Pappy switched his thoughts to the departure of the nine recruits. He’d hated to terminate them, but there wasn’t an independent thinker in the bunch. What they excelled at was backbiting and ignoring the fact that they were members of a team who had to work together. None of the nine had adapted to life on the mountain. Reason enough for termination. Termination so early in the year had come as a surprise to him; normally, those who couldn’t cut it held out till the cold weather set in. Obviously, Donovan and the others needed a refresher course on recruiting.

A sound to his far left alerted him to the fact that someone was closer than he or she should be. He dived deeper into the shrubbery and waited, his paintball gun at the ready. He saw a head, then an arm holding a gun with red splatters all over it. He took aim and fired.

Pappy heard the muffled, “Damn!” He moved off, slithering on his belly, commando style.

The game was on, and he had the first kill. A few minutes later, a red flare could be seen. Pappy moved into what he called his power mode. He knew if he waited long enough, the other recruits would surface. Ten minutes later, in rapid succession, he fired off two more shots. Within minutes two more flares whipped up and down the tree line. All three hits were from Team One, which didn’t say much for them.

Pappy moved to the southeast quadrant, crouching low, so low that he was practically crab walking. He grinned when he saw four more flares go up, one after the other. Seven down, eight recruits remaining. If they were all recruits that had been hit. There was no way for him to know. His eight-member staff, for all he knew, could be cut in half. Team Three was on the ball, and he suspected they had a trick or two up their respective sleeves. What it could be, he had no clue.

While Pappy pondered the question, Team Three was busy stalking two members of Team Four and three members of the staff. Zoe, who had been the point leader, slithered backward and reported to Sam. “I think,” she whispered, “the five of them are trying to come up with some kind of game plan. They have to be desperate if they’re cozying up to the staff. They don’t have any idea we’re as close as we are.”

Sam nodded as she looked to see two flares hit the pine trees, the smoke like dragons’ tails. She was aware that their team was still intact, and they had the power to eliminate five players with one fell swoop.

“You ready?” Hawkins asked as he tried not to laugh.