Jayden's Cybermountain

by Katrina Cope

  “Well, they’re not real bullets. They’re just pretend bullets—electrical bullets, you might say,” Aaron said, beaming.

  “Electrical bullets. It still sounds like they’d hurt,” Jessica protested.

  “They won’t hurt too much,” Eva said. “You’ll only feel a buzz equivalent to a very small electrical shock in the spot where they hit. Then the bullet will show on your uniform exactly where you were hit, and whether it was fatal or not.”

  “Our guns and uniforms are all electronically connected to Scarlet’s main system. She tells us at the end of the game who was the best person, best team, and whether or not anyone shot their own team member,” Robert said, jiggling with excitement.

  “Well, I’m not looking forward to electric shocks,” Jessica said, while looking worried.

  They stopped when they arrived at the pile of camouflage army uniforms and the arrangement of laser tag guns.

  Avando gestured toward the equipment. “I had Charlie set all this out for you. Everyone take a uniform and put it on over your clothes. Then, when you’re finished, choose a gun.”

  He divided them into teams with Aaron, Eva, Robert, Jayden, and Jessica being on one team while Taylor, Ben, Declan, and Damian were on the other.

  “If you need to recharge your ammunition, you’ll need to come back to this place right here,” Avando told them. “Remember, it is open area without any shelter, so you’ll be vulnerable to attacks. The action begins five minutes after the start, to give everyone time to get into their positions. If you’re still out in the field hiding and you hear this horn—” he sounded an extremely loud horn that sounded like a foghorn, “it’ll be your signal to come back because everyone else has finished. Good luck, everyone. Now scatter!”

  They all ran off in different directions with guns in hand. Jayden had never played this game before, although he’d heard other kids talk about the game at school before he ended up on the streets. He began by taking his position alongside Aaron, Jessica, Eva, and Robert. They crouched down among the shrubbery. But after a few minutes, he noticed how much noise the four were making, so he started to inch away from them while still being able to hear their whispers and crunching of leaves and sticks.

  He found a nice, sturdy tree to hide in with a few solid branches leading up to the top and lots of coverage from the thick foliage. He dug his shoe into the bark while grabbing every handhold he could find and climbed up to the first strong branch. Feeling too exposed, he continued climbing until he was satisfied he was hidden. He sat with his back against the trunk and his legs lying along the branch while he looked around at places he could see on the ground.

  After a little while, he saw a movement below and looked to see what it was. There was some green movement that couldn’t be defined. He let his eyes wander. A gap in the branches gave him a view of the ground. He studied the area by looking at it through the telescopic sight on his gun. He also saw that the ammo station was slightly to the right of the open space. Bonus, he thought. I can keep an eye on it from here.

  In the distance, from the left, a scream sounded. He smiled to himself, thinking that one of the girls had just been hit, probably from the opposing side.

  A movement took place in the plain equipped with the ammo. He held up the gun to look through the telescopic sight. It was Avando, and he was studying something in his hand. What was he holding? Jayden focused on the object through his telescopic sight. It appeared to be an electronic device. Avando was turning and facing it in the different directions the students had run in. At the same time, he was also looking at the screen.

  It must be some kind of tracking device, Jayden thought. He looked at his own suit and at the electronic plate that was positioned on his chest. Hmmm, interesting. There must be a tracking mechanism built into these uniforms.

  Suddenly, a yell came from in the distance.

  These suits must give a punch with their shocks, he thought. Either that, or the teens are being overdramatic.

  Again, a movement flickered down below along with some cracking sounds, like branches breaking. He pulled his gun’s scope up to his eye to have a better look and spotted long, blonde hair showing from underneath a green camouflage hat.

  It must be Jess, he thought.

  Not far from her, he saw another movement. He watched the movement closely. This shape moved with the stealth of a warrior. He continued to watch the shape, in case it was a member of the opposing team who was sneaking up on Jessica.

  The figure moved closer and closer to Jessica. Jayden couldn’t get a good view of the person’s face, so he quietly climbed down a couple of limbs of the tree to get a better look. When he reached the limbs below, a crow landed on a branch not far from him and gave a loud cry. Knowing it was only a bird, Jayden kept his eyes firmly on the figure he was watching below. He was rewarded for his persistence when Aaron looked up at the bird that made the sound. He had looked straight past Jayden, not noticing him.

  When Aaron looked away again, Jayden thought while shaking his head, Of course, it’d be Aaron following Jess.

  Gunfire sounded from behind them. The bullets missed Jessica, but the sound caused Aaron to dive out of his safe hiding place and rush to Jessica’s rescue, immediately putting himself in danger. Jayden looked around to try to see where the gunfire was coming from. Whoever the shooter was, he or she was completely hidden. After a few moments, the shots sounded again. This time, Jayden caught a glimpse of the perpetrator. It was Damian.

  With his heart racing, Jayden fired at Damien and managed to clip his shoulder. Damian let out an anguished yell from being hit, but Jayden was too late. Aaron had already let out a louder yell as Damian had managed to shoot him with a fatal shot. A fatal shot appeared to give off a stronger shock. This meant that Aaron was out of the game, and Jessica no longer had Aaron to protect her.

  Jayden lay flat on the tree branch and aimed his gun at Damian again. He could see that Jessica was now working herself into hysteria, spinning herself around in a circle while she looked for the shooter and obviously fearing she was about to be shot. Jayden didn’t let this distract him while he aimed and fired. An extremely loud scream sounded from below. It was from Jessica, who had been fatally shot and felt the shock go through her with a loud protest.

  Sad that he hadn’t been able to save her, Jayden took another look at Damian and saw that he was also shot. His arm was limp from the shock he’d received, and he was using only one arm. Jayden quickly aimed and fired at him, this time finishing him off. A satisfied smile crossed Jayden’s face when he heard the loud yell come from Damian. A confused expression crossed Damien’s face as he searched the trees, looking desperately for the shooter who had taken him out of the game—but to no avail.

  Knowing that his position was now at least partially given away by the loud yells of the others, Jayden waited until the three had left the area to head back to base. He double-checked to be sure that there were no others currently moving around the area and then climbed down the tree to search for another vantage spot. He stealthily moved through the shrubs and trees without making any loud sounds. He was careful not to step on any twigs or branches and at the same time kept low, constantly looking around for any sign of an opponent.

  A movement flashed across his peripheral vision. His heart raced as he glanced in its direction. It was only a palm frond that had moved in the breeze. He breathed a sigh of relief, moved a little more through the bushes, and came across a little creek. It wasn’t very deep, and he found it easy to traverse it using the rocks. He continued through the trees in search of a good vantage spot.

  He caught another movement in his peripheral vision and his heart began to beat through his chest. This time, it was another person. He couldn’t see who it was, so he crept closer to have a better look. His heart was beating so hard and fast that it was making it difficult to keep his movements smooth. The person was coming toward him, so he backed himself up under a shrub that framed a gigantic rock and
peered through its leaves. He was surprised at just how much vision he had of the area from this little shrub. Content with his hiding place, he stayed put and watched them.

  It was extremely hard to tell who it was, especially since the person was wearing a hat. Jayden reminded himself that patience and skill was needed to win the game. While he waited for the person to turn around, he saw another motion in the distance. This movement was low—like the movement of a lion on the prowl, stalking its prey.

  He slowly reached for his gun and brought the scope up to his eye. He looked at the person who was farther away and saw that it was Taylor. He aimed the gun at Taylor’s hat and pulled the trigger. A satisfying yell came from Taylor’s direction. Jayden pulled the gun away from his eye and peered at the person closer to him. That person turned around while searching for the invisible shooter. It was Eva, but she still hadn’t seen him.

  He smiled because she couldn’t see him. He’d have stepped out to reveal himself, but he couldn’t risk being potentially spotted by an enemy. Someone else might already be invisibly watching Eva. Instead, he backed into the bush farther, careful not to rustle any leaves. Jayden had expected to feel solid rock behind him when he retreated into the bush but was surprised to instead feel a large gap. He turned his head to have a look and was astonished to find an underground cave behind him. He peered in and saw that it was about the size of a normal living room.

  After climbing down into the cave, he looked around. He had a flashlight attached to his uniform at the front, so he turned it on and shone it around. What a perfect hiding place, he thought to himself. After he had turned the torch off, he saw that some light was shining in from a couple of different areas. Going over to one of the light sources, he noticed it was like a little window in a bunker.

  How set am I now? he thought. Continuing to look out the window for any sign of further movement, he saw that he had a better view of what was going on around him than he did at ground level.

  Jayden spotted Eva moving around. To his right, he heard a loud sound. It was no surprise that it was Robert making the noise, treading like a lumbering elephant rather than a creeping lion.

  Gunfire sounded in the distance, followed by yelling from Robert. Naturally, because he’d made so much noise, the enemy had found him. Eva dropped to the ground and Jayden looked for the other team. A few silent moments passed before Robert had recovered and was able to start moving back to base.

  Come on, move! Jayden thought, silently willing the other team to show themselves. Finally, there was movement in the distance. Gradually, a figure made its way toward the area where they hid. Jayden slowly, and with as little movement as possible, pulled his gun’s scope to his eye to view the creeper more clearly. It was Ben. Jayden took aim and pulled the trigger, hitting him in the leg. As only a soft yell sounded through clenched teeth, Jayden knew he wasn’t dead yet.

  Eva was still trying to see where the shots had come from and had raised herself a little to look around. Jayden set his sights on Ben again, aiming firmly at his chest. He pulled the trigger. This time there was a loud yell. Yes! Jayden thought, smiling. He was enjoying this game immensely.

  Out of nowhere, there was another shot fired, which was followed by Eva’s screams. Damn! Where’d that come from? he wondered as Eva fell to the ground. Jayden ran to the other bunker window. Instantly, he saw a movement at the side, so he looked through his scope. It was Declan. He was making his way toward Eva with a gloating look on his face. Jayden aimed at Declan’s chest and pulled the trigger. Declan fell to the ground yelling. Jayden smirked. He’d avenged his new friend and teammate. He pulled his gun back down and continued hiding while at the same time searching the area for any more sneaky movements. It was definitely an awesome hiding place. He knew he’d have to remember where this cave was, in case they ever did another one of these games.

  It was only about ten minutes later that he heard the horn indicating that it was time to return. Seeing that he hadn’t been shot, he knew he was the winner of this round. With a big, self-congratulating smile on his face, he crawled out of the hole, taking note of landmarks so that he could find it easily next time. Then he headed back to base.

  On his arrival, Avando saw him coming in and held his arm out welcomingly toward Jayden. He said with a smile, “Ahhh! Here’s the champ! Congratulations on a great effort. Your team doesn’t have to do dish duty tonight.”

  With that comment, Jayden’s team cheered loudly. “Tell me though, where were you? You disappeared off the radar,” Avando asked, eying him with curiosity.

  Since he didn’t want to give his secret hiding place away, Jayden pretended that he didn’t know what Avando was talking about. “What do you mean? I was just hiding in the trees like everyone else.”

  “Really? How strange. Scarlet couldn’t tell me where you were—yet I can find you on here now,” he said while holding up the tracking device. He raised an eyebrow. “I’ll have to have my tracker tested. Very good work, everyone.”

  Avando and a few of the students walked over to Charlie’s shed to drop off the uniforms and laser guns while the rest of the students made their way back to the main building.

  “Where were you?” Eva asked Jayden.

  “Just hanging around,” Jayden responded.

  “So you’re not going to tell me, I take it?” She glared at him.

  Jayden smirked. “Well, let me put it this way. If we play again, and I’ve told you and you’re on the other team—I won’t have my special place anymore, will I?”

  Her face softened. “I guess not. It’s strange though, with the tracker missing you and all. It’s like you were buried, or something.”

  “I guess that’s one way of putting it.” Jayden said with a grin.

  “How did you do, Jess?” Eva asked her.

  “I had handsome Ari here, looking after me for a while, until he got shot.” She placed her arm around him and Eva rolled her eyes.

  Jayden, who was walking next to the pair, saw a large hand appear in his side vision. The hand slapped Aaron on the back of the head.

  Aaron spun around to see who the offender was. It was Taylor.

  “Hands off my girl, dweeb!” Taylor spat at Aaron.

  Aaron looked shocked, but at the same time stood ready in case of another attack. “What are you talking about?”

  “That’s my girl you’re putting your hands on.” Taylor grumbled.

  “Really? She never mentioned having a boyfriend,” Aaron disagreed.

  “She’s my girl, so back off,” Taylor repeated.

  Jessica stepped in. “Taylor, stop it! Ya know I’m not ya girl.”

  “Well if I can’t have ya, no one can!” Taylor said to her.

  “What’s wrong with ya, Taylor?” Jessica asked.

  “Stand back, Jess. I don’t want ya gettin’ hurt,” Taylor commanded.

  Jessica took a step forward with a frown on her face.

  “I said step back!” he bellowed.

  Jessica stepped back and Jayden stepped closer. “Taylor, what’re you doing?” he asked.

  “Back off, Jayden! This isn’t ya fight,” Taylor told him.

  Jayden shook his head. Putting up a hand he said, “It’s no one’s fight. You’ve just lost a couple of marbles. That’s all.”

  Taylor aggressively stepped toward Aaron.

  Jayden stepped toward the middle. “Look, Taylor, you need to back off,” Jayden told him. “You’re picking on the wrong guy. Aaron’s a nice guy, but he’s also an expert in martial arts. You don’t want to fight him!”

  “No. He’s just a jerk who is tryin’ to steal my girl.”

  “No, he’s not. Trust me, if you saw him in fighting action, you’d thank me for stopping you,” Jayden argued.

  “Back off, Jayden.” Taylor tried to take a swipe at Aaron, but Jayden stepped in further and blocked it. Taylor took a swipe at Jayden this time. Jayden blocked it again, but didn’t fight back because he was still trying to talk some sense i
nto Taylor.

  “I said back off!” Taylor roared at him and towered over Jayden by about four inches.

  “No,” Jayden said calmly, surprised by the swift blocking moves he’d just executed.

  This time, Taylor threw a punch straight at Jayden’s face. Jayden avoided it and pushed the punch to one side while at the same time stepping closer to Taylor. He hooked his foot behind Taylor’s leg and pushed him backward. Taylor fell rapidly backward, landing on the ground. He looked shocked.

  Surprised at how far his self-defense technique had come in just a couple of short weeks, Jayden glanced at the faces of the people around him. He saw that they weren’t looking at him, though—they were looking just past him. He turned around to see what had caught their attention and saw Avando standing behind him. Jayden felt the color drain out of his face. Now I’ve done it! he thought. To try to save face, he reached down to offer Taylor a hand up.

  Taylor slapped his hand away with hatred in his eyes.

  “You two—my office, now,” Avando commanded. “The rest of you—continue with your normal tasks for the day.”

  Jayden and Taylor followed Avando silently to his office, passing the video games room and seeing that the door was still closed. They walked until they stopped outside Avando’s office. “Taylor—I will speak to you inside first. Jayden—you wait out here.”

  Taylor followed Avando into his office as Jayden waited nervously in the hallway. The wait seemed very long, but in reality was probably only about five minutes. He twiddled his thumbs and wished that his meeting with Avando were over. He prayed that Avando wouldn’t kick him out of school because of this one incident. He’d never asked Avando what would happen to him if he acted up. It had never occurred to him that he’d be involved in a fight.

  Taylor emerged from the office with an angry look on his face and headed down the hall without saying a word.

  “Come in, Jayden,” called Avando’s voice from inside his office.

  Jayden walked hesitantly through the doorway.

  “Close the door, would you?” Avando had no particular tone in his voice other than straight business. “Sit.” Jayden took a seat immediately, feeling desperate to stay at the school.