Chapter 7 #3
“Dammit,” I cursed when I realized I’d already lost a life.
Someone chuckled. “Hey, Indie.”
I looked up and smiled. “Alec, hi!” There hadn’t been an opportunity to say hello in the lobby, so I stepped forward with the intention of pulling him into a hug, but then my blaster lit back up, and I hesitated.
“Truce for two minutes?” he suggested.
With a nod, I threw my arms around him. “It’s so good to see you. I feel like it’s been forever.”
“That’s because it has been forever,” he replied. “I’m sorry we didn’t catch up at my sister’s wedding.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Vanessa’s nuptials had been an extravagant, over-the-top celebration.
With over five hundred guests in attendance, it was no wonder the only time I saw Alec was during the ceremony as a groomsman and the Heartbreakers’ performance at the reception.
“I’m just glad I ran into Xander and he invited me.
I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you. ”
“Seriously, congratulations aren’t necessary. It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal? For chrissake, Alec! How many people can say they started their own record label at the age of eighteen?”
“Well, probably not many, but—”
The familiar sound of a laser blast rang out. Alec’s weapon flashed and went dark, just like mine had when he shot me.
“Hey!” came a shout from above. “What’s your name! Xander’s friend! Up here.”
I titled my head back and found JJ leaning over the railing of the bridge above us. The scowl on his face was aimed in my direction.
Frowning, I pointed at myself as if to say, “Who, me?”
“Yeah, you,” he said, gesturing at me with his blaster. “No fraternizing with the enemy!”
Alec let out a loud laugh. “Later, Indie,” he said, dashing off before JJ could shoot him again.
“What’s your problem?” I asked JJ. “Rule number one forbid us from touching other players. It didn’t say anything about talking with them.”
“Too bad. I’m making an amendment,” he replied. “Besides, if you think I didn’t see that little hug of yours, you’re wrong. Pretty sure that constitutes as touching. Get your head in the game, James!”
“That’s my sister’s name, not mine!” I shouted, but he was already gone.
The next half hour passed in a wild, adrenaline-fueled blur.
I exchanged fire with a guy I didn’t know multiple times, both of us claiming one of each other’s lives.
At one point, I was pinned down by Felicity, who was sniping people from a second-story tower, but Oliver took her out before I lost my final life.
Just when I was starting to get sick of playing, the alarm at the red team’s base began to blare.
“Yes!” I cheered, pumping a fist into the air. It was about time JJ and Oliver’s plan worked. I wanted to help protect whoever captured the flag, but I had no clue where they were, so I began making my way back toward our base. I didn’t make it far before the alarm cut off.
I paused, not sure what to do. Had we won?
“Indie, there you are!” It was Xander. He doubled over, placed his hands on his knees, and attempted to catch his breath.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just a little winded.”
“What’s going on?” I asked when he finally straightened up, his breathing under control. “Is it over?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Asha got Oliver. He and JJ are both out of lives.” Despite his bad news, he smiled at me. “Looks like it’s up to you and me. I’ve got one life left. You’re still in this, right?”
“Yeah, I have one left too. What’s our plan?”
Xander carved a hand through the mess of bangs that had fallen into his eyes. Under the crimson strobe lights, his hair looked red. “To be honest, I don’t really have one. I say we wing it.”
“Good enough for me.”
It took us a minute to cross the massive arena and find the red team’s base, another bombed-out building identical to ours with the exception of its red graffiti. Nobody was in sight, but I was willing to bet my last life that a few people were concealed in the surrounding shadows.
“How do you want to do this?” I asked as we crouched behind an abandoned police cruiser. The lights on the top of the car were flashing, bathing me and Xander in a glow of red and blue.
“You go for the flag,” he said decisively. “I’ll cover you.”
“Okay.” I licked my dry lips and took a quick breath to ready myself. “On the count of three. One, two, three!”
Exploding upward, I shot out from our hiding spot and sprinted across the floor. Someone, it sounded like Sofia, yelled to her teammates in warning. I kept moving, eyes on the prize. As I neared the base, I raised my blaster and took aim, but nothing happened when I fired.
Damn, not close enough.
I forced my legs to move faster. When I was roughly five feet away from the crumbling walls of the building, I pulled the trigger once more. This time, I didn’t miss.
Turning on my heels, I spun around and dashed back toward Xander.
Just as I allowed myself to believe I might actually pull this off, Sofia stepped into my path, her blaster pointed straight at me.
Without thinking, I dodged to the right and vaulted the cop car at full speed, landing butt first and sliding across the hood to the other side of the vehicle.
As soon as my feet were firmly planted on the ground, Xander grabbed my hand, and we raced back through the maze of winding hallways.
“Faster,” he urged as we flew down a ramp and into a dark alleyway, the sound of our footsteps echoing off the walls. “She’s gaining on us.” Two seconds later, we spilled out of the narrow passage and onto a familiar road.
“There!” I jabbed a finger toward our base, where Boomer was sitting against the wall. His weapon lay discarded on the floor beside him, its lights extinguished. When he saw us coming, he scrambled to his feet.
“Watch out!” he shouted, pointing at someone behind us.
I glanced over my shoulder in time to see Alec targeting me with his blaster, brows furrowed in concentration.
Before I could react, Xander shoved me out of the way and took the hit himself.
His gun blinked three times and went dead, but his sacrifice gave me precisely enough time to zero in on our graffitied building and let off a final round.
And just like that, the game was over. Team LED-linquents had won.