Chapter 27 Chapter 27
Angelina's POV
I knew the forest area at Camp Redwood was located on the far side of the property, nestled against the mountain, a good distance from both the boys' and girls' cabins. I followed along with my classmates as we headed that way.
When we arrived, I noticed all the other freshman groups were already lined up and waiting. Looked like we were the last ones to show up.
Standing at the front was the head counselor—he had authority over all the individual cabin counselors like Jake. Seeing that we'd arrived, he cleared his throat and began to speak:
"Alright everyone, quiet down. I'm going to explain the rules for this competition."
With prompts from our cabin counselors, the rest of us quickly fell silent.
The head counselor gestured toward a large pile of helmets sitting beside him and continued:
"See these helmets? They come in three colors—red, yellow, and blue. We have all the freshmen here today, and you'll be divided into teams. Every five cabin groups will form one team. Everyone on the same team wears the same color helmet to identify yourselves as teammates."
I quickly calculated in my head—that meant there would be three teams total in this forest shooting competition: red helmet team, yellow helmet team, and blue helmet team. All three teams were enemies to each other.
I understood the rules: if I got assigned to the red helmet team, then everyone wearing a red helmet was my ally, while anyone with yellow or blue helmets was the enemy.
The head counselor continued:
"Each of you will be given a rifle. These fire paint rounds—colored pellets. When a paint round hits someone, it stains their clothes with color. During the game, anyone whose clothes get marked with paint is considered 'eliminated.' In game terms, they're 'dead' and can no longer shoot at anyone else. Eliminated players must immediately return to the assembly point and wait for the results. The game continues until only one color team remains standing. That team wins."
Hearing this, I'd already started forming a basic strategy in my mind. These rules... interesting.
The head counselor coughed and asked:
"Any questions?"
All of us students answered in unison:
"No sir!"
The forest shooting competition was officially starting.
My cabin group and four other groups were assigned to the blue helmet team. I put on my blue helmet, grabbed my assigned rifle, and followed the group heading into the forest.
Our team was the first to enter. I remembered the rules: five minutes later, the yellow helmet team would enter, and five minutes after that, the red helmet team. Staggering the entry times like this kept it fair for all teams. And once you entered the forest, you could attack anyone who wasn't on your team at any time.
Nearly 100 of us from the blue helmet team entered the massive forest together. Some students around me were already discussing strategies and forming alliances, while others slipped away to other spots, preparing to go solo.
I could feel the excitement radiating from everyone—all their faces showed eager anticipation.
"Aria, so what's the plan?" Logan asked me.
I didn't answer right away. Instead, I turned and started walking toward where the yellow helmet team would be coming from. Rather than waiting around to get picked off, I'd rather take the fight to them—that was more my style.
I tossed them one instruction over my shoulder:
"Find somewhere to hide. Stay out of sight."
"Wait, what?" I heard Mia's confused voice behind me.
"Hold up—what about you? Where are you going?"
I could tell what Mia really wanted to ask was: aren't you hiding with us?
I casually tested the weight of the rifle in my hands, getting a feel for it. This feeling... familiar. I turned back to face them, and couldn't help the slight smirk that tugged at my lips.
That long-dormant hunting instinct was waking up inside me.
My tone was casual as those four words slipped out:
"I'm going hunting."
I noticed Logan and Mia just standing there, looking a bit stunned. I could feel their eyes on me—something had shifted in how they were looking at me.
I knew this was the real me showing through—the old me, the true me.
They'd sensed changes in me before, but right now, they were clearly realizing just how different I'd become. Like I was a completely different person.
I saw Logan and Mia exchange a glance, but as friends, neither of them questioned me out loud.
I appreciated their trust.
Finally, Mia nodded and said:
"Okay. We'll hide. Just... be careful out there, yeah?"
I gave them an "okay" gesture with my fingers.
Then, without hesitation, I moved forward—a few quick steps and I disappeared into the depths of the forest.
The hunt was on.