“I heard.” He pulled open a trapdoor just as footsteps sounded above our heads. Dust flaked off the low ceiling. “The rusted pipe’s somewhere in the boat apparently. Search theback.”
I walked toward the hull, bumping into a hard body steeped in shadows. The green light on his helmet told me he was on my team, even though I couldn’t see hisface.
A pellet burst against my back. I jerked, then gritted my teeth as I turned. Through the fog forming on my visor, I met Lucas’s pleased leer. “You’re out,Clark.”
Lucas didn’t shoot my teammate. He kept the gun leveled on me. “Better run along before I shoot youagain.”
“Play nice, Lucas,” I heard the person behind me say.Liam.
He circled around me and then retreated, the weathered boards groaning beneath his footfalls. I hadn’t expected him to stay, but I had expected him to be shot. Hewasn’t.
I marched past Lucas, shoving him with my shoulder, and hechuckled.
“Asshole,” Imuttered.
I walked back to the camp, not bothering to lift my gun. I was hit six more times, once on the jaw. The pellet broke theskin.
After a minute of stewing inside the camp, nursing my newest wound, I decided that if they weren’t going to play fair, I would play dirtytoo.
The second I was back in the game, I went to find Lucas, disregarding direct orders from our team captain—lo and behold, that was Liam—to assemble on the north side to strategize. I noticed Lucas’s black hair first, peeking out from underneath his helmet, and shot him square between the shoulder blades. He turned, arms raised. I shot him again. And again. I took great pleasure in seeing the colorful paint splatter hisoveralls.
When I was blasted on the waist by one of his teammates, I didn’t even care. I stalked back to the camp and refilled myammo.
“Don’t know north from south, Clark?” Liam asked, barging into the camp seconds after me, a large splash of paint on hischest.
“Are we playing as a team now? Because if memory serves me, Matt and two other people from the greens shot at me. You probably didn’t notice, though, too wrapped up in barkingorders.”
“Matt thought youwere—”
“Oh, don’t give me that! I have a freaking green light flashing on my forehead.” I wiped the fog from my visor. “Who gotyou?”
“August.”
Ismiled.
We didn’t speak after that. Liam was way too busy studying the video feed of the arena. Our coach radioed in that I was clear to reenter thefield.
“We’re still missing the compass and the pair of yellow pliers,” Liam said without turning away from the monitor. “I think the compass is in the tunnel. Want to come with me to findit?”
“Are you planning on shooting me in theback?”
“I don’t shoot people in theback.”
Sure youdon’t.
He held my gaze. “I’m not sure what you heard about me, but from the way you’ve been treating me, I’m guessing it’s allbad.”
I didn’t answerhim.
“I’ll cover you,” he said. “Come to the tunnel withme.”
“Whatever. Fine. But know that if you shoot me, I’ll make your lifehell.”
He had the audacity to smile. “More than it alreadyis?”
I erupted from our bunker and headed toward the plastic tunnel. While Liam radioed in our position and asked if anyone had eyes on the exit, I peered inside. An, “all-clear,” crackled over the walkietalkie.
“Search the middle of the tunnel,” Liamsaid.
