Another chap is done! This time we get an Ollie and Libby team up. We barely got any interaction between them except for the finale, but I feel they'd get along pretty well.
Hopefully the next chapter will be done before I leave for Anime Expo, if Chapter 4 isn't up before July 3rd then it will definitely be up by July 7th.
Mayor Brunson tapped his microphone, the feedback screeched from the speaker beside him. The sound made everyone around cringe and plug their ears. "Oof-OK. Welcome everyone to the first ever Brighton Derf Tag-Team Survival War!"
The mayor and crowd were at the outskirts of Camp Brighton. Everyone was armed with Derf guns and a bloodlust in their souls. Among the crowd were Ollie Chen and Libby Stein-Torres, their suction dart guns were loaded and ready to be unloaded. "This is going to be so cool!" Ollie couldn't wait to start.
Libby shared the excitement. "I know, right?" When the event was announced, Libby and Ollie learned they were both interested in these sorts of survival games and jumped at the opportunity, teaming up in an instant.
"Just so we are all clear on the rules, let me restate them." The mayor addressed the players. "This is a tag team game. You will all be working in pairs. Every pair wears a vest-either cerulean or maroon-" The mayor held up the different colored vests. "-That matches with the special Derf darts we have provided. You must work together to tag the targets on the front of each vest that matches your color. I do not want to see any maroon darts on cerulean vests, people!"
Ollie looked down at his maroon vest, Libby had the cerulean one. The garments were held together in the back, and large targets were positioned on their torso's. "The darts will stick to the targets and cannot be pulled off without the special remover we have up here." The mayor held up a bottle of solution. "You all have ten minutes to get in position. When you hear the signal, then you may open fire. Once both team members have been shot at the target, they will be eliminated. The last two standing will win this-" He held up a really nice gift basket. "A gift basket full of things like candles and scented oils. I dunno, it might be a nice thing for a date night."
The two Ghost Friends had no interest in the prize, they craved the fun and thrill of survival. The signal was given for the pairs to start running, everyone scattered around the woods and settled themselves into position. Libby and Ollie went and found an old tree and some bushes to crouch behind. "Wow, this is the perfect spot. Not too far from the entrance, not too deep, enough cover to hide us from all angles except for directly above." Ollie mused. The only way anyone could find them was if they were flying over their heads.
Libby chuckled with a slightly maniacal tone. "Ooh yeah, I came here a few days ago to scout the best starting point. One of the first rules to survival is to know the land." Preparing for the inevitable zombie apocalypse had keened Libby's senses and survival instincts. If the regulations had allowed it, she would have brought forest critter musk to hide their scents from their opponents, but apparently no outside materials or objects could be brought because someone might cheat.
His partner's eagerness for the game did not unnerve Ollie. He was thankful to have someone who understood the importance of starting with a strong defense and camouflage. "Did you survey the rest of the woods for similar hiding spots?"
"Of course!" Libby assured him. "There are four other spots with similar tree and foliage cover. We should head northeast once the game starts. If another team is at that location, there will be a hole in their defenses through the spot between bushes." The usually timid girl relayed their starting strategy.
"Or, hear me out, we could use this cover for an ambush." Ollie suggested.
The two spent the remaining time figuring out their game plan. "By the way Ollie, thanks for teaming up with me." Libby dropped her 'survivor' attitude to sincerely thank her friend. "Who knew we both enjoyed Derf wars?"
"Guess it never came up in conversation." Ollie figured. "Come to think of it… have we ever hung out without Molly and Scratch with us?"
"I don't think we have!" Libby realized. It never occurred to either that they'd only hung out as a group. Molly is the one who brought them all together after all. The enhappifier and her ghostly companion were with Andrea today. Apparently there was some battle bot competition going on at the school. "Huh, how did we not notice that?" The boy shrugged in response.
Once the prep time was over, Mayor Brunson shot a Derf gun that doubled as an air horn and let the game begin! The dart from the Derf airhorn-gun shot up into the sky and knocked down a bird. The mayor watched it crash down with concern… but the bird got up and flew away unharmed. "Phew, almost killed a tiny, innocent creature."
He could not see the ghost butterfly that flew off from where the bird had landed on it.
OXOXOXOX
The duo did not immediately leave their hiding spot. They'd decided on Ollie's suggestion, they had complete cover while several other teams went running off to hunt their prey. "I hear leaves crunching at three o'clock." Ollie whispered over his shoulder to Libby.
Crouched back to back, Libby and Ollie packed their Derf guns and waited for the sounds to get closer. The sound of a cracking twig signaled their victims were within range. The teens burst out from the bushes and open fired on the unsuspecting souls. "IT'S AN AMBUSH!" One man's voice was familiar.
"Wait-Ollie!?" The other man gasped.
"DAD?!" The swoopy-haired one finally noticed who they were shooting suction darts at; Ruben Chen and Pete McGee. Further inspection revealed a cerulean dart stuck in the target on Pete's vest.
Realizing that his target had been hit, Pete groaned. "How can I already be out?! We just started!"
"You're not out yet-" Ruben consoled him. "Both of us need to be hit before we're out of the game." He felt a conflicted soul wavering with his Derf gun aimed at him. Ollie hesitated, he wouldn't fire yet. Ruben repositioned his Derf gun alongside Pete, entering a good-old-fashioned standoff with the kids. "So, it's come to this."
"You've taught me well, father. It is time for the student to become the master." Minutes in, and they were already using showdown cliche lines. The core principle of Derf wars was that once you turned your Derf gun on another, you were enemies. There was no love or friendship… unless it was a tag-team like this. But other than your game partner, everyone else you ever loved was dead to you until the end. Then you could make up and go get a frozen yogurt.
Ruben chuckled. "You really believe I've taught you my best moves? No, I've only shown you the surface of-"
Another maroon dart whizzed by and struck itself into Ruben's target. It wasn't one of Ollie's darts. Vicious laughter came from around the corner. "Nice of you to stand out in the open for me!" Of anyone who could have shot Ruben while he was monologuing, nobody could have predicted it would be Mrs. Roop the history teacher. "And you kids already did the dirty work for us and tagged out Mr. McGee. Save your bullets honey, we got a freebie this time." She addressed her wife Pam, who ran up to her side.
"Go! Go!" Libby practically pushed Ollie out of their hiding spot. It had been compromised. The students bolted away and gave themselves a good distance from the ones who stole their kill.
"They're escaping!" Pam saw the kids leave and was about to go after them, but was stopped by her wife.
"Let em' go for now. Those two know what they're doing, there's plenty of weaker fish to fry before them." Mrs. Roop reasoned.
The women continued their hunt while the dad duo stood around dejectedly. "That was too anticlimatic." Ruben complained, upset at not having been taken out, but taken out in a sneak attack. "Esther can never know about this." He would hide this shame until the end of his days. Or until Pete accidentally lets it slip next time they do karaoke.
OXOXOXOX
The Ghost Friend duo had the same idea as their new rivals did, take out the weaker teams first. They didn't have to search long before Ollie pushed them both against an upturned log. "Kat and Sheela are headed this way." The two peaked out from around the log and spied their classmates searching for other players, unaware that they'd been spotted.
Sharing a conspiratory glance and nod, Libby and Ollie did the same thing they had done earlier and waited for their classmates to come closer. Once in range, the two somersaulted around the sides of the log and fired at their opponents. The vests they needed to hit were on the opposite sides, so the fire of darts made a cross over the other. "Hit the deck!" Kat shouted, crouching just a moment too late and receiving a suction dart to the target.
Sheela grabbed her friend and took cover behind a rock, firing her Derf gun at Ollie before he could take her out. Libby and Ollie rolled back behind the log, both sides were now covered with minimal chance of being hit on the target. "This doesn't look good." Libby grumbled.
Ollie did not falter. He made note of the placement of trees and other obstacles, and saw an opportunity. "Watch this." He fired the Derf gun at a branch, it flung the dart away and nailed the target on Sheela. The girls were frustrated by such an unlikely maneuver. Libby was impressed, and Ollie was gobsmacked it had actually worked.
Their opponents retreated in defeat, while Libby's jaw hung wide open. "That was incredible!" It was the polar opposite of when Molly was armed with a Derf gun, no matter what she did her darts would ricochet back and hit herself. "How did you get such good aim?"
Truth be told, Ollie was a good shot, but even he thought that move would fail. "There was a ride at this one amusement park, and I sort of used it for target practice…" he sheepishly admitted.
"Target practice for what?" Libby asked.
Ollie gave her a deadpan look, raising a single eyebrow. 'Oh, right, ghost hunting.' Libby realized, making just an 'ah' sound that meant she understood him.
The sound of rustling leaves meant someone else was nearby. Libby saw a Derf gun and a vest the same color as hers. She showed no mercy, letting out a battle cry as she showered them with darts. "Haha! No one sneaks up on Libby Stein Torres! Not even-my-my therapist!?"
Libby's therapist waved a white flag, their teammate pulled the downed player away while Libby cringed. That was definitely going to be brought up at their next session. "You have a therapist?" She heard Ollie ask.
"Yeah, to handle my anxiety." Libby responded. "I know everyone is an enemy in Derf wars, but I really hope there's no hard feelings for the brutal elimination."
After eliminating her therapist (from the game), Libby led the two of them in tracking their next victim. Her bloodhound of truth persona was showing as she sniffed out footprints and found a trail. Ollie followed her lead and kept an eye out for any ambushes. He was so focused on threats from behind or around them, he very nearly missed a different threat right in front of them. "Wait-Libby No!" He was just barely able to grab the girl by the sweater and pull her away from the plant she almost stuck her face in.
"Ollie-" Libby stumbled into the dirt.
"Sorry! But you almost touched wild parsnip!" The boy hastily explained. "It causes skin irritation and rashes!"
That was news to Libby, they looked like harmless, tiny yellow flowers. "Oh-those are things I could certainly do without." She shuddered. Ollie held out his hand and helped her up. "Thanks for the save. Any particular reason you knew about the plant?"
"Actually, I really enjoy growing flowers." Ollie revealed. "I've only recently been able to get a decent garden growing in my backyard. It's important to know what sorts of wildflowers are harmful, in addition to beneficial ones."
Libby was intrigued. "So what kind of flowers have you got in your garden?"
Ollie grinned proudly. "I grew tulips!"
A brief cutaway shows Ollie back at home, watering a small patch of tulips. A little green frog sits among the flowers, happily content in the surrounding flora.
Back to now, the duo had spotted another duo: Nashua and Georgie. Ollie crouched down low while Libby scaled a short tree, hanging upside down like a bat. The torrent of suction darts was sudden, and their classmates had no defense against them. They were easily tagged out as they screamed in horror. Ollie and Libby high-fived at their success.
OXOXOXOX
The number of teams still in the game dwindled, reaching into the single digits as they tagged each other out. The team of Ollie and Libby were in hot pursuit of another team. It wasn't anyone they knew, just random background characters. The other team turned to shoot at them as they ran, forcing the kids to slow down as they dodged the suction darts.
"They're getting away!" Libby stumbled over a large tree root in the path. She saw her partner coming to help her and pointed her arm towards their targets. "I'll be fine, keep going!"
Ollie understood and nodded, he easily hopped over an even larger root and chased after the other team. Catching up just in time to hear the sound of Derf guns firing. He rolled over into a bush to avoid fire, but no darts came his way. "Huh?" Ollie peaked over the top of the bush to see what happened.
It wasn't the other team firing at him, it was them getting fired AT. The background characters grumbled, both having been hit on the targets. "Darn teacher and baker. They came out of nowhere! I swear, anyone could be a ninja these days!" One of them complained, the ninja classes he'd taken felt wasted. It sounded like their assailants were Mrs. Roop and Pam, taking out yet another team he and Libby had been tangling with.
Ollie ran back to where he left Libby, she was on her way to join him when she noticed his return. "Did you get them?" Libby asked, taking loud breaths as her lungs required a break from the sprint she'd done.
"No, Mrs. Roop and Pam got them before I did, apparently." Ollie was relieved the other players were out, but they still had their most dangerous and unlikely rivals to deal with.
Still needing a breather, Libby leaned against a tree and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "You've got way more stamina than I do. What's your secret?"
Hanging back by the tree with her, Derf gun loaded in case of a sudden attack, Ollie answered, "Healthy eating and exercise. I also really liked skating back when I lived in upstate New York, it really honed my agility."
"That explains your talent for Turnipball." Libby realized.
"Which I STILL do not understand." Ollie added. Maybe Libby could explain the game to him.
"Aside from softball, I'm not one for athletic recreation." Looks like the boy was still going to wait for a Turnipball explanation. "I'm more of a beat-poetry and literary woman."
Ollie recalled the book she'd written recently. "Your Turtle Riders book is an enjoyable read. Weren't you working on a sequel?"
The girl tucked her neck slightly into her sweater, a recent misadventure with Molly still fresh in her mind. "I've got a good draft that I'm still finalizing." She still needed to tweak a few things here and there, but she was content with the story she had created. "Being around books my whole life makes me feel like there's a spiritual connection between me and the words I put on the page. I'm crafting another world visible only in the confines of imagination. Books are so fascinating like that."
"I agree." He wasn't a writer like she was, but Ollie enjoyed reading books very much. Researching historical facts and legends was his preferred category, but anything involving the paranormal called to him. "Which reminds me, can I take a look at that pop-up book of yours sometime?"
"Of course!" Libby smiled. "Come to think of it, reading this one book was how I got invested in seeking out truths and the supernatural. It was an older book called 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind'."
The boy recognized that title. "Oh! I know that one! It's a must-read for paranormal investigations. Have you heard of another one by the same publisher, 'After the Twilight Falls'?"
Libby seemed to be familiar with his recommendation. "Oh! The one about famous ghost sightings! Yeah, it's really gripping!" This was nice, the two of them were finding more common ground. They'd been the 'Ghost Friends' for a few months already but only just realized they could have a mutual discussion about paranormal literature. They'd gotten so caught up in their discussion, however, a Derf dart zoomed right between them and bounced off of the tree they leaned against.
"What-How-" Ollie frantically looked around, he should have noticed someone coming close. "Where did that come from?!
"Where, you may ask?" A new voice spoke, seemingly coming from nowhere. In actuality, it was coming from behind a tree a few feet away. "You should be asking 'how'... and the answer is-" A puff of blue smoke and confetti erupted in front of the teens. Irving the Illusionist made his presence known. "MAGIC!"
Ollie's eyes lit up with childlike wonder. "(Tiny gasp) Stage Magic…"
Another man caught up to his game partner, it was Weird Larry and he looked alarmed. "You brought smoke bombs!? AND confetti!? That's against the rules, we're going to get disqualified!"
Irving wasn't worried in the least. "Psssh, we're out in the middle of the woods. How would they even find out?"
"Are those more smoke bombs in your back pocket?" Libby nervously pointed out, already backing away with Ollie.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Irving raised an eyebrow.
"Their fuses are lit." Ollie gulped.
The magician turned his coat around and saw that the fuses were indeed lit. The teens had already dived behind a hill for cover while he and Larry had zero time to defuse the situation… or the smoke bombs. "Oh phooey."
A cloud made up of several different colors of smoke erupted over the forest. It could be seen from miles and miles away. Even a shot of the planet would have a colorful 'poof' visible from space. The two standing at ground zero coughed and hacked up fumes and confetti, Irving's jacket had been almost entirely burned in the back. Larry wheezed loudly "I think they'll find out."
It was moot either way, they couldn't be disqualified before Libby and Ollie used the distraction to shoot their targets and tag them out. Irving was too tired to be mad. "I'm going home and taking a bubble bath." Using one last trick, he pulled up a drape and dropped it as he vanished… he tried to vanish. He could very clearly be seen running away as he dropped the cloth.
Despite how terribly that all went, the illusionist managed to impress one person. Ollie was awed by the fake magic, earning a bugged out stare from Libby. He realized what he was doing and quickly turned serious. "Molly can never know about this." He insisted.
Libby wholeheartedly agreed. "I'll take it to my grave."
OXOXOXOX
A drone flew over the woods, a speaker duct taped onto it. "Attention! There are only two teams remaining!" The staticky voice of the mayor sounded over the treetops. "We do not have any cameras, so we will abide by the honor system. Don't shoot the winners after they shoot you. Say, does anyone have the remote for the drone?" That was the last thing heard before the drone crashed into a really tall tree and a squirrel stole the remains.
The teens had a pretty good idea of who the other remaining team was. "It's gotta be Mrs. Roop and Pam." Libby was certain of it. "It's a rival showdown predestined by our first encounter. This could get messy. Are you willing to fight by my side in such a battle?" She addressed the boy beside her.
Ollie matched her resolve. "It's Derf or nothing."
The two teams ventured through the woods in search of one another. Preparing for the final showdown to begin at any moment. Any moment turned into maybe ten to fifteen minutes of running around aimlessly. The woods were huge. At last, two pairs of worn-out Derf gun wielders met in a conveniently empty clearing. "I should've known you kids would be our last obstacle." Mrs. Roop addressed her students.
"It was predestined after all." Ollie repeated what Libby had said in her previous line of dialogue. Calling back to their first encounter (y'know with Ruben and Pete), the duos were locked in a staring showdown. Derf guns were pointed, stares were hardened, a tumbleweed blew by somehow. The one to make the first move would decide which way fate would swing.
The triggers were pushed, and the suction dart guns were aimed at their respective colors and… nothing happened. All four of them were out of ammo.
"Darn thing, used up all the darts." Their teacher smacked her Derf gun.
Instead of a valiant final stand, the match would be decided by who found a stray dart first. While the married women were searching on the forest floor for any dropped ammunition, Ollie pulled Libby aside and hid in the brush. He wordlessly opened his jacket and revealed a massive stash of darts of both colors. "Where did you get those?!" Libby kept her volume to a whisper.
"I didn't think there'd be any sort of clean up, so I've been picking them up this whole time. You know I'd never let litter sit around." Ollie's voice was at the same volume as hers. He knew there were more stray darts around the woods, and it killed him that he had very little chance of finding them all. Perhaps he'd ask June for help manning a search drone to locate the rest. He'd have to account for the amount used and what remained with the other players, but-wait! They still had a game to win!
Ollie handed Libby a cerulean dart and took a maroon one for himself. They started reloading their weapons when the other team's voices got closer. "I don't think we'll find any darts around here hun." Pam sighed regretfully.
"We'll find some." Her wife assured her. "I promised we'd win that gift basket for our anniversary tomorrow, and I don't break my promises."
The Ghost Friend duo waited until the women's footsteps had gotten far enough away, then they continued their hushed conversation. Their own resolve faltered with uncertainty. "We're doing this for fun, right?" Ollie double-checked. "We never cared about the prize."
"Yeah." Libby confirmed. "But they do." Assuring each other that they were on the same page, the two shared a nod.
The ladies wandered back in a circle, still on the hunt for Derf darts. As if a miracle occurred, two darts rolled over beside them, one of each color. "Ha! Told you we'd find some!" Mrs. Roop scooped up the ammo, taking one for herself and handing her spouse the other.
Rustling from the bushes alerted the women that they were not alone. The two refilled their Derf guns and prepared to fire. Libby and Ollie emerged from the shrubbery, trying to act naturally, then surprised when their opponents open fire on them. Both darts hitting Ollie and Libby's targets.
"Aw beans, looks like they got us Libby." Ollie feigned disappointment, swinging his arm across his chest in a 'gosh dang it' manner.
"Looks like you two won fair and square." Libby conceded, suppressing a pleased grin.
Their history teacher and her wife celebrated their victory as they all made their way out of the woods. The teen duo strolled several feet behind them, happy to know their loss was not in vain at all. There was still something Ollie wondered about, however. "Hey Libby, how'd you get into this survival stuff in the first place? Was it another book?"
Libby chuckled "Oh no, nothing like that. Back when I was a toddler and my dad was still around, he'd always leave on post-apocalyptic movies when my mom was out." Her eyes widened with a terrifying stare. "It's been engraved into my memory all these years. The horrendous screams, the bloody kills, the sight of a zombie being ripped right down the middle as their maggot-filled insides spray everywhere… I had to be prepared." She went right back to speaking casually on that last bit.
Ollie was shocked into silence. How was he supposed to respond to this information? His mouth ended up speaking ahead of his brain "Your dad does not sound fit to raise a child."
Libby had to agree. "That's exactly what my therapist said."