Strike, p.2
Strike, page 2
part #4 of Stronger Series
We were maybe five minutes into this little game and my already furiously pounding heart pulsed with the anxiety and doubt I fought to beat down, my breath quickening with each step through the trees. I couldn’t let it distract me or cloud my judgment. I needed to focus, stay in the game.
As we moved cautiously through the trees, the hairs on the back of my neck that had fallen loose from my ponytail clung to my neck uncomfortably while my breath escaped through the ventilation mask from my helmet. Camaro panted quietly at my side, her ears twitching back and forth, the only signal I was waiting for. And then they perked all the way up as she stiffened.
I held up my fist to signal everyone to freeze and to take cover, all of us carefully ducking behind trees and aiming our rifles in the distance, searching for our opposing targets. And when my target landed in my crosshairs, I gave the signal by firing the first shot.
A wide spray of neon pink covered the chest of my target as well as several other targets as my team followed suit, dusting the air with clouds of hot pink as multiple men fell backward, ultimately surrendering with their hands raised. I smiled and quickly moved on ahead, Camaro keeping in stride while my remaining guys followed suit as we left the three players now out of the game behind.
As we approached our enemy’s territory, we crept behind a mass of trees to regroup. Ditching my helmet, I pulled out the mini binoculars from my side pants pocket and climbed to the first branch to get a glimpse of the situation ahead of us. A six-foot pole with a blue flag waving at the top stood completely alone in a small clearing, not a single guard in sight.
“Fucking seriously?” I whispered under my breath. I knew it was a trap without even thinking about it.
“What are we looking at?” Brett called from below.
I shook my head as I continued to look beyond the flag for signs of anything else. There wasn’t shit. “Nothing. There’s no one guarding the flag.”
There was a collection of muttered cursing below me. I didn’t blame them. Capture the Flag wasn’t as much fun if there was nothing but an ambush waiting for you in enemy territory. Again.
Not this time.
Disregarding my assigned limits, I pocketed my binoculars and began to climb higher.
“Jaden, what are you doing?” my team called from below me.
“Winning,” I muttered as I continued to climb higher until I got a better view of the clearing.
Perching on a thick branch, I pressed my back into the trunk of the tree and pulled out my binoculars again, scanning every inch of the clearing and its surrounding areas. And that was when I finally found the ambush waiting for us. Twelve of Darren’s men were evenly spaced along the lining of the trees on the other side of the clearing. Crouching low in the shadows, they remained hidden from prying eyes.
Unless you were me.
The other five that were missing from my count were probably replacing the three we took out to take our flag. Hopefully my team could handle them.
Satisfied with my new intel, I climbed down from the tree as quickly as I could and plopped down onto the ground.
“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t witness that,” Brett said as the rest of the guys surrounded me.
“And I’m gonna pretend you guys don’t play dirty in the real world,” I shot back with a glare. These men were still in the late stages of training as Darren’s soldiers, but they weren’t exactly novices either. This game was just another giant exercise for all of us – my second one, in fact – but it was one I intended on excelling in. “Now, shut up and pay attention. Twelve men are stationed on the north side of the clearing. I’m assuming the other five probably went after our flag. So we’re gonna need to create a distraction to lead them away. Max, you’re the fastest, so you head for the flag while Mark and Jackson cover you. The rest are with me.”
“You want the twelve of us to distract twelve men?” Zack questioned with clear disdain.
“No, I want the thirteen of us to distract twelve men.” I patted Camaro and tousled her ears. “Camaro counts.”
A few of the guys shrugged in agreement.
Camaro was my badass sidekick now. She might have the mentality and energy of a puppy, but she was a full-grown beast of a dog with the jaws of a lioness. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of her bite. Ever.
“Any questions?” I asked as I moved to grab my helmet. At the sight of shaking heads, I clipped it back into place and grabbed my rifle. “Let’s go,” I ordered, my voice slightly muffled through the ventilation.
The twelve of us left the three I ordered to stay back and quickly rounded the outside of the north bank of the clearing. We stayed back far enough so as not to draw too much attention from the other team as we slowly made our way in. I held my fist up for everyone to see, signaling for them to freeze. Halting, I searched ahead for the man I knew was already looking for me. And it worried me when I didn’t immediately see him.
Well, it was now or never.
Clutching my rifle, I dug it deep into my shoulder and gave Camaro a low quick whistle.
She instantly took off through the trees like a damn lightning bolt. If you blinked, you would have missed her, and like the best distraction she was, all the targets ahead of us had tilted their guns in her direction. But they would never get the chance to fire as we engaged in our attack.
Wet colors of blue and pink lit up the trees, splattering all over the branches and grass as we moved in, our formation working to our advantage as pink dominated the blue. I was able to take out two of Darren’s men, reloading quickly and moving beyond the trees toward the border of the clearing to make sure my guys were able to get the damn flag and get out.
But as I advanced, two men jumped out from behind the trees and fired. I quickly dodged, rounding backward around another tree while giving Camaro the loud whistle to return and attack. As she’d been trained, she launched herself at the back of the guard to my right while I aimed for the guard at my left, coating him with pink while just narrowly missing the blue that splattered all over the tree behind me. Camaro completely took her target to the ground, snarling and clawing at his gear until he was officially out of play with his hands raised in surrender.
I whistled for her to follow me and ran for the edge of the clearing, seeing Max and Mark make off with the flag, leaving Jackson behind since he was covered in blue. I ran after them but came to a halt when they were immediately ambushed with more splatters of blue. I fired back at the two new intruders, using the last of the bullets of my rifle and gaining their surrender.
Dumping my empty rifle on the ground and switching for one of my pistols, I snatched the flag that was now in Max’s hand and made a run for it, Camaro striding ahead of me to advance on anyone in my way. If I got the flag back to our base, we would win and I would finally get to drive one of Darren’s cars. I was not about to lose that opportunity.
Running like my life depended on it, I ditched my helmet along the way to lose more weight while my heart pounded away in my chest. I was maybe twenty yards away from our flag post, and I could feel myself getting too excited about the prospect of winning. I was close. Too close.
And then Camaro barked way too late before I felt the impact of a body impaling me to the ground and knocking my gun from my hand. I took charge of my momentum, keeping us rolling until I was on top and instantly tightened my thighs around the thick mass of muscled torso beneath me to keep him still. And the only thing I noticed when I looked down was the dazzling and devilish smile that made my stomach squirm and my heart skip beats.
“Look at that, already right where I wanted you,” Darren sneered as his hands moved to grip my hips, his touch sending a wave of tension through my spine. But I wasn’t done fighting yet.
“Not this time,” I declared and moved for the small pistol at my back, but he was already shifting under me as if I wasn’t even there, far too fast for me to counter.
My pistol was in my hand by the time my back hit the ground, aiming at his chest and pulling the trigger just as he knocked it out of my hands. But at least my legs had the right muscle memory for this because they were already raised, allowing my feet to dig right into Darren’s hips to keep him back.
I shoved with every last ounce of strength I had and managed to kick him off me and roll back to my feet. Ignoring the sound of gun shots around me, I was in a dead run before Darren was even up on his feet.
It only took a few seconds before I realized Camaro was not following me like she should. She was always supposed to be at my side. A single glance behind me was all I needed to see she was sitting back on her haunches, blue paint covering her fur. Fury instantly burst in my chest.
He fucking shot her!! That bastard shot my dog!
I was going to murder him. Just as soon as I won this damn game. And then I’d rub it in his stupid dog-shooting face. She’d be okay, though. It was only a paintball, and she could take way worse than that. Camaro was a fucking monster now.
I sprinted through the trees, jumping over thick roots and rocks, ignoring the heat I felt at my back, knowing full well Darren was gaining on me. All I had to do was make it to my post before he got to me, and we would win. Game over.
Deciding to give myself a small moment to breathe, I gripped the pistol at my side, turned and immediately open fired at him, but he was quick enough to maneuver against a tree and evade my shots. I emptied the entire clip, ditched the gun, and then took off again, running behind another tree for more cover just in case he returned fire. I doubted he would, though. He loved the chase way too much to end it that quickly.
I was less than ten yards when I witnessed the two guards at my post get splattered with blue paint before I felt myself hauled into the air and then slammed into a body as we hit the ground. Arms tighter than a vise held me still before I was rolled onto my front and officially pinned.
“Gotcha,” Darren’s smug voice taunted in my ear.
I groaned and squirmed to see if there was any give in his hold, but there was none. His legs pressed over mine, keeping them completely immobile while his heavy upper body nearly crushed me into the ground.
Fuck, I was so close.
I looked up to see my flag post was empty of our flag, it’s whereabouts probably making its way to Darren’s right this second. But getting our flag was never on Darren’s agenda. He had to get me to their base, which meant I still had a fighting chance.
“You know, you actually made it closer to the post this time.” Darren snickered as he gripped the back of my protective vest and yanked me to my feet and started dragging me back to his base. God, he was so fucking strong it wasn’t even fair.
“I can’t believe you shot my dog!” I shouted as I made attempts to evade him.
He didn’t look surprised but cocked a brow. “You expect my enemies to spare her?”
I scowled at him, hating that I couldn’t argue with that. His enemies would probably take her out first, and then they’d have to deal with the rage of a thousand suns if they managed to make off with me. If anyone harmed my dog, I would rain so much hellfire on them.
When I didn’t say anything, he picked me up and hauled me over one broad shoulder, but in that split second, I already had my arm tucked around his neck and under his chin in a deep headlock, my legs looping around his wide muscular torso and digging into the back of his thighs to allow my body to stretch and gain more ground.
A few more of Darren’s surviving men began to gather, and I worried that they would intervene if I got away. So I grabbed the pistol that was still attached to my other side and began firing at them, taking out two before Darren took the advantage of my less deeper grip and threw me off him. I rolled to the ground and started to run again, but two shots to the back of my knees had me stumbling to the ground in undeniable pain.
“Motherfucker!” I screamed as I turned on my back to shoot at Darren, but by the time I aimed he’d already ripped it out of my hands. I moved my legs to kick his knees, but he sauntered left and was on me in a second, grasping my forearms with a bruising grip and turning me over onto my side so he could slap my ass with so much force I thought my skin broke.
I knew I wasn’t supposed to swear, but I knew Darren loved punishing me for it more, so I kept it up when it was appropriate, even if my skin always paid for it.
“Had enough yet?” he asked as he turned me back over to face him, that smug look on his stupidly gorgeous face making me want to punch his perfectly white teeth in.
“Probably not,” I muttered.
Twisting his fingers into my hair, behind my ponytail, Darren hauled me to my feet and began leading me farther and farther away from my base.
No! I’m literally right here!
With one more attempt, I dropped all my weight to the ground, causing Darren to drop slightly with me and nearly ripping all my hair out. But it was the sudden imbalance in his step that allowed me to twist slightly and kick him right in the side of the knee and punch down at his forearm hard enough to get him to release my hair. It was just enough for me to slip away and grab a nearby rock to wrap Darren’s flag around and lift my hand to toss it at our base.
But just as I was about to throw it, my wrist was snatched in midair and painfully twisted around to my back, making me curse his snake-like reflexes. With no other option left, Darren took the rock from my hand and placed it in his pocket before pulling me back to my feet. I barely had time to tuck my chin before he could wrap his big meaty arm around my neck in a sort of choke and drag me back to his base. He walked so fast I could hardly keep up, my legs tripping over everything in our path until I could finally see the base up a head where the rest of our team had gathered.
Good. I’d have an audience for this.
With one last final attempt, my energy already depleting, I tucked both my hands around Darren’s elbow at my throat and lifted myself up to wrap both my legs behind me to hook around Darren’s right knee and yank forward. An irritated growl rumbled from his throat as he stumbled forward, allowing me to release my legs and twist my entire body as hard as I could while simultaneously pinching the backside of his upper arm, causing him to flinch and giving me the wiggle room I needed to escape.
But my victory was short lived – like usual.
Before I could even take off, Darren’s massive arm was already wrapped around my middle, clutching me tightly to his side, but as he straightened to his full height, he hoisted me up to let me dangle horizontally off the side of his hip. It was the most awkward and uncomfortable position as I hung there limply, facing the trees, trying to figure out how to move somehow.
“What are you doing?” I shrieked as I struggled against the bizarre hold.
“You’re officially done,” he replied and continued walking to his base in silence.
From the awkward position, I turned my head to see his base was only a few short yards away, turning my struggle into a full-on fight. But the harder I fought, the tighter he held me, to the point where I could hardly take a breath.
“Stop struggling, or I’ll make it worse,” he threatened, giving me another tight squeeze in warning. Phantom pain reminded me of what broken ribs felt like. I didn’t need to experience it again.
Resorting to my defeat, all I could do was endure and wait for him to finish making a goddamn spectacle of me.
When he finally stood in front of the flagpole that was currently missing his blue flag, he pulled me up to standing and pushed my back into the pole. Cheers reached the air as the men hollered their victory, and all I could do was roll my eyes.
Motherfucker. Whatever. Lick your wounds and walk it off.
Darren looked down at me expectantly, that shark-like grin of his already starting to warm my blood. I forced myself to shrug it off.
“Hey, at least I made it off with your flag this time,” I said, challenging him with my own smirk.
“You did much better this time,” he replied, his tone dry, but I could hear a small hint of approval in there somewhere.
I nodded, crossing my arms and glancing down before I noticed a small dusting of pink just under Darren’s protective vest.
“Wait a minute,” I said and quickly pulled back the underside of his vest to find a clear shot of pink to the right of his abdomen. “I hit you!” I shouted, excitement filling up my eyes as I turned to look at him. When we had first wrestled on the ground, I managed to pull the trigger before he knocked it out of my hands. It must have gone up under the vest so I never noticed it until now.
“You’re supposed to be out,” I said carefully.
Darren’s face revealed nothing as he stepped even closer to me, his large form towering over me and making me suck in a breath as he leaned into my ear.
“It’s cute that you think a bullet there would have stopped me.”
The sound of his dark voice made my spine shiver, but I exhaled to stay focused.
“Those weren’t the rules,” I argued, my mouth suddenly going dry. “You get shot in the back, torso, or head, or attacked by Camaro, you’re out. Fair, square, authentic.”
Darren snorted. “Your first mistake was expecting me to fight fair. I fight smart. I don’t give a fuck about fair. And your second mistake was thinking I wouldn’t notice you disregarding the rule for your climbing restrictions. Who’s the cheater now?”
I furrowed my brows at him, trying hard not to get angry while also trying not to panic about the fact that he’d clearly seen me in that tree long before I ever saw him on the field. But this whole thing was turning into bullshit really quickly.
“First, that climbing rule is unreasonable and will be disregarded in the real world. Second, my ‘cheating’ compared to yours isn’t nearly the same. I’m not defying death.”
“But you did defy walking, talking, and fighting after I distinctly remember blowing out the back of your knees. Or is that not of the same caliber, counselor?”
He sneered at me as he openly mocked me for my interrupted days as a law student. I was a year and a half away from graduating when I was taken during the summer semester. Unfortunately, my skills for arguing and debating didn’t always help me against Darren since it was his laws I was arguing against. It was hard to win when you lacked standing and the only hope you had rested on a damn plea bargain. But if he wanted to argue on the merits, I was game.
