Chapter 12: Second Night (Part 3)

Sam stomped back to her captain, her face hot with rage. That fucking Cain. After taking out her leg, the jerk had come out to taunt her, staying just out of her reach. No matter how much she swung, she couldn’t get to him fast enough on one leg. Then when she’d reached her limit, he got her.

He got her again.

She wanted to scream.

The minute she respawned, she was back at it, charging right for him. But she wasn’t going to be careless this time. She avoided the other attackers by sticking to the edge of the field, assuming that her side’s defenders would be enough to keep them at bay. Fuck defending. She wanted to get her hurt on.

“Hey there, Sammy,” Cain greeted her with a wave, stepping out of the defense’s formation. She glared at him, but didn’t lose her cool.

Watch his hands. Make sure he isn’t going to throw anything. If she was gonna win this, she needed to be smart about it. Good… he didn’t have any throwing knives, so she could-

Just as she stepped forward, Cain surprised her by dashing in himself. His knife glinted in the stadium light as he swung at her, ignoring the difference in their range.

Fucker, of course he’d target me from the right! Sam dodged to her left and swung her sword, but he easily ducked under it. She took a few steps back and kept the tip aimed at his throat the way Mike and the others did, watching him warily.

“I must say, Sammy, you’ve got some pretty good reflexes,” he called. “Still, you know that’s a two-handed sword, yeah?”

“Fuck you!” She shouted back.

He approached her, keeping his knife trained on her chest like it could somehow compare with the length of her own blade. Sam didn’t fall for it. She’d been underestimating him, and he kept making a fool of her. Not this time!

She saw the knives in his hand, and realized what was coming. She prepared herself to jump back if he targeted her legs, or bat them away if he aimed higher. As they flew through the night she dodged, her chest swelling with triumph. Yes! They might have range, but they could only go so far and so fast! She just needed to keep her cool.

After throwing the knives, Cain pulled more from his pockets. How many of those things did he have?! He charged right at her, swinging his knife again, and Sam jumped back. Careful, careful…

She was seething, but at the same time, she couldn’t deny the excitement pounding in her chest! It was like she was back in competition with her teammates, she-

He swung for her arm and she cried out, jumping left as fast as she could. That… that had been close, just a little more and he would have-

Thunk, thunk.

Two hits to her stomach.

Again.

Fucking AGAIN.

“Aaaargh!” Flinging her sword to the ground, she fell to her knees and let out scream of frustration.

“Hey, come on Sammy, don’t be like that, it’s just a game. We’re here to have fun!” He still had that fucking smile on his fucking face when he approached her. She glared at him like his head would explode if she wanted it badly enough.

No such luck.

“We all have to start somewhere,” he said, crouching down next to her. “Everyone’s first few nights are like that. You just have to keep doing your best and you’ll improve, trust me. You should know that better than most first-years, I’d imagine.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” She spat.

“I saw you move out there, you’ve got some great concentration.” He fucking complimented her. “And your hand-eye coordination is a lot better than you’d expect from an amateur. What was it you played? Soccer? Basketball?”

If wishes were horses, Cain would have been trampled flat.

“None of your fucking business,” Sam hissed, rising to her feet and grabbing her sword, storming off. She hated that face. Making fun of her was bad enough, but he was being fucking serious right now and that pissed her off even more.

“I noticed you’re favoring your right arm.”

She froze. Her hand shot up to her shoulder and for a moment she could swear she felt it ache. No… no, she was being silly, of course it wasn’t-

“Are you afraid you’ll hurt it or something? Because-“

“Shuuuutt UP!” She screamed. Why couldn’t he just leave her the fuck alone?!

Sam was quite a sight when she made it back to Mike and the others. Mary trembled as she made eye contact.

“Respawn me already,” she demanded, jutting her sword out. Mike didn’t take it.

“…I don’t think so. You’re too tense right now.” The calm surety in his voice pissed her off even more.

“I’m fucking fine! I just got a little heated!” She shouted. She knew she wasn’t helping her case, but her blood was boiling.

“I’m switching you to defense,” Mike judged. “Until you calm down, I think it’s best if you stay as far away from the other team as possible.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Sam wanted to shout, but she held her tongue. There was a sternness in his eyes that cooled her nerves, reminding her of how intense he was the other night, when he cut through everyone like craft paper.

“…Fine,” she muttered out, switching places with the brown-haired boy whose name she’d already forgotten.

Mary looked tensely at Sam. She was worried about her roommate and wanted to say something to cheer her up, but she’d spent enough time with the other girl to know that this wasn’t a “cheering up” time.

She swallowed and tried to will herself to stop shaking instead.

…

Sam hated the fact that Mike was right. Being on the defensive and not having to keep charging into battle may have been boring as hell, but it helped her calm down. She was just embarrassed that she’d practically had a meltdown in front of everyone. What was she, a fucking child? Ugh… that son of a bitch just had a way of getting under her skin, if she could just shut him up…

A flash of blue snapped her out of her thoughts and she perked up, seeing Nick approach. He had that wavy sword of his, looking for a weak spot to get through their defenses.

His target, of course, was blindingly obvious.

Sam smacked his sword away from a cowering Mary, the scared little lamb stepping back every time the tall boy advanced.

“Leave off it,” she scowled, swinging at him. She had to be careful with her swings, if she went in at the wrong angle he’d grapple her sword down again and kill her. Then she felt a sword jab her in the back.

“Hey, what-“ She glanced back to see Mike’s eyes burning seriously over her shoulder.

“Stop being cautious,” he advised her. “If my sword is touching you, you respawn immediately. Get it?”

Across her face, confusion made way for the wickedness of understanding.

Oh, yeah. She fucking got it.

With the confidence of a woman who couldn’t die, Sam swung at Nick, daring him to lock down her sword. He did, of course, and swung up into her, but it didn’t matter because he wasn’t killing her, and he wasn’t getting around her that way, either.

She got him in the arm and he jumped back, switching the sword to his other hand. He had a rueful smile on his face.

“Gotta say, that’s one way to play, Mike.”

Mike’s serious expression broke into a grin. Sam felt his sword shift as he shrugged. “Gotta find the fun ways to play, right?”

“Still, I-“

“CAPTAIN KILL!”

Everyone turned at Mac’s declaration. He’d broken through the other team’s defenses and got Cynthia, meaning the game was finally over.

“…Well, I suppose that’s that,” Nick shrugged. “Nice game guys.” He turned to Sam. “Next time, I bet you’ll find a way to get around my sword without needing invincibility.”

She smirked back.

The teams returned to their separate sides of the field and regrouped for a new strategy.

Mike had quite a doozy of one.

“…Is that really gonna work?” Shannon asked.

Mac smirked. “Well… it always works the first time. After that, well…”

“Trust me on this one, guys,” Mike grinned. “It’s gonna be great.”

Sam found herself smiling, too. She liked the sound of this plan.

“You guys ready?” Mike shouted across the field.

“Yeah! Ready!” Carly called back. The attackers on her side of the field were already starting to advance.

“On 3, ready? Mike counted. “1… 2… 3! CHARGE!”

Like a track runner at the sound of a firing pistol, everyone on Sam’s side ran in on the attack. Even Mary. Even their captain, Mike.

A human wave of attackers slammed into the three from Carly’s side, and finished them off in an instant. And as they ran back to respawn, Sam’s team was hot in pursuit, and Mac even overtook some of them.

Oh yeah, this was WAY more her speed. Why did they need to give a crap about defense? Just overwhelm them with an all-out offensive and catch ‘em with their pants down! Now THAT was the kind of thinking Sam could get behind!

It sucked that she wasn’t the one to get Cain. But when he blocked her swing with his knife, that opened up room for Shannon to hit him in the side. So at least Sam could be happy about that.

“CAPTAIN! KILL!” Mac roared with the savagery of a wild tiger having torn apart its prey. With the momentum of their charge, he had nearly sent the shorter Carly flying with the thrust of his spear.

Sam let out a cheer of victory, the rush of adrenaline filling her with glee at how exciting that charge had been, like something right out of a movie. Mike howled as well, the whole team was feeling the same thrill she was!

And then there was poor little Mary, letting out haggard pants from her aching lungs. This strategy wasn't for everyone.