A twig snaps beneath my shoe, and I stop envisioning myself walking into Papa Johns and start doing a visual sweep of our surroundings as if I am a trained Navy Seal. “All clear?”
“All clear,” Bill responds with a smile in his voice.
I wonder if he’s secretly enjoying this as much as I am.
“Where’s Maria?” I ask, now that we have a moment to communicate without immediate threat.
“She went to stand guard over Missy to make sure nothing happens to her,” Bill says.
I smile, knowing how Missy will light up inside having Maria nearby. Bill and Maria are truly the best of people.
The next several minutes pass in a blur. In that time, Bill and I stay back to back as we scour the jungle for our opponents. Soon enough, we spot Silver and Heartbreaker side by side with their markers out and jackets as spotless as when they put them on. Realizing that we’ve gone under their notice, Bill and I seize the moment and spice up their wardrobe with some color. Between the two of us, we manage to hit Heartbreaker with four paintballs and Silver with two.
Silver instantly shoots back, losing two paintballs before splattering Bill in the chest. Quickly, she pumps her marker again, only for it to come up empty. Her eyes widen, and she drops her marker to the ground and runs away from us in a zigzag pattern until she’s out of range.
I briefly glance down at my jacket, which still bears only one paintball mark. I’m just thinking how I might come out of this challenge relatively unscathed, when Heartbreaker points his marker right at me, squeezing the trigger. A ruby-colored paintball hits my abdomen. But Bill is quick, splattering Heartbreaker with two paintballs of his own.
Heartbreaker trains his marker on Bill, who takes cover behind a nearby tree trunk, giving me time to aim at him. I shoot Heartbreaker in the side just as I feel a thud on my back.Cool paint splatters across my neck. I immediately pivot and find Tearjerker sprinting through the jungle before he stops and cocks his marker, another paintball at the ready.
Seeing his face brings back the image of Missy huddled in the dark. I turn back to Bill. “You good?”
“Yep, go!” Bill calls, successfully dodging one of Heartbreaker’s paintballs.
I take off running after Tearjerker, and he swiftly flees like the coward he is. My lungs burn as I double my speed, closing the gap between us. But Tearjerker is nothing if not extremely fit. His legs increase their stride, and his arms pull closer in as he weaves through the trees. Once more, I envision Missy. Her eyes drip with tears as blood seeps from her cheek and down her chin. She grasps me tightly in the darkness as her body shakes with sobs. Tearjerker had used Missy’s caring heart to his advantage. Now her ankle is dark blue, the skin unnaturally raised. My eyes home in on Tearjerker’s back. I refuse to give up the chase.
He hurt her.
Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I register Maria running in the opposite direction of me and Tearjerker. She chases an empty-handed Silver, splattering her with amber-colored paint.
And then I notice where I am—I’m in sight of the familiar knobby tree with its wide branches.
“Tearjerker!” I yell.
I stop abruptly, steadying my hand before I take the shot. My paintball speeds past Tearjerker’s foot, just missing the mark before bursting on the ground in front of him. But it’s enough. Enough to trip him up. Suddenly, Tearjerker stumbles forward, falling flat on his stomach. I sprint toward him until my marker is just inches away from his back. I pause, taking a moment to scan the trees.
“What’s the matter, Downing? Don’t have another paintball left, do you?” he taunts.
“Why don’t you turn over and find out,” I say, cocking my paintball gun. “But first, toss your marker to the side.”
Tearjerker laughs and does what I say, throwing his marker just out of his reach. Then he takes his time, slowly removing his mask and running a hand through his sweaty hair before rolling onto his back. His lips lift in a smug grin, the way one’s would when they’re holding all the cards.
“Go ahead. Do it, Downing.” He sits up and opens his arms wide, confident he’s caught my bluff. “Or is that just it? You can’t.”
I lower my marker to my side.
“That’s what I thought.” Tearjerker huffs out a victorious laugh.
“You’re right. I can’t do it,” I say with defeat. Then I nod toward the sprawling tree behind him. “But she can.”
A paintball zips from the nearest tree, bright teal splattering against the back of his black-and-ruby-red jacket, followed by another, then another.
Tearjerker’s eyes flash with shock and fury before he turns and finds Missy in the tree. She pelts him with another three paintballs, evening out the splatters on the back of his jacket with the front.
“Nice shooting.” I smile up at Missy.
She beams back at me, her booted foot propped up along the length of the branch she’s perched on.
Tearjerker scrambles to his feet, glaring at Missy and then at me. His face contorts with a snarl. He looks ready to use his fists. “You two are going …”
