Chapter 8: Charging Into Battle
Carlos had no idea he would end up in a Nerf War, he thought he was going to the park look at the scenery and if he was lucky play in a playground if he had time.
Now he is hiding behind a bush lying on his stomach on the ground with his weapon aimed at the other side of the concrete pathway, boulders, and trees where the enemies, the Reds, are hiding just like him.
He adjusted the belt around his waist again and turned to see Kendall a few feet away hiding behind a boulder. Kendall also turned and gave him an encouraging smile. Carlos swallowed and returned it before he quickly turned when he saw something move in the corner of his vision. He gave a scrutinizing look where he saw the movement; he could have sworn he saw, "I'm hit!"
He turned again to see another player, one of his own, with a hand on his arm where the plastic dart hit as he fell on his back. The player, a young boy, grimaced in pain as he turned on his side; Kendall went to the boy and placed a hand on his leg where the player was clutching it with his other hand.
Carlos noticed the movement again and this time saw a female player, she was beside a tree and had short black hair with a red bandana and a Nerf Alpha Trooper in her arm with a triumphant smile on her face. He noticed she moved her weapon and realized she was aiming at Kendall before placing her finger on the trigger. The latino swallowed nervously before he pressed his own trigger. He was surprised and relieved when he saw the girl give out a surprise yelp and fall with a familiar yellow dart on her abdomen.
As Kendall helped the young boy get back up, he turned and raised his praxis, when he heard the familiar sound of sliding plastic, but stopped when he heard a yelp. Two other players went over to Kendall and helped the boy as they each grabbed his arms and placed them over their shoulders. "Careful he's got a twisted ankle."
They nodded t him in understanding, one of the players gave Carlos a thumbs up while the other gave him a smile as they helped boy go through the thick trees towards the clearing.
Kendall crouched back down behind the boulder and mouthed a 'thanks' to Carlos. The latino smiled and turned back only to see a teenage boy aim at him, he gasped and quickly rolled to his right side taking his weapon with him. He felt the dart fly pass his arm, craning his neck he cursed under his breath when he noticed he wasn't behind any kind of shield, but out in the open. He lay completely still on the ground as he felt another dart pass by dangerously close to his cheekbone.
The blonde watched as Carlos rolled to his side and saw the darts pass before he prepared his weapon and took aim. He fired twice missing on purpose so he could grab the enemy's attention, he succeeded. "Move, Carlos!" he shouted.
The teenager's eyes widened when he the blonde screamed and turned to see his target get up and hide behind the nearest tree. He fired hoping to hit him, but he was off guard giving Kendall the opportunity to fire this time hitting him. The blonde quickly ducked down and saw the latino giving him a thankful grin.
The minute Carlos heard Kendall shout he moved without a second thought and went behind the nearest tree and saw the dart fly by hitting one of the branches. He turned and gave the blonde a thankful smile as he raised his long strike and took aim when he saw a Red move to another hiding spot. He didn't know how long he played, it felt like hours as he moved from one hiding spot to another, firing at the enemy, and having close calls from being hit. He immediately created a bond with the other players the minute they saw him with a blue bandana on his arm and when he helped others when he noticed they were being aimed by the Reds.
Kendall was happy when he saw the other players treating Carlos like an old friend, when it comes to Nerf Wars everyone's got their back being watched. That's why it was second on his list right next to hockey of his favorite hobbies. They were so into it the minute they heard the noise of a horn being blown Carlos held his long strike tighter his finger on the trigger ready to fire as he looked around in surprise and fright. Kendall stood up and lowered his praxis and walked to the latino placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"What's going on?" he asked as he watched other players standing up and lowering their weapons.
"Game over," Kendall said as he led Carlos to the clearing and noticed the other players also going in the same direction.
"So the Nerf War ended?" he asked.
Kendall noticed he was a bit disappointed, "yeah, until next week, every first week of the new month it starts over, we got in the final round of this week and this month."
"Since it's the last week of April this month's today was the last day of the Nerf War until next week?"
He nodded, "but why did you say today was the final round for the week?"
"Every week is a new round; it starts on every Sunday and ends every Saturday. Every day all of the teams fight against each other and at the end of the week the Generals tally up the scores and announce the winner of the month."
"Wow," Carlos breathed, "is that what Nerf Wars are like?"
"In this city it is."
"Kendall!"
They both turned to see Tyler running towards them with the largest grin Carlos had ever seen on a human being. Kendall smiled at his expression, "let me guess we won right?"
His answer was a loud cheer coming from the other players as they screamed, yelled, and some hugged each other in victory.
"Heck yeah we did!" Tyler said ecstatically. "Most of us are going to the pizza parlor nearby to celebrate you coming?"
Kendall took out his phone and groaned at the time, "shit, it's late sorry Kyle, but we gotta go."
"What? It's only five twelve."
"Fuck," Carlos said as Kendall grabbed their weapons and their belt and gave them to Tyler all at once.
"Tell Dylan, congrats and we'll see him next week for the next game and-oh! we're keeping the bandanas." He quickly grabbed the prices they won from the arcade and turned to Carlos, "we have to run if we want to make it to the bus station on time."
They both wasted no time as they started to run and left the clearing. They soon reached the main pathway of the park passed by surprised pedestrians, they managed to cross streets, and avoid a few police officers when they yelled warnings, honking cars, and angry people when they accidentally bump into them. In less than twenty minutes they were able to get to the bus station; Kendall quickly bought two tickets to the bus to Spring Valley, after being in line for ten minutes, and found their bus. They boarded it and both sat on the nearest empty seats and trying to catch their breaths as the driver started the engine and left the station.
"Best…Day…Ever…" Carlos breathed when he found his voice. Kendall gave him smile and his prizes before they continued to rest, when the bus started to move they fell asleep as fatigue swept over them.
Kendall was the first to wake up from his nap; he blinked as his eyes slowly adjusted themselves and covered his mouth when he yawned. He straightened in his seat and turned to see Carlos still sleeping soundly against the window. He looked out the window and noticed the large houses and small stores and concluded they were near the bus station. Rubbing his shoulders to get rid of the sore muscles he immediately started planning on what to do tomorrow, he had enough money for three more trips to Spring Valley, one to go back home and two for next Saturday. He could earn the money throughout the week by working extra hours at the grocery store and mowing the neighborhoods lawns. Kendall thought he could take Carlos to the hockey rink or go to the theatres to watch a movie or-.
He heard a small groan and turned to see Carlos rubbing his eyes as he moved away from the window. Before he could speak he saw the latino grow stiff and his wide with fear, gently he placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, "Carlos, are you okay?"
A sharp sting was the first thing Carlos felt when he slightly shifted; letting out a small groan he moved until he was a bit comfortable and rubbed his eyes. When his vision cleared, he felt his muscles tense and his eyes widened when he saw the houses and the blue sky moving quickly past him. Where was he? What's going on? What's Logan doi-.
"Carlos, are you okay?" he turned to see Kendall with a concerned expression. Memories of the last few hours came back to his mind and realized where he was.
He sighed in relief and gave the blonde a reassuring smile, "I'm fine, just got out of reality for a moment."
Kendall nodded after he understood the meaning in Carlos's words. "We're almost there."
He glanced out the window again and frowned, "yeah."
"So I was thinking," Kendall said with a small smile. "What are we going to do next Saturday?"
"Next Saturday?" he said turning to him, with a question look.
He nodded, "yeah I was thinking of going to the ice rink or the theatre or the pool or-,"
Carlos smiled as he heard more of Kendall's ideas. They continued talking until the bus parked and they had to get off. They both stretched when they got off the bus and took shaky steps before Kendall bought a ticket for himself to get back to the city before they walked to the direction of Logan's mansion. The sun was nearly setting in the horizon the orange, purple, and pink sky fading into dark blue and black as some of the shops were open while others were closing for the night.
When Logan's mansion came into view, Carlos took a moment to stare at it, the sudden urge to not to go back stopped him when he thought about Logan. His heart skipped a beat when he thought about his dimple smile and when he kisses his forehead or cheek how his brown chocolate eyes sparkle when he laughs. The mansion's lights was the only thing making it's paint glow, the lights around it that used to be fueled by oil are lit giving the structure a majestic glow.
Carlos gave out a sigh before he and Kendall went around toward the gardens, most of the cars that were parked there were now gone. They both stopped when they found the hidden door, Kendall reached forward and with some difficulty found the knob in the dark and pushed. "You're going to be alright, finding your way back to your area?"
He nodded, "yeah."
"Do you have a Facebook?"
He shook his head, "no, but I do have an email address."
After giving Kendall his email address they both said their goodbyes promising to contact each other until next Saturday. Carlos closed the door leaving it a bit open, he faintly heard Kendall's footsteps as he left and turned towards the mansion's glass doors. Cautiously he looked inside and quietly closed it behind them before taking the same route he did hours ago when he left. When he reached the door he placed his hand on the knob, slowly he turned the knob and jiggled it a bit before it opened. He entered and closed the door behind him the familiar faint click it made echoed in the living room.
Ignoring the echo he headed towards his bedroom, the first thing he did was open the window widely closing his eyes feeling the warm breeze brush his skin. Opening them he saw the city's lights in the distance twinkling like the stars in the night sky. He flinched when he moved his arm and looked down to see a small bruise; looking at both of his arms closely he noticed a few more bruises and dirt on his skin. He placed the blue bandana on his bed and hid his prizes in his closet before picked a pair of gray sweat pants and a white wife beater shirt and a towel. After washing his body from dirt and grime he got dressed and walked to his back to his bedroom throwing the dirty clothes into the hamper. He went back to the window and crossed his arms laying his head on his forearms staring at the city. A smile spread across his lips as he remembered his day with Kendall at the arcade and the park, he made a mental note to find his Nerf guns and start using them for practice.
He heard a familiar chirp and lowered his gaze to see a familiar blue bird flying towards him, Carlos moved back so the Eastern Blue Bird could perch on his arm, "hey Sapphire."
She fluttered and chirped as a hello then quickly turned around and pointed her beak at the city at the same time tapping his arm with her claw. Carlos smiled in understanding, "I had the best day ever Sapphire."
She turned back towards him and raised her head having her full attention, "I went to the arcade and played lots of games and then to the park-,"
She flapped her wings and gave a loud chirp, he chuckled, "it was beautiful, so many trees…"
She tapped his arms 'yes!'.
"I was in a Nerf War too, it was so cool, man I can't wait till next Saturday," she cocked her head to the side. "Yup I'm going back out to the city again next Saturday."
She moved her head again but this time forward giving him what seemed like a questioned expression 'can you survive for the week?'
"I can talk to Kendall online and take advantage of the week by practicing my aim," he stretched his finger and raised his thumb into a makeshift gun closing one eye and aiming at Sapphire.
She chirped and made a click sound before flapping her wings. Carlos recognized it whenever she heard the click of the door being open or closed when Logan make his appearance known.
He took a moment to comprehend what Sapphire meant about Logan, his eyes widened when he understood what she meant, "shit! I did not think about that."
He was too focused about what to do next Saturday that he forgot if Logan will be gone for the entire day or not. He will have to tell Kendall about this new dilemma when the blonde sends a message, groaning he laid his forehead on his arms his plans now ruined for next Saturday. A thought popped into his mind similar to the one in the morning about Logan hiding him from the world, did he not want to go outside other than his safety? Was there another reason? He never brought up the subject as if he didn't mind locking Carlos in his area, why did he-.
Feeling a slight tap on his forehead he looked up to see Sapphire pointing at the city again. "What?"
She flew out the window and flew up towards the sky chirping and flying around in circles. Carlos noticed she was flying around the brightest stars in the sky, he remembered the last time she did that when he woke up from a nightmare. Luckily he had the window open that night and Sapphire was there to comfort him; she flew out the window towards the sky circling the brightest stars. It was a hidden message between the two, it meant to the look on the brighter side of the darkest times, like watching the brightest stars in the dark sky to know that there was a bit of good even in the worse times.
Carlos smiled and raised his hand, Sapphire flew back down and landed on it before he lowered it and she jumped toward the window sill. "Thanks Sapphire."
She chirped and tapped the window sill.
"I can think of a way to go back outside, I did it once I can do it again." Sapphire chirped in encouragement, "Kendall and I can come up with ideas and I can let him know when Logan's not here…but that can wait till tomorrow in a new day."
He laid his back down on his arms with a smile, his worries and troubled thoughts fading away for now, comforted by Sapphire's feathers brushing his cheekbone when she stood next to him both enjoying each other's company staring at the city in serene silence.
Hope you like it!