And, I helped Carmichael get a lead into a highly coveted account.
And I’m suddenly so giddy I want to dance. Joy is welling up in me.
But, then I spot him. Him. The asshole jerk who’s trying to ruin all this for me. My enemy.
He’s at the bar talking to his brother.
There are vests on hooks by each table. We put them on and write down on a clipboard what our vest number is. We clip ourselves in.
Melissa, a blonde camp-counsellor-looking girl speaks into the mic. “Hey everyone! You’re all split into three teams. Blue, red, and yellow. Put your vests on and you’ll get randomly assigned with a color. It’ll flash on your chest.”
Mine flashes red. Ally’s blue. Meryl’s yellow.
I look around and see I’m on Austin’s team. Meryl is on Mr. C’s. Ally has the same vest color as Aiden.
Melissa goes on to explain to us that if we get hit, we aren’t out this round; we just get a bit of a buzzy feeling and can’t immediately strike back at the person who hit us; there’s a short delay. The team with the most hits wins this first round.
We head in, single file by team, each armed with laser guns through three doors, marked with their colors on them. After I head through the red door, I find myself in a long black hallway with neon arrows guiding my way. Stacy is behind me. Bill from IT in front of me. At the end of the long hall, we turn a corner and find ourselves in a big arena-like room with a cave feel. There are fake rocks and fake trees, and paths that lead us through a labyrinth. Some areas have high walls, some half-walls. The ceiling is glowing with a solar system design.
Disco lights are now on, with laser beams pointing in many directions. My gun buzzes fast, I think that means it’s on. It startles me and then I’m further jolted by an assault of creepy sci-fi-like Dr. Who music that starts to play. I hear giggles and then a wolf-like howl. I think it was Austin Carmichael that howled like that. He’s leading our pack. More laughing.
And I start to see more, as my eyes adjust. I see the glow-in-the-dark of people’s vests. I shoot at someone in blue. I see their color block on their vest go brighter and begin pulsing and I know that means I’m making it vibrate. A hit!
This is fun.
I find myself at a dead end and then run around through the maze and I’m in an open area with all sorts of mirrors. Someone is coming!
I duck while running for cover behind a fake rock and peek over and see someone in yellow. I shoot. Their lights pulse, and I make a squee sound.
I step out from behind the rock and suddenly I’m buzzing, and it feels so strange. Not painful, just annoying, like a cell phone on vibrate but at three or four times the intensity.
Someone shot me.
I see Meryl waving at me from a bridge to my right. Oh! That wicked girl. She shot me! It’s always the innocent-looking ones.
I try to shoot back but nothing happens. I must be incapacitated temporarily.
I’m on the move. And I’m laughing.
Austin tries to corral all the reds to come up with a strategy, but I see Aiden. He’s tall so I make him out easily. He’s beside another guy who is in blue.
Oh good. I point my laser gun and squeeze the trigger hard. So hard. I hear nothing of Austin’s suggested strategy. My team spreads out and I’m still watching Aiden.
His vest flashes blue and I see him throw his head back and laugh that he got shot. I sidestep behind a fake tree.
His vest lights stop pulsing. I shoot at him again. It flashes. He ducks down and hides for a minute. I zip along a little, making sure I can still see him. I follow his movement and I wait. I wait and then he pops up and I shoot him again. I feel such a sense of accomplishment when the thing flashes again. And now the game is only about finding ways to shoot Aiden.
I’m stalking him. I’m getting shot at a lot because he’s my single-minded focus.
Shoot Aiden.
Recover from buzzing and wait for his vest to stop flashing. Shoot him again. Shoot the jackass in his stupid, mean ass.
Again and again. This is not the justice I’m due. But it’s a start because it’s giving me a whole lot of satisfaction right now.
It continues, and I’m an Aiden-stalking machine until he spots me, and someone else must’ve hit me because I’m currently disabled. The second the light goes out, it buzzes me again, because he shoots me.
He jerks his chin up and laughs.