Gasping, I pumped my legs and kept going. Branches tore at my face, harming me more than the dumb paint balls. Faster! I commanded myself. My lungs argued, threatening to shred from how much I demanded out of them.
Sliding on some damp leaves, I skidded to a halt down a hill and into a ditch. Water soaked my rear, mud on my knees. I didn't care, my heart wouldn't stop racing.
Fuck fuck fuck. He was so quick! I'd missed my shot. That really got under my skin.
Twisting, I stared at the yellow staining my jeans. Wasn't Kite's gun supposed to shoot blue? Two shots, both from the same person.
Jacob.
Dammit, he must have been waiting for me to reveal myself. Kite was the bait.
This was unfair, they were in sync. One of them was enough of a challenge. Together, these hitmen would overcome me. I needed a plan, but what could I even do?
Nervously, I peered over the crest of the ditch. The woods were silent once more.
Kite was out there, I'd seen him. Jacob, though... I hadn't caught a glimpse, and still, he'd hit me twice.
This didn't feel like practice that was tailored to my needs. I couldn't see myself stalking the murderer I was after through the freaking forest. Kite had made it clear before; if I had to try and hit a moving target, I'd already messed up.
Why are they playing this game with me? What's the point of it? If it was actually for fun, they were the only ones enjoying it. I was too busy feeling like prey to think this was entertaining.
Are they actually trying to have a good time with me? The notion was startling. Me and them, just playing and not worrying about killing or not being killed.
A tiny sound tore me from my thoughts. Clinging to my gun, I sat up and stared so hard that my eyeballs throbbed. Where were they?
Again, a new sound, except it was to my right. I had to contort myself to look, my neck tweaking from the motion. They were circling to surround me, that had to be it!
For confirmation, a blue paintball popped open on my chest.
My hiding spot was a deathtrap.
Wildly, I fired at where I thought Kite was. I kept shooting, the canister vibrating and a helpless shout of frustration leaving me. This. Was. Not. Fair!
Scrambling through the mud, I fled away from the noise. If this was a movie, I would have spun around and hit them both while I backpedaled. But it wasn't a cinematic firefight, it was me, flailing desperately to not lose by a landslide.
Running as fast as I could, another burst of paint landed.
Blue color soaked into my thigh.
Good for them, they were even on points.
Panting heavily, I ducked behind a fat tree and leaned on the bark. Staying low had done nothing. Hiding hadn't helped. My 'plans' so far had been awful. They know they can hunt me down. This is what they're great at.
Holding my gun, I squinted at the plastic, bulging tube of paint balls. They were the size of marbles. What were they made out of? A possibility inched into my brain.
Shooting Kite and Jacob wasn't going to work.
But there was another method.
It might fail, but it was a chance. That was all I really needed. A single chance.
Twisting the plastic tank, I heard the balls clack together.
I knew how I could win.
- Chapter 26 -
Jacob
––––––––
Kite and I could have ended this game already, but stalking Marina through the brush was unnervingly exciting.
Her first hiding spot had been pretty good. If she hadn't taken a shot at Kite, we might have struggled to find her.
I'd been crouched down on the higher part of the slope when she'd hit the tree near him. The brief, surprised look on his face had made me smile. He'd looked right at me afterward, hand in the air and two fingers held an inch apart. “This close,” he'd been saying without making a sound.
Marina had almost hit him.
Almost didn't count.
When she'd bolted, I'd casually lifted my marker and tapped her twice. Pop, yellow paint all over her legs. The color was bright, it made her even easier to follow after that.
The second round in the ditch, Kite had tapped her and evened things out.
Points wise, we were miles in the lead. This was a game with no real stakes, but I still intended to win. I always had.
Brushing my hair back, I knelt on the leaves and listened. Marina had darted off again, her jeans soaked from mud and paint. The crisp air was magical, it was humming with the energy of the hunt.
Abruptly, the calmness was shattered—Marina was shouting, firing in the distance. She wasn't far, her voice echoing through the trees
Standing up, I spotted Kite across the path. He was just as confused as I was. What was she shooting at?
Shaking my head, I slipped towards the racket. Her voice floated up, wary and strained. “Dammit! Fine! I'm out of ammo, guys! I don't know where you are... but I'm out.”
What? Had she been firing blindly at where she thought we were in the shadows?
The news deflated me. I hadn't wanted this to be over with so quickly. Call me twisted, but chasing this girl had my blood on fire.