Forgotten Wolf

25 Brute

"Yup, I'm tired of running all the time." I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Besides, I haven't had any funnel cake yet," I deflect.

Claire takes charge and leads the way. "You had me at funnel cakes!"

With that, we head over to the food area to find some. No one can agree on flavours, so we literally get one of each. I've only ever had it topped with cinnamon apple and icing sugar. Jace insists on strawberries, Claire fudge, Sara Nutella, while Jude goes with classic cinnamon sugar. I split mine with Chris and try a small piece from Jace and Jude's.

It's so unfair how much food they can put back and still look like gods.

Before long, the dark cloud from earlier has dissipated and we're back to laughing and having fun. Chris refuses to leave my side, always with a hand on me or his arm wrapped around me. I don't mind. His proximity keeps me relaxed.

I doubt anyone can get to me now if they try.

With fresh drinks in hand, we head back to the games. Jace and Jude are cleaning house in darts. The gimmick is they under-inflate the balloons so the darts bounce off, that is, unless that dart is thrown with wolf's strength.

"Care to show us what you've got, lil' elf?" Jace teases, mischief swimming in his grey eyes.

"I'm afraid I'm no good at these," I dismiss, scanning the booths. "Think the only game I've ever done okay at is the plinking one."

"Game on, let's go." Jace has that look in his eyes. Trouble's brewing.

"Care for a bet? Guys versus girls again, I want a rematch," he laughs. "You, Sara and Claire against me, Chris and Xavier."

The ladies are bristling with the thought of whooping the guys again. "Sure." I shrug. "But losers go first," I tease, getting a rise out of him.

Sara goes to cut in, but I stop her with a shake of my head. The guys pay for the game and set up.

"I don't know how to play this," Claire whispers to me.

"It's easy. You just have to watch how the person shoots the gun before you. The sights are always off. It's designed to waste half of the players' time getting it zeroed in," I explain quietly to them as the guys take their spots.

Realization flashes in Sara's eyes. "So that's why you wanted them to go first. Sly, I'm actually impressed."

"Yup. I'll take Chris's gun, you take Jace's, the first couple shots will tell you which way it's off." I can feel the excitement flashing in my eyes.

"When it's our turn, we'll split the board up so we don't double shoot the targets. Bats are worth the most, so Sara will take those while you take the cats," I say to Claire. "I'll go for the ghosts. They aren't worth as much, but there's more of them."

Bzzz- The music starts up as the board springs to life. Targets move on the tracks as the bell rings, signalling to start.

Ping, ping, ping.

The guys start shooting and, as expected, the first few shots are off. Bingo, Chris's gun shoots high. Examining Xavier's, I see his shoots low. Jace has adjusted by the time I get to him. Now all of them are shooting down targets, but often aiming at the same high value ones. I feel a smirk creep on my face at their mistake.

"Xavier's gun shoots low by just a bit. Aim at the top of the cat. That should be good." Claire nods at my assessment, while Sara is basically chomping at the bit to go.

The bell tolls to signal the end of the round. Jace flashes a triumphant grin and nods. "Ladies," he says, gesturing to the counter.

I take a seat, pick up the pellet gun and study the board, looking for all my targets. The music whines to life, followed by the warning buzzer, as the targets start to move. When the bell rings, I start picking off the ghosts.