The Hunters

Chapter Fifty-One

 Russ was actually on time when I arrived at the training site, having been led there by Aksel and Gaz. I watched everyone gear up, flinching when Haugen pointed her air-soft gun at me. She fired a shot at my rear and I laughed despite the pain, swatting away the feeling while she giggled. "That's a warning. My legs are dead now; do not make me die here."

"Yeah, yeah. Larsen! You get to set up this time." She giggled and took off into the trees while I explained to everyone, "For those of you unfamiliar with this, we'll be training on how to tackle challenging environments. Obstacles will be placed by Larsen." I went through some examples, adding the distance requirements.

"Done!" Larsen exclaimed before jogging to the tower.

"Good. I'm going to show you all what to look for first, then we'll split into groups for a good old-fashion round of hide and seek." Withdrawing my pistol, I walked forward, disappointed in Larsen for leaving behind footprints. "Walk in a line. She's left prints; we'll maintain what she left to not indicate our numbers."

We slowly moved forward and I paused at a large opening, dusting the snow away to reveal a trip-wire. "Openings like this are common for tripwires and other traps. One key when you're dealing with a pile of snow or sand; look below the initial wire, since there might be one hidden below."

I revealed the second wire while they observed with wide eyes, impressed by the knowledge. Russ huffed, calling, "What don't we just walk around?"

"Good question." I observed the surroundings, seeing where Larsen had shuffled the snow. Bending over it, I revealed a pretend IED. "In theory, the enemy will be good at covering their tracks. Larsen! We're working on that with you. So, this would have been long-hidden, and your avoidance of the wires would have led you here."

That shut him up and I moved forward, carefully stepping over the wires. I led them through the forest until we'd found all of the traps, instructing them, "Head back to the start. It's my turn to hide these."

They worked for hours until their fatigue overwhelmed their capabilities, worsening their focus as they began to make silly mistakes. I let them train for a few more additional rounds, pushing their exhaustion, before dismissing for dinner. While they stood together in a group and groaned, I headed into the woods, gathering the items while I heard approaching footsteps: multiple.

I smirked when I realized that they were tracking me, using the nearby footprints to hide my path as I cut to their left. Climbing a tree, I peered below through the canopy, seeing who all was stalking me. Larsen, Haugen, and Andersen were in the front, crouching as they tried to hide the sound of their steps. Gaz and Aksel followed, pistols drawn, and I grinned when I spotted the remainder of the group: everyone was after me.

They had the numbers: ten of them version one of me. However, I had home advantage, and at this moment, the high ground. Shielding the lower half of my face with my mask, I blending into the trees with my snow-camo, taking aim with a grenade. Activating it, I waited a few seconds before I tossed it into the center of the group when they passed, making sure that I'd thrown it far enough to not hit myself.

"Motherfucker!" Larsen cursed, joining the others as they ran while Russ boldly grabbed the grenade to throw back at me. The alarm blared as the grenade theoretically exploded in his hands, leaving him and the majority of them dead.

I shot the remaining people, missing König as he shifted behind a tree. "Just the two giants left," Andersen announced as they all slipped on their orange vests, stepping back to watch.

"She hit me in my nip," Gaz groaned, lying on the ground as he rested and gripped his chest. Aksel laughed loudly and joined him, the noise preventing König from hearing me when I climbed as far up in the tree as possible.

Pistol forward, he stalked in my direction after determining where the fake bullets came from. His eyes were focused; he was in his serious, angry mode. His heavy steps were purposeful and intimidating; he wasn't good at stealth, but he was powerful. Shit; I might be in trouble.