Sixty-Seven Salamanders

by Jeffary Joseph

  I looked her in the eyes. “We're counting on you.”

  She nodded at me seriously; when it came to fighting, she was a completely different person.

  I nodded back. “Let’s go.”

  The exhibition soon started, and we took our positions in the spacious range. Bullets ricocheted off the large rock I was ducked behind, causing dust to rise and partially obscured my vision. It wasn’t long after we’d begun to move out that bullets began to fire at us, but it was hard to gauge where it was coming from.

  “Enemy contact made.” I spoke into the small radio on my shoulder, then nodded over at Hope who was crouched low behind a stump of a cut-down tree, Vince next to her.

  She returned it and raised both her pistols over the stump; I still wondered how she had enough strength to control two firearms at once so accurately. Letting loose a rain of bullets in the direction of the enemy, she forced the shots coming from Team Python to stop immediately, allowing Vince and I to move forward. I rolled to another rock, this time medium-sized and then jumped behind a small bush that was a couple of feet to the right while Vince was on my heel.

  “Engaging enemy.” Mina’s voice came from my radio.

  But she didn’t have to tell me; I could hear the gunshots clearly from my location and poked my head out when a bullet went whizzing by. “C-Crap!” I jerked back and patiently waited for a lull in their assault to peek out again. Then, I aimed my rifle and eased my finger on the trigger to send off a series of shots, the recoil making the gun buck up.

  Out of nowhere, a loud cry sounded behind me, so I jumped back into cover to check where the scream came from and spotted the bottom half of Hope sticking out from a stump several feet away. A loud ‘boop’ echoed from the top of the training range where the sixteen digital pictures of all the participants were; hers was greyed out. Great. Now my already short-handed team was down to two people; how had they flanked us so fast?

  Vince and I now had fire coming at us from both sides now, and he moved from his position to crouch near me.

  “Now what do we do?” He asked worriedly.

  I searched my brain for a solution as bullets continued to travel our way, then pressed the button on the side of my shoulder radio. “Noir.”

  “Noir, here.” Her voice crackled back.

  “Enemies at my six. I need a headcount.”

  “Roger.”

  While we waited for her report, Vince and I did our best to return fire, crouching back to back to hold off the assault from both directions, but it was painfully obvious we were outnumbered. “Anytime, Noir.” I gritted my teeth as a bullet narrowly missed my arm.

  Her voice came through my radio again not long after. “One enemy at your six. Do you want me to engage? I have a clear shot.”

  “Negative… stick to the plan.” It would be easy to have her snipe the lone person, but that would give away her location, and I needed her to stay hidden.

  “I have good news and bad news, which one do you want first?” I turned my head slightly towards Vince who was still pressed back against me.

  “Bad.” He sent a few more rounds; the vibration coming from his body transferred to me.

  “Bad news is, you have to go take out the enemy at our six alone. Good news is, it’s only one.” The singular enemy behind us had to be constantly changing position as shots were coming from multiple directions. It created the illusion of multiple combatants which was very clever, considering I had used the same strategy in the previous exhibition.

  “I thought you said there was bad news?” Vince grinned and ran passed me to move from cover to cover on way to the enemy.

  I had to admit, if he weren’t such an ass, he’d be kind of cool. I spun back around, concentrating on the other enemies in front and heard another ‘boop’ suddenly go off several seconds later. Nervously looking up showed one of Team Python’s pictures greyed out; it must’ve been the team led by Mina, so now we were tied one-to-one. I leaned out of cover to examine the enemy’s position, and my heart sank at seeing the other team practically on Vince and I’s location; they would overrun us soon,

  Behind me Vince could be heard exchanging with his target; I would need his help, and soon. I looked at the disfigured rock close to my left, knowing it wasn’t smart to stay in the same position too long and rolled to it, gathering dirt and debris on my training gear in the process. There, I leaned out and fired in a wide arc rather than aiming for a singular target to keep them at bay. Bullets flew all around me as they countered, forcing me to duck, and they were still closing in.

  “Miss me?” Vince appeared next to me.

  I almost fell over, never having been so happy to see him. “Vince! That was quick.” I glanced up again to see another greyed-out picture on Team Python’s side; I was so focused I hadn’t even noticed.

  “My middle name is Quick.” A confident smile grew on him.

  I stared at him.

  “S-Shut up; it sounded better in my head.” He inched out of cover. “Damn, they’re close…” His sentence trailed off.

  “What’s wrong?” I peeked out of to see what he was looking at.

  In all his mountainous size behind a shrub not far off was the leader of Team Python and Disciplinary Squad, his older brother, Eric. I didn’t know what their deal was, but obviously something significant had to have happened between them.

  “Vince –” Before I could tell him not to do exactly what I thought he might do, he did it.

  Vince rushed out from our shared rock completely exposed and into the thick of the enemy, swiftly reaching a shrub where an enemy was hiding and fired down on them without mercy; he dropped to the ground as a million bullets went speeding by right after. Several hit him in the shoulder, but as long as they didn’t make contact with the orange circle on his suit, he was good to go.

  That didn’t mean they didn’t hurt, but he was back up in no time; rage was a hell of a painkiller. Without pause, he continued on the mad path straight for his brother, ignoring everything and everyone else, clearly a single objective on his mind.

  I squinted across the field at Eric Riley who had a grin on his face. “Vince, stop!”

  He was only mere foot from the giant now and aimed his weapon, but Eric was quicker, slogging off a few shots that made Vince crash headfirst into the ground, and was on his smaller brother in no time to stand directly above him.

  “Screw you…” Vince reached for his gun close by.

  However, Eric kicked it away. “You lack discipline.” His deep voice boomed, and then he stepped on Vince’s hand; his pain-filled scream echoed in the quiet range.

  My eyes doubled as I emerged from cover but immediately retreated since the other members of Team Python sent more shots my way. I moved out a couple of inches to witness the scene once more and saw Eric’s gun aimed down at Vince’s chest as he squeezed the trigger without a second thought. There was yet another ‘boop,’ but I didn’t look up this time. The situation had turned from bad to worse with both my team members incapacitated.

  “Positive you don’t need my assistance, Team Leader?” Noir’s smug voice came through my radio; I didn’t find the situation quite as amusing.

  My defeat would cost Team Umbra three points, so I seriously considered abandoning the plan until hearing the commotion coming from Team Python and smiled. “Hold your position, the Cavalry has arrived.”

  Team B led by Mina had finally managed to get into position behind them, the number of gunshots magnifying and causing my eardrums to ache. I used the distraction to advance on the enemy, moving forward one cover at a time and spotted one member of the opposite team that had his back turned to me at a bush; a single, well-placed bullet aimed at the circle on his suit’s back dropped him to the ground without a sound.

  Eric Riley decided to join the fray at that instance, moving to Mina’s team with calculated purpose as he pivoted right to let a bullet harmlessly sail pass him before getting low, rolling left and shooting twice.

&n
bsp; “No way…” I looked up to see Josh and Bianca’s pictures switched to grey, Eric managing to bring them down simultaneously. This guy’s just a recruit? I hurriedly pressed the button on the side of my radio again, playing my trump card. “Now, Noir.”

  “Roger.” She responded after a moment.

  Movement from a cluster of trees in my peripheral vision caught my attention, and a second later, Mina dropped like a stone from one of them, landing perfectly on the balls of her feet as shots erupted from behind, someone else from Team B providing fire support. Without harassment, she was able to sprint to a rusted, metal container and press her back against it, then leaned out; she noticed me raise my rifle to the far right and nodded.

  And at the same time, we exited the safety of cover and blitzed the enemy. I studied over and over how Team Python had dominated their countless opponents and figured out they had either been too slow, too weak or just not aggressive enough. But Team Umbra would be the outliers and match them at their own game, though they were the number one ranked team for a reason.

  A stray bullet hit me square in my shoulder, making me drop to the ground and scramble to a nearby stump as one more shot flew over my head. Safe now – at least relatively, I rotated my shoulder, it made me think back a few months to where I had really gotten shot by that purse-snatcher. Raising my head inches above the stump showed Mina still running full speed.

  The sound of boots hitting the ground reached my ears as George dropped from his cover in the trees to cover my slack. He was trying to hold off the other members of Team Python for Mina but had sacrificed himself in the process as a bullet hit him in the middle of his suit. She was right on them now, leaping over a log in her way and jumped onto a rectangular container.

  Then, she tossed her handgun away to reach down with both hands and rose back up with a small, red-haired girl who was kicking and screaming.

  “What in the heck does she think she’s doing...?” The victim was the girl I’d seen with Eric Riley the first day I arrived at Addison, Ashley if I remembered right. First Vince, now Mina; they were letting their emotions get the best of them, and it was affecting their decisions on the field. It was only a matter of time before she was shot down, too.

  Mina raised Ashley by the collar of her suit and punched her hard in the face.

  “Let go of me!” She shrieked as her short legs thrashed around.

  Mina punched her again, then elbowed her in the orange target on her suit before tossing her like trash off the side of the large container. I watched blankly as the smaller girl sailed through the air and then smacked into the ground to limply roll to a stop near a shrub. This exhibition was personal for some of the members of Team Umbra, but I didn’t think that the level of violence was necessary.

  We were still peers and had to work together at the end of the day after all. Out of cover and exposed, it was open season on Mina a dozen bullets bombarded her, causing her to lose balance and land roughly on her knees. The familiar ‘boop’ sounded again, meaning Team Umbra was down to just Noir and myself.

  “Bravo.” Eric Riley rose from cover and was clapping with his handgun as he walked towards me.

  “What is he doing?” I copied him and stepped out of cover, pointing my rifle and squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened. “What?” My eyes scanned its long body for damage.

  “You’re out of bullets.” He smiled, stopping not far in front.

  How does he know? I threw it to the dirt.

  “Truly an excellent performance, I almost broke a sweat.”

  I gave him a blank look; no wonder Vince hated him. The other members of Team Python emerged from their hiding spots with their guns lowered, making it clear I wasn’t a threat anymore.

  “For providing such an entertaining match, I’ll let give you one chance to salvage this blunder.”

  “Yeah, how?”

  He let his own gun fall to the ground. “If you can beat me in close quarters combat, I’ll let you capture my flag.”

  I shrugged my shoulders and grinned. “No need.”

  Chapter 26 - Control

  “TEAM PYTHON FLAG CAPTURED.”

  Everyone raised their heads at the monotone voice that filled the training range, a ‘boop’ following right after.

  “After her.” Eric Riley frowned at me and waved at his teammates; they took off immediately. “You left your flag undefended? That was pretty reckless.”

  I shrugged, a cocky smile still on me. “War is a game of opportunity, Eric. Sometimes you have to take chances.”

  He was silent for a few seconds, then started chuckling. “You really are interesting. Then let me ask you this, why with The Psycho? She’s clearly your most valuable team member, so isn’t she wasted on such a menial task?”

  The Psycho - Noir’s infamous nickname. I gritted my teeth.

  “Ah, I apologize.” He smiled, noting my less than happy expression. “Miss Ancel.”

  I lowered my eyelids at him. “I knew everyone would be expecting her to play her usual role protecting our flag, but this match required a bit of… improvisation. So, I used her reputation to our advantage.”

  “Once again, bravo.” The giant clapped one more time. “Those who fail to adapt get crushed like the cockroaches they are. It’s good you understand that already.”

  “Stop, you’re embarrassing me with all the compliments.”

  He smirked and got into a fighting stance. “Shall we play while we wait for my team to apprehend your girlfriend?”

  There was really no benefit strategy-wise to fighting this monster, but he had messed with one of us, and he wasn’t going to get away with it. The fact that he was one of the top hand-to-hand Salamander did cross my mind, but I wasn’t the same Adin. Before, I was a lowly caterpillar but now liked to think of myself as a blossoming butterfly, or something like that. I moved to my left, sizing up Eric’s much bigger frame, clearly at a disadvantage when it came to reach, which meant getting up close and personal.

  That meant exposing myself to his power, so here’s hoping he was as slow as he looked. Wasting no time, he closed in on me, and I matched him stride for stride, watching as he leaped forward with his knee leading the way. I quickly shuffled back dodging the blow and was a bit taken aback by his aggressiveness but shook it off and took steps toward him again, knowing I couldn’t be discouraged.

  Once near, I aimed a jab that he easily batted down, while he countered by kicking one of his long legs out. I managed to sidestep it, but almost lost balance on a rock that littered the ground. He used the opportunity to lunge and grab me by the shoulders, then hoisted me high in the air - an extremely dangerous position for me. I frantically swung my legs and kicked him hard in the chest, causing him to stumble back and release me; I hit the ground hard on my hands and knees after.

  Eric had a big Cheshire cat smile on his face as he gazed down at me, reminding me of Noir’s the first time we fought. They both reveled in combat, even lived for it; that’s what made them so strong, and scary too. As a matter of fact, she should really be moving a little faster. I had a feeling my match with the behemoth smiling happily at me wouldn’t last too much longer.

  As if hearing my thoughts, Noir suddenly leaped from a tree behind Eric. It cast the illusion of her flying as she sailed through the air before landing on all fours like a true cat, the other Team Python members shouting and chasing after her. Eric turned around and started for them when he heard the commotion.

  I knew how dangerous he was even compared with her, so grabbed the fist-sized rock I tripped on earlier and chucked it to hit him in the back of the shoulder. “Uh-uh, we were playing remember?” I waved a finger at him from the ground.

  He spun around, letting Noir sprint passed him and huffed in anger as he charged for me; it gave me a flashback of my last football game when Taylor had done the same, but this situation couldn’t have been any more different. I hurriedly tried to stand, but a jolt of pain in my knee sent me back down, probably hurting i
t when I fell. A moment later, the back of my head slammed against the ground, and black spots instantly filled my vision as he bowled straight into me with his entire seven-foot frame.

  “That was very sneaky of you.” Eric stood up straighter and pressed his massive boot against my throat.

  I would’ve responded with something clever but couldn’t on account of him nearly crushing my windpipe and all, so instead gurgled something unintelligible.

  He smiled and cupped a hand over his ear. “What’s that? You’re going to have to speak up.”

  “THIRTY SECONDS REMAINING.” The range’s monotone voice warned.

  I smiled inwardly. Team Umbra would be the ones getting the last laugh. He pressed on my neck with even more force, further cutting off my airway.

  But I tried to remain calm, learning the longer I did, the longer I could keep the virus in check, though he was really, really pushing me past my limits. My line of sight strayed towards the digital pictures of the two teams, several were grey, then suddenly two more on Team Python’s side blinked out, or maybe I imagined it since I couldn’t think straight anymore.

  Eric suddenly looked to his left, and the pressure on my neck was released as he went sailing to the ground, Noir standing in his place after.

  I sat up and started coughing right away, while she stepped over me intently focused on Eric. The look on her face was one I knew all too well, after all, I’d been on the receiving end of it more than once. “Stop,” I reached up and grabbed her wrist. struggling to speak through my fits of coughing.

  The slender girl easily shook me off and jumped towards him, then raised her leg to stomp him on the ground. He caught her boot with his large hands and pushed her back, but she immediately was on him again.

  “Dammit, stop it, Noir!” I reached for her.

  She sharply turned back at me and after some hard staring walked passed me towards the outfit room. I wasn’t sure what to make of the look she had given me, almost like I’d betrayed her.