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It wasn’t long before the others joined them. Everyone taking a minute to rest and refuel. The initial adrenaline rush of creating content was over and energy was plummeting. Luke bumped her shoulder, and she looked over to see a funny meme on his phone. She just shook her head and laughed.
“They’re loving it.” The organizer entered the kitchen. “Everyone is sharing and promoting, and we’re definitely seeing an increase in traffic since you all started teasing yesterday. Tonight, we want to treat you all to a night out for some fun. A chance to let loose without having to create. We’ll resume tomorrow.” She smiled.
“Where?” Max questioned.
“It’s this great place downtown. We rented it out, so you guys will be the only ones there. Food and drinks, whatever you want. Unlimited game play in the arcade. There is also a bowling alley and laser tag.” She stopped. “Um, I feel like there’s something else. Oh, pool tables and darts. Basically, all sorts of fun activities. The limo is going to take you all there in about two hours and then will bring y’all back around midnight.”
“Care for a round of bowling?” Luke whispered next to her.
“We’ll see how you feel after I whoop you at laser tag.” She grinned.
“You’re on!” He chuckled next to her.
As exciting as it sounded, she knew she was going to need a little power nap if she was going to be staying up that late. As everyone headed to their rooms and the house got quiet, she realized she wasn’t the only one.
Her eyes had barely closed before there was a knock on her door. She sat up. “Yeah?”
The door opened, and she saw Archie standing there. “Sorry to interrupt your nap. I don’t think-”
“Stop.” She held her hand up. “If you’re going to tell me this is a bad idea, I’m going to ignore you.”
“As your bodyguard, I just need to tell you my opinion. It’s up to you what we do.” He leaned against the doorway.
“Everything will be fine. It’s this same group of people that’s at the house right now.” She argued.
He held his hands up. “Minus one bodyguard. Someone will need to stay behind to make sure nothing happens while everyone is away.”
“Fine, you do it.” She laid back down. “Close the door back on your way please.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grumbled before closing the door.
It took a while to fall asleep after that and even then; she didn’t stay asleep for long. When her alarm on her phone went off, she knew it was pointless. She’d just grab an energy drink from the kitchen. Even if she didn’t usually like to drink them this late in the day.
~~~~~
She didn’t thinkArchie would actually stay behind like she suggested, but he did. Honestly, if one of them were going to, she thought it would be one of the others. Not that it mattered to her. It did bother her a little. Part of her was also relieved to not be under his eye. The others didn’t seem as intense. He didn’t understand that she wasn’t in immediate danger. This was a safe group of individuals.
They’d split into two teams and awaited for the doors to open for the first round of laser tag. Luke made eyes at her, as if he was watching her. She just shook her head, then laughed.
The buzzer sounded, and both teams entered the room and scattered. She kept to the wall until she found the ramp up to the second level and carefully creeped up it. An assortment of walls and hiding spots were scattered about.
Tabitha kept her breathing even as she moved low and slow, peeking around every corner before moving forward. Footsteps could be heard coming from up ahead, so she moved to one of the darker spots and held the gun at the opening. Once her eyes were on a target of the other team, she fired. Sounds were going off all around as people snuck up on others.
The scoreboard was shining bright on one of the walls. She took a second to glance at it and noticed her team was ahead, by quite a bit already. The clock was running though; they’d barely gotten started.
She would find new spots and wait to get a hit on the other team before moving to a new spot. It was working well until her back hit someone and she immediately whipped around, gun raised.
Luke had his in his hand and aimed at her too.
They were in a standoff.
“You could walk away.” He whispered.
“I’m not turning my back on you.” She pulled the trigger.
His mouth dropped. “You playing dirty, Grimaldi?”
“Oh Keller, I’m just getting started.” She winked and ran off.
