Chapter 16: Second Night (Part 7)

When Sam ran into Mike again, she faced an entirely different opponent. He was serious now, focused directly at her, his sword ready to swat the knives out of the air.

That… would be a problem.

I can’t take him in a straight fight… and if he blocks the knives, then… Sam had to be quick on her feet. Luckily, she had a considerable amount of energy stored up due to having spent most of the night back on defense. Meanwhile, Mike had already exhausted himself quite a bit these past few rounds, and she could see him lightly panting as he kept his sword aimed at her.

She took off in a run across the field, tempting him to follow her. She knew he would, too. Because they both knew that if he broke off to go after the captain, she’d get him in the back with her knives again.

“Close!”

Shit! Sam dodged the swing by a hair, her blood freezing in her veins. She was still underestimating how fast he was.

She blocked his next slash, jumping back as she did it. She felt like one wrong move would be the end of her. In the heat of the moment, this wasn’t just a game of boffer anymore, it felt like a real sword fight.

For a second, she considered the same strategy that Cain was always using. Block Mike’s sword with hers, and then use her right hand to throw knives at him and take him out. But she wouldn’t do it. It wasn’t just cowardly, but it also meant she’d have to use her right arm, and that…

Her shoulder twitched as if it sensed what she was thinking and she quickly shut down that idea. No way. She’d have to think of another method of getting passed him.

“Hey Mike!” A voice called from her left. They both turned to see Mac barreling towards them, spear in hand.

“Shit!” Mike cursed, dodging the thrust with a sidestep. Mac blocked his counterattack with his shield and stepped back for another thrust, and Sam realized he’d given her an opportunity.

She lunged forward with a thrust of her own, which Mike managed to spin into and block with his sword. Fuck! How is he so fucking fast?! She cursed. Even with the two of them they were only holding him at bay.

Mac went for an underhand swing at Mike’s legs next. It was a clumsy and reckless move that left his body open to a counter, but Mike didn’t take the bait. He stepped back instead, his eyes leaping to Sam, and she realized that just by her being there she was forcing him to take moves he normally wouldn’t.

That brought a smile to her face.

“Sam, you gonna use those knives or just horde ‘em?” Mac called to her. “We could really use an advantage here!”

“That’s…” If she wanted to throw the knives, then she’d need to drop her sword. And that wasn’t a bright play at all.

But it was the best they had.

Mac thrust at Mike’s chest a second time and Mike deflected, making sure he kept a good distance between the two of them. Sam switched her sword to her other hand (just for a moment!) and reached into her pocket for the knives.

It was just what he’d been waiting for.

With speed she didn’t know he had, he leapt forward like a cat, slashing right at her exposed arm. She freaked out, nearly falling over in panic. Before she could stop herself, she’d swung her right arm to block the slash, not even realizing she’d done it at first.

Her hand was shaking as the swords pressed against each other, and she immediately let go. This was just a stupid game, there was no point in risking a real injury.

She was prepared for him to kill her, but to her relief, Mac stabbed him in the back before he’d had the chance.

“What was that about?” Mac asked, confused. “Why’d you drop your sword?”

“For… Forget it,” Sam muttered, ignoring the knives and picking her sword back up. “Let’s just keep going. He’s gonna respawn.”

But before they could, Mac whirled around. “Darn it!” He groaned.

Cain was standing a few feet behind him, smirking. “Hi, Sammy!” He waved, as Mac tucked his shield arm behind his back.

Sam growled, but she didn’t let herself get distracted. They had more important things to deal with.

“Forget him,” she muttered. “Let’s keep going.”

She jogged down the field with a one-armed Mac. The other two attackers were coming, Tony and the first-year, but she was prepared. Tony made an excellent target. She tucked her sword under held shoulder and flung a knife, hitting him in upper arm. There went his spear!

“Shoot! What’s with that aim?!” Tony grumbled as he switched his spear to his other hand, but it was way too late for that. Mac was already stabbing him in the chest.

The first-year was a little more skilled than Sam had expected, but she managed to take him out, too. That just left the defenders to deal with.

“Willis, you stay back,” Mac called to their last attacker. “If anyone else comes, take care of ‘em.”

“R-Right,” he nodded.

The attackers had already respawned, and that meant Mike had already respawned. He was headed right for Sam.

“Mike, hold off!” Carly called. He paused.

“What? Why?”

“We can handle a few attackers,” she assured him. “You and Tony go get their captain.”

Mike nodded. He broke off from Sam and ran around her, and for a second she considered throwing a knife at him. But she only had three left. Not good to waste them.

“Okay, I’ll handle Nick,” Mac said, nodding to Sam. “Think you can handle Jamie and Josh?”

Sam glanced at the other guy and the blue-haired girl. They didn’t seem that tough. Then again, they were hanging pretty close to Carly, unlike Nick, who’d come out to engage Mac.

“I have a better idea,” Sam suggested. “Just give me an opening.”

Mac was confused. But he pressed forward regardless. Fortunately, when it came to technique, he was a lot better than Nick was, even though they were both pretty good. Nick went back to respawn and Mac charged forward, aiming for the blue-haired girl, Jamie.

Jamie raised her sword to block but Mac brushed it aside, hitting her in the chest. Unfortunately, Carly’s sword meant she was invincible. Mac backed off when Nick respawned, putting some distance between himself and the captain again.

It was like a game of cat and mouse.

While this was happening, Sam was circling around the ring of defenders while the other boy, Josh, was watching her. She tucked her sword under her arm and pulled out a throwing knife, which made him tense.

Of course, if she wasn’t going to use it on Mike, she wasn’t about to waste it on him.

She focused on their distance. She wanted to be far enough away where if he charged at her, she could still grab her sword fast enough to block. That meant she had to be pretty far back, almost to the boundary.

But that was still well within range.

Sam watched for her opening. It helped that Carly’s shiny yellow vest stood out in the spotlight.

Get the wind right… line up the target… Sam couldn’t help but smile. She never imagined she’d be doing something like this again!

A flick of her wrist sent the knife sailing past Josh and into Carly’s back.

“What the heck?!” She gasped, turning around in disbelief. “Sam?! Did you throw that?!”

Sam grabbed her next knife. Two shots left. And now Carly was focused on her. Jamie and Nick had teamed up to hold Mac at bay while the spear-wielder tried to get through, leaving Carly and Josh free to focus on defending.

Carly must have figured out the game plan, because instead of crouching behind Josh like a human shield she backed away from him, sword raised to block any more knives.

If only Sam could use two hands! She could swing with one and throw with the other! But she couldn’t risk that.

She switched the throwing knife to her right hand and grabbed her sword with her left. She wasn’t going to use the knife, of course, but they didn’t need to know that. She approached, aiming her blade at Josh’s throat. He held up his green and orange spear, ready to defend.

A spear user. She hadn’t really faced one before, not a two-handed one, anyway. It looked lighter than Tony’s and Mac’s, with a blade on each end. He stepped in and thrust, and she parried, keeping an eye on Carly as she did so.

Josh was a lot better than she’d given him credit for, she had to admit. While he wasn’t in Mike’s league, he knew how to use the spear well, maneuvering it like a bo staff. His eyes kept watching for an opening, so she didn’t give him one.

Then, movement!

Sam jumped to the side just as a throwing knife passed her. Shit! Carly had picked up the knife from earlier and was now taking advantage of it! Shit, that wasn’t good, she could barely avoid Josh, but the two of them together…

She just needed one more shot. If she hit Carly with a knife one more time the game would be over. But she only had two knives left, could she really…

…

Sam wanted to win. Her heart was pounding, her blood was pumping, and she felt more alive than she’d ever felt in months. She swung her blade at Josh’s chest and he blocked with his staff, and she seized the opportunity.

He was left-handed, so she flung her knife up and caught him in the left elbow. That forced him to step back and adjust his stance. Carly caught this, and ran over to heal him, but Sam wasn’t about to let that happen. With a roar, she charged forward, burying her sword in his chest, stepping past him and charging for Carly next.

Honestly, Carly could have probably beaten her in a straight-up fight, Sam was sure of that. But because she was the captain, Sam guessed that she would be wary about losing any limbs. After all, the captain couldn’t respawn, so any damage inflicted was permanent.

Her guess was proven true when Carly retreated instead of advancing. She leapt back while keeping her sword raised, poised to block any more knife throws as she put some distance between the two of them.

Josh ran past Sam to go respawn, and Sam ran after him. She tucked her sword under her arm and reached into her pocket for the last knife, not sure if she’d be able to use it or not.

Then her opening came.

“Carly, quick, respawn!” Jamie cried, a flash of blue in the corner of Sam’s eye. She and Nick were running over to the captain, with Mac charging behind them as best he could. They’d taken one of his legs, but at this point he had enough momentum that even limping was closing the distance fast.

Carly snapped her head to the side and had to move her sword to heal her defenders. She didn’t have a choice, Mac would run her over otherwise.

Sam snapped her wrist and the knife sailed through the air. It passed Josh and it passed Carly’s outstretched sword, and it hit her smack in the chest.

Air filled Sam’s lungs and she cried out gleefully, “CAPTAIN KILL!”

The taste of victory in her mouth was the biggest rush she’d felt since she joined the club.