Chapter 28: Crashing Down to Earth

“Why do I have to be on the same team as you?” Sam grumbled. The good mood she’d been building up all night was crumbling already.

“Come on Sammy, it’ll be fun, us working together!” Cain laughed.

She ignored him. Cain was going to be a defender anyway, and she was on offense. So she wouldn’t even have to deal with him.

“Remember guys, unlike with Captains, we have to come back to our side,” Carly reminded them. “So don’t get too reckless or you’ll just die.”

To respawn, you had to touch the flag post. Because they were using the entire soccer field, there would be a lot of running. Even Sam found it a daunting challenge, it would be the biggest game she’d played so far.

And the more daunting the challenge the more exciting!

There were ten students to a team, so there was a lot of flexibility. Sam joined Carly on the attack with Nick and Tony, and some rando who she’d probably never see again (or maybe his name was Willis). Cain and Jamie were on defense, with three other newbies.

Everyone else was an opponent.

Mac and Andy. Daniel and Shannon. And yes, even little Mary. But the one she was most eager to face was Mike.

“Mike’s gonna be on the offense, you can count on that,” Carly warned them. “Which means that, as the attackers, we’re going to be playing a pretty defensive game. If we just leave him to his own devices then he’ll rip through our defenders like toilet paper and win immediately.”

She turned to Nick. “Nick, how’s your secret weapon work?”

He smiled. “Works in practice anyway. Guess we’ll find out how it handles.”

Sam noticed that he was still using those rounded spear-thingies he’d been fighting with the last few weeks. From what she could tell, though, there wasn’t anything special about them.

But clearly Carly knew something she didn’t, because the red-coated girl wore a satisfied smirk.

“Great. You stay on him like gum in hair, got that? The only way he’s going for the flag is over your dead body.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Great!” With a smile she turned and shouted across the field, “YOU GUYS READY?!”

“YES!” Mike’s voice echoed back.

Carly blew her whistle and the match began.

It was a little interesting, seeing all the people coming at her in costume, but she’d already gotten used to it. Besides Mike the only attackers she recognized were Mac and Shannon, and she considered confronting them as both sides approached the line.

But she decided not to. It would be easier to deal with one of the newer fighters. And besides, Tony and Mac had already practically slammed into each other as usual, their gladiator costumes aptly fitting for their preferred method of combat.

Sam made sure to give Mike space, going around him. As she did, she cut the arm off of one of the other attackers and kept running, delighted that he hadn’t gone back to respawn.

Beginner mistake, she smirked. He’d be no help to the offense with that giant spear and one hand, he was just delaying his inevitable demise. Which meant one less person between her and the flag.

“Sam!”

Carly was signaling to make a direct attack. Knowing her as well as she did, Sam knew that meant the sneaky girl was planning to go around the defenders while Sam drew them out. Andy didn’t fall for it though, breaking with the others to engage the cosplayer one on one.

Which left Sam and the other guy to deal with the rest.

“S-Sam!”

She slowed down and raised her sword. It was Mary! And she was trying her best to look intimidating, too, it was downright adorable. Like a trembling little sheep standing up to the big bad wolf.

Sam licked her chops. Supper time.

Mary lunged forward with her spear. Not a bad thrust, she didn’t even fall over! But not anything Sam couldn’t deal with. The bigger problem was Daniel, who was a few steps behind her with his sword raised, ready to step in or take her place when the situation called for it.

Sam would have to cut down both of them, and then make it to the flag before either respawned, while also taking on any other attackers.

Wow, being an attacker is really a pain in the ass. Even as those thoughts passed through her mind, she still smiled. Deflecting Mary’s spear, she stepped forward and drove her sword right into her cotton-padded little chest, causing her to wail.

“One down.” Sam turned to Daniel next, her sword arcing brilliantly through the night sky as she pushed against him. He pushed back with all the power his large frame had to muster, just as she’d hoped. Hopping back Sam let him come to her, and as he did she stepped aside, cutting his arm.

It was just a bad matchup for Daniel. He had slightly longer reach and could use both hands, but Sam made up for that with her agility. Unlike a real sword fight, even a glancing blow was enough to count, and her dexterity and coordination were lethal tools in her arsenal. She finished off Daniel seconds later and ran for the flag-

…When something hit her in the side of the stomach. A witch’s scythe.

“Sorry Sam,” Andy smirked. “But you sure were close!”

Carly waved apologetically to Sam as the two girls headed back to their side of the field.

“It’s no fair! How is she so good with that thing?!” Carly whined. “That’s how I wanted MY scythe to work!”

“Maybe because yours is big enough to have its own zip code.”

“But it’s COOLER that way!”

“I think the cooler weapon is the one that works, personally.”

Carly rolled her eyes and grunted in disgust.

Sam was a little winded from all the running and wanted to conserve her strength, so they walked at a casual pace. It wasn’t like there was a big hurry, Nick and their defenders were doing an excellent job of guarding the flag.

The girls made sure to give him a wide berth as he engaged Mike, whose samurai outfit emphasized the grace and ferocity of his moves even more.

“I say this a lot, but that guy’s just scary.” Carly shook her head. “I don’t think Nick will even have an opening.”

“So what is the trick, anyway?” Sam asked, keeping her eyes glued to the fight. “Don’t tell me the round thing fires throwing knives from a hidden compartment or something.”

She was mostly joking but given how thorough Nick’s designs seemed to be, she didn’t think it was outside the realm of possibility.

Carly shook her head. “No, no motorized projectiles. We’re not going around shooting foam bullets at each other here, if you want something long range you better get medieval and power it by hand, or no dice.”

Sam could certainly see the merit in not permitting foam guns and the like into Boffer Club. But that did raise an interesting grey area…

Quickly dismissing that thought, she flinched when Carly grabbed her by the sleeve.

“Hey, don’t-“

“Look, I think he’s gonna do it!” She was practically hopping up and down with excitement. Even though she should be respawning and joining the fight against the other attackers, she was more intrigued by the fight in front of her.

Sam could see why. Nick wasn’t nearly as skilled as Mike (but then, nobody was) but it was clear that over the years he’d picked up a thing or two about how to fight. He was blocking and dodging his foe with practiced ease, but he seemed to be waiting for something.

Then when Mike swung for his shoulder he moved, twisting his entire body and bringing up his spear, to…

“What?!” Sam’s jaw dropped at the sight. Nick hadn’t used his short spear to attack Mike, he’d used the ring on the tip of it to trap his sword! Like threading a needle he pushed the ring down the length of Mike’s blade, holding it back like it was a rabid dog.

“Dude, the fuck?!” Mike looked more amazed than upset, even as Nick hit him in the gut with the other spear.

“It worked! Shit, it worked!” Nick laughed, unable to believe that he’d actually managed to trap Mike’s sword and kill him.

“WOOOO!” Carly cheered. “Nicely done!”

“Okay, yeah, that was badass,” Mike said, smiling and shaking his head. Then he got serious again. “But I’m not falling for that a second time.”

Pulling his sword free he turned and went to respawn while Sam stared gobsmacked at the exchange she’d just witnessed.

“Did… Did he just…?”

“Yup,” Carly nodded.

“With his-?”

“Yup.” Another nod.

“But that’s-!”

“I know, right?! Anyway, enough of that! Let’s get back to attacking!”

Carly charged ahead and Sam jogged after her, still amazed at that exchange. Sure, it wasn’t exactly by the book, but it was the fairest fight she’d seen Mike lose. Her heart pounded in her chest as she wondered if maybe she could beat him, too.

Well, she was about to get her chance, because Mike was charging right for them. No more of the “let’s let the attackers pass each other” nonsense it was clear his plan was to cut through them both on his road to revenge.

He swung his sword and Carly spun to the side. She turned back to attack him but he was already gone, not bothering engaging her further. His attention was squarely focused on Sam, who had her sword raised to confront him.

She’d been in this position a few times now, and each time it ended in death or serious mutilation. Sam doubted tonight would be any different, but every bone in her body was aching to try.

There was electricity when their blades struck, and it took everything she had not to press forward, knowing he’d cut her down immediately. She leapt back as his sword changed directions, pulling her free arm out of his path. Mimicking Carly she remained light on her feet, her blade dancing against his as she took care to avoid giving him any openings. As she’d grown more familiar with his fighting style she knew she could parry him for hours, but one wrong move, one misread, and it would be over.

Somehow she’d inherited the role of “Mike’s stall victim” and she acted it out to her fullest.

Then she spotted it. The moment. That perfect moment, when his swing went just a little too wide. The narrowest of openings, giving her a thin avenue of-

His sword turned in midair and buried itself in her chest.

Damn it.

Fucking damn it, she fell for it.

“Close,” he grinned, his eyes twinkling. “But you keep rushing in. You need to be watchful for a real opening, not one handed to you on purpose.”

She appreciated the lesson but she didn’t have to like it. Oh, well, hopefully Carly was doing a little better.

This time, Sam ran to the respawn point. She ignored Cain’s snide remarks and doubled back, counting on him and Nick to be able to stall Mike. This time, samurai boy was remaining closer to the line, maybe to help aid the defense?

Whatever the reason, Sam couldn’t be bothered to think about that right now. It was time to press the attack! She cut down Shannon while she was struggling against a defender, and stabbed Mac in the back to free up Tony. With Tony’s support they charged for the defenders, who she hoped Cynthia had properly distracted.

Well, well, well, wishes appeared to be horses today.

Tony barreled towards Mary like a truck towards a future isekai protagonist, and she bit back a scream of terror. She stood her ground and raised her spear, which bought her a whopping two seconds as the taller boy outmuscled her, practically brushing her aside to get to Daniel.

Daniel, for the most part, was able to hold his ground, though he was quickly losing it due to having less range than his foe and lacking the agility that fighters like Sam and Carly used to defeat him.

And that just left Andy.

Sam swung at Andy, forcing her to block with her scythe. She jumped back to stay out of range, while looking past the goth towards Carly, who’d finished off her last opponent.

“Now, Sam!” Carly shouted, stabbing Andy in the back just as she was about to swing. Sam shot forward and grabbed the jersey with her free hand and turned back, surprising Daniel and Mary with a couple stabs for good measure. She dashed across the field with a wild grin, her heart pounding a mile a minute in her chest.

This was amazing! She could feel the cold autumn wind against her face as everything blurred around her, calling her closer and closer to that end line. She was going to make it, they were going to win! Just a few more steps and she’d be free and clear!

But then Mike leapt in front of her like a bolt from the blue, his sword flashing before her eyes. She moved instinctively to dodge the slash.

Sam turned one way. Her foot turned another. Her ankle burned and she tumbled forward, the world spinning around her as she fell.

Her shoulder slammed into the ground and all-too-familiar explosion of pain shot through it.

She screamed.