Page 96 of Trove’s Purpose

“Why would I ever shoot you?” He asked, poking her forehead. “We’re being pitted against other teams in the arena. We get shot, we’re out. We make it to the center, we win a prize.”

The evil little chuckling laugh that erupted from her sent a thrill of excitement through him.

“Oh, that’s even better,” she declared, rubbing her hands together like she was about to savor every moment of this simulated battle.

Everyone else here was a novice at fighting. Trove certainly wasn’t taking this seriously. He was going to make sure that he and his female won, naturally, but he didn't rightfully expect any real competition.

The worn pistol he was given almost weighed the same as the real thing. It was designed slightly differently, and the way the flat tip pulsed gave away that it was fake. Still, it was a weapon, and it would be easy for him to use.

The ‘armor’ they wore wasn’t actually protective at all. They were sensor plates designed to take the hits of the fake plasma shots and record what was damaged and if it was a fatal shot or not. They could still keep going with injuries to their limbs, just not their heads or torsos.

All that was explained to them as the bored operator helped them through putting the ‘armor’ on their bodies. It covered their chests and back, their forearms, their thighs, and their calves. They also had helmets that would do nothing in a real fighting situation.

But Chee was so wickedly excited as they put it all on. He got excited with her as they planned on how they were going to take down everyone else in the arena.

There were multiple tunnels letting out into the field, and the doors wouldn’t open if someone wearing armor was too close. That was to prevent people from just waiting at the door to shoot people as they were coming out and ruining their fun. When they were let out, they’d have to find their way through the obstacles and locate the center on their own. There was no map, and the staff changed the obstacles frequently so no one got used to them.

It was all meant to be safe and fun.

But Trove and Chee plotted like they were ready to go onto a real battlefield.

“I’ll take point,” she said, testing the weight of her gun in her hand. “You watch our backs.”

“Happily,” Trove said. “Careful around corners. Try to stay low as we move.”

“Right,” she nodded along as the operator directed them to a door. The hallway would lead to their door, he told them in a bored voice, they could go right in when it opened. “Let’s keep to the sides instead of going straight for the center.”

“Oh? What for?”

She held up her weapon, beaming evilly. “So we can kill more people, of course.”

Cackling wickedly, she began walking down the hall. Trove watched her go for just a moment before a strange, drawn out laugh left his mouth. Partially amused, partially from disbelief, partially from absolute adoration.

He loved that female. She was so perfect.

Trove chased after her, also chuckling like a villain.

Chee didn’t have the polished ease of experience like he did, but she still held her own as the two of them were set loose into the arena. She apparently had no interest in going towards victory in the center of the space. She wanted to hunt down others.

There were couples, friends, families, loners. None of them were what he would call proficient at this sport, but he didn’t think those that made this sort of thing their passion would be playing in this vacation ring. This was for people who just wanted to try it or do it for the day. It was fun for these people, and they were focused on getting to the target.

Hunting them down was a lot of fun.

He followed Chee, letting her take point and lead them both. The obstacles were anything from simple half walls to more complex climbing towers. It was a big space, much bigger than he anticipated. Since most of it was underground, it was hard to tell from the outside exactly how much space it took up. But since it was underground, they completely controlled the environment. It was just a bit humid, but cool, so they didn’t get overheated as they moved around. The lighting was dim, and it was easy to blend into the shadows.

Especially for him. With his gray jumpsuit and camouflage, he very easily became invisible when they moved through. Which Chee used to her full advantage by either having him stay in one spot and waiting for someone they heard coming to catch up, or by sending him ahead to sneak up on people who were themselves entrenched in a good spot.

It was a lot of fun. Like back when he used to reign terror down on Rik-Vane, but better because no one was actually hurt. The cries of despair of his victims were that of defeat, not despair. It was all in good fun. All a good time.

And the whole way, he had his surprisingly vicious little mate. She certainly had no hesitation shooting their targets. She laughed evilly, celebrating their downfall like she was some kind of conqueror, and he didn’t think he’d ever been so entranced in his life.

That was his mate, and she was evil and perfect.

Chapter 32

Chee

She had not expected alien paintball to be the order of the day, but she was absolutely not mad about it. It was a lot of fun. All the enjoyment of paintball without actually having to worry about getting paint all in her hair or the bruising force of being struck by them.