Life Force!
Don Flack ground to halt trying to pull air into his oxygen-starved lungs. He staggered, grimacing as he pushed his back against the rough stone. He looked down at his vest in despair and squeezed his eyes tight. It was if he could feel the life force draining out him. He knew in his heart of hearts that there was little hope but he wasn't going to give up. He would fight on till the bitter end. He tightened his grip on his weapon and tried to catch his breath as he edged quietly along the wall. Carefully he poked his head around the corner. He peered into the darkness jumping as a half-seen shadow flitted along the wall at the end of the narrow alley. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, a tiny movement alerted him to a presence behind him. He spun back simultaneously dropping to one knee. He raised his weapon as a multitude of shadows danced around him. His breathing quickened as one of the shadows transformed into something more solid. He prepared to fire but a flash of blue from the tabs on the vest caused him to pull his finger off the trigger just in time. Don sighed with relief as Danny crept out of the gloom and hunkered down against the wall opposite him. His jaw was set tight and he was breathing heavily from the exertion. His face looked eerily blue in the semi-darkness as he faced Don across the narrow divide.
Danny inched forward, his weapon at the ready. He looked at Don in concern and nodded to his vest. Don shook his head in frustration. They stared at one another for a moment in indecision knowing the odds were stacked against them. Don risked another look around the corner. Nothing moved. He willed his eyes to penetrate the darkness, to see beyond the veil of gloom that surrounded them, to seek out the person he knew was there, lurking in the shadows but they remained elusive. He thumped his head against the wall in frustration and rubbed at his nose. It tickled from the dusty, dank smell that pervaded the stale air. He felt hot and the thick vest he was wearing seemed to be getting heavier by the second, digging painfully into his neck. He shuffled and shrugged his shoulders trying to get it to sit more comfortably.
A sudden noise, a hollow sounding clang like that of something hitting a metal pipe came from above them forcing them to turn sharply. Their eyes flitted around desperately seeking the source. They aimed their weapons high tracking the sound but the echoes bouncing from wall to wall made it impossible to get a fix. Another sound, that of running feet, alerted Danny to a presence above him. He threw himself across the divide that separated him from Don and swivelled to point his gun upward. Side by side, they both fired into the air in the hope of a lucky shot but it wasn't to be. The feet continued running and a maniacal laugh split the air.
He was playing with them.
Hesitation held them still for a moment longer and Don dipped his head to take another look around the corner. Should he risk it? Or cut his losses and go back the way he had come? He moved a little closer to the corner but Danny put his hand on his his arm urging him to wait. But they knew they couldn't wait forever. A high pitched sound like someone plucking at the strings of an electronic guitar resonated throughout the labyrinth of alleyways. Somewhere a light flickered casting alien-like silhouettes on the walls. It was followed by a scream of surprise and the sound of footfalls on wooden boards moving away from them.
Then silence.
"Are they above us?" hissed Danny nervously getting the feeling they were being stalked.
"I dunno. Ssh!" Don listened carefully as, once more, he glanced around the corner. Still nothing moved but they were there. He knew they were there. He let loose a short sharp sound of frustration feeling like a rat in a maze being driven forward, forced to follow a particular path that would leave him exposed and vulnerable but he had no choice. It was better to keep moving. Don got up. "Well I'm not hiding here," he muttered grimly. He leant against the wall and lifted his weapon and moved cautiously out, around the corner.
"Don!" Danny hissed as he ran a hand through his hair and then under his breath "Dammit! Don!" Danny glanced behind him and then got up to follow. He couldn't let him go on his own. He moved up and peered around the corner. Don was moving slowly down the nearside wall keeping low, his weapon firmly gripped in both hands and held out in front of him. Danny scowled but he had no choice. Swiftly he dashed over to the opposite wall, his sneakers silent on the dusty ground. He hung back a little following Don's progress along the narrow passageway. A slight scratching noise came from behind him. Don must have heard it too as he stopped suddenly squatting against the wall. Their heads flicked back and forth between the two ends of the alley. Their eyes met. What to do?
Don tipped his head in the direction from where they had come indicating to Danny to watch their backs. He pointed to himself and then jabbed a finger towards the dark hole at the end of the alley where it turned yet another corner. Danny nodded and pivoted on one foot to aim his weapon bracing himself against the wall scouring the murkiness for the slightest movement. Don crept forward inch by inch, his gut telling him that danger lurked in the gloom ahead of him. He screwed up his eyes trying to distinguish shape from shadow.
A sudden movement. The tiniest shift of light and dark in the space at the end narrow, dingy corridor.
He fired but he sensed more movement, this time from behind him accompanied by the high-pitched, blood-curdling scream of a deranged madman.
He knew Danny was firing, shot after shot in a last ditch attempt to save them.
Don whirled around and fired blindly, instinct guiding his aim but as soon as he acted he knew he had made a mistake. A fatal mistake. A figure materialized to his right low to the ground. He whirled back but the shot came too quickly. A direct hit to his vest. There was nothing he could do. He looked down and froze. The blue light flickered and went out. It was over.
.
Suddenly the strident blaring of sirens filled the room. Harsh neon lights flickered to life accompanied by the loud clangs of automatic doors opening. Danny screwed up his eyes against the sudden brightness as Don stumbled backwards and slowly slid down the wall, his eyes closed, his head hung in defeat. Danny remained squatting by the wall opposite him, his entire posture announcing their downfall for all to see. "No, no, no!"
With a loud whine and a crackle the loudspeaker burst into life.
"Game over!"
A few feet to Don's right Mac picked himself up off the floor and dusted himself down. Don lifted his head and scowled at him. Mac's lips twitched in amusement as he stood there a row of bright red lights shining out brightly from the centre of his chest.
"Red team, three hundred and twenty two points. Blue team two hundred and eighty one points. Red team are the winners."
"It's just not fair!" Danny spluttered cradling his weapon in his arms.
Sheldon chuckled at his petulant voice as he rounded the corner pulling at the blue Velcro tabs on his vest. "You only have yourself to blame," he stated with all the gravitas of a headmaster addressing a naughty schoolboy.
"But we outnumbered them!" Danny persisted sulkily.
Lindsay appeared beside Sheldon smiling benignly at her husband. "Come on Danny, what on earth were you thinking? Letting them team up together?" Danny harrumphed looking more and more like a five year old who'd just dropped his ice-cream and was told he couldn't have another.
At the other end of the 'alley' Jo appeared by Mac's side, a slightly bemused look on her face. Mac's smile broadened. "Oh just lap it up why don't you?" she hissed irritably at him as she stalked past. She threw Danny a sympathetic look. Don still had his head in his arms and was muttering to himself sounding a lot like Dick Dastardly's sidekick Muttley. She bent down patted him on the shoulder. "Never mind," she began trying to sound positive. "We did our best."
Heavy footsteps reverberated through the metallic structure of the ramp at the rear of the alley and Adam emerged from behind a false panel painted to look like a doorway.
"Oh yeah!" His cry echoed throughout the building as he punched the air and sauntered cockily past the others ignoring their icy glares. He walked straight up to Mac who raised a hand to meet his in a high-five.
"Whad'up!" He span around to stand next to Mac.
Jo rolled her eyes as she turned back to look at Mac and Adam standing shoulder to shoulder with huge smiles on their faces like two poster boys for a science-fiction blockbuster.
Without taking his eyes off Don, Mac's face took on a smug thoughtful look. "You know Adam, I think I've worked up quite an appetite."
"Yeah me too."
"I think some Spicy Orange Chicken." Don raised his head, his teeth pressed hard together and glared at Mac.
"Mm! Yeah and beef and onions. With a little fried rice." Danny scowled at Adam.
"Would all players proceed to the exit and return their equipment to the designated lockers."
"Definitely. Oh and a few wontons." Simultaneously Mac and Adam turned away towards the exit.
"Spring rolls!"
"Prawn crackers!"
Mac paused and looked over his shoulder at the rest of his despondent looking team. He bestowed his most benevolent smile on them. "My place, twenty minutes! Beers are on me!" He turned on his heel and disappeared through the doors with Adam by his side.
Lindsay helped Danny to his feet and put a comforting arm around him but the pout remained. Sheldon clapped Don on the shoulder. "Come on Don! It could have been worse."
Mac put his head back round the corner. "Oh and Don? Don't forget the fortune cookies!"
Don groaned burying his head in his hands. "I hate them! I hate them! I really, really ... really … hate them!"
Jo sighed as she looked at the rest of blue team. "Well what did you expect? A former Marine and the undisputed office champion of Call of Duty. We didn't stand a chance." She grinned. "Look on the bright side." Don and Danny stared at her in disbelief.
"Bright side?" they spluttered in unison.
She flashed them all a cheeky little grin as she headed for the exit. "We get to drink all of Mac's beer!"
"Thank you for playing LaserQuest. We hope to see you again soon!"