Chapter 17 #2
Bill must see me, too, because his head rises slightly above the greenery he’s behind, and he puts a finger to his mask in a quiet gesture, then points to my three o’clock.
Following his signal, I spot Legend, who’s walking openly through the trees with zero tactical prowess.
Bill raises three fingers, and I start mentally counting down.
I lift my marker, as does Bill, and aim at Legend.
I almost feel bad for shooting at someone who looks like they went down the wrong aisle of a supermarket and can’t seem to find the Triscuits.
But then I remember that Legend is Team Fuchsia, and when my counting reaches zero, Bill and I hit our mark.
Teal- and amber-colored paintballs splatter across Legend’s jacket, lighting him up like the Fourth of July. Legend squeals and frantically shoots in a circle, pumping out nine of his ten paintballs. Not only is he an easy target, but he’s a loud one.
I’ve used two paintballs on Legend already, and Bill has used three.
I’m debating using one more when I see a flash of fuchsia blaze through the trees and slam into Legend.
Silver’s body hits her brother with so much force that she and Legend go flying to the ground, concealed by a row of voluminous ferns.
“What are you doing?” Silver hisses.
“I hate paintball,” Legend growls.
“Yeah, you’re terrible at it, too. You trying to get us out of the game?”
“Get off me.”
The leaves surrounding the pair start to rustle, and Bill and I make eye contact.
Together, we creep toward the tussling siblings to take them from both sides, but like a snake springing toward her prey, Silver pops out of the ferns with surprising speed.
She’s got both her and Legend’s markers in hand, like she’s Black Widow from The Avengers.
Both barrels are aimed point-blank at me and Bill.
Silver shoots, and her paintball nearly nicks Bill’s thigh before I feel a bruising pressure against my shoulder.
Fuchsia paint explodes across my jacket and face mask.
I can almost taste the paint fumes. Missy might have been joking when she mentioned Silver being part of the Mafia, but now that theory holds weight.
Silver tosses Legend’s gun back to him as soon as he gets to his feet, and Bill and I quickly set our markers for the pair, but when Legend realizes his marker is out of paintballs, he chucks it into the bushes and sprints farther into the trees.
Silver shoots several more paintballs in our direction, which nearly hit us every time, but thankfully, never make contact.
Then she bolts off after her brother. Both Bill and I lose a paintball to the jungle before Legend and Silver disappear entirely from view.
In a conversation that is more movement than words, Bill and I go back to back, scanning our surroundings for any hidden opponents behind the dozens of trees and scattered bushes.
And that was all we’d needed to solidify our partnership, which brought our opposing teams down to just two—Team Fuchsia and Ruby.
I think of Team Lime. Joseph and Tyrone had been the real finders of the pilot’s wings game booster, making them exempt from this paintball battle, as well as tonight’s Black Box Elimination.
And since they’d won yesterday’s Reward Challenge, Team Lime was also reaping the benefits of a food reward at this very moment.
Last time I’d seen Joseph and Tyrone was back at base camp, where they’d been delivered a large cheesy pizza as the rest of us were herded into the jungle for Mayday Challenge Three.
Just the thought of pizza has my mouth watering. I know with certainty that for the remainder of this show, tasty, cheesy, yeasty bread will be starring in my dreams.
A twig snaps beneath my shoe, and I stop envisioning myself walking into Papa Johns and start doing a visual sweep of our surroundings as if I am a trained Navy Seal. “All clear?”
“All clear,” Bill responds with a smile in his voice.
I wonder if he’s secretly enjoying this as much as I am.
“Where’s Maria?” I ask, now that we have a moment to communicate without immediate threat.
“She went to stand guard over Missy to make sure nothing happens to her,” Bill says.
I smile, knowing how Missy will light up inside having Maria nearby. Bill and Maria are truly the best of people.
The next several minutes pass in a blur.
In that time, Bill and I stay back to back as we scour the jungle for our opponents.
Soon enough, we spot Silver and Heartbreaker side by side with their markers out and jackets as spotless as when they put them on.
Realizing that we’ve gone under their notice, Bill and I seize the moment and spice up their wardrobe with some color.
Between the two of us, we manage to hit Heartbreaker with four paintballs and Silver with two.
Silver instantly shoots back, losing two paintballs before splattering Bill in the chest. Quickly, she pumps her marker again, only for it to come up empty. Her eyes widen, and she drops her marker to the ground and runs away from us in a zigzag pattern until she’s out of range.
I briefly glance down at my jacket, which still bears only one paintball mark.
I’m just thinking how I might come out of this challenge relatively unscathed, when Heartbreaker points his marker right at me, squeezing the trigger.
A ruby-colored paintball hits my abdomen.
But Bill is quick, splattering Heartbreaker with two paintballs of his own.
Heartbreaker trains his marker on Bill, who takes cover behind a nearby tree trunk, giving me time to aim at him.
I shoot Heartbreaker in the side just as I feel a thud on my back.
Cool paint splatters across my neck. I immediately pivot and find Tearjerker sprinting through the jungle before he stops and cocks his marker, another paintball at the ready.
Seeing his face brings back the image of Missy huddled in the dark. I turn back to Bill. “You good?”
“Yep, go!” Bill calls, successfully dodging one of Heartbreaker’s paintballs.
I take off running after Tearjerker, and he swiftly flees like the coward he is.
My lungs burn as I double my speed, closing the gap between us.
But Tearjerker is nothing if not extremely fit.
His legs increase their stride, and his arms pull closer in as he weaves through the trees.
Once more, I envision Missy. Her eyes drip with tears as blood seeps from her cheek and down her chin.
She grasps me tightly in the darkness as her body shakes with sobs.
Tearjerker had used Missy’s caring heart to his advantage.
Now her ankle is dark blue, the skin unnaturally raised.
My eyes home in on Tearjerker’s back. I refuse to give up the chase.
He hurt her.
Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I register Maria running in the opposite direction of me and Tearjerker. She chases an empty-handed Silver, splattering her with amber-colored paint.
And then I notice where I am—I’m in sight of the familiar knobby tree with its wide branches.
“Tearjerker!” I yell.
I stop abruptly, steadying my hand before I take the shot.
My paintball speeds past Tearjerker’s foot, just missing the mark before bursting on the ground in front of him.
But it’s enough. Enough to trip him up. Suddenly, Tearjerker stumbles forward, falling flat on his stomach.
I sprint toward him until my marker is just inches away from his back.
I pause, taking a moment to scan the trees.
“What’s the matter, Downing? Don’t have another paintball left, do you?” he taunts.
“Why don’t you turn over and find out,” I say, cocking my paintball gun. “But first, toss your marker to the side.”
Tearjerker laughs and does what I say, throwing his marker just out of his reach. Then he takes his time, slowly removing his mask and running a hand through his sweaty hair before rolling onto his back. His lips lift in a smug grin, the way one’s would when they’re holding all the cards.
“Go ahead. Do it, Downing.” He sits up and opens his arms wide, confident he’s caught my bluff. “Or is that just it? You can’t.”
I lower my marker to my side.
“That’s what I thought.” Tearjerker huffs out a victorious laugh.
“You’re right. I can’t do it,” I say with defeat. Then I nod toward the sprawling tree behind him. “But she can.”
A paintball zips from the nearest tree, bright teal splattering against the back of his black-and-ruby-red jacket, followed by another, then another.
Tearjerker’s eyes flash with shock and fury before he turns and finds Missy in the tree. She pelts him with another three paintballs, evening out the splatters on the back of his jacket with the front.
“Nice shooting.” I smile up at Missy.
She beams back at me, her booted foot propped up along the length of the branch she’s perched on.
Tearjerker scrambles to his feet, glaring at Missy and then at me. His face contorts with a snarl. He looks ready to use his fists. “You two are going …”
I lift my marker up and pull the trigger; the teal paintball to his stomach seems to do a thorough job of shutting him down.
He stumbles backward with the impact, and I prep my marker and pull the trigger once more for good measure, helping his descent to the ground, until he’s sprawled on the jungle floor.
“What were you about to say?” I ask as I lean down and grab his marker, shooting his remaining three paintballs into the dirt. “Looks like your time’s up.”
A strand of expletives streams from his mouth, but this time, it’s Missy’s paintball that silences him.
“Ow,” he grunts.
“I knew I had one more in there.” She pats her marker like one would a puppy that’s been on its best behavior.
Seconds later, a horn sounds, signaling the end of the game. I push my mask up. Without another word, the disgruntled Tearjerker clambers to his feet and stomps away. A drone follows him while another lingers behind to watch us.
Missy pulls her face mask off, and I walk to the base of the wide tree and reach my arms up for her. She plants her hands on my shoulders, and I ease her to the ground.
I narrow my eyes at her in jest. “Of course you’re a good shot.”
“There are many things you don’t know about me, Colton Downing,” she teases.
I brush a thumb across the smooth skin of her unbandaged cheek, feeling her warmth beneath my fingertip. “I’m looking forward to finding out.”
I bend my knees, scooping Missy up and cradling her between my arms. Without hesitation, her left arm makes its way around my neck, and I position her closer to my chest. She feigns an adoring smile.
As we walk back to where we started the challenge, we discuss the happenings of the last ten minutes.
I’m surprised to find that I like Missy and me talking animatedly about our day, her soft, sweet scent surrounding me, the way her leg bounces up and down as I carry her, as if she just can’t contain her energy.
Somehow, I feel like I can fully breathe around her, and yet, I can’t breathe at all.
It’s a heady combination—one that’s bound to end in disaster.