Dear Diary

✨ snippit from the full book i'm working on ✨

Hey! Decided it would be fun to show you what I'm working on for the full story! Here's a sneak peek! (Unedited). Sorry about the formatting 😭 it's pasted from docs.

We gear up, mostly surrounded by kids in their early teens sometimes with their parents or older siblings. We certainly look out of place, Axton, Katie, Katie's new fling (Tray I think), Jase, and I.
   "You're wearing the wrong colour." Axton points out, looking down at me. Him and Jase wear red while I, Katie, and Tray wear blue.
   "That's where you're wrong. Why the hell would I want to be on your team?" I laugh. "I bet you suck. This kid here on the other hand, he looks like he plays some serious shooting games."
   "You clearly haven't seen us play laser tag." Jase smirks.
   "What, are you scared to play against me or something?        You're probably a sore loser aren't you. Eldest siblings always are."
Axton chuckles. "Coming from an only child."
"Rather be an only child and loved, then whatever the hell is happening in your family."
"Ouch." Jase says.
"Okay teams, listen up!" A girl with blue hair and a prcatice gun comes out. "The playground is big. Big as a indoor soccer arena. Running is aloud, no climbing. Teams will separate at the hall, blue goes left, red goes right. When you reach your home base shoot the top light. That will start your life. To shoot someone out, hit the front or back pannel." She demonstrates by pointing at my blue panel and shooting. "To come back to life, you must go back to home base and shoot your home base again, or wait two minutes. To score aditional points, get to the opposing teams base and shoot their home light."
I look down at my panel, flashing a dark purple, meaning I'm out. Then she shoots everyone else in quick sucsession, so that we all must start at our home base.
"Remember, you cannot shoot until you're alive again. Your base looks like a big glowing sphere in your colour held up by four large arms. You have thirty minutes in there. See you then." The door to the dark hallway opens ominously. And we all walk towards it. Right before we split, Axton leans down to whisper into my ear, "you're going to regret choosing the wrong team."
I scuff. "Want a bet?"
He looks to Jase. "Fine, why not. What will it be?"
"If I win, I want to watch Jase whip you," I smirk.
Axtons eyebrows raise and Jase laughs outright. "You seriously think I'd agree to that?"
"What, afraid of loosing?"
His jaw ticks. "Alright. But if I win, I get to watch Jase whip you."
My eyes widen, and I look between them. "I- um." Jase suddenly looks very intrigued.
"What? Afraid you'll loose?" Axtons says back to me. My jaw clenches. I mean. Jason is very good looking. I can't deny that I hadn't thought about a situation like this before. But, it feels so wrong.
"I could always make you agree." Axton says, his voice lowering, a challenge in his tone.
"Okay, fine. I'm not loosing though."
"Most kills of the other wins."
"Deal."
"And I can kill either of you, but Axton has to be the one to shoot me," I meantio quickly realising how they could gang up on me otherwise.
With that, we both race off to catch up with our teammates, the door behind us long closed.
Inside the arena is dark, lit up by dark black lights, and glow in the dark paint graffitied on the walls.
The gun sits heavily on my shoulder when I get to our home base, a group of blue lights huddled in a circle under our blue glowing sphere. It's really cool. Beyond the sphere is a lambrith of black walls and obsitcals. Holes in walls to climb through, blocks to jump on, and platforms to crawl under. Theres many entrances to the base, no easy way for someone to stand and guard. I guess theres a reason this place is fifteen and up. Small bodies would get trampled here.
The teams are each ten people, and it seems half the challenge will be locating the red teams base. We decide that will get us the most points. I don't share my real challenge of getting as many kills as I can.
Katie splits off with me for a bit. We know the base will be on the opposite side of the arena, but we're unsure exactly where. We also don't want to beeline for it in fear of getting spotted. Our bright blue vests are bright in the dim lighting. I imagine you'd be close to invisible if you're shot out. There could be advatages to that.
"Didn't you want to be on Axtons team?" Katie askes.
"Nah, girl power right? Also it's more fun this way, added competition."
"I suppose."
We split off soon enough, deciding that we're an easier target if we're together. Dying would not be ideal, having to run back to base. Unless you're willing to sacrficre two minutes without shooting ability.
My heart starts pounding and I start to feel like I'm being watched. I look anxiously around me, holding my gun at the ready. I spot a flash of red in the corner of my eye. Quicker then I though possible, I raise the gun and a dark blue laser shoots out from it, hitting the red player in the back.
"Yes!" I whisper to my self. I see Jases face as he looks up from his crouch, and he shoots me a smile. I never stopped to think which team he's on. Does he want to whip me? Or would he be happy to humiliate his friend? Anyways, he disappears from sight before I can think any further and I continue my trek. For a moment, I wonder if I should've followed him. He'd be going back to base after all. But then, maybe he's expecting that. I turn down a different path, ducking under a plank.
I don't spot anyone else. In fact, I'm surprised I even spotted Jase. This place is huge.
I run into a little box of crossroads within the walls, and my heart pounds. It has many different ways to go from here. Corridors and openings high and low. I don't like this. Too many places for someone to hide and shoot me. I turn around, but someone jumps down behind me. I didn't even see a colour flashing. I gasp, gun raising while I turn, but before I could see who it is I'm pulled back and held into a body, my arms behind my back.
A hand reaches up to grab my chin, pulling my head back, chest held out. I look up at my captor, squirming to get free. It's not Axton. Oh god, Jases hands are on me.
"Let me go!!" Being held like this is doing funny things to me, things I feel like I shouldn't be feeling. Jases hands feel like they're everywhere. His red light blinks back on, and a mischievous grin smiles down at me.
"Too late, we've got you." Jase says with a smile. My front plate is shot by someone ahead of me. The blue light goes out.
My eyes widen. Axton walks up as I turn forwards again.
"That's not fair!" I sound out of breath from struggling and running. Axton dosen't care that he's holding me like this? Practically choking me? Can he tell that it's making my heart race?
"Run back to your base like a good girl. Don't let us catch you again." Jase whispers into my ear, and shoves me forwards. Yes sir. Fuck. No.
Hoping to catch them off guard I jump to the side, disappearing into one of the holes on the right. Presumptuous of them to assume that I even know where the base is. Do they think I'll lead them to it? Should I even go back?
I sprint as fast as I can, looking for red lights behind me. I hear Axton laugh as he chases after me. It's not so easy to follow someone you can't see. I duck into a corner, hoping to loose them. What's stopping them from taking my gun, and waiting the tweo minutes to just shoot me over and over? I guess there's no thrill in that. I still feel hot all over. I cannot be help like that again.
I close my eyes, breathing heavily, waiting to hear them run past. I hear the tossel of gear as they get closer.
"No, I'm telling you her heart rate picked up."
"Adrenaline." Axton replies.
"Sure, maybe. Wanna know what I think though? I think she that likes the struggle."
"How observant of you."
"A fucking masocist. I want in."
"Absolutly not. You'll be lucky if I even let you watch."
My eyes widen, and I gulp. Oh god. He knows? What does he mean by watching? Is this something they've agreed on already?
"You're no fun. Scared that I'd break your fun little brat?"
Axton laughs. "Her? No. She's so stubborn I'm scard of what it would actually take to break her. And how far it would push you to go."
"Sounds like a challenge..." The last part is quiet as they begin to run again.
I get up, and spin back the way we came from, my head seeming to keep spinning even as my body stops. I brace against the wall as my blue light flickers back to life.
Hopefully running into them means that I'm closer to their base than I thought. I assume they're too busy hunting me to actually care about getting to ours. I on the other hand, am very competitive. I want to win the whole game, even if it means we stay tied within our own little one. I intend to use wining the whole game as a way to ensure I win the bet.
I sneak further into their side trying to stay quiet. They probably think I'd go back to my own base to gauin back my ability to shoot them again. I hear the sound of gear slapping up and down as someone runs close by. I hold my laser gun up and ready, crouching down. I see a red run by and quickly shoot him, then duck back behind a wall. I peak my head out to see him looking all around him, not even sure where I shot him froim. He groans and turns back the way he came. And that's how I discover the base fifteen meters away from me.
I see two other players guarding, and shoot them before they realize I'm there. Then running under the sphere I manage to shoot up at it three times before I'm shot out.
"Fuck," some fourteen year old says behind me.
"Where did you even come from? Jack, you were supposed to be lookout out there!" A red head says as she points dramatically in the direction we came from.
"I swear to god she shot me and I didn't even see anyone near me."
I laugh as I walk off. I wonder if anyone managed to shoot our base yet. We didn't set so amny gaurds like this. But then with three of them here that leaves only seven to go out there. And two of them only have ione goal on their minds.
Now that I've managed to shoot their base a few times I feel my obligation is complete and start to return back the way I came.
I'm not ten feet in when someone grabs my arm and lurches me to the side so hard I stumble and almost crash into the ground.
I get shoved into a wall, my throat grabbed, and kissed so intensely that all my other thoughts disappear. Axton's hands run down my body, his first clenching and then pushing me hard into the wall. "It's so cute that you think you can win this." And then he shoots my chest, my light going out.
"Fuck you."
He smirks.