Gunfire and grenades – The first contact
The first 3 rounds hit the oil drum with a familiar metallic resonance, in quick succession, one after the other they let me know business had started. Caught off guard and now crouched in my insanely open fire position I could tell they had gone left to right, slightly higher each time.
In the distance my prey broke cover and ran, I couldn’t get the bead on him so fired a couple of random shots hoping lady luck would help me wing him. To my left Ads was on one knee letting rip and our target took one to the leg. At least the good lady was with both of us and not favouring the opposition.
He wasn’t giving up and with an annoying inevitability the whoosh and whish sounds of rounds passing overhead started like the deafening applause as the final curtain dropped. I counted 7-10 and figured I needed to move. I signalled to Ads and he laid down covering fire as I upped and sprinted.
Leaving my sieve styled oil drum of sanctuary I hot footed it forward whilst the bad boys head was down. Ads had him pinned but still my heart was in my throat, gagging for air as I ran for cover. My goal was the slip trench. Beads of sweat cascaded into my eyes prior to being stopped in my tracks.
Out from behind his jeep, another figure appeared, one which we had not seen. His rifle started to train on me but I was quicker. Adrenalin fuelled my weapon was already up into the aim and my 3-5 rounds exited the barrel to dance a life stopping ballet. The first one missed, as did the last but as they say, three is the magic number and rounds 2-4 connected with a hard hitting thud.
Hues of pinky red slush were seen as the first two hit his upper arm and shoulder. The 4th connected with his neck and a satisfactory gaping hole was briefly revealed. He was done, lights out, ta taa.
As this was happening, Ads called for covering fire as he advanced. Our original prey had a stoppage and now was the time to engage. Pivoting, I turned 90 degrees and let rip firing a hail of clustered rounds go. I was pleased to hear the eventual screams and by now Ads was in position and finishing the job off. Mag changed, safety off, ready to rock.
Target down so I circled around to check the truck. Not taking the risk of another ‘surprise’ soldier, pin out, grenade in leaving uncle frag and his exploding friends to take care of business. There is something quite sinister of hearing a grenade fall at your feet, the impending visceral doom that is about to encompass you. That’s what must have encouraged soldier 3 to run and leap from the vehicle.
As it happens the grenade didn’t explode which frankly surprised us both. Momentarily chuffed that he wasn’t off to ride the big camel in the sky, looking up from the ground he realised he had a chance and went for his shooter.
Shock filled his face as did my round. The following 8 or so pummelled his ailing body into submission and he fell to the floor drained of life. Meanwhile Adams prey was still on the run and approaching my position, Ads shouted and I turned just in time to catch him in my sights. Trigger depressed I waited for the gun to fire.
It didn’t.
In the same way your fate is sealed from jumping off a diving board to hitting the water, time stood still for a second as I realised I had lost and the enemy had won. I was seconds from being a corpse. The minutes became seconds and seconds became frames.
I felt a like someone had brushed past me nudging my left arm as the first round clipped me. I took another to the upper chest and with my sentence already pre-judged the hard hitting thud came a millisecond later. Taking it full on in the face and sending my head violently back, the crimson mist descended into view with the remaining sweat and breath of a convicted man. It was game over.
In those last remaining seconds people say life flashes before you. It didn’t for me. All I saw was my target laughing heartily. He’d scored a dirty kill in our first game of paintball.