Pappy issued one more shrill whistle for everyone’s attention. When he had it he said, “We have a change of plans this morning. As you can see, nine members from Teams One, Two, and Four have departed the mountain. They will not be returning. So, instead of pairing off in teams, the game is going to be wide open. You can work as a team or work individually.” He held up a map pointing out the different quadrants and the boundary lines they could traverse. “If you go beyond the boundaries, you will be disqualified.” He handed out individual maps to each team member. “Take all the time you need to familiarize yourself with the five-acre game zone.”

Sam was about to open her mouth to ask a question, but Kayla beat her to it. She made a sweeping motion with her hands to indicate the other team members. “We’re new to this, we don’t know the terrain like you and your staff. That tells me the deck is stacked. Do you care to comment?”

“No, I don’t,” Pappy said shortly.

Bastard, Sam thought as she listened to the other teammates mumble and mutter under their breath.

“This…game is about instinct, an unknown environment, tracking, sights, sounds, smells, unfamiliar tools such as the paintball gun and paintballs. There are no rules per se. I don’t want to see anyone hit in the face or the head. If you want to call that a rule, then it’s a rule. The moment you’re hit, make your way to the compound. A member of my staff will shoot off a flare each time a man hits the compound. If I see anyone with two paint smears, that will tell me you didn’t obey the order to vacate the forest the moment you were hit. The last man or team standing is the winner, and the award will go to the team the member belongs to or to the entire team. Members of the staff will be monitoring the boundaries marked on the map. Just to be sure there are no mistakes at the end, the boundaries have been spray painted a bright yellow for your benefit. That’s another way of saying if you stray, you will pay.” This last was said with his gaze on Sam. She glared at him without blinking.

Pappy and his staff handed out the paintball guns, the paintballs, and the small backpacks to hold the paintballs.

Pappy waited till everyone had secured their backpacks and filled their paintball guns. “Head for the forest when I blow the whistle. You have a fifteen-minute head start to settle yourselves into a home base of sorts. If you prefer to stay together as a team, we accept that, but it is not necessary. I’ll shoot a flare when the fifteen minutes are up. That’s when the game begins. Last man or team standing wins. Good luck!”