Page 100 of A Simple Truth

One.

And then, chaos started. The Ten moved in an ideal formation as we ran for the woods, away from the half-dressed men. Zora, Gia, Cori, and I were on defense as we summoned the shields, protecting the rest of the Ten; Lulu, Ioanna, and Yanush went on the offense, sending never-ending flaming rain at the men. Tori, Motra, and Cass were already sprinting deep into the woods.

“On the left…” I shouted to Gia and Zora, quickly moving in that direction myself, as I sent a shield to block the incoming fire.

The first few minutes of the game had passed, and we were ahead with a few scouts spread out in the forest.

Gods, we were good. Notes of complete pride and accomplishment ran through me, eliminating whatever fear was initially there.

“Raw fire incoming!” Yanush shouted as I swiftly sent my shield over to her and Ioanna. My eyes darted to the source of it, only to find Gideon curiously observing from the back, not even a tiny bit of worry on his face; while he leisurely sauntered about.

“Go!” I shouted to Ioanna, Yanush, and Lulu as they nodded, and I covered them as they darted in between the shields. Soon Yanush and Ioanna were gone too.

“Draw him out!” Zora yelled. I winced sending a large heat wave towards the couple of soldiers going after our freshly departed scouts.

“Fine,” I yelled back.

“Cover!” Gia’s voice roared as more incoming raw fire shredded through the sky. I darted my eyes to him, my brows furrowed as I smothered it before it could reach her. Pleasant surprise flashed on the General’s face. “We have to go now!” Gia motioned with her hand. I sent my own fire wave, just enough for the last of us to sprint away from the opening into the maze of trees and hills of the island.

Fuck. I winced as I stubbed my toe against a rock but continued running, only occasionally glancing behind me to make sure I wasn’t followed. My lungs burned more than ever until I had finally slowed from a sprint to a casual jog, and, eventually a walk. I was climbing over the crumbling boulders, occasionally lifting my head to the skies watching out for the flares that the Ten had come up with to communicate.

One flare — enemy sighted.

Two flares — enemy is down.

Three flares — they were out.

Four flares — meant absolutely nothing but we were to use it to confuse the enemy. That one was my personal favorite. I sent four sparks up in the sky.

Though the morning sun climbed high above us, the trees provided just enough shade to hide between.

I moved my tight braid from my shoulder, assessing. Each game I had watched lasted no longer than an hour. And though we battled on a whole new terrain with a team I had yet to see in action, all I had to do was to stay in the game for an hour or so.

I also needed to keep a certain General occupied during that time, so the Ten could find the flag. And as long as I didn’t engage with him in direct combat, I could do that.

I trailed up the small path, climbing over a large hill. Each one of the groups of scouts would’ve already climbed a tree to try and find the flag. I spotted one flare far off in the distance. In response, I sent four flares up. A few more flares shot up in the sky signaling the good progress that we had made.

After wandering for another fifteen minutes, I had officially decided War Games were quite boring once you were in them; nothing but a regular stroll.

A happy smile crept up as I saw a few additional “the enemy was down” flares light up the sky.

“Let’s see how smart you truly are, General.” A wicked grin stretched across my lips as I sent a large heatwave through the woods, then a couple of fire spheres, burning little shrubs nearby. I summoned a few more, sending them far up and out, as if I was in an imaginary battle. Perhaps, if he wasn’t tracking me before, he would now if he thought I was proactively fighting.

Was it a bit shady to trick him like that?

Maybe.

But like Ashe said: regular rules didn’t apply in War Games.

Plus, he was the one who hadn’t bothered to tell me he was going to be back today.

So, it was only fair.

I casually hiked up another hill, stepping over scattered rocks and roots. A few flares lit up the sky three of the Ten were down, and only one more of the enemy. I sent my four flares up and four others copied it.

The plan was to scout for the flag north, west, and east and meet in the middle, where I was unhurriedly heading.

As it turned out, the middle was an open field, which I didn’t like. Here, I felt like a sitting duck. But maybe it served me well, considering I was indeed the bait for the enemy. I made it out of the forest, walking through the knee high grass.

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