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Slowly, I crouch down, pulling my tired body through the dense, thick undergrowth while I hold onto the loaded weapon in my hand. The quiet around me unnerves me and I look around nervously. A movement to my right causes me to turn my head in its direction but I relax as quickly as I tensed up and smile at my companion emerging from beside a bush.
He nods and returns the smile, streaks of dirt covering his face but other than that he seems unharmed. “You alright?,” I whisper as he is next to me. “Yes, I’m fine. You?” “Same,” I mumble before I move slowly forwards again. We have to be careful and quiet despite the semi-darkness around us. They could be anywhere, we both know that.
In the distance I can hear the water lapping against the grassy shore, giving me hope we might reach the stream before we’re caught. It’s a difficult task but not impossible. I look around again, trying to find the shortest way among the trees and bushes and sticks of the undergrowth as he taps me on the shoulder, pointing to a figure moving through the thicket a little further to our right.
For a moment I hold my breath as the person stops in its tracks, searching for its prey - for us. The grip of my hand around the handle of my pistol tightens. I can feel my heartbeat underneath my ribs and the pulsating throb of my blood being pumped through the veins of my exhausted body. A quick glance to my right tells me my companion feels the same.
Despite our dark, camouflaging clothing, we know we have to keep moving, change position, make ourselves scarce but the thin, cracking sticks underneath us don’t make this an easy task. My eyes still rest on the person a mere 20 metres away from us, with hunched shoulders and a raised collar. I let out an inaudible sigh of relief as its feet start moving again, taking him away from us into the opposite direction.
Before I can think about the best path to move forward on, my companion already starts crouching ahead, one hand firmly on his weapon, the other clearing the way in front of his face to prevent unwanted animals or leaves to restrict his vision. I smile shortly before I follow him as silently as possible.
“What is it?,” I whisper as he stops a few metres later. The sound of the water has become louder and I can already see the grassy edge of the forest ahead. Quietly, I crouch up to his height to ask what made him stop when I see her.
Her long, dark curls are forming a stark contrast to the juicy green of the grass around her, her eyes, watchful and alert, are darting around, taking in every move in the forest ahead of her. We both know she isn’t alone and we careful glance around to make out the position of her companions. “One’s over there,” he whispers, pointing to the riverbank with his chin and I nod in agreement. “The other one’s to her right,” I mumble, referring to the dark, lean person about 30 metres on her right whose view is also directed at the thick, dark forest.
“What shall we do?,” he asks, his grey eyes sparkling as a single ray of sunlight darts through the undergrowth into our hiding place. “Attack? We only need to make it through to the water and it’s only her and the person by the riverbank we have to worry about. He,” I whisper, pointing at the man who is the farthest away, “he won’t make it in time to catch us.”
My companion contemplates my suggestion for a moment before he checks the ammunition of his weapon while I do the same. Not fully loaded but enough left to at least cause some distracting damage, I conclude. “Okay,” he mumbles, taking one last breath, preparing his body for the attack.
“1....2....3, GO!,” I breathe, jumping up onto my legs and running straight towards her, weapon drawn and ready to fight. I startle her before she comes to her senses and picks up her own weapon of choice but too late. My companion next to me is the first to fire and she stumbles backwards, surprised and defeated, while I take on the second enemy standing right by the riverbank. Her gaze had been directed at the opposite end of the clearing and by the time she is aware of our attack, she too has been hit, holding up her hands in surrender.
With a loud splash, we jump into the water, relishing its refreshing effect on our exhausted bodies and brains while our enemies can merely watch us, throwing away their weapons in defeat, at least two of them dripping wet as well.
“Yes,” Benjamin besides me laughs, raising his hands and celebrating our triumph, his wet curls now sticking to his head, while Emiliana, Paula, and Benedict are pouting at their loss. I chuckle and pick him up, pressing a sloppy kiss onto his cheek, still holding on to the water pistol which helped us to victory just moments ago.
“You cheated, I’m sure of it,” Paula laughs, a dark trail on her now partly wet shirt from where I hit her before we reached the stream, causing it to stick to her skin, revealing her bikini top underneath. Benedict sighs theatrically before he picks up Emmy. “What do you think about some of our self-made milkshake to make up for our defeat, eh?,” he asks with a gentle smile and she nods, sticking her tongue out at her brother and me.
Blowing her a kiss, I wink at my son, his cheeks flushed and a wide smile upon his beautiful face. “Come on, soldier. Let’s get some victory-sweets as well,” I smile and ruffle through his hair before we leave the water and follow the others, dripping wet but happy. That was indeed a fun game to play, I think to myself, as I watch my children and friends laughing loudly in the afternoon sun.