text: [Themes: family friendly]
  
  The flag can wait. It's not going anywhere. Alexsis and Corey are, however.
  
  You peer through the bushes. You watch carefully to make sure they've both crossed the river—Alexsis crosses first, then waits, then Corey crosses. Once they turn to head into the trees, you leap into action. You bound across the stream, almost losing your balance on an unstable rock, and charge after them. Alexsis whips around just in time to see you coming, but she can't dodge in time before you tag her. "Hi!" you say, before turning and dashing after Corey, who's made a run for it into the forest.
  
  Unfortunately, he seems to have vanished. After jumping over a bush in your path, you take a moment to listen for the sounds of him running away. But you can neither see nor hear him, and you don't have any indication of what direction he went in.
  
  Oh well. At least you got Alexsis out. "Jail's this way," you say with a grin, heading into the woods.
  
  Alexsis follows. "What were you doing, just lurking near the stream waiting for someone to cross?" she complains.
  
  "Pretty much." No need to tell her you know where the flag is. Or, well, no need to tell her you kind of know where the flag is.
  
  Harriet comes into view. "What happened? I heard shouting."
  
  "I tagged Alexsis," you explain. "But Corey got away, and he's loose on this side of the brook. Keep a close eye on the flag." Harriet nods and heads off, probably to check on the flag.
  
  After another moment or so, you arrive at the jail. You and Alexsis always play with the rules that when someone gets tagged, they go to jail. Another member of your team can tag you back in, but before you rejoin the game, you have to go tag in on your side of the brook.
  
  In a game with so few people, you don't technically need to spend your time guarding Alexsis in jail. In fact, having one-fifth of your team guarding one-fifth of the opposing team means you really gained nothing by tagging her out in the first place.
  
  > leave Alexsis alone and search for Corey
  Corey's still out there. You'll be more useful if you start looking for him, then if you just loiter around at the jail. There are things to be done.
  
  "See you later," you say.
  
  "Not if I see you first," says Alexsis.
  
  "Unless we're on your side of the brook and you try to tag me out."
  
  "Oh, yeah. Fair enough."
  
  You laugh, and head off in the direction you kind of think Corey might have gone in.
  
  Corey's tough to find. You listen carefully, but every time you think you've heard something, it turns out to be a bird, or a squirrel, or one of your own teammates (sorry about that, Mike).
  
  You sweep back to the flag to check if he's over there.
  
  You get distracted by a squirrel.
  
  You start looking up trees, but you don't see him there either.
  
  You check back at jail to see if someone else was able to catch him.
  
  Alexsis is gone.
  
  "Dang it," you say.
  
  Of course, this was a risk you were taking when you left the jail. But still. It would have been nice if Alexsis had just stayed out. You hear a noise in the woods, and scan the forest for Alexsis, but you don't see anything.
  
  If Alexsis is in, that means Corey came over here to tag her. They can't have been gone for too long. They might even still be in the area. Or they might have quickly moved on to other things.
  
  You aren't sure quite what to do, and you feel oddly exposed.
  
  > search the area for Corey and Alexsis
  Mike has been keeping an eye on the flag, and you're sure he'll yell for backup if he needs any. You need to focus on getting people out.
  
  Unfortunately, you have no idea where to start. Corey and Alexsis could really be anywhere. If Alexsis has had time to tag back in on her side of the brook, they could already be looking for the flag. You need to focus on finding them. You start looking.
  
  You follow a set of tracks that turn out to be from a deer.
  
  You don't find either of them hiding in an area with tall grass.
  
  The sun starts to warm up the coldness of the morning.
  
  You check back on the flag. Mike assures you nobody has been nearby.
  
  You check back on the jail. It's empty, too.
  
  Your clever ambush against a set of suspicious noises only serves to antagonize a group of squirrels.
  
  You chuck a rock into the brook while patrolling the border.
  
  Corey, Alexsis, Jonathan, and Finn jump over the brook into your side of the woods.
  
  You snap to attention. The four of them are already disappearing into your side of the woods, and quickly too. You'd like to get all of them out, but you aren't sure you could handle all four of them, not without backup. And who knows if your teammates are in earshot?
  
  And... four of them on your side means only one of them is guarding the flag. You might never get another opportunity like this.
  
  > try to tag them out
  Defense first, flag later. No point in going after the flag if four members of the opposing team are ganging up on yours.
  
  You're itching to run and tag them all out now, but you have no guarantee of getting all of them out when it's just you. Having your teammates here would really even out the odds. On the other hand, if you wait for help from your teammates, you risk letting them get much closer to the flag.
  
  > try to tag them out now
  You don't want these people any closer to the flag than they need to be. If you can't tag them all, then well, you can't tag them all. That's the way it is.
  
  You jump out of hiding, and tag Corey. He yelps in surprise. Alexsis jumps two feet in the air, while Jonathan takes off, and Finn whips around. You tag Finn, and swipe at Alexsis, but by then she's recovered from her surprise, and is running off after Jonathan.
  
  You sigh. That could have gone better, but it also could have gone a lot worse. At the very least, Mike only has to deal with two people instead of four. Albeit, probably the two best players.
  
  "Alright, let's go to jail," you say.
  
  "How'd you find us?" asks a disgruntled Corey.
  
  "Voodoo."
  
  This time, you decide, it's probably a good idea to guard the jail yourself. You've got two prisoners instead of just one, and with any luck, Harriet and Mike will be sending a few more your way in a moment.
  
  But luck doesn't seem to be on your side today. In a minute or so, you hear shouts coming from the flag, then you hear shouts coming from a little farther away from the flag. And then you hear cheers coming from the stream.
  
  "GREEN TEAM WINS!" yells Alexsis's disembodied voice.
  
  You sigh, while Corey and Finn cheer and high-five each other. Maybe I can convince Alexsis to do best out of three, you think.