Page 34 of Out of the Shadows
We take cover behind a large gnarly tree. Daniel’s pressed up against it and looking deep into the woods, to what might be ahead. I’m close beside him. Close enough to touch, close enough to hear his breathing and see the steady rise and fall of his chest. Everything has fallen silent, it’s as if the woodland is waiting. My mouth suddenly is dry. I lick my lips, and tighten my grip on my paintball gun.
“I can’t see or hear any sign of anybody,” I whisper. “Where—?”
He raises a hand and I fall silent.
“Listen.” The word is little more than a breath.
I do, and that’s when I hear. The snap of twigs, feet kicking through the leaf litter, voices which are louder than they should be, and shushing that’s noisier than the noise they want to silence. But I can’t see anybody.
I lean in close to Daniel and whisper. “I can hear them but I can’t see them, and if we can’t see them then we can’t paintball them. We’ve got to get closer but if we break our cover we’ll be targets.”
“We stay here, and let them come to us. They’re making enough noise to raise the dead because they don’t know what they’re doing. It’s the yellow team, I recognise Andy’s voice. Any moment now they’ll emerge into that small clearing just up ahead.” He nods towards a treeless area I’ve not noticed. “When they do, that’s when we get them. No jumping out hollering and shouting, we fire from behind this tree because we need to retain our own cover. Don’t fire indiscriminately. Choose your target, aim for the torso, release the paintball and then duck straight back behind the tree. Understand?”
He looks down at me from over his shoulder and I nod.
Daniel seems to know a hell of a lot about how to shoot people even if it is just with a paintball gun. He also appears to know a lot about stalking through woodland. Maybe he was once some sort of adventure guide and I’m about to ask him when he speaks, his voice low and urgent.
“Look, over there. Straight ahead.”
I do but I can’t see anything other than a thick line of trees. I can still hear voices and they sound like they’re coming closer but our targets are still not visible. I narrow my eyes, squinting hard, and that’s when I do see. Andy, with the yellow armband denoting his team colour. I raise my paintball gun, excited and nervous at the same time as the adrenaline racing around my body revs up another gear. Daniel grips my bicep hard and shakes his head.
“Amy’s behind him. Wait till she emerges. You aim for her and I’ll take Andy down.”
I have to stand down my sudden urge to giggle. It’s nerves, it’s all it is. It’s the result of the warning about my attitude, the question mark over my job, my determination to prove Daniel wrong, but even so this is all starting to feel too much like some he-man action film and I almost expect Bruce Willis wearing nothing but bad assed attitude and a sweaty singlet to leap out from the woods. And as for taking down Andy and Amy? One’s an accountant and the other’s a pensions advisor, they’re not the Viet Cong, Al Qaeda or the Taliban. I want to laugh as much as I don’t, but I rein it in and do as I’m told because I refuse to let down not just myself, but Daniel too.
Andy stumbles into the clearing, followed closely by Amy. Talk about sitting ducks or shooting fish in a barrel, or even taking candy from a baby. They may as well have big signs above their heads sayingtake me I’m yours. And that’s exactly what Daniel and I do.
On his word we both leap out from behind the tree. Or rather I do, as Daniel keeps himself mainly concealed. We completely take them by surprise as we pump red paint all over them both before they can even cock their guns. Within seconds they look like they’re covered in blood, and I whoop and jump up and down, brandishing my gun like a maniac. My victory dance is short lived as I’m hauled back behind the tree.
“Get back, you cretin. You’ve just made yourself a target.”
“We just killed them.”
“Yes, we just killedthem, but there are other teams prowling around and you’ve just signalled our position.”
“This isn’t the British Army…”
Daniel’s hard, take no prisoners glare stops me in my tracks.
He wasn’t, was he…?Maybe that’s why he looks so hot in the faux soldier’s uniform…
Grumbling, Andy and Amy pull out their white flags and stomp off leaving us victors of the field.
Daniel jerks his head over to the left. Dashing out from our cover, I scamper after him. It’s not a gorse bush or clump of trees we’re making for this time but a hollow which gives us a good line of sight through the wood whilst shielding us.
“Look.” I bump him with my elbow.
Up ahead I glimpse Fiona. She’s creeping along, making her way slowly and going from tree to tree. I only recognise her as Fiona because some of her hair has come loose and it’s a bright blond beacon amidst all the shades of green and brown. She’s looking very determined and like she knows what she’s doing.
“It’s Fiona but I can’t see Laughing Boy, erm sorry, I mean Tariq, anywhere,” I correct myself when Daniel throws me a glance, his brows arching. “He’s somewhat dour,” I mumble.
“He’s there, to the left of her.”
Daniel’s right, and I’m impressed because Tariq’s keeping himself well hidden. I wouldn’t have spotted him in a month of Sundays. My not so sunny colleague is moving with stealth and making next to no noise.
They move from tree to bush to tree. Fiona keeps looking over her shoulder, maintaining contact with her teammate. I’m impressed. They know what they’re about and will prove to be harder opponents than the other two. But Daniel and I have the advantage of the hollow, because Fiona and Tariq are searching for the enemy in an upright position. I smile because I’mreallygoing to enjoy taking them both down.
I swallow the snort. So much for not wanting to play at soldier boys.
