France was fantastic. Great food and views and all that stuff. Now that I'm back, I figure that it's time for another chapter. By the way, I will use some of the suggestions already written in the comments in future chapters. Please keep making them.

Chapter 4: Hide and Go Seek

March 22, 2356. C.G.B. Anchorage.

Sarge paced in front of the forty-eight eager marines of fifth company sitting in a briefing room. We were now wearing some kind of plastic body armor and helmets, and our guns were loaded. Shana stood to the side, watching. "The rules are simple. You will enter the Killing Field in two teams of twenty-five. Your guns will be loaded with electronic rounds, and your body armor is covered in sensors. If your gun is dead, so are you. First team to sixteen kills wins the round."

A marine in the front raised his hand. "Sir, you said two teams of twenty-five. There are forty-eight of us."

Sarge chuckled. "Well spotted, Private. Corporal Bayes and I will be joining you in your little game."

Shana looked up at him, surprised. I smiled. Looks like she wasn't ready for this either, I thought.

Sarge turned to a rack that held several SA17s, helmets, and sets of body armor. Shana walked over to take one of each and whispered something to him, to which Sarge smiled and whispered something back. She frowned and took a step back as Sarge faced us again.

"The corporal and I will be the captains. Split yourselves into two groups of twenty-four." When no one moved, he yelled, "What are you waiting for? Presents? Get moving!"

I moved over to where Victor was standing. I saw Pete watching us as he moved to the other group, grinning slyly. "He wants to shoot us," I murmured to Victor.

"Let him have his fun, Alito," Victor grinned. "This way we can shoot him back."

Turned out that Sarge would be the leader of our team – Alpha Team. I looked over to Beta Team and saw Shana watching me for a second before she looked away.

Why does she keep watching me?

I tried to push it out of my mind. Shana took Beta Team through the door that led to the Killing Field. Once their team was through, Sarge led us in. The room was large – about the size of a soccer field back home – but almost totally empty. A few hundred indentations covered the floor, but the walls and ceilings were bare besides the lights. Beta Team waited on the other side of the field, watching us. What do they expect us to do – just charge and shoot? I guess that's why it's called the Killing Field.

"Ready!" Sarge shouted. About half of the indentations in the floor opened up, and metal panels began rising out of the floor. They stopped at about ten feet high. A few of the marines gasped as they realized what the Killing Field was. A maze. Clever.

Sarge grinned. "Prepare to move out," he said. "Never go alone. We advance slowly, trying to make sure that no one gets past our line. Move out." And with that, Alpha Team started its advance into the maze.

Victor and I took the far left side. We turned several corners, guns at the ready; one of us was always watching the other's six. I peered around a corner to see two Beta team members passing by this section of the maze. Several contours in their armor glowed blue, and I looked down to see that my own armor was outlined in red.

"Two Betas, one o'clock," I whispered to Victor. We snuck up to the next corner, guns raised. The Betas were getting ready to turn another corner. I stepped into the next passage, aimed at the back of a Beta's head, and fired. The gun made a brief buzzing sound; the lights on his vest went out, and he turned to me, pulling the trigger on his gun several times. But nothing happened. When your gun is dead, so are you.

I didn't have time to celebrate. The other Beta turned to us, raising his gun. Big mistake – if your gun isn't raised when there could be an enemy mere feet away, then you're probably going to die. Before I could pull the trigger, though, I heard another buzzing sound, and the other Beta lowered his weapon as his lights went out. Sarge stuck his head and his gun around the corner as the Betas walked away, guns held high over their heads as a sign of being out of the game. Once he saw who we were, Sarge nodded before going back the way he came.

I quickly checked the small transparent HUD next to my left eye. There was a red two and a blue two. Two kills for each team. Fourteen to go until somebody won.

Victor and I kept moving, using the same strategy as before. Near us we heard several buzzing sounds – a firefight. We turned a corner just as an Alpha ran by us – one of the younger members of the company. Victor raised his gun and fired just as another set of footsteps rounded the next corner. The disgusted Beta watched his lights go out and walked away. Victor and I continued around the next bend. We heard a buzzing sound from somewhere behind us, and I checked the HUD. Alpha now had five, and the Blue number changed from a three to a four. Probably the newbie who had run past us.

"Watch our six," I whispered to Victor as we turned the next corner. I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of Betas were following us right now. We had to be careful.

I heard two buzzes, and Alpha's score changed to seven. Around the next corner, I saw Sarge and another Alpha move past two eliminated Betas. I made a circle in the air with my hand and chopped it down. All of us go forward? Sarge nodded, and we continued as a group of four.

Sarge took point, I was second, and Victor and the other Alpha watched the rear. Sarge turned a corner and quickly stepped back as several buzzes came from the next passage. He raised two fingers and pointed left, then right. Two Betas, one on the left side, one on the right.

I looked back to Victor and the other Alpha. The fourth man was watching one corner when his armor went dark. At the same time, another Beta flashed across the passage Victor was guarding and pulled his trigger. I saw a brief flash of a hulking black man – Pete. And he was grinning. Victor pulled back, but not fast enough; the red glow on his armor faded away, and he raised his gun above his head. "Good luck, amigo," he whispered as he walked away.

So now it was Sarge and I against at least four Betas. I checked my HUD. Alpha ten, Beta twelve. Beta had passed us, and it looked like they could win. I tapped Sarge's shoulder and motioned to where Pete and the other Beta were waiting. He nodded and returned to his fight with the other two Betas.

I tapped Sarge's shoulder again and used hand motions to quickly outline my plan. His mouth curved up in a twisted grin as he nodded, and he turned to cover my six.

I lay down on the floor, hoping that Sarge would cover me long enough for me to take care of business. I had noticed a small button on my HUD earlier – a small crosshairs next to the score counter. I pressed it, hoping I would see – yes! The HUD now showed the view of my scope. Since the guns died when we did, I figured that our armor was connected to the gun wirelessly. My wager had paid off. I stuck the barrel around the corner as close to the floor as I could. Because it was so sleek and almost the same color as the dark gray walls, it was barely noticeable. In my HUD, I could see the two Betas watching the corner intently, guns raised. They didn't notice my gun sticking out around the corner and firing. The Beta on the left was out, and I turned to the one on the right. She saw my gun almost immediately and moved before I could shoot her. I motioned to Sarge and made more gestures. One down, one moving, coast clear.

We moved forward, Sarge still watching my six. I had no idea what had happened to Pete. I checked the HUD again. Alpha twelve, Beta thirteen. Almost there. As I watched, Alpha changed to thirteen. I heard Sarge mutter, "Gotcha!" and smiled. Good old Sarge.

I heard running nearby as we turned yet another corner. Pete came into view, gun pointed behind him. He looked forward and tried to fire, but it was too little too late. Sarge and I both fired, and Pete fell victim to the three buzzes that followed.

Wait. Three?

I ran around a corner quickly as more shots came from behind. Since there were no actual bullets, I had no way of knowing how close the shots were or where they came from exactly. Next to me, Sarge chuckled and slowly raised his rifle above his head. He was out, the victim of what I now realized was Pete's decoy move to eliminate Sarge. I looked around the corner as I fired. I caught a brief glimpse of long brown hair as my opponent moved back behind cover. Shana.

Despite myself, I chuckled. So I had almost shot Shana earlier, and she had taken out Sarge. She was good. But I was better.

I hoped.

The score was now fifteen even. I had to make this fast. I raised my gun—

My lights went out, and my gun clicked as the ammo readout faded to black. My first thought was that I'd been hit, but a loud bell sounded next, and I realized that the match was over. I checked the HUD – Alpha sixteen, Beta fifteen. We won.

"Nice game," said a voice. It was Shana – but it came from behind me. I turned around in amazement. Somehow she had snuck around behind me in the maze. If the match had continued for another few seconds, she would have had me. "Thanks," I replied. "You almost got me."

Shana grinned. Not a smile, just a grin – pure adrenaline-fueled satisfaction, even though she hadn't quite managed to kill me. "Next time. Alvin." She walked away, towards the exits now illuminated from above by green halogen lights.

Hmm. She said my name. I smiled at the thought of teenage emotions running through me. That would be funny. If I actually had a crush on her, I knew it wouldn't feel like this. Would I tell Rick about Shana?

Nah.

Hope you liked it! Chapter 5 coming soon. You know what to do.