Alliance

Chapter Fourteen

The following days were uneventful. For three days we did not spot a single flag though we looked high and low for one. We searched at least seven buildings each day, but none of them were a home base for another team.

We rarely spotted another team. If we did spot a team, we laid low until they passed. It was easier to hide from them than to fight. Plus, if we didn't fight, the team wouldn't know we were snooping around.

It was yesterday afternoon when something half exciting happened. We were walking through a park and found a yellow flag in one of the trees. There was no rhyme or reason to why the flag was there but there it was. We hadn't seen another team in the park or saw their base.

We watched Rodriguez climb up the tree to get the flag and we ran out of the park to avoid the other team if they were around. 

For the past few days, I kept my head down. Ben was still angry. He was always quiet before my near-death experience. He always had that wall around him but this time he was grumpy behind that wall. From the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep, I felt his eyes on me. Watching and studying every move I made.

And because I didn't want to set him off, I did not tell him about the pain in my ribs. The ribs were not broken as far as I could tell. They were possibly just sore from the impact. So I just wrapped them tightly as best as I could and suffered through the pain quietly.

With our flag safe at our home base and three flags found, we had one more to go and we had three days left. Everyone was antsy when we woke on the fourth morning.

"About the football field?" Bailey asked after breakfast.

"We already checked that," Carlos said. 

"Mall? We looked there but we didn't look through it all," Bailey asked Carlos again. Since I had fallen from Ben's good graces, Carlos became the sole leader again. Meanwhile I kept my head down.

"No, I don't think it would be there. Why don't we try the opera house," Wong said. "We haven't checked there yet."

Bailey glanced over at Carlos. He shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt."

Carlos thought for a moment before nodding. He grabbed his gun. "Let's check it out."

We grabbed our supplies and left. 

Out on the street, Wong and I were appointed to be the sweeps. We walked far behind the group in case another team decided to ambush us. With now having green, blue, and yellow's flags, tension was high. We knew the other teams were hunting us now.

Wong and I walked far behind the rest of the team. We were silent to keep any eye or an ear out for other teams. But also, I was not in the mood to talk.

"Did you hear that?" Wong asked.

"No, I hear nothing." I scanned the empty street. It was clear of anyone or anything that could make a sound. It was just us and the abandoned cars. Before us, our team turned down a street.

Wong scanned the street too. His face set in a confused state. "I was sure I heard something."

Wong's mouth opened and he glanced over to talk to me. His eye's gaze darted behind me. They widened and before he could give a warning, hands latched on to my shoulders.

Behind Wong, a man jumped from behind a car. The man ran toward Wong. Opening my mouth to give a warning, a piece of cloth was stuffed in. I watched the same thing happen to Wong before a bandana covered my eyes.

No. No, this couldn't happen. I rocked my body into the man behind me, to throw him off. He didn't budge. I tried to free my arms but they were pulled painfully behind my back.