“Agreed,” I stated. “I refuse to be paired up with a Bieber lover.”
“I take offense from that,” claimed Jay.
“Good for you,” I shot back.
He glared at me. I hid a grin and stared start ahead as he bristled. The trees were thicker here and taller. I had an idea.
“I’m gonna climb one of the trees and see if anything stands out,” I told him.
I didn’t wait for an answer and instead scouted out a tree and reached for the first branch. It was a big bushy one with branches on both sides. But, of course with my luck – it was three inches out of my grasp. I felt hands on my waist and I gasped.
“Good idea,” murmured Jay. “But you’re too short.”
He pushed me up and I was able to grab the first branch and pull myself up. I squatted on the first branch and looked down at him.
“Here,” I pulled the walkie-talkie out from my bag. “You take this in case anything happens.”
He shook his head, “Keep it. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” I put it back. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
I slid the walkie-talkie back into my bag and reached up to the next branch. When I was about halfway up, I paused and took a breather. I slid down onto one of the branch and took a drink of water before starting to climb again. I paused again after a couple minutes and took a look around. The tree was extremely tall and already I could see pretty far out. I really wish I had a camera because I know for certain that I can’t draw this well from memory. I could see the lagoon that Jay had been talking about and the vague outline of an old Ferris wheel.
I was so caught up in the view that I almost didn’t hear the buzz of the old walkie-talkie in my pocket.
“Jay,” said the voice. “Jay you there?”
I sat down on one of the branches and pulled the walkie-talkie out of my bag. I pressed the button and said, “Hello?”
“Harvard that you?” it was defiantly Drew.
“It’s Charlie,” I corrected him. “What’s up?”
“You have a group heading your way,” he told me. There was a rustle on the other end and then Lexi’s voice came through the speakers, “It’s Lindsey’s gang. You know how Drew said she had five with her?” she didn’t wait for an answer. “Now’s she’s got seven. Looks like she charmed two younger boys to join the group. Where are you now?”
“I’m in a tree,” I answered. I was unfocused on the conversation; I was already trying to make my way down the tree to help Jay.
“Where’s Jay?” asked Lexi.
“He’s at the bottom.”
There was a pause and then finally, “Get moving.”
The walkie-talkie went back to grumbling static and I shoved it in my backpack.
I could see Jay from my perch ten feet above the ground. I could also see Joy and two other girls, about ten metres behind Jay. Lindsey was advancing from the other side with two younger boys, and walking towards Jay at a different angle were the last two girls. They were all loaded down with ammo and heavier looking paint guns then the ones we were given.
Jay hadn’t noticed. Not very attentive.
I positioned the paintball gun in a crook of the tree. There was no good way to alert Jay to the situation without giving away my spot so I was on my own for now. The first shot to be fired was a red one. It hit one of the younger boys, square in the chest. He groaned, dropped his gun and marched off, back towards camp. I silently cheered.
Lindsey had noticed. She was sweeping the area with her eyes, trying to find the culprit. I bunkered farther down in the branches and tried to look as small as possible. I turned to a new target. The two girls with Joy were next.
My first shot went too far to the left and the green paint splattered onto a tree trunk. I suspected that the only reason Lindsey hadn’t freaked yet was that she didn’t went Jay to see them. I pressed my eye against the scope and pushed the gun two degrees to the right. My next shot hit the first girl on the arm. She cried out and Jay looked up. Joy shushed the girl but not before Jay saw the three of them. He raised his gun and hit the first girl in the chest. The blue paint splattered and she marched off with a frown on her face and a beeping noise echoing around her.
Lindsey groaned. Jay backed up against the tree and looked up.
“I got your back,” I told him. “Watch out for the two on the left.”
Jay focused on the two older girls while I turned my attention back to Joy and her friend as they regrouped with Lindsey and the younger boy. I recognized the younger boy from some of the activates that happened last week. I think his name is Brady or something. He seemed to be panicking and Joy was trying to calm him down. Lindsey looked fed up with him.
She said something to him and he nodded. The four of them turned their sights back on Jay except for Lindsey who continued to search the trees for the “secret shooter”. I hunkered farther down in the branches. I heard a shoot. Jay had gotten one of the older girls in the leg. He aimed again and the shot missed by a few feet but a different paintball hit her on the chest. Farther along was Lexi and Drew. Drew was reloading and my guess was he was the one who had hit the girl. She went away mumbling under her breath with her vest beeping.
The boy, Brady, saw this, grabbed the younger girl’s hand and went racing away through the woods. The older girl yelled something at Lindsey and Lindsey yelled something back. The older girl frowned before rushing away from Drew and Lexi, who were closing in on her. I watched as Lindsey and Joy snuck away through the bushes. I aimed another shot at Lindsey; it hit the branch beside her head. She looked back and saw me. As she glared I send another shot streaking towards her chest. It hit her in the leg and as no beeping had gone off, she was still in the game. She ran off before I could shoot again.
I dropped down from the tree. Jay turned to me.
“How long did you know they were there?” he questioned.
“I had your back the whole time,” I countered.
Drew and Lexi joined us.
“They got away,” said Drew.
“But on the other hand,” continued Lexi. “They helped us find a well.”
She grinned.
Chapter 4 (written by 'crazybookworm123')
Start from the beginning
