CH3: Low Blow

Something hit me. I crawl behind cover and Sofie sees me and turns to me and screams scared. I hear Tatiana shout something about a sniper but my heart is beating too fast to register it. I try to take a health usb but my hands are shaking too much. Why am I not passing out? Shouldn’t I be?

I look up and see Sofie run to me and take the health usb and put it on my healing slot and my health increases. “T-there you go, hero. Watch out, there’s a sniper on the roof. Can you imagine these guys? Who’s the campers, eh?” She kneels before me and keeps an eye behind her toward Grace’s last location. “S-shouldn’t you watch out? You didn’t…?” I am not sure what’s happening. Did Sofie get Grace?

I see Sofie look up and as a shadow jumps over the wall I got behind. The shadow hits Sofie in the face which makes the short girl stumble over and her glasses fly off. I take my gun and aim and see that the shadow is Grace. She kicks Sofie in the chest and drags her across the pavement. It looks like she’s out of ammo or something. She doesn’t even have her guns with her. I could shoot her. I really could. I see Grace look up at me with a frown on her face as she drags the girl on the floor toward the gate. I watch as Sofie gets up and tries to shoot Grace with her sidearm, but Grace pulls the pistol away and slaps her in the face and makes the shorter girl drop down again. I hear her beg as Grace pulls on one of her pigtails and throws her out of the gate, making Sofie roll and stumble across the coarse asphalt.

Sofie rolls over and I see a bloody nose – I feel confused. Suddenly she collapses and drops down motionless as I can see in the dark night her bracelet flash. Sofie lies motionless outside the gates and Grace turns to me and stares at me panting. The announcement confirms it: “Sofie has been eliminated due to rules violation.” She keeps staring at me over her shoulder and I hold my gun at her biting my teeth together and holding my tears in as anger fills me. “What the fuck?!! What the hell are you doing?!” I scream and Grace looks away and I lower my gun. I can’t shoot her, not even now. I see Grace’s shoulder turn red as she notices my teammates running at her. She bends down and grabs Sofie’s SMGs from the floor as the lasers fly by her. Grace runs and passes me and vaults a wall and disappears.

Tatiana and Vinora run to me and find me still sitting on the floor. “What happened?!” Tatiana asks panting and heals herself. I point at the poor and beaten Sofie and both of them gasp and Vinora screams out and tries running in Grace’s direction but Tatiana stops her. I just can’t believe Grace would be so heartless. It’s one thing to shoot lasers at each other, and it’s a different thing to beat someone up like that. And I could’ve shot her, she knew that. She counted on me not shooting. I can’t trust my friend anymore, and I feel angry. But more than that, I feel betrayed.

I burst out crying and Tatiana reloads her LMG and keeps the Recreationists off. “Dammit… Vinora, keep the sniper busy! We have to move! I can keep the ones on the ground in place!” The two try their best as I can’t help but cry and shiver in place. What’s the point? What’s the point without Grace? I can’t justify it, I can’t see how she sees that as right. I could just lose now, I should’ve lost already. To get eliminated and get out of here. I sob and crawl towards where Grace went as it feels like my legs won’t hold. Vinora sees me and pulls my leg: “Hey! Stop that shit! We can still win! Let’s get them! Think about it later!” She might be right. I get up slowly and as I do, I see someone – waving.