A week had passed, and we had Guns again. I just hope Private Stiles would overlook my average shooting ability this time. I entered the shooting range and noticed the pile of paraphernalia in front. Private Stiles entered the room, and my stomach was getting acidic, especially when he gave me a glance.
What did I do to him, really? Creep.
He looked sterner than the last time we saw him. "Good morning."
There was a pause, and we murmured our replies.
"See those?" Private Stiles asked as he turned to the table of guns. "Those are bb guns, weaker and could be safer than real guns. And do you see those gears?"
We nodded. There are red and blue scarves, battle suits, bulletproof vests, and helmets.
"You'll wear those as protection," he said and paused for a while, waiting for us to digest what he said.
"Why do we need protection, Sir?" one of the kids asked.
"Because I decided to make today interesting," said the private. "We're going to play a survival game. Now let's split you into two teams."
"Sir," Bee asked. "Is it okay to use hand-to-hand combat in this game?"
"It's a survival game. Anything will do as long as the suit deems you alive."
"How will we identify the winner, sir?" asked Bee.
"You have flags," said the teacher. "Touching the other team's flag is not enough to deem your team the winner. You need to protect the flag for five minutes, giving your opponents enough time to take it back."
"Why is that, Sir?" asked someone I don't know.
"Because in real-life situations, touching something isn't victory until you had fled away from your opponent's radar or killed them all."
"Why five minutes?" Bee asked.
"Time is gold, little one," he simply said.
Private Stiles pulled out a remote and pressed a series of buttons. We watched as the board divided into two. One half contains the list of Blue team members and the other, the Red team members. As the names shuffled before our eyes, I thought of the weapons at my disposal. The screen started citing the terms.
I searched for my name, and there it was.
Blue Team.
"Looks like we're going to play against each other, huh," Minnie nudged me, frowning. "Good game, cat."
"Good game, mouse," I said, and we bumped fists.
I never looked forward to fighting against Minnie, not because we're friends but because she's got this wicked mind. One thing I learned about her these past few days is that she's a trickster. Well, there's definitely nothing wrong with trying. Private Stiles asked us to get our gears and dress up in the nearby locker rooms. I took the suit and the bulletproof vests. I changed clothes together with my teammates. Finally, I went back to fetch my weapons.
I took two handguns, Sigsaucers. A couple of magazines, a rifle, and a knife. The knife was odd-looking; it was maybe due to the mechanism of the suit. Then there are the weird grenades as well. "Sir? Is it okay to take these?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Those aren't real grenades that can mutilate you when they explode. That thing uses sound waves which the suit is designed to pick up. The suit will then calculate the programmed damages. It takes three seconds to explode. Its range is 6 meters in diameter."
He instructed us to follow him out. We passed by the corridors of the building and then to the field. My eyes widened when I realized where we were going. The gates opened, and the dense forest welcomed us. I can hear whispers now. This was the very first time we were allowed to go out.
Private Stiles paused in the middle of a clearing, and everyone stopped to wait for his instructions. He took a remote out of his pocket and pressed a series of buttons. Then the ground shook. We watched in awe as a giant monitor, and several benches appeared before us. We were then asked to sit down.
He pressed another button, and the monitor lit up.
I see a lot of tiny dots in the middle of the screen. And two more dots colored red and blue, located northwest and southeast, respectively.
"The small dots in the middle, those are you," he said, nodding at us. "These two dots are where the blue and red team's bases where you shall erect your flags. Now everyone, look up."
We looked up the sky and saw five little copters hovering above us.
"Those are surveillance cameras," he said and smiled. "That's for me, for security reasons and if there's any foul play going on."
"Foul play, sir?" asked one of the blue team.
"Yes," he nodded. "There are three things that are forbidden. The first one is, if you're dead, you're dead. You don't get to shout, talk or move. If you do this, the whole team's disqualified. The second one is if one of you tries to harm your foe, vehemently."
"Lastly, if there's anyone who's in trouble, any trouble at all. With those things, I'd be able to know," he said, looking at the drones above us again.
"In trouble, sir? What do you mean by that?" asked Minnie.
"There are wild animals around and trouble my also spell running away," he said.
So I can actually try.
Silence.
The Private clapped his hands together, and the two teams were asked to go to their bases, six kilometers apart. I was about to approach my co-members when I heard rustles coming from the clearing.
"Meow! We're teammates…."
I ignored Loki's voice and stared in the direction where we came from. Loki followed my gaze, and we waited. After a couple of seconds, the source of the sound unraveled before us. Private Stiles groaned and approached the soldier and his group.
"I arrived here first, Loopa," our instructor looked annoyed. "Why don't you just go and return tomorrow?"
"No one told me that the forest was reserved for you," the other one answered. "I can't just leave after having my whole class gear up."
If this is Private Loopa, then those two…
I looked around and found Teddy and Duchess waving at me. I waved back, smiling.
"And what are you implying?" Private Stiles asked.
"Why don't we just play together?" he asked. "Your class versus mine?"
Now that's a twist.
"We're talking about one hundred kids in total," Bee intervened. "You can't supervise all of us together, sir."
"The kid has a point," Private Stiles smiled at Private Loopa. "Just come back tomorrow, Loopa." He turned and was about to walk away when Private Loopa addressed his class.
"Looks like Private Stiles is a coward," he said, and his students chuckled.
Private Stiles turned and grabbed Loopa's shoulder. We gasped at his dauntless act. He looked like he was about to kill him.
"You're going to regret this," he said. "Ace!"
We looked around and found Ace sitting on a bench, his back on the commotion. He doesn't seem that interested in our new opponents.
"Ace!" Private Stiles thundered. Ace stood up and faced us. He looked bored, and he even tsked. He approached our Guns instructor, eyes blinking sluggishly.
"Sup, oaf," Ace said and gave Private Loopa one glance.
"You're going to be the class captain," Private Stiles said. "We're up against them."
Bee's the number one shooter, right? Why choose Ace? Hmm.
Ace gave them another glance and nodded. "That's all?"
"Of course, picking the prodigy," Private Loopa looked surprised for a second, then he smiled lopsidedly. Then he turned around and called. "Barrel!"
Whispers.
"… Shouldn't he pick Sarita?"
"…Barrel? Sarita would be the right choice."
"… I'd rather go with Sarita."
"SILENCE," Private Loopa thundered. The Barrel guy approached them.
"Yes, sir?" he asked. I frowned at his tone. He sounds like a … fraud. "How can I help you?"
"You're Team captain," he simply said and clapped his hands. "Okay red team! Approach the base!"
"Aye!" his class replied in chorus. All of them looked really active and energized. I looked at our team and sighed. One thing I've learned about my class is that most of us are slackers. The atmosphere hovering around us is gloomy. It's probably the fact that there's not much of a competition since we belong to the same class as Ace. Excelling in everything is just incredibly effortless for him. Some tried but failed. Only Minnie and Bee had the talent to compete with him in Psychology and Guns, respectively, but that's only a subject each. Even the soldiers around are wary of him. His detentions are being made extra difficult. Still, he leaves each punishment like nothing even happened. We watched them go, and as soon as they were out of sight, Ace told us to huddle up. Everyone obliged.
"Bee!" Ace called.
"What?" Bee answered smugly. She didn't even take a step to reveal herself. So the crowd opened a path for her so Ace could see where she was.
"Pick ten people and lead the sniping," he said, and Bee shrugged, murmuring something like 'whatever.
"Loki," Ace turned to the person beside me. "You shall lead the vanguard together with… where's the mouse?"
Minnie stepped forward. "Are you talking about me?" she asked-- her eyes pinwheeled in annoyance.
Ace nodded simply and said. "Take forty."
"Sele--- I mean, where's the cat?" he called, and his eyes found mine. "You."
I looked around and frowned. I pointed at myself, and Ace growled.
"Who else?" he asked, annoyed. I cleared my throat and thought.
It's Meow. Not cat.
"Well?" I asked, biting the inside of my lip.
"Take ten and be the stealth division," his lips twitched. "Your team shall act like a…whatever the situation deems like it."
"You mean for this instance, a bait?" Minnie asked, and Ace just grinned and shrugged.
"Or sacrificial pawns, Ace?" Bee supplied.
"Maybe."
Why me? Can't I just defend the flag back at the base?
"I don't think anyone would like to be on that team," I said and sighed. Even I, myself, would never want to belong on such a team. It's like throwing your life away, acting like a deluded hero. Ace ignored what I said and continued.
"The rest of you will have to follow me as reinforcement," he said, and then, under Ace's leadership, we all marched north.