edging towards you, away from the prisoners. He moves farther away from the tree, slowly, so as not to leave them unguarded, but steadily. Perfect, you think. Of course, this does mean he's now getting closer and closer to you. You should be ready to bolt once Harriet comes out. Speaking of which, where is she?
  
  A branch snaps on the other side, and Jonathan reacts much more quickly than you'd have expected, leaping around, and bounding over tree roots to the source of the noise. You cringe, expecting to hear him triumphantly tag Harriet any moment. But it doesn't happen.
  
  Instead, Harriet appears on the other side of the tree, quickly tagging the pair. "Jailbreak!" yells Stacy, bolting towards you into the woods. You scramble to follow her; it's important that you move quickly as you're still at risk of being tagged. You hear Jonathan running after you. However, you have an excellent head start, and he's having a tough time tracking you through the trees. Soon, you can't hear him following you anymore. "Stacy!" you gasp. "Slow down!"
  
  The four of you slow to a halt. Stacy jerks her thumb back towards your territory. "Katherine and I are going to run back to our side and tag in. We'll be right back, okay?"
  
  You think about it for a moment. Getting the flag would be much easier with three people. But you'd also like to have a go at it before Jonathan has a chance to alert the flag guards that you're nearby.
  
  > go for the flag now
  "Go ahead," you nod. "Harriet and I are going to go for the flag. We'll meet you there." You give them a quick set of directions to the flag, and then they run off. "Let's go fast," you whisper to Harriet. "We need to get there before Jonathan can warn Liam we're coming."
  
  Now that you know where the flag is, it's much easier to get there quickly. Liam is still there, sitting just below the bush, doodling in the ground with a stick, but nobody else is nearby.
  
  "Alright," you whisper. "We'll come in from all sides so Liam can't defend against both of us. Then, when one of us gets an opportunity, you make a grab for the flag." Harriet nods. You begin to circle around to the far side of the bush.
  
  Unsurprisingly, Liam hears people moving through the trees, and jumps to his feet. You try and lunge for the flag out of the trees while he's still distracted, but he runs around to defend before you can get close enough. You scramble back.
  
  Harriet jumps out of hiding now, forcing Liam to divert his attention between the two of you. However, despite outnumbering him, he seems able to successfully keep off the both of you. You make another grab at the flag, but are again forced to retreat as Liam runs after you.
  
  This isn't working, you think, scowling. You've got to move fast before reinforcements can arrive. It's time to make a grab for the flag, without letting yourself get scared off by Liam. You wait until he's off on Harriet's side, then bolt for the flag. You make a running leap forward, and reach into the bush. You're just grasping the flag's fabric in your hand, when you feel Liam's hand slap your back. "Nuts," you mutter, falling down out of the bush.
  
  "Jail's that way," Liam points, eyes trained on Harriet.
  
  "Yeah, yeah, I know," you grumble. You jog over to the swamp tree, which is undefended at the moment. With any luck, when your teammates return, they'll send someone to tag you back in.
  
  But the next person you see is Harriet. "I got out," she admits.
  
  "It's fine," you say. "Someone will get us back in."
  
  You wait.
  
  The shadows inch along the ground.
  
  Then, you hear yells of victory, and your stomach drops—that's Alexsis's voice. Her team must have gotten the flag.
  
  I'm never going to hear the end of this, you think, as you begin to jog back over to the border.