Chapter Fourteen
The brand-new laser tag arena was quite a sight to behold.
It was in a large, tall metal building near the back of town, not too far from the giant convention center. Inside was a lobby where players learned the rules, got their packs on, and waited for the match to start.
Once it was time, they entered the arena through wide, double doors.
Inside, Dylan and the others found a dimly lit space with lots of black lights, tunnels, staircases and ladders leading to raised platforms, slides, and even a rectangular pit filled with foam blocks. There were ropes to swing from and a few trampolines as well as other obstacles he couldn’t see yet. The place was amazing, and he was ready to get into action.
“Just so you know,” Megan said, as they all stood in the center of the arena. “The Mountainville Black Bears will win this. Just like we’ll win the football game.”
“I’m confident victory is ours,” Dylan said. “But may the best team win.”
They shook hands.
An electronic voice boomed over the speaker system, saying, “You have thirty seconds until the match begins. Take your positions.”
The Littles scattered, eager to find cover before the competition officially started.
Dylan and Stryker went up a ramp that led to a platform that was shielded by a waist-high wall. They ducked behind it and checked their guns.
They heard a chirping noise as the gear came online.
The electronic voice called, “Match begins and three, two, one.”
The shrieks of lasers flying filled the air, making it sound like a sci-fi movie. Someone yelled, “I’m already hit!”
“That sounded like Libby,” Stryker said with a grin. “Means our team has already scored.”
Things evened up quickly, though, when Eli called, “Dang it!”
“Uh-oh,” Dylan said. “We better jump into the action. I sweep left, you sweep right?”
Stryker nodded.
The two sprang up, angled their guns down, and raked the barrels in their agreed upon directions. Down below, on the floor, they saw Christopher and Colt. They fired, hitting the two Black Bears.
Their targets groaned as their vests lit up in a dizzying red dazzle of lights.
Once hit, a player’s weapon was locked for ten seconds, unable to fire. That gave Dylan and Stryker some time to scramble away, but not much. They moved quickly, going back down the ramp and hooking a right to retreat behind a colorful, paints-spattered wall.
They started running the length of it, but didn’t realize it was cut in half by a circular opening that led to a tunnel.
Leah popped out of the tunnel and shot them both.
“Suckers!” she yelled. She scrambled back inside, no doubt hurrying away to the opposite end. She didn’t want to be close to them when their ten second delay wore off.
Those ten seconds passed by excruciatingly slow.
“We’re sitting ducks!” Stryker said.
“Yeah, but the good news is while we can’t fire at anyone, they can’t hit us,” Dylan reminded him. “The lockdown goes both ways.”
“Oh, yeah,” Stryker said, remembering that they were safe during the delay.
Their packs powered back on with a chirp and they were back in the fight.
They reached the other end of the wall, rounded the corner, and stopped abruptly as they stared in the business end of Megan’s weapon.
“I got you,” she said with a cocky grin.
But before she could fire, Eli swung overhead, hanging onto a nylon rope with one hand while blasting away with his gun in the other.
“No fair!” Megan yelled.
Eli just laughed and kept on swinging until he was over the foam pit. He let go of the rope, fell, and disappeared beneath the soft blocks.
Dylan and Stryker ran on.
All around them, the battle raged. There were chirps, lights, and chaos throughout the giant room.
Stryker and Dylan ran right into another ambush, this time setup by Natasha.
“We’re getting killed!” Stryker said after looking to the far wall, where the digital scoreboard was.
Dylan hunkered with him behind a staircase and thought things over. Finally, he said, “You know that corner on the southeast wall where the good cover is?”
“Yeah,” Stryker said.
“Let’s split up and spread the word for the team to meet there. I have an idea.”
Stryker agreed and soon they were running in opposite directions, telling the others where to go. Colt jumped out from behind a faux barrel, but Dylan’s reflexes were too quick. He shot Colt, taking him out of the game for those precious ten seconds, allowing Dylan to flee.
Megan swung toward him, soaring high overhead on a rope. Dylan had to dive and roll to avoid her shot, but he managed to come out of the encounter unscathed.
Megan was not as lucky.
Dylan pointed the barrel of his gun up and triggered a quick shot. The chirp along with the dimming of the red lights on her vest told him he’d hit his mark. He gave her a wave and then ran farther into the arena, spreading the word to all his teammates he encountered.
A minute later, he reached the agreed upon meeting location. The others were there and eager to hear the plan.
“I’ll go fast before they realize we’re all in one place,” Dylan said. “I’ve had some SWAT training. I think we can use it here.”
He went on to detail some of the ideas he had.
“Worth a shot,” Stella said. “This is a massacre!”
“Yeah. And I don’t want them having bragging rights,” Katie added. “We’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Let’s do this,” Eli said, holding up his gun and offering an emphatic nod.
The Littles lined up behind Dylan. He raised his arm at the elbow and then gave the hand signal indicating they were to proceed.
It was go time.