A Different Kind of Laser

Sweat ran down the back of Topher's neck. He was boiling hot, and his legs were cramped from crouching for so long. He shut his eyes tight, knowing that if he moved at all, if his sneaker squeaked on the smooth wooden floor of the Dollhouse, she would fid him, and it would be all over. He tried to breathe very quietly, so he could hear her coming. He heard the rustle of the couch cushions. Of course! She was over by the couches, which was not far form where he was, under the stairs. He held tight to his gun, the handle slipping a little in his moist hand. Using his peripheral vision, he scanned the entire area.

Suddenly, he spotted a shadow on the wall and held his gun at the ready, in case her body came into view, but she did not. Listening hard, he heard footsteps leaving the room. He allowed a grin to split his face, and crept out from under the stairs, stretching out his legs gratefully.

"Ha." He whispered, watching through the frosted glass as the stealthy female figure moved smoothly down the hallway to where the Dolls slept. He had a sudden vision of himself bursting into the sleeping quarters and shooting her down before she could attack the resting Actives, but he knew she would not harm the Dolls. It was he she was after. "You won't be getting me today." He hissed through clenched teeth, and without further ado he slipped through the sliding door into the hallway after her.

He could see her turning into one of the sleeping rooms, gun first to get the advantage if he was in there. "But I'm not." Topher muttered at her, grinning evilly. "And now it's time for you to be put down for good." He crept down the hall after her, and when he reached the room he knew she was inside, Topher stood with his back to the wall the doorway was set into. Leaning around the corner, trigger finger tensed, he felt his adrenaline pulse faster through his veins.

At this angle, he didn't get a good view of the room. He would have to go for the surprise. There was no way to sneak up on her now. His only hope was to leap into the room and start firing at random. He took a deep, steadying breath. "Either I sacrifice myself to take her down, or I walk away now, and save myself, but allow her to escape." He pondered for a moment. "No. She won't be getting away today. You hear me?" He raised his voice to shout. "You won't get away with this!" And he pivoted on his right foot and whipped around the corner.

The sound of gunfire split the air, and flashing lights reflected off the windows and the translucent glass of the pods. She had been hiding behind the centerpiece in the middle of the room, but as soon as he had come in, she had sprung up. "I'm under siege!" Topher hollered, even though he knew no one was coming to help him. He scrambled backwards, back around the corner. Neither he nor his enemy had landed any shots that would end the battle. Topher took a moment to collect himself, and prepared for a second attack, but all of a sudden he heard the sound of shoes on the floor of the sleeping room. She was coming to get him!

Without a moment's pause, Topher took off down the hallways, back into the lobby of the Dollhouse. He took off up the stairs, but before he was at the top, she burst into the room, firing madly at him through the stairs. He raced to the top and dove into his room, trying to pull off a secret agent-like shoulder roll, but really just barrel rolling until he bumped into the couch. He slipped his gun into his holster and climbed up onto the sofa and up over the railing. He crouched behind the computer desk as his follower entered the room. She scanned the lower floor quickly and then holstered her own weapon, before using his trampoline to launch herself up high enough to reach the railing and heave herself over.

While she was climbing, Topher took off, barrelling through the doors into the imprint room, where the blue flashing coming from his equipment matched the ones on his vest. Without stopping to glance behind him, Topher ran right at the double doors on the other side of the room, leading to the balcony of the Dollhouse. He expected them to open when he ran into them, but he must have forgotten to unlock them because he simply slammed into them and fell backwards.

He hit the ground hard, and his gun flew out of the holster. He reached for it, but a foot slammed down on his chest, pushing him to the ground. He shut his eyes as she leered down at him and pointed her gun at him in a fatal spot and fired. "Awww." He moaned as his laser tag pack powered down and made pitiful noises as she hit his target right on. She then took her foot off his chest and pulled him up.

"What's the score now?" She said with a sly smile. Topher grabbed his gun and shrugged.

"Best of thirteen?"

"You're on."

Hours later, Topher followed her into his imprint room.

"So all in all, one of your better birthdays?" She was saying.

"Definitely." He assured her, smiling. On the inside he was not so happy, though. She sat down and lay back as the chair tilted like a dentist's chair. He went over to his computers, tapped a few buttons in a well known sequence and turned around. She smiled at him one last time and he reached out to hold her hand as the lights flashed on and she gasped, chest heaving, as waves of electricity wove through her body. Blue lights flashed, just like the ones he'd worn on his laser tag vest last night. Sadly, he watched the lights flicker and die, as with a ding like a microwave oven, the chair tilted up and she smiled at him and took her hand away form his.

"Hello Sierra. How are you feeling?"

Author's Note: thanks for reading, and please review!