Emily said with a laugh as she sat next to Katherine. “I know exactly how serious these boys can get with their games.”
“This is going to be a lot of fun to watch,” Katherine said with her own chuckle. “They’re all going to be afraid to hit Joseph, George, and Richard, and those old men are going to take great delight in pelting the heck out of each one of them.”
The women laughed hard at that. “Please tell me this is being recorded,” Emily said.
“Oh, of course it is. I’ll play this day over and over again,” Katherine said.
Chad was still speaking so they listened in.
“The first match isn’t going to go as any of you expected. All of you will be going against me and five of my friends,” Chad explained. As he said that five men who looked more like characters from a superhero comic book walked up next to him.
There were audible gasps and a few comments asking who in the heck these men were. Only by body type could they be identified, because nothing else gave them away. It was fair to say the six men dressed like military gods were more than a little impressive.
“We’re going to the far side of the field. An air horn will sound, then the game will be on. It’s a simple capture the flag game. You can go anywhere you want as long as you stay within the roped off area. Climb under tires, go up in the stands, hide behind trees, crawl through bushes, whatever you want to get your flag back to your camp. The first game will be us six versus you. After that we’ll change it up,” Chad said. He then turned toward the entrance of the gaming area, the five soldiers turning in perfect unison behind him. They made an intimidating sight and Chad laughed beneath his breath. They were gone in a few seconds, but they heard the Andersons talking as they planned.
“Six? Six men? That’s all they have. They must not know who they’re dealing with. We’re the Andersons, and we won’t be taken down by six men. Look at us, over twenty-five strong. Let’s show these fools who we are!” Heads turned to see who’d spoken out like a warrior. It was Jasmine, her paintball gun in hand, pointed in the air as if she was a warrior princess.
Joseph wasn’t at all surprised by his granddaughter’s speech. She’d always been feisty and strong, and one who’d take on any challenge. He looked over at Lucas who appeared to be one proud papa.
“Jasmine’s right,” Joseph said loud enough for the entire group to hear. “Mark, please come over here and tell us what strategy you think we should take.”
“Actually Dad, I think Jasmine should take the lead. She’s ready to take the reins and we’re ready to follow,” Mark said.
The next few minutes were a whirlwind of conversations on how to attack the course, and the men they were up against. Jasmine decided to make three separate teams and to go at the other team from the left, center, and right. It was a plan that everyone was on board with — even the little brothers who’d asked to at least be on the same team. The request was granted, and Jasmine made sure none of their sisters were on that team. There was a small hope the boys would get knocked out of the game first.
The undeniable sound of an air horn sliced through the air, causing a few to jump and a few to yell out in excitement. The game was officially under way.
Jasmine’s team was made up of Joseph; Lucas; Amy; Chad’s wife, Brianne; their son, Matthew; Damien Whitfield’s daughter, Samantha; as well as Alex and Jessica’s daughter, Katie. Jasmine said her team would go directly up the middle and be the battering ram, and the most likely to come under direct fire.
Within minutes the five-acre mock battlefield came to life with the pop, pop, pop of paintballs being sent through the air. There were screeches of surprise and groans of disappointment as individuals took hits. There were scorekeepers throughout the field confirming hits and misses, and adding points.
“Grandpa,” Jasmine called from her spot behind a blow-up wall.
“Yeah, kiddo, I see him,” Joseph replied. “How do you want to get to him?”
“Get Mom and Dad to rush the left side, we’ll cover them. Once they’re there have Bree, Matty, Sam, and Katie go to the pallets,” Jasmine said, using