Chapter 6: And Then There Was One
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC
The ghouls and cadets stood in a loose circle at a paintball field Lauren had rented for the next hour. "Okay, guys. This is it. The last woman, or man, standing is the winner and gets this." Lauren said, holding up a trophy.
"What are the rules?" Baxter asked.
"Oh, as if you guys would follow them," Winnie said.
"Rules were made to be broken." Grunt called back.
"Nothing is made to be broken, that doesn't even make sense," Elsa replied.
"Pinatas." Lauren said at the same time Tug said "Glowsticks." They both exchanged a look before high fiving.
"But regardless. If you get hit, you're out. And be honest." Lauren said before cocking her gun. "Teams, move out."
Lauren and the ghouls huddled up. "Okay, ghouls. With our powers on our sides, we're a shoe-in to win. Everyone pick a cadet and stick to him. Now, not to sound like I'm bragging, but they're going to try to take me out first so I'll create a diversion and you can begin picking them off while they're shooting at me. They'll probably expect us to take out Grunt first so he'll be out of sight. I say we take out Tug first, then Roger, Miguel, and Jamal. Saving Grunt and Baxter for last is the best plan of action because it saves the largest and the worst shot as the last two. But remember, at least one of us has to avoid getting hit so do whatever you can to make yourself a smaller target. Now let's win this!"
They all took their positions. In a matter of seconds, the bell rang and people began firing like crazy. Lauren held her gun before jumping up into the air and flying in and out of the beams. The cadets immediately began shooting at her. Lauren let each blast come within an inch of her, laughing all the while as they continued to miss. "You guys are going to have to try harder than that if you want to hit me." she chided when she saw Tug peeking out from behind a beam. She quickly pulled up her gun, whispered "Sorry", and shot him, nailing his left cuff.
"No!" shouted Jamal as Tug sulked off the field.
"Don't play the hero, Jamal. Stay hidden!" Tug shouted, but it was too late. The ghouls had all gotten a glimpse of Jamal and quickly took aim and fired. By the time the smoke cleared, Jamal was splattered with paint. However, since all of the ghouls had fired, the cadets now knew, roughly speaking, where each of them was hiding. In retaliation, the cadets picked one of the spots where paint had come from and fired.
Subsequently, Phantasma bobbed out of her hiding spot and went to sit by Jamal and Tug. Lauren watched Phantasma float away, a frown etched on her face. Sure the ghouls had only lost one compared to the two that the cadets had lost, but it wasn't that big of a difference. They were going to have to pull some serious weight in order to make a dent in the cadet's numbers.
Suddenly Winnie jumped out from behind one of the beams and charged the cadets side, screaming "For Phantasma!"
"No! Winnie, come back here." Lauren shouted. Knowing there was no other option, Lauren swooped down, grabbed Winnie from under her shoulders, and flew her away from the cadets.
"Lauren, fly me over them so I can shoot at them from the air." Winnie requested with a grin.
Lauren didn't see a problem with this so she turned around and brought Winnie directly over where the cadets were stationed. She managed to take out Miguel, but the remaining three were firing so rapidly that Lauren didn't think it was worth the risk of her and Winnie getting hit so she flew them back over to their side. She set Winnie down and began firing when she noticed Winnie walking away. "Winnie! Where are you going?" Lauren asked.
In response, Winnie turned around and pointed at her back where a splatter of green paint resided. "Aw man," Lauren muttered. There were three cadets and four ghouls left. The odds weren't any better but they were one cadet closer to victory.
Not paying much attention, Lauren's attention was suddenly grabbed when Tanis shouted "Lauren, watch out!" and pushed her out of the way just in time. They both managed to miss being struck by the paint Roger had sent their way. Having made himself visible, the ghouls began shooting. They eventually took out Roger, but Elsa got hit in the process, leaving just Grunt and Baxter against Lauren, Sibella, and Tanis.
"C'mon, ghouls! You got this!" Phantasma shouted just as Miguel screamed "All the way with Calloway! Let's win this, men."
Grunt raised his weapon, Baxter flanking him, at the same time as the trio of ghouls. No one fired for a long time, they simply waited with baited breath. Suddenly Grunt leaped up and charged the ghouls side. They began firing at him but Grunt simply and deftly jumped out of the way of each shot. He was moving incredibly.
"We've got to take him out before he gets over here." Sibella hissed.
"She's right. What's the plan, Lauren?" Tanis asked.
"Just keep firing. If he makes it over here, you two focus on Baxter. I'll take care of Grunt." and with that solemn promise, Lauren continued shooting. Unlike the cadets, she had actually been in several battles and shooting now came easily. It was as easy as breathing to aim correctly and hit a target, even if that target was moving at several dozen miles per hour. And Grunt was not running several dozen miles per hour. He was pushing five miles an hour, tops. Suddenly Lauren whispered "On the count of three, everyone shoot at him. If we all shoot at the same time, he won't be able to avoid all of them."
"Fangtastic idea. Tell us when to fire." Sibella whispered back.
"Three. . . two. . . now!" Lauren shouted and they all fired at the same time. Grunt realized he was about to be taken out so he quickly fired two rounds before getting hit smack on the forehead.
Looking to see if either of her friends had been hit, Lauren's face fell when she saw that both Sibella and Tanis were covered in paint. Lauren groaned as they, too, walked off the field, leaving just herself and Baxter.
"He's dead." Grunt muttered as Tug shouted "You got this, kid! There's just one of them left and we'll win!"
"Lauren, Baxter's the only cadet left! You can easily take him down." Sibella shouted encouragingly.
Lauren clutched her gun against her chest and slowly peered around one of the beams to see if she could spot Baxter, but she quickly jerked her head back inside when he fired at her. Without a word, she teleported a few yards away so that he wouldn't know where she actually was. She peered out again and saw Baxter's head as he crept out from behind a beam to get a better aim at the place Lauren had just been. Smiling slightly to herself, Lauren readjusted the paintball gun, lifted it in the air, and shot. The round hit Baxter directly on the nose, meaning he was out. Since Lauren was the last one left, the ghouls won. "Yes!" Lauren shouted, jumping up into the air and zipping over to where the ghouls were jumping up and down with glee. They were beside themselves with happiness at having won yet another game against the Calloway Cadets. It was their fourth victory in a row. Lauren laughed, tears of joy streaming from her eyes, as the girls picked her up and paraded her around the boys. Tug walked over and handed her the trophy. Lauren took it in her hands and raised it high into the air before gently tossing it to Tanis. The prank war was over and she couldn't have been happier.