Rampant: A Divergent FanFiction (Book Two) ©

Chapter 30

                The initial round of shots hadn’t even finished before Ally and I each dove for cover behind some of the overturned furniture. We were under siege. All around us, the sound of splattering paintballs rang out. It was a miracle neither of us had been shot yet.

                Across from me, Ally was hunkered down beside one of the large desks that had fallen on its side. Currently, it shielded her from the slew of ammunition well, but if we didn’t act quickly whoever was shooting would have time to creep up on us before we could form a plan. As our eyes met, I gave Ally a quick nod and then curled my finger over the trigger on my rifle. We had to take a chance.

                “Look for the flag!” I shouted at Ally as I simultaneously rose and began to return the volley of shots; providing a cover for her as she poked her head out and began to scan the area.

                Adrenaline pumped through my system, but even so I was notable aware that I felt calm. As I shot back, I immediately knew who our attackers were. The first, tall, with a lanky build, was obviously Zane. The second, broad shouldered and with eerie blue eyes that glittered with malice, could only be Banks.

                “I see it!” She shouted back when we’d both crouched back down into our defensive positions. “It’s in the far right corner of the room. It’s tied to one of the legs of a desk!”

                Rising again, I swiftly shot another round of paintballs. Zane immediately ducked, but Banks didn’t even flinch as he gracefully evaded my attack; somehow managing to remain unscathed, even when Ally joined in. As I continued to shoot, I couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down my spine; Banks not only acted like a predator, but he also moved as one.

                Dropping back down to reload my rifle, I couldn’t help but immediately note that there was a sudden rush of sounds coming from outside the building. Not just sounds, but voices. Craning my head, I could just make out the chorus of yells, accompanied by even more splats of bursting paintballs. Though I couldn’t see, I knew what was going on; there was an all-out war happening outside.

                The game was getting too close for comfort. Both Ally and I were essentially on our own, and if by some chance all of our team had ended up getting shot, we’d soon be inundated and helpless to act when the other group swarmed into the room. Also, we were both down to our last paintball cartridges.

                Before me, Ally had just crouched back down and was again reloading her gun to continue her attack. She’d just narrowly missed getting shot, the paintball had splattered about an inch from her shoulder, yet she still appeared self-assured. I was about to say something, when abruptly my eyes caught the hint of what appeared to be a broken slab of plywood.

              I could practically hear the audible click of two puzzle pieces coming together as I mentally shouted out an exalted; eureka! Though mere seconds had passed, in my mind I’d already formed the perfect plan. Lifting my gun, the first thing I did was shoot out the glass of one of the large windows that were pointing towards the ongoing fight outside. Then, leaning onto the balls of my feet, I dove and landed beside Ally.

               “What are you doing?” Ally asked in confusion when, rather than shoot the other team back, I began to paw through the debris to free the piece of plywood.

               “I have an idea,” I said through rapid breaths.

               Gritting my teeth, I ignored the pain I felt when sharp pieces of rubble dug into my raw and bloodied hands. There wasn’t time to dwell on how bad they stung, I had a mission. It took little time, but once I’d freed the piece of wood, I took my rifle off my back. Then, with quick motions, I ejected the half-full cartridge and handed it to Ally.