Rise

Chapter Seventeen: What You're Worth

Tearing through the brush, Matt and Bear burst into the clearing as Bill and Emma began firing upon those hiding on the other side. There were confused shouts and many curses as the opposition fumbled about. It was clear they had not expected the trap to be reversed. 

Making sure to stay away from his allies' lines of fire, Matt sprinted in close, keeping his rifle up and ready. Whenever he saw a figure shift into his sight, he pulled the trigger, spraying the area with bullets. Energy surged through his body as someone, Fred, Matt thought, popped out from behind a trunk, levelling his rifle with Matt.

The kid's reflexes took over and he didn't even have to think about squeezing the trigger. Before Fred could even fire his own weapon, his chest was splattered red, and he was out. Then another poor fool spun out from his hiding spot and was taken by a burst from Emma's rifle.

It was not long before red paint coated the trees, and five people were out of the simulation. They all looked dumbfounded, still standing there, just staring at Matt and his companions. That was too easy. A month of training and this is all we can show for it? They should have seen us, heard us! We aren't ready to fight a war, we are still green and untested, Matt thought to himself as he came down off of his adrenaline rush. 

"Let's keep moving," he began, not wanting to waste any time. Gunshots could still be heard, now coming from the southeast and southwest. It seemed the battle had begun on all fronts. He hoped they could sneak up on the rest of them, now that they were engaged.

"I think we can still maintain the element of surprise, so stay low. We won't move as cautiously as before however, so fire at will. I want to get to join the rest of our team as soon as possible and back them up. Move out,"

And with that Matt jogged off into the brush, quickly zigzagging his way between trees, trying to move as fast as he could without making to much noise. To his own surprise, he was actually doing a pretty good job, though it was more tiring than normally running, or hunkering down and moving slow. He figured the trade was good enough. 

Matt checked his rear occasionally, seeing his companions had no trouble keeping up. Bear was moving slowest, but Matt couldn't be sure if he was keeping watch on everyone, or was just slower than his younger counterparts. Maybe a bit of both? Matt chuckled to himself at the thought.

Moving through the forest was relatively easy as the ground remained flat and was soft as well, the healthy layer of leaves muffling the party's footsteps. They did their best not to step on any fallen branches for every time one snapped they all had to freeze and reassess the situation. Matt's heart rate spiked more times than he could count but not once did they encounter any opposition. 

The next ten minutes felt like an hour to Matt, but eventually the gunshots grew louder, and he knew they were close. He lessened his speed, and took even more care to moving silently, counting on the element of surprise. 

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand grab his shoulder but he stayed his weapon, recognizing Emma's slim fingers. Watching her hand guide his eyes, Matt let Emma's fingers point out an enemy position. There were five of them patrolling back and forth, their rifles up and ready. Their eyes scanned the area as they moved, and Matt was glad they had not yet been noticed. From what Matt could tell, it seemed like they were guarding something.

"It's right there," Emma whispered in his ear. 

"What is? Where?" 

"Their flag. Right there," Emma said, pointing with the muzzle of her rifle. 

"Where? I don't see it," Matt replied, squinting his eyes. He was looking all over, still couldn't find what she was looking at. 

Emma put down her rifle and grabbed Matt's head with both hands, forcefully turning it to face the blue flag that was standing straight up, just behind the patrolling soldiers. How the hell did I miss that? Matt asked himself, surprised at himself. Thanks, he mouthed to Emma once she released his face.