What Game Will You Play

Chapter 16

(Edited)

I peek out from where I am hiding. There are three guards running in Aiden's direction, and one guard is left standing at the show tent's entrance.

I do not see anyone else around besides that one guard, but he is looking straight ahead, and the door to the first building is out of his eye range. I move out from behind the booth, and I quickly move to the first of the small buildings. I have no choice but to walk in the direct light, so if anyone were to walk by and look my way, I would be a goner.

I walk over to the door quickly and open it. Without thinking, I walk into the room and close the door behind me. I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, acting as a reminder of how badly this can end up.

The room has a single light on, but it is enough for me to see everything. Once I look at my surroundings, I realize that I am an idiot for not checking to see if anyone was in the room first. Luckily, there is not, but the empty chairs around a square table tell me that there could have been.

On the table, there is a half-eaten sandwich that looks like someone abandoned it in a rush. That person can be coming back here any second. I have to move fast. I look around at the rest of the room. There is a smaller table on the back wall, and sitting on that table are about eight to ten black bags of various sizes.

I make my way over to the bags within three strides to make sure I don't waste any more time than I need to. I pick up the first bag on the end of the table and I look through its contents. After finding only a few pairs of clothes along with some food I move on to the next one. The following three bags seem to be similar to the first, meaning there is nothing worthwhile in them. I am starting to lose hope that this room, which was relatively easy to get to, is the right room.

I then move onto a medium sized black leather bag. I unzip the bag, and the first thing that catches my eye is a small, slick black flashlight. There are also some loose papers, but after giving them a quick look over, I determine that they don't contain anything of importance, so I put them back. The next thing I see is a notebook with literally no notes in it. I am starting to get frustrated. If there is nothing in this room that relates to what Vesper told Aiden, then I am wasting time looking in the wrong building.

I put the bag back down on the table, making a loud thunk when I do. At first, I think to myself, it was the flashlight, but then again, that noise sounded much heavier than the small flashlight that is in the bag. My heart races as I open the bag once again and take out the flashlight, papers, and notepad. I see a flap on the bottom of the bag blending in with the black fabric. I pull it back and see the cause of the noise. On the bottom of the bag, there is a small handgun.

I stare at the gun for a second before picking it up. The weapon is the darkest shade of black I have ever seen, and it lacks the shine that most metals have. The gun is cold to the touch and heavy in my hand. I have never held a gun before. For some reason, I thought it would feel different from holding a large piece of metal, but it does not. The way it fits in my hand makes it feel so real, so dangerous.

I am not quite sure what to do with it. Aiden didn't say anything about weapons. Should I bring it with me or leave it here? I have never shot a gun before, the people of Treegrass are not allowed guns. Why would we need guns if the government would always protect us?

Only police officers are allowed to carry guns, but they have spent years training in the town of Officials to learn how to use them properly. The police have never had to use their weapons in Treegrass before. As far as I'm aware, we are a pretty low-crime town. I think the most severe crime someone has ever committed here was theft.

Before tonight, I had never heard the sound of a gun being fired. Of course, I have seen and heard a gunshot before in old videos of the war with the Fritts, but that was different. The real thing is much louder, and it echoes. The videos always made it seem like the shots were quieter and somehow not as dangerous and scary.