Page 12 of Amnesty

I saw the frown in his voice. “Maybe I should carry some of it for you.” Before I could say anything else, he was relieving me of my paintball stash and putting it on his own belt.

“What the hell is this?”

Eddie made a rude sound. “She’s on my team.” He reminded his friend, as if that somehow made it all right.

Maybe it did, because Robbie didn’t argue.

We stood at the edge of what I thought of as the battlefield. Before us, other people ran around, and the sound of paintball guns going off and people squealing echoed all around the field. Apparently, this wasn’t just any old paintball game.

This was Lake Loch’s fall edition. That meant the barricades and walls to hide behind were giant hay bales all covered in bright-colored paint. Not only that, but they created a maze-type play zone, so not only did you have to worry about not getting shot, but also about not getting turned around.

There were large pumpkins sitting around everywhere, all of them splattered with paint. Some of them had actual holes in them. When we first came in, there was a tent where all the gear was rented as well as a smaller tent beside it with apple cider and donuts.

The air today was crisp and almost cold, not that I could feel it with all this gear piled on me. Not an ounce of my skin was actually exposed… well, except for myonehand.

“Just stay near me,” Eddie said, drawing my attention. “We play until we run out of ammo.”

“He means the balls,” Robbie explained. He just wanted to say balls.

Eddie snickered inside his helmet. It was nice to see this side of him. More carefree almost. I wondered why he never mentioned Robbie to me before. “We’re red; he’s blue.”

“I’m coming for you, Sa—” Robbie began, but Eddie moved so fast it caught us all off guard. He shoved his friend back with a full body check. Robbie stumbled, but didn’t fall.

“Her name is Amnesia,” Eddie growled.

Robbie didn’t shove back or even seem mad over Eddie’s actions. Instead, his shoulders slumped a little. “I’m sorry, for real. It was an accident.”

Eddie’s shoulders were so tense he practically vibrated. He wasn’t going to let his friend off so easily.

Rushing forward, the canisters banging against each other as I went, I hurried to say. “It’s fine! No big deal.”

Did Robbie know Sadie, too? He must think I’m her.

“Am.” Robbie came forward.

I held up my hand. “Don’t apologize again.”

We all stood there awkwardly, a few tense moments floating in the air. I hated it. It always came back around to this… I wanted a break. I needed one.

Eddie, too.

I bent down and picked up a nearby gun. “Who’s going to show me how to shoot this thing.”

“You’re holding it backward,” Eddie informed me.

“Like this?” I adjusted.

“Sure, if you want to shoot yourself.” Robbie cracked. “FYI, I wouldn’t recommend that. From that range, you’d be hurting for days.”

Eddie materialized beside me, gently relieving me of the gun, spinning it around and demonstrating how to hold it.

“Does it really hurt to get hit?” I asked.

“It stings.” He glanced at me through the helmet. “Don’t worry, baby. No one’s going to hit you today.”

“Isn’t that the point, though?” I wondered.

“The point is to shoototherpeople.” After finishing his demonstration, Eddie handed me the gun.

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