Songs: Barns Courtney - Champion; The Fratellis - Dogtown
Finally. Finally we had some moving targets. If I wasn't too great at the other disciplines, it didn't matter, because this squad competition was what Pandora had prepared me for. It was just a whole lot prettier than on Pandora.
We had all been dumped in a wooded area with a few smaller lakes and rivers in it. It was a beautiful spot. This whole thing turned out to include a lot of survival elements, since we'd all be spending a few days in this arena, which meant all that stuff I learnt on Pandora - how to get clean water, how to hunt for food and prepare it, finding shelter at night, moving targets, sneaking - all of that came in really handy now.
"Any more targets in your sector?" Mordecai asked over the ECHO.
"Can't see any more targets, but I'll double check. I can see one in your sector that you... nevermind." I said as I saw the target go down.
"Already taken care of."
I could hear the smugness in Mordecai's voice. I really realized now that I missed being on Pandora, raiding bandit camps or shooting some skags just to pass the time. Maybe murder wasn't the healthiest pastime, but hell, it was fun.
I scanned my surroundings carefully again to see if I missed any hidden targets, but things looked pretty good. Maybe it was time to move to another sector before we'd camp. I wondered how many more days we'd be out here camping, since this was the third night and there couldn't be many more targets left.
"I think my sector is clear. You see anything?" I echoed Mordecai.
"No. Let's check in with the girls." he suggested.
"Anouk, Nadia, we're done with our sectors, how's it looking for you?" I asked them. It couldn't be long now until we'd meet another squad and then it was pretty much over. Once we met up with the rest of the squads, it was all about who could hit the remaining targets fastest.
"Everything good, but I think the others are getting close. There seemed to be some commotion earlier on." Anouk answered.
"Alright, let's move to the next sector then. We're probably best off to pair up for that. Squad 3 and 5 have already met and are moving in, I've managed to get some of their communication." Mordecai said. I got up slowly from my hiding place. My muscles hurt from lying still for such a long time, but we had to go on. This was probably the last bit of the competition and I was set on winning this thing.
I unloaded my rifle, put the safety on and carried it over my shoulder, as I walked over to where Mordecai and I should technically meet, careful not to make much noise. I heard a little thud just behind me and as I turned around I saw Mordecai who had just jumped down from a tree.
"You alright? Ready to move on?" he asked quietly. I nodded. Looking around me, I could see a little movement at the other end of the sector. That was probably Anouk and Nadia. I wondered whether the other two squads had already met up. It seemed like we hadn't heard from 1 and 4, yet. But we'd probably run into them very soon.
"Where's the next sector?" I wanted to know as I followed Mordecai deeper into the woods. It was a beautiful day today, which made the whole operation much more pleasant. The sun was shining through the trees and it was nice and warm. The first day it was raining and it was a pain to lie in the rain for hours, waiting for the right moment to shoot a certain target and crawling through the muddy ground.
"About 800 metres northwest. There are only two sectors left and it looks like 3 and 5 are in the middle of finishing one of them. We'll probably meet up with 1 and 4 then. Or only one of them. We better be quick." Mordecai said.
"Alright. Are you going up in the tree again?" I asked. He nodded.
"If I can. You're gonna stay low and close to me, okay?"
"Of course. Can't believe it's almost over. I mean, it was fun and all, but I also can't wait to have a proper bed again. And a shower." I replied and smiled.
"Well, it's not over yet. But I could do with a proper bed, too." Mordecai answered. I smiled. It wasn't that I wasn't an outdoors person, but after those two days I could feel every single bone in my body and since the rain on day one I couldn't help but feel constantly cold. It was like the rain crept into my bones and just stayed there.
"I think I'll climb up in that tree. You wanna find a good vantage point somewhere down below and echo Anouk and Nadia?" Mordecai suddenly said, nodding towards a tall tree with lots of winding branches.
"Sure. Be careful." I said.
"I always am." Mordecai answered and jumped up, holding onto a branch. He pulled himself up onto the branch and then was soon lost in the leaves. I looked around myself to see if I could find a good vantage point.
There were barely any bushes or any undergrowth I could hide in. This wasn't ideal. There were a few small hills and a fallen tree, maybe that would be a good hiding place. I quickly walked over to the tree, trying to make as little noise as possible. It wasn't the best hiding place, but it'd have to do.
"Anouk, Nadia, we are here. Mordecai's up in the big tree in the southeast corner of the sector and I'm where the fallen tree is. Are you guys going into a crossfire position?" I echoed while I was gathering up a few branches to cover myself.
"Yup, we're on it. I've seen some movement from the north of the sector, looks like we've got company." Anouk answered.
"Alright, I suppose we gotta be quick then. Let's finish this." I said, lying down and quickly covering myself with a few branches. I loaded my rifle again and looked through the scope, so I could scan the area for targets.
I heard a shot from above me. Sounded like Mordecai had already found one target and eliminated it. There were about ten targets in each sector, some of them moving, some of them not. Some were in plain sight and some were hidden pretty well. It was quite challenging, but clearing a sector felt pretty satisfying, too.
I noticed some movement at the edge of my field of view, so I quickly moved my rifle. There was a target, moving pretty fast, but it wasn't too hidden. I breathed in and held my breath, waiting for the right time to pull the trigger. When the shot went off I watched the bullet hit right in the middle of the target.
"Good shot. There is one really close to you, difficult to see from where you are, but I can see it clearly. See the tree stump to your right?" Mordecai echoed me. I moved my rifle, so I could see the tree stump he mentioned.
"Yeah, I see the stump, but... oh. Okay, I got it." I said, as I noticed the target. It was really, really well hidden, but it wasn't moving. So it should be an easy shot. Just as I got ready to shoot I heard some distant gunshots from the other end of the sector. That had to be the other squad.
"Ah, shit. They're here. One of the other squads." I said.
"Yeah, doesn't matter. Focus on the shot. We already got three targets, that will be the fourth one. They don't stand a chance." Mordecai replied.
I quickly aimed at the target, held my breath and pulled the trigger. I had just gotten an extra boost of adrenaline, hearing the shots from the other squad.
"We got five out of ten, there are only two targets left, guys." Nadia echoed us next, just before something else popped up on my ECHO device.
"Squad 1, 3 and 5 are done with their sector and moving in on us. We better find the last two targets fast." I echoed.
"Got one." Mordecai replied, just as I heard the shot from his rifle. Hell yeah! We had practically won this thing. Well, we didn't really know that yet, since we all needed to get our points counted and then there's be points given or deducted for technique and gun safety and whatnot. But it definitely looked good for us.
And then I saw it. The other target. It was a moving target and clear in view. I quickly aimed at it, taking a deep breath and holding it and... it disappeared. Someone else had gotten it first. Shit. That was the last one. I looked down at my ECHO device to see whether we'd get the notification that this sector was clear.
The map with all the sectors had disappeared and there was a loading screen. Then it showed the notification that the sector was clear. Shortly after the notification changed to "All sectors clear. Return to Fast Travel station."
I let out the breath that I had been holding in for ages. I hadn't even noticed I'd been holding it in. That was it. We did it. We finished the competition. What was the plan now? Would we just get up and walk back?
"We've done it, team. Let's go and head back, alright?" Nadia announced. I heard a pretty loud thud behind me now. I guess that meant we weren't sneaking anymore. I moved all the branches out of the way and got up, my bones and my muscles aching as if I had run a marathon.
"You okay?" Mordecai, who was standing behind me, asked me. I slung my rifle over my shoulder.
"Yeah. Do we... just go back now?" I wanted to know. It was really strange not to go around, looting the place after we'd cleared it. Just leaving felt... wrong. But that was just me being used to Pandora.
"Yeah. We get back to the Fast Travel station, get some nice tea and then we get our results from the targets we hit. We can go and get a shower and all that after and this evening they'll announce the final results. And then we're technically good to go." he explained. Huh. That was easy.
"Okay. I guess, we better get back then. I really want that hot shower." I replied. I saw another group passing us, talking quietly among themselves. It was the two Maliwan guys and some of the people from Artemis. I didn't even know what other squads we were up against, so it was quite a surprise to see them.
"Hey, hey, hey, are you ready for the party?" I heard Nadia shouting as she came jogging over to us, Anouk in tow.
"I'm ready for a nap." Anouk mumbled when they got here.
"What party? We don't even know if we've won yet." I replied.
"Who else is gonna win? The Maliwan losers? Doubt it. And there is gonna be a big fat party at the very end of this whole competition. Like, tonight." Nadia said with a big smile on her face.
"Another one? I'm gonna need some sleep, then we can talk about a party." I answered. I felt really tired, now that everything was over. Plus, I needed to get up early tomorrow, so I could go and get bits and pieces for my new leg with Anouk.
"Yeah, I'm not gonna stay long. It was nice to be home, but I've got enough of it for now. Good to remember why leaving wasn't too bad." Mordecai said.
"Agreed. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. I'm gonna need to catch up on some sleep before that." I added.
"We're still meeting that early?" Anouk asked.
"Yeah, sorry, but we gotta get that stuff, go and find a cargo ship to take us back to Pandora and make a pit stop on Elpis, and we need to say goodbye to Mordecai's mum and her roommates. And then we still have to cut up all the material and put together my leg. So yeah. Long day ahead." I answered. Anouk moaned and then took a deep breath and nodded.
"It's okay. It's alright. I don't need that much sleep. I can pull through, no biggie." she said, a look of determination in her eyes.
"Wouldn't have expected anything else from my daughter." I replied, a big smile on my face.