CH3: Initiate Combat

I hit Hope on the waist and she gasps and dives out of the way. I turn to Esme who is frozen and I hit her on the side and she finally gets the clue and jumps out of the way too. “What the fuck?!” Esme screams and I hear the bathroom door open and aim. Grace peeks out and shoots my way. She’s so good she won’t just show herself. Not that I’m going to shoot her. “Who is it? Any visual?!” Grace shouts and the girls can’t answer. I am pretty well hidden between the cushions. “Can’t tell! But they got a rifle!”

“It’s Lilah! Goddammit!” Hope swears and I see Grace look past her cover my way. “No! Shit!” Esme swears too and I see Grace put her hand up and wave at me. I knew it, she’s not with them, not really! But I can’t give her away either. I’m definitely going to eliminate these two though. I see Esme’s butt poking out from behind her cover and get a hit on it and she screams and gets behind cover better. “We can’t hold this! Grace, help!” Hope shouts and Grace walks out and slowly gets behind cover. I could’ve shot her easily, but I won’t do that.

“Cover me as I go!” Hope says and I see lasers coming my way and hear her run. This is actually bad. She has a shotgun and if she gets too close, I’m toast. I dive to the side of the couch and shoot her legs and she stumbles behind cover again and breathes sharply. I also get another shot at Esme and she too gets behind cover again.

“That damn rifle! Ah, fuck, we don’t stand a chance!” Esme whines and I see Grace making her way closer. I see Hope peek and shoot her arm and she pulls back again. I have them pretty well stuck. There’s no way they win this. Suddenly I hear my bracelet beep and get behind cover. It’s a hit on my shoulder. It didn’t hurt too bad, but it was Grace, she shot me. “Ok! I got her! Go!” Grace shouts and I panic. What is this? Grace?

I hear them running and dive just out of the way as they reach me. The shotguns do pretty good damage on my legs and back as I make it to another couch and they hold their position. “Fuck, almost got her!” Esme whines and I see Grace a little further back. I see an open avenue just behind me, but Grace is holding it so I can’t run. I am sure I could outrun a couple of shotguns, but not Grace and her accuracy with her pistols. Who’s side is she on?

I swallow and shout: “Grace! What are you doing? It’s me!” I clench my body as I wait for her response but get nothing. The two Recreationists have just a few feet between them and me and could run up to me easily. I have to act now. I want to survive, but more than that, I want to survive with Grace. So I trust her and start running. There’s shotgun blasts behind me and I run until I come out of the rec room and run into the hallway. I hear footsteps behind me, but I got out of there. I really did. And Grace didn’t take a shot at me either. Although the fact I have to be grateful for that makes me really upset.