“Get the fuck out of here!” Adam yelled.
Jill jumped out of her hiding spot. Adam grabbed her as they followed Dillon who had studied the map and was their lead man. Tree branches smacked her face as she raced through the woods. Excitement mixed with fear kept them going. Jill had just turned around to look behind them when her feet hit nothing but air. It was like she was back at the paintball center. What the hell! As her body rolled, hitting small trees and rocks, she realized they had run right off a mountain. After what seemed like forever, the fall came to an abrupt halt. Trying to catch her breath and figure out if anything was broken, she sat up slowly. Okay, that was much more of a fall than at the paintball club. She understood what was meant by dying during the initiation.
Adam crawled toward her. “You okay?” He looked her over.
“Yeah.” She looked over at Steve and Dillon, who were also checking over each other.
“So I take it that mountain wasn’t on the map,” Steve whispered, limping over to grab his gun.
“Dammit.” Dillon looked around frantically.
“What?” Adam hoisted himself up, limping toward Dillon.
“I lost the map,” he hissed looking around.
They all looked at the top of the mountain. “So how important is the map?” Steve frowned, then raised his hands when they glared at him. “Okay, I get it. It’s important.”
“We have to find it.” Adam frowned. “Spread out, but stay alert.”
Jill retraced their tumble down the mountain. Climbing up, she was shocked by how far they had fallen. This was not a good start. Hearing brush rustle, Jill dropped, lying flat. Looking up, she saw two hunters right above her.
“Is that a map?” one of them said.
Shit, this cannot be happening. Jill glanced around, trying to figure out what to do.
“Sure the hell is,” the other one laughed. “Poor bastards are going to be running circles out here trying to find their safe zone.”
Glancing down the hill, her eyes met Adam’s. He shook his head at her, but she knew what had to be done. They needed that map. One thing going for her was they had their backs turned toward her. Slowly and as quietly as she could, she made it to her feet. Aiming her gun, she put her finger on the trigger and pulled. Purple paint exploded on the back of one of their heads.
“Motherfucker!” He grabbed his head, swinging around as did the other one, his gun raised.
“I’m going to need that map,” Jill said, praying Adam or somebody had a drop on the guy.
“Looks like we got us a standoff, pretty girl,” he smiled, cocking his eyebrow.
The pop of a gun went off. “Son of a bitch.” The hunter turned, showing yellow on the back of his head.
Jill carefully headed up the hill to snatch the map out of his hands. “Thank you.”
Adam, Steve and Dillon slowly ventured up, guns poised. Jill looked past the hunters to see another team raise their guns to them. Adam waved his thanks.
“Come on.” He grabbed the map from Jill, giving it to Dillon. “Don’t lose it again.”
They ran next to the other trainees who had helped them out, figuring they were stronger in numbers. Popping sounds echoed throughout the woods, making it sound like a war zone.
“We’re close,” Dillon whispered, scanning the area. “I think…”
A loud rustling sound surrounded them. Jill raised her gun, not knowing what was going on. Glancing over at the trainees they were running with, she watched in horror as they were swooped up in a large net. One of them looked toward them and shouted, “Run!”
Jill did just that, but started too slowly.
“Jill, come on, dammit.” Steve was waving his arm at her to come on.
“We have to help them,” Jill hissed, spinning around. “You guys go on if you have to, but I’m helping them. They helped us.”
“Fuck, is this a girl thing or something?” Steve cursed.
“She’s right.” Adam came up beside Jill.
The sound of others running toward them had them scattering to find a hiding spot. Adam fell down flat next to Jill. They watched as three hunters walked up to the captured trainees.
“This works every damn time,” one of them laughed.
They watched as the hunters dropped the net, releasing the trainees.
Jill frowned as an idea hit. She had no clue if it would work, but it was the only thing she could think of. “You got a plan?” she asked Adam who lay beside her, just to make sure he didn’t have a better plan than hers.
“Nope,” he whispered back.
“I do, but if it fails…” Jill looked over at Steve, “run your asses off like it’s on fire.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Steve whispered back with a snort.
As the hunters were trying to get their confidential word from the trainees, Jill eased herself up. All three hunters held their guns loosely. Jill raised both hands, concentrating like she had never concentrated before. One hunter actually looked down at his gun for a second before dismissing its movement.