Sworn Enemies - Rebel Hart Page 0,56

“I am.”

“Well, get in here already. The enemy is on the front lines. We’ve got work to do.”

I held my arm out, and Quinn walked past me. I followed behind her. The man in the combat gear worked to get us dressed in all the necessary protective gear and outfitted us with a couple of paintball guns. He explained all the rules of the arena to us in the form of a mission and then brought us out of a door that had us back outside, though still contained within a chain-link cage. He pointed to our right, and there was another pair of people, a taller man with long black hair and a woman of average height with a black pixie-cut hairstyle and brilliant golden eyes, staring right back at us.

“The enemy has been identified. It’s kill, or be killed, folks.” The man in combat gear pointed at the door. “We were able to buy you a few minutes, but now we’re out of time. The second you hear a buzzer, that door’s gonna open, and you’re on your own. Make it to the other side before the enemy to retrieve the drop, and make sure to hit any targets you see. Our soldiers are counting on you. Good luck.” He saluted us and then disappeared back behind the door.

Quinn shook her head, still managing to look sexy even with a giant helmet on her head and black pads covering her from head to toe. “This is amazing,” she yelled.

A loud buzzer screamed out, and the door to the cage flew open. Quinn immediately pulled her gun up to shoot and started out of the cage. The other team must have had the same idea in mind because the second they left the cage, they turned on us and started to fire. The bearable sting of paintballs hitting my armor sprang me to life, and Quinn and I fired back. Finally, Quinn screamed, “Go!” and we both ran off down the path.

The course was a winding path of obstacles and moving targets that sometimes appeared by surprise. Despite that the goal was to hit as many targets as possible and get to the end of the course before the other team, points could also be scored for striking the other team’s armor, especially in specific, marked places. As a result, there were several barriers, nooks, and crannies sprinkled throughout the course where someone could hide, both from being shot or to get the jump on someone. Within a matter of minutes, Quinn and I had settled into a groove. She would defend me against the other team while I kept my eye out for targets. Our opponents noticed our tactics and copied them, with the guy keeping his gun at the ready to fire at Quinn when necessary while the woman fired at any targets she could see.

Near the bottom of the course, different pieces of our armor started to light up and vibrate, and if you could land a shot in one of the highlighted areas, tons of extra points could be scored. I got a little distracted while watching Quinn impressively snag the guy in the glowing parts of his armor, almost like she was a trained assassin, and I took whatever chances I had between targets to fire on the girl, as well. Finally, the two paths we were on converged into a single one, and it was open season. There were obstacles to hide behind, but they did little to protect someone if the opponent wanted to run around them. Quinn’s entire armor lit up, a sign that she was currently the high score holder, and the guy and girl turned on her and started to fire. I dropped my gun and bolted over and stood between them and her, letting their flurry of paintballs smack into me at rapid speed. I let out a comedically loud scream and dropped to my knees.

I pushed Quinn toward the goal. “Go. Save yourself.”

“You saved me!” she yelped. “I won’t go without you!” She grabbed my arm, and I went totally limp, forcing her to drag me down the path. “Okay, you ass.”

The girl on the other team put her gun in the air. “Okay, you two are awesome! I forfeit. Take the win.”

The guy held his gun up as well, so Quinn dropped my arm and bolted off toward the finish line. She must have triggered something as she ran because the entire ground rumbled as a

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