Fiction

Checkmate

Episode 1

Jared let out a long sigh. “Unlucky. It’s just you and me; the two of us against all five of them. Honestly I don’t even know how we got here.”

    “It’s because the other three new guys didn’t know what they were doing. I mean why did we even let them play. It’s obvious they weren’t ready for this level of play.”

    Autumn always did have a short fuse, Jared thought. He considered calming Autumn down, but didn’t care enough so he just nodded his head and agreed.

    “Yeah unlucky honestly, but these are the cards dealt to us, so we just have to make the most of it. Knowing Alec. He’s probably giving some bullshit speech about how he can single handedly take us out like a king.”

    “Humph. You’re probably right, but that’s not important. What’s important is we have a plan,” Autumn said to Jared.

    “Yeah I know. I’m working on that; just give me a minute,” man this is unlucky, Jared thought.

“Alright guys this is it. It’s just those two bums against all five of us. Trust me we got this. I could take them out on my own easily. So with the five of us it’s impossible to lose.”

    Cody whispered to Michael, “Is Alec always like this? Yeah we have the numbers advantage, but with Jared on the other team it’s never over.”

    Michael quietly said back, “Yeah. Alec can be over the top sometimes, but he is really good and we will probably win.”

    “Yeah, you’re right,” Cody said with a small smile. They both tuned into Alec’s speech again which was now talking about a plan.

    “I’m sure you guys are aware of Jared and Autumn’s skills, but I assure you what I have in mind is better than anything that bum Jared can come up with. So a recap of the cul de sac battleground. There are nine total houses that loop around the cul de sac. On the street there are cars parked five yards away from the sidewalk in front of the first three houses on each side. All nine houses have a car parked in the driveway. In the back of the cul de sac, there’s a city bus parked sideways with the passenger windows facing any oncoming traffic. All nine houses are one story with flat roofs that form a slope just high enough not to be able to see the other side from the ground. We’re not sure what the insides of the houses look like since the three new bums on the other team made an immediate b-line for the bus and got shot, and there was no need to go in them. So with that being said. Make sure you be extra careful, and take notes from me if you need to.”

    Cody and Michael didn’t say anything, but they both had a drowsy face while Alec was speaking.

“Alright. I got something,” Jared nonchalantly said to Autumn. “They have no clue where we are, so we use stealth to our advantage. We don’t want to go into any of the houses because it’s an easy way to get pinned. Since we’re behind the back middle house. We want to get on the roof and peer over the edge unseen. Each roof is about fourteen feet away from each other, so we’ll jump from rooftop to rooftop.”

    “How are we getting on the roof?” Autumn asked.

    “We’ll get on top of the garbage can then climb up from there. Once we’re up there. We’ll have to be careful about who we shoot so we don’t attract attention. I know they’re going to split up and search the houses so we’ll set traps.” Jared continued to explain the plan he came up with in a matter of moments to Autumn.

    Autumn thought to herself how Jared never ceases to amaze her with his quick thinking.

    “Michael. You take Sam with you and search the row of houses on the left. Make sure to be careful and leave no trace that you were in the house,” Alec said.

    Great Michael thought. Why do I have to get the new guy? He’s not going to be any help.

    “As for you Cody, you’ll be with Parker and clear the middle. We know it’s safe since we didn’t see anyone run there since the beginning of the game. You two are the second and third fastest people on the team…behind me of course. You guys will be able to quickly collapse on either side if Autumn or Jared are found. Make sure you be-”

    “Extra careful. We know,” Cody said slightly irritated.

    “Fine. I guess I won’t have to tell you to sneak around the cars and use the bus for cover,” Alec rebutted.

    “You just did,” Cody said very quietly under his breath.

    “What did you just say?”

    “Nothing,” Cody said now done with the argument.

    “That’s what I thought. So anyway; I’ll go clear the houses on the right.”

    “But you’ll be alone and can get into a one v two,” Sam a new guy said.

    “You really are new,” Alec said surprised. “I’ll be fine on my own. After all I am the best one here.” Alec now looking directly at Cody, “So once again make sure you be extra careful and don’t leave any trace of being in the house when you leave. Everyone got it?” Alec asked not expecting a response. “Then lets move out.”