The Game

She gasped, leaning against a brick wall, trying to calm her breathing. There weren't any footsteps behind her anymore. They were no longer following.

She had ended up in some sort of back alleyway that led back into the main street.

Clutching at the painful stitch in her side, she cautiously peeked out into the street. There wasn't anyone there- well for all she knew- the street was completely empty. She didn't want to step out into the open, weaponless and exhausted as she was, but didn't want to go back either, someone could be waiting right around the corner. She had to take a risk, though deep down she knew she was probably going to lose anyway.

"It's all part of the game," she whispered to herself, stepping out into the street, as she tried to keep low. If there was anyone watching from the tall buildings they would spot her instantly and she'd be dead.

Shadows cast by the setting sun seemed to be playing tricks on her eyes. More than once she thought she saw someone out of her field of vision but it always turned out to be a trashcan or pile of rubble, which did little to ease her nerves.

She took her time to look down alleys as she passed them, she was sure it wouldn't really do her any good if someone was actually waiting for her. Just a little further to the checkpoint, she told herself as she tried to slow her racing heart.

A large storefront window caught her eye, it was one of the few that remained intact. An array of knives glittered teasingly in the sunlight, displayed perfectly on large purple cushions. They weren't much of a defense, but they were something, and she needed a weapon.

She used her elbow to smash the window, it was rather painful but quite effective. The crumbled glass sparkled among the precious blades, almost like a warning of danger to come. She picked out a large dagger and a small pocket knife, she'd definitely need them in the future if she made it.

Someone had to have heard that, she realized. She needed to find cover, this was the shortest way to the checkpoint, but the fastest way to get killed.

Glancing around, she limped over to a small shop that had shelving, and possibly a back door, she thought hopefully. The store had been ransacked and it seemed as if nothing useful remained. It appeared that its goods had mostly been food. She had no use for that now, not when she was so close. What she really needed was a bandage to stop the bleeding in her leg. But there weren't any.

Crouching behind the counter, she pulled out the small knife and cut a piece of cloth from her shirt. She wound it firmly around the hideous laceration on her thigh, hoping it would hold. Slowly, she stood and pushed through a door with a sign that read 'Employees Only.'

As she had thought, there was another door, leading into a narrow back alley. She carefully opened it, slowly peering out to make sure no one was lurking there. Nothing stirred, it appeared that no one was waiting for her. She cautiously stepped out as she weighed her odds. Turning right would take her to the checkpoint faster, but if she turned left there was a possibility that she could sneak by anyone waiting for unsuspecting players. Either way, there was still a possibility that she'd end up in a fight.

She went right. Time was not something she currently had on her side.

Using the same tactic of making sure no one was around corners, down dark alleys, or inside open doorways, she managed to make it pretty far before she heard the sounds of shouting and gunfire. She was so close now.

The alley opened up into an extensive courtyard of stone. A giant blue bubble served as a shield for the checkpoint that stood in the middle. Players were shooting from the rooftops, open doorways and windows, the bullets sometimes bounced off the shield or hit their mark. Red stained many of the walls and dripped down buildings, collecting in puddles on the ground. Screams and shouts of agony filled the air as bullets ripped through flesh and bone. Everywhere people were yelling for ammunition and cover while they tried to advance to the checkpoint. And the continuous sound of guns echoed in her eardrums, pounding on her already aching skull.

There was plenty of cover between her and the checkpoint as the shooters from the rooftops were preoccupied with teams firing from buildings on the far side of the courtyard . All she had to do was keep low and move quickly and she would make it, she would win this round. She could do this.

Taking a deep breath, she ducked and ran for a stack of wooden crates, hoping no one was already behind it. She almost leapt backwards in alarm when she turned the corner and saw two pairs of eyes staring at her, but quickly realized that the eyes were empty and the bodies of the two young men were still. She took a handgun from one and checked his pockets for spare bullets, nearly crying out in triumph when she found what she was looking for.

She carefully loaded her new found weapon and then dived for some large metal barrels. It seemed easy enough, run from cover to cover while making sure no one saw her until she got past the shield.

She was about halfway there when a man jumped out from behind a large wooden structure, his gun ready to fire. She didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. The light left his eyes and his body slumped uselessly to the ground.

As she moved forward she was much more cautious, double checking and triple checking no one was peaking around cover or watching her from the sidelines. She kept her gun drawn and ready to fire. It seemed like she was actually going to succeed.

When she was about ten feet away from the shield she decided to make a run for it. Heart pounding in her chest, she ran as fast as she could on her injured leg.

Ten feet, then nine, then eight, at seven feet her leg nearly gave way but she gritted her teeth and kept running. Six feet away and she could taste victory. She was almost there, a mere five feet away when she felt the bullet tear through her stomach from behind. Pain like she'd never felt before exploded through her body. Time seemed to slow down and the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own screams.

A second bullet ripped through her lung. Her breathing stopped and more pain bloomed from her chest like a million daggers slicing through her flesh. She started panicking as she coughed and choked on her own blood, stumbling towards her goal.

A third bullet hit her in the throat and she lost balance, falling hard on her wounds. She watched as blood leaked from her chest, a pool of crimson slowly forming.

Gasping for air as the world around her began to blur and fade from view. The final thought that went through her hazy mind before the darkness engulfed her was; It's all part of the game.

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