Chapter 13: Second Night (Part 4)

They played a few more games of Captains that night. After the little maneuver of the full charge, Mike had switched back to a more traditional method of playing, and Sam remained on the defense.

She was starting to calm down, but the fire burning inside her was still smoldering.

Tamp down on it, she ordered herself. Tamp down on it.

She didn’t want to snap again. If she got too violent, she could hurt someone. And while she wanted to hurt Cain, she didn’t, like, want to hurt Cain, she just…

“Ugh, what a fucking pain…” She muttered under her breath.

“You guys ready?!” Carly shouted.

“YEAH!” Mike called back.

Sam took note that the other side’s formation had changed. Cain wasn’t a defender anymore, he’d switched with the big guy, Tony. And he was approaching them.

She clenched her sword a little tighter.

“GO!” A voice calling from the other side of the field caught her attention. She turned, and saw the most ridiculous sight in the world.

Tony was charging down the field, his spear pointed out like a jousting lance. Mac swung at him and hit him in the chest, but Tony didn’t even slow down. He just turned and stabbed him right back.

“What the… oh, come on!” Mac burst out laughing. When Tony got closer, Sam could see what was so funny.

Carly was right behind him, her sword buried in his back, turning Tony into what was essentially an indestructible tank. With the other two defenders on either side of her, it was practically impossible to get a captain kill.

And they were headed right for Sam.

“Oh you’ve gotta be shitting me,” she muttered under her breath. She raised her sword to try and block it but she was overpowered, losing to Tony in both range and muscle. And it wasn’t like she could rely on her agility, not when her job was defense.

The only reason they didn’t get an immediate win is because Mike jumped back and evaded his swing, parrying with his sword. He was giggling in spite of himself.

“Seriously, Carly?! Seriously?!”

“It works, doesn’t it?” She cackled. “Human tank, advance!”

Mike rolled his eyes, evading Tony’s attacks. Sam noted that while the idea was sound in theory, they didn’t exactly have great mobility.

“Protect the captain!” Mac shouted at her.

“How?! He’s doing a better job than we are!” She snapped.

“Go after the attackers,” Andy replied, cutting Nick in the back. “They can’t respawn in this situation.”

“Neither can we,” Shannon groaned. Mike was focusing way more on keeping out of Tony’s range than he was focusing on healing people.

Carly’s crazy plan had turned a rather straightforward game into utter bedlam.

“Hey Sammy!” Cain called from behind, just as Sam felt a knife stab her in the back. She whirled around to see he’d snuck up on her, and wanted to scream.

“H-Hiya!”

Sam might have fallen, but Mary came in swinging. Well, more like uselessly flailing about, but it was the thought that counted.

…To most people, anyway. To Sam, the only thing that counted was success, and Mary was coming up a little short in that department. Every time she swung and Cain blocked, she jumped back like she was fearful of a potential counterattack. It was a reasonable enough strategy for dealing with Cain, but Sam doubted it would work on anyone with a longer range than his dagger.

And that was basically everybody on the field.

“Hey, Curly!” Andy snapped, startling Mary. She nearly fell over.

“Wh-What?!”

“You’re not gonna get anywhere like that, you need to… oh, fuck it, fine.” Andy twirled her spear and approached Cain, and immediately the way he carried himself changed. It was surprising that he was so light on his feet, blocking her swings and thrusts, and Sam watched on the sidelines, taking notes. The goth girl was really putting on the pressure.

“Gotcha!” Shannon popped up, stabbing Cain in the back, and Sam made a triumphant fist. It wasn’t as vindicating as if she’d been the one to score the final blow, but at least the fucker was-

“Captain kill!” Carly’s triumphant declaration rang across the field, and everyone turned to see what had happened.

Mike was panting, trying to catch his breath. Everyone around him was pretty tired out themselves.

“See?” Carly grinned. “If you want to beat Mike, you gotta tire him out! And that’s where the indestructible tank comes in handy!”

“Yeah… lungs… not so… indestructible…” Tony gasped, leaning against his spear for support. “Never doing that again…”

“Oh, come on! That was a brilliant plan! A masterpiece!”

“If we could have surrounded you, we would have gotten you,” Mike said. “Since you were only touching Tony. Problem is…”

His eyes flickered over them and his voice trailed off. He coughed to cover it up, but Sam knew what he’d meant to say.

Mike had been able to evade Tony for a while, but his team wasn’t skilled enough to capitalize on that in time. Mac and Andy were good, but Shannon and the rest…

Sam had to bitterly accept that included her.

“Yeah, yeah, well, next game… oh, hey!” Movement by the bleachers caught Carly’s eye, and she turned and waved. “Yeah, it is! Daniel, over here!”

Sam’s face soured. Oh, great, he was back.

“Sorry I’m late, I had to study for a test.”

“Ah, no worries!” Carly waved off his concerns. “You’re free to come whenever! Got your weapon, too!”

“Yeah, it’s okay if I use the same one, right?” He asked, waving his white and blue-edged sword.

“Totally! Until we get you guys building some personal weapons, it’s totally cool to use whatever club weapons we bring!”

Sam perked up at that. Personal weapons?

“So, uh… what are you playing? Can I join in?”

“Sure thing! Let me just go a quick run-down of the rules, then we can get you all ready to go! Sound good, Mike?”

“Wait, we’re still playing Captains? Even though we have an odd number?” One of the first-year boys asked. Willis? William? Something like that…

Carly flashed him a wicked grin. “We’re gonna play with… the Mercenary rule.”

The way she said that seemed worrisome.

“The way the Mercenary works is simple,” Mike explained. “When we have an odd number for a game like Captains or regular Capture the Flag, we pick someone to be the Mercenary.”

“Let me guess, they’re not on either team?” Sam guessed.

“Exactly,” Carly grinned. “The Mercenary starts at a respawn point in the middle of the field. And all he does is kill anyone who gets close to him. Whichever side they’re on. …Oh! But only attackers and defenders. No captains.”

“Can I be the Mercenary?” Sam asked. Being able to just go after anyone sounded kind of fun.

“I think… we’ll have Mike do it, this first round.”

Carly’s suggestion sent a chill across the field.

“D-Do we have to?” Mary whimpered.

“Mike’s usually the best choice,” Carly shrugged. “Games get real interesting when he’s the Mercenary. Or Cain.”

“I’d be fine with that,” Sam said, shooting him a glare. “We are allowed to kill the Mercenary, right?”

“…Well, yeah, obviously,” Carly said. “But they get a five-second respawn when they touch the dot, so it’s not like there’s much point.”

“…Oh I can think of a point…” She muttered under her breath. Cain flashed her a smarmy grin.

“Let’s just stick with Mike for this first round, then we’ll see if we want to switch things up, okay?” Carly decided, and that was final.

And thus, Mike shed his jersey and walked to the center of the field, while Sam’s team got Damien.

Not exactly the best trade in the world.

“So who’s gonna be the new captain, then?” Mac asked, lifting up the jersey.

“Curly should do it,” Andy said, nodding to Mary. Mary gasped in surprise.

“M-Me?! Why me?!”

“I’ll show you why.” Andy turned her spear towards Mary, giving her a light thrust. Mary blocked it, stepping back. She swung next, and again, Mary blocked and stepped back.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked.

“Proving a point. Curly, why do you keep backing away?” She demanded.

“Be… Because you’re attacking!”

“Yeah. That’s what people do in Boffer. So how are you going to beat me, then, if you’re not going to swing back?”

“Um…”

“Sneak up from behind!” Shannon suggested.

“Okay, yes, sure, but that’s not what we’re talking about here,” Andy groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Look, Curly…”

“Mary,” Mary mumbled.

“Okay, Mary. Look, those swords you’re using? I don’t think they’re good weapons for you, honestly.”

Sam hadn’t wanted to say anything about it, but she kind of agreed.

“Wh-Why not? They’re really light and easy to use!”

“Yeah, but you don’t have any reach,” she explained. “See, look at Mac. See how long his arms are?”

“Uh…” Mary glanced at Mac, and blushed. Sam rolled her eyes. Okay, so he had a sleeveless shirt on, but that was just ridiculous.

“Long arms and a long spear like that means he has really good reach. And that matters a lot in this game. Your swords? They’re short. That means you have to really get in there and attack with them, because that’s the only way to beat someone with better reach than you. Step into their range, evade their attacks, and strike. They’re an aggressive and fast weapon, do you understand?”

Mary nodded glumly.

Andy sighed. “Here, swap with me.” She held out her half-spear to a confused Mary.

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. You be captain and use that, and I’ll show you how you’re supposed to use the double short-swords, okay?”

“But… we’d be at a disadvantage, right?” Mary asked, glancing across the field. The other side was already prepared.

“Nah. I used these myself, before I switched to a spear,” Andy assured her. “Trust me, I can handle it.”

“…Okay,” Mary nodded, swapping weapons with the goth. “…Do I have to wear the jersey?”

“Yes.”

“B-But…”

“What? You don’t want to catch Mike’s cooties?” Andy smirked.

Mary’s face turned scarlet. “B-Boys don’t have cooties!” She sputtered. “…Right?”

Sam rubbed her temples and sighed.