Day 7: Defense with Akira and Dante
“Oh no,” Larua groaned and clutched her book closer to her chest. Upon walking through the double doors of gym, she was met by her fellow members dressed in all black uniforms and goggles. Various equipment lay around the room: hexagonal shapes 7 feet high, trampolines just about everywhere, and an abundance of yoga balls. There were a few shapes and doodads that Larua couldn’t place, but they looked equally challenging as the last.
“You better turn that into an ‘oh yes’. Things are going to be a little different around here.” Akira was armed with a taser and she had a crowbar shoved through the loops of her shorts. “Since safety was cut short, Dante and I will have the task of doing both safety and defense.”
“Gee, would you look at the time—“ Thomas pretended to look at the face of his nonexistent watch and tried to scuttle out of the door, but Akira knew every trick in the book.
“It’s exactly 7:19:45….46…..47….” She locked her steel gaze onto his until he slipped around the larger form of Emil.
“I have a question… Why are we wearing these things? I don’t like them.” Rano and Tono pulled faces at their clothes. “It looks like we’re attending a ninja’s funeral.”
“I don’t remember asking you to like them.” Akira was beginning to lose her patience, one member at a time. “Griffin, hit the lights.”
The room fell into darkness.
“Can everyone see me?” Akira struck a match and her face was illuminated in a sickly yellow glow.
“Holy shizznaps it’s a fire!” Aine, who stood closest to Akira, doused the fire in a jet of foamy extinguisher fluid.
“Our hero!” Kateri praised Aine from somewhere in the darkness.
“No you moron, that was so we could see Akira.” Locke thanked the darkness for hiding his tired face. He had didn’t have bags under his eyes, he had luggage. Every single night he had to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Violett and Nodin and they always demanded he shape-shift and do all the motions. It was a rather tiring business, but someone had to do it.
“Just listen to the sound of my voice. I’ve gone through a series of background checks and stuff you wouldn’t imagine just so I could bring to you my newest idea: Taser Tag.” Akira’s voice echoed off the walls and bounced back.
“Is it anything remotely like laser tag?” Bridgette asked with confidence in her voice. “I like laser tag.”
“I hope not…” Ash’s face throbbed just thinking about the damage she had done to her face. It was good to see Bridgette mingling with other people instead of looking at kittens on her laptop, but Ash was disinclined to talk to her or Thomas. Well, Thomas for other reasons…
“I’m glad you asked. Taser Tag is exactly like laser tag… heh heh heh…. Yesssss.” No one needed light to imagine what Akira’s face looked like. “It’s simple. Me and Dante have given you guys night vision goggles set to the lowest possible setting and black clothes to blend in. We have high powered goggles and weapons. It’s your job to dodge us in the dark and avoid getting tasered.”
“Well that makes about as much sense as me pouring salt down my throat.” Riley could be heard snapping her goggles on. “When do we start?”
“Everyone have your goggles on?” Dante’s eyes glowed green from the beams inside his pair. He got muffled yeses and a few ‘Hold the rapture!’.
Suddenly everyone could see vague outlines of one another. There was hardly any visibility further than 3 feet ahead, but it was better than nothing.
“On your marks…” Akira flipped the safety off the taser. “Get set…” The air crackled with the charged electricity. “GO!”
“Ooof!” Melina and Karin ran straight into each other and collapsed onto something that gave way yet remained taut.
“Oh no.” Melina knew what it was… one of the trampolines and who should be coming by at a dead run, but Emil. Even with the night vision, he couldn’t see well anyways. He tripped over his own feet and landed heavily, sending the two girls flying into more darkness.
“Oooh, you sir have some nice buns.” Thomas stood groping in the dark by himself—literally groping. The poor night vision goggles gave him the impression he was alone with someone. In reality he was all alone facing a wall and feeling up a yoga ball. Poor Thomas, indeed.
Akira crept around one of the obstacles and lunged forward. Aerith, who appeared to be sleeping standing up, dodged the humming end of electricity with relative ease. Akira loosened the crow bar and made a quick swipe to her calves, but she was met with the same response.
“One word: Sonar.” Aerith cracked a smile and took off running… straight into a standing hexagon block. “Two words: medic please.” Akira stepped around her and sought out a new victim.
“Maybe if I stay over here no one will find me…” Nai crossed her fingers as she stumbled over everything. She had long since taken off the goggles and was now relying on instinct as she looked for a place to hide in the ball field. Suddenly she knew she wasn’t alone.
“Behind you!” Alice ran and vaulted over Nai’s head, crashing clumsily into Dante’s chest. He righted himself and took a swing at Alice’s exposed back.
“Not quite!” Ela pegged the glowing spot where Dante crouched with tennis balls. “PWND!”
Nodin listened to the sounds around him in absolute fear. None of this seemed like safety or defensive training! Every muscle in his body screamed run, but his more rational side screeched ‘where’! He knew everyone in the club had cool powers or something that made them different, but he was scared of the havoc that would result if he took off his mask. These were his friends, not enemies!
“Narnia is this way, children!” Violett’s hand was wrapped tightly in his and she pulled him in no particular direction, just forward. Or was it forward? Was there such thing as forward in darkness?
Nodin was trying to occupy his mind and take it off the tiny vial resting in his other hand. His pointer finger was already stationed at the trigger and all it would take was one tiny push. Everything would be over.
“Whoa!” Vi’s little hand was jerked out of his grasp by a heavy force knocking her out of reach.
That’s it. Nodin’s jittery finger pressed the trigger and he thanked himself for putting a mask on Violett before the ‘game’ started.
“OMG do you smell that?! ACK!! I think this is the end!” Kateri who was the one that knocked Violett down, gagged on the air.
“Y’know I always thought the end would smell a bit more burnt or apocalyptic-y…”Emery tried not to breathe in too much, but he couldn’t hold his breath forever.
“ARGHHH! Who pepper sprayed the room?!” Keefer and Melina writhed on the floor along with many of the other members. Their noses were on fire and their lungs felt like living coals.
“THIS IS THE END, DO YOU HEAR ME?!” Kateri grabbed the closest person’s neck and began throttling them. “SO LONG CRUEL WORLD!”
“But I don’t feel like dying.” Came the strangled protest from Kateri’s victim.
“Griff- cough cough- hit the lights or crack a window—cough!” Akira was doubled over on the gym floor trying to claw her lungs out. Within seconds of her request the lights flickered on and the door leading to the rest of the house opened. With more air circulating in the room, the burning sensation didn’t lessen, but the overpowering smell dissipated.
“Class dismissed—cough. Next assignment: don’t die.” Akira crawled out of the room with Claire’s tentative help and Emil’s infallible strength.
Kuroshiro, entirely oblivious to the crippling smell, lifted those who had fallen unconscious back to their rooms. Upon taking the last person to their room, he settled himself into the library and began to read…
