monitor. A second later, the gray camo on his armor becomes a mottled brown, an exact match of the tree’s bark.
“Are you serious?” I gasp.
“What?” Lila says, turning to look at me. “Did you say something?”
I shake my head, and she looks back into the arena while I continue to gape at the players melting into the leaves and rocks. Ten seconds count down on the screen. Then the words, “ Kauna 2: Instant Elimination,” flash across the board.
When the gong sounds, the blue players catch a current that takes them up to the Aerie roof. They stay close to the trees, and for a moment I can’t tell them apart from the trunks. Then, while four of them stay put, Rye and two other players catapult into the sky—their armor turning gray again—while Buck and another three dive into the crossing currents. The conflicting jets send them tumbling one way and then the next.
The red players open fire, but the blue players who remained behind shoot back, providing cover for their teammates. And a distraction. Rye and his wingmen dive down into the other side of the arena, bypassing the fans entirely and catching the red team off-guard. Rye and a short boy each get a kill. The two red contestants fall to the mats below. They lose ten points, and they’re out of the game. But now Rye and Shorty’s points go up by ten.
As the blue team keeps firing, Tornado and three other red players leap off the ground and land mid-air in a crouch. They zip around the curving arena walls. Tornado blasts a shot at the blue players crossing the wind currents. One of them is hit in the foot. Losing his balance, he fires his gun wildly. The kickback sends him into a tight spiral as he releases bullets in all directions. Then he slams into the mats and lies still.
By this time, Buck has made it across the dangerous current. He hurls a spear at a red player’s back. The blunted tip hits the small circle, leaving a streak of blue, and Buck earns ten points.
Tornado scoops up an abandoned pistol and fires at Buck with a gun in each hand, grazing his arm. Because the paint didn’t hit a circle, he’s still in. Buck ducks behind a tree and answers Tornado’s volley with his own. Tornado somersaults away from him, landing on the ground. She breaks into a sprint and runs right through the current. When she reaches the other side of the arena, she leaps back into the air and catches the other blue players by surprise. One of them goes down.
Suddenly, Rye launches off the quarter pipe and, grabbing a vine, swings over the dangerous blasts of air. He sends a shot at Tornado as he passes, and blue paint speckles her shoulder. The scoreboard takes three points from Tornado and gives them to Rye. He lands on the other side and helps Buck take out two red players.
Rye tosses aside his spent rifle and pulls out his Glock. Then he holds out an arm to Buck, and his cousin spins him around, releasing him into the air. Rye twists on his side and rolls past a player in red, firing bullets at both kill spots on her chest. The crowd screams as he earns twenty points.
Now the two teams are more evenly matched. The players whip around the arena in a frenzy, and I can’t tell if they’re using any kind of strategy or not. One thing is for sure—their energy levels are dropping dramatically. All of the indicator bars have changed from green to yellow.
One of the blue players gets caught by the fans and crashes into a tree. He isn’t shot, but his helmet smacks the trunk hard, and he tumbles to the ground unconscious. Two medics run into the arena and carry him off the field, but the battle doesn’t stop.
As Rye dives to the floor to retrieve his former teammate’s rifle, a girl in red barrels down on him. From the ground, Rye does a backflip into the air and shoots the girl in the visor. But she’s not out. She slams into a wall then spins away, clutching her arm.
The gong rings again, and the teams regroup, getting a two-minute respite to plan
“Are you serious?” I gasp.
“What?” Lila says, turning to look at me. “Did you say something?”
I shake my head, and she looks back into the arena while I continue to gape at the players melting into the leaves and rocks. Ten seconds count down on the screen. Then the words, “ Kauna 2: Instant Elimination,” flash across the board.
When the gong sounds, the blue players catch a current that takes them up to the Aerie roof. They stay close to the trees, and for a moment I can’t tell them apart from the trunks. Then, while four of them stay put, Rye and two other players catapult into the sky—their armor turning gray again—while Buck and another three dive into the crossing currents. The conflicting jets send them tumbling one way and then the next.
The red players open fire, but the blue players who remained behind shoot back, providing cover for their teammates. And a distraction. Rye and his wingmen dive down into the other side of the arena, bypassing the fans entirely and catching the red team off-guard. Rye and a short boy each get a kill. The two red contestants fall to the mats below. They lose ten points, and they’re out of the game. But now Rye and Shorty’s points go up by ten.
As the blue team keeps firing, Tornado and three other red players leap off the ground and land mid-air in a crouch. They zip around the curving arena walls. Tornado blasts a shot at the blue players crossing the wind currents. One of them is hit in the foot. Losing his balance, he fires his gun wildly. The kickback sends him into a tight spiral as he releases bullets in all directions. Then he slams into the mats and lies still.
By this time, Buck has made it across the dangerous current. He hurls a spear at a red player’s back. The blunted tip hits the small circle, leaving a streak of blue, and Buck earns ten points.
Tornado scoops up an abandoned pistol and fires at Buck with a gun in each hand, grazing his arm. Because the paint didn’t hit a circle, he’s still in. Buck ducks behind a tree and answers Tornado’s volley with his own. Tornado somersaults away from him, landing on the ground. She breaks into a sprint and runs right through the current. When she reaches the other side of the arena, she leaps back into the air and catches the other blue players by surprise. One of them goes down.
Suddenly, Rye launches off the quarter pipe and, grabbing a vine, swings over the dangerous blasts of air. He sends a shot at Tornado as he passes, and blue paint speckles her shoulder. The scoreboard takes three points from Tornado and gives them to Rye. He lands on the other side and helps Buck take out two red players.
Rye tosses aside his spent rifle and pulls out his Glock. Then he holds out an arm to Buck, and his cousin spins him around, releasing him into the air. Rye twists on his side and rolls past a player in red, firing bullets at both kill spots on her chest. The crowd screams as he earns twenty points.
Now the two teams are more evenly matched. The players whip around the arena in a frenzy, and I can’t tell if they’re using any kind of strategy or not. One thing is for sure—their energy levels are dropping dramatically. All of the indicator bars have changed from green to yellow.
One of the blue players gets caught by the fans and crashes into a tree. He isn’t shot, but his helmet smacks the trunk hard, and he tumbles to the ground unconscious. Two medics run into the arena and carry him off the field, but the battle doesn’t stop.
As Rye dives to the floor to retrieve his former teammate’s rifle, a girl in red barrels down on him. From the ground, Rye does a backflip into the air and shoots the girl in the visor. But she’s not out. She slams into a wall then spins away, clutching her arm.
The gong rings again, and the teams regroup, getting a two-minute respite to plan
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