The Circle

5.The Woods

As I stumbled into the line of the group I was given, I looked over and saw Kayla being chosen for the other team. Well great, there goes my partner.

"You're team A" Isaac tells our group. Joy we're basically the prey and have to go hide in the woods.

As we're given our guns and paint pods whilst walking into to the woods I try to gauge the other team to see if they're making a plan. I catch Kayla's eye and she mouths 'you're dead' to me, I mouth 'in your dreams' back and thankfully my nerves have calmed. As I walk into the woods I look around to try get an idea of how to not get shot. The rest of my team all split up in different directions and I'm left standing in a clearing, alone. I walk in a circle before finally taking off in any direction and running.

I realise that I have no clue as to where or what I'm running to, but for the moment I carry on. I see a massive tree to my left and I decide to climb it to see if I can look out at a wider distance for the other team. I shrug the gun sleeve over my head and arm so it rests on my back and hoist myself up onto the trunk. It's not the easiest tree I could of picked but I guess that will come in handy if anybody see's me. As I make my way up the tree I lose my footing a few times and end up nearly falling, I quickly change my footing and grasp a thick branch, pulling my weight up onto it. I run out of breath and struggle to pull myself up onto the branch, here I find myself dangling with only my arms crossed over the branch. I swing my leg over a few times trying to raise my foot to safety, I finally manage to get my foot up but have only sufficiently managed to stretch my legs in the most uncomfortable maneuver. I internally scold myself for the inability to climb a tree when pressured.

Finally after some battling I manage to get myself sitting comfortably enough on the branch. Here I can see quite a way into the distance from each direction. To my left I see a few recruits shooting each other in duel type style, and to my right I see Kayla and Alex running along side each other.

"She teamed up with that nincompoop?" I ask myself dumbfounded.

I see a blur to my left and only have seconds to cover before I narrowly miss a bullet of paint.

Son of a gun that nearly got me.

I swing the gun on its sleeve and make it so I'm able to shoot it. I multi-task my balancing and narrowing in on my target all the while not getting shot. I aim at the cheeky sod who shot at me and shoot basically half my whole ammo away trying to shoot him. I pause and realise not only did I shoot him but I shot him more than once, creating a larger and more sporadic paint splatter.

"Oops" I say.

"You are so dead" he tells me before running off shouting "I found the small one! Quick she's in a tree".

"Crap" I mumble and find myself once again balancing on the tree branch trying to hop from one tree to another, I achieve this for around 5 trees before I hear commotion and shouting.

"There she is" I hear being shouted and I instantaneously plaster myself to the thick trunk making it difficult to get a clear shot. If someone told me two days ago I would be hiding in a tree from people trying to shoot me with paint guns I would more than likely tell them to take a hike. As I watch the little group walk in circles asking each other where I went I get an idea and silently grab my gun to my front. I lay down and aim for the group, I shoot two before anyone manages to grab their guns and start shooting in every direction.

"Ok Kira, you can do this. Just calm down and shoot them. You want your book back. Nobody takes your books from you. That's it just calm down" I tell myself trying to calm the nerves that threaten to overtake me.

I shoot the last two and watch them all grumble and walk out of the woods.

As I climb down the stairs I see another boy running my way. I sprint off into a random direction and run like no tomorrow. I feel the ache in my legs but push onward and even though I stumble a few times I keep going until I see a large piece of vine from the tree. I quickly tie it around the tree and place it on the ground so it's inconspicuous to anyone running over it and sit but the opposite tree. I wait for the guy to come running and as he's about to pass it, I pull it up to he trips over it like trip wire. He not so graciously falls the ground with a humph and I shoot him once in the leg.

"WOO yeah. I have mad skills" I shout to nobody and dance in a circle.

"Humph" I grunt and look down to the yellow splotch of paint on my back. I look up to the culprit and see Kayla standing there.

"Sorry Kira but I really want that brush" she tells me and I can tell she truly didn't want to shoot me.

"No worries, I'll just have to think of more elaborate ways of getting my bag back" I tell her while helping up my fellow comrade who was still on the ground.

"Oh suck it up. I hit you in the leg and tripped you over" I tell him.

"As much as it pains me to say, and it does. That was really clever" he puts his hand out for me to shake "Jake" he says.

"Kira and this is Kayla" I tell him.

Both us fallen comrades walk out of the woods to see everyone was there but Kayla.

"OMG KAYLA YOU WON" I shout into the woods and I hear a faint but recognizable scream from Kayla in return.

"Are you serious right now or are you gonna shoot me when I walk out there?" she asks.

"No Kayla you won" Isaac shouts into the woods and until then I completely forgot he was there. Well not completely forgot just potentially forgot.

I turn to look at him and find he's already looking at me. I fight the urge to stick my tongue out at him for staring at me but I reign in my childishness and turn back to the woods to see Kayla emerging with a massive grin on her face.

"I really won?" she asks astonished.

I nod and turn back to Isaac and ask "Does she get her stuff back now?" I ask matter-of-fact.

"Yes Kayla you can get another thing from your bag if you want to follow me I'll go with you to retrieve it. The rest of you I want running laps" He completely disregards my question and ignores me walking over to Kayla and guiding her to the exit of the room and into the maze of corridors.

"If I look back and see just one of you not running I will personally make your lives here hell" Isaac instructs.

As if on cue all the losers groan together and get up, and walk over to the track.

"This should be illegal" Jake approaches me and says.

"It's the sentries. They could kill you and they would still not get in trouble" I tell him.

"True" he agrees and we continue running together in silence.

After two hours of running back and fourth my legs are about two minutes away from giving up from the unrelenting torture. As soon as I begin to slow down in walks Isaac with his perpetual scowl on his face. He gazes over us recruits before allowing us to stop. I immediately drop to the floor and gulp in air to my starved lungs.

"Time for dinner. Everyone up" Isaac shouts.

I stay lying on the ground.

"Kira that includes you"

"I know it does instructor Isaac" I reply.

"So why are you still on the floor?" he asks.

"Because I can't move"

"Yes you can. Don't be dramatic" he tells and goes to pull my arm up.

"I'm serious. I can't feel my legs" I tell him and it's true, I am unable to feel them over the pulsing and cramping.

Isaac looks at my face to check to see if I'm serious and once he does he looks down at my legs with concern. He mumbles something about blood and circulation but all I can hear is my heartbeat thumping in my head because at that moment Isaac put his hands on my legs.

The warmth from his hands feels like electricity running through my veins from the contact. I take a breath and watch as he moves his hands all over my legs randomly squeezing and massaging them back to life. I sigh at the exquisite feeling of my muscles getting massaged and lie back on the ground enjoying having Isaac's hands on my legs. Wait no. I'm not meant to enjoy that and as I come to my senses I spring up so I'm standing a mumble a thanks before speedily walking over to the exit.