Round 3 - Mafia Hit - Grey Areas

Battle School was beginning to be a very dangerous place. Suspicious eyes were everywhere and in so many words the Colonel had suggested that everyone stay in groups and not be alone. Children killing children; extremely brilliant children acting like common murderers. But is it murder if it has a purpose?

The Battle School Mafia discussed this very thing while they waited for their next class to begin, seemingly joining in with the camaraderie that the rest of their army was trying to portray.

'Everything is ok.'

'Yeah, the teachers will figure it out and put a stop to it.'

'We're safe.'

Safe, indeed. That's exactly what one particular student thought as she walked back to her bunk. So trusting this one was that she walked alone down the smooth tunnels to Dragon Army's quarters. The bunk beds were made, sheets crisp and perfectly lined. Running her hand on the top bunks, she reached her own and retrieved her desk from her locker. Safe, until some time ago, had meant the comfort of her home in Ireland with her loving parents. Safe now meant the fantasy game and even though she suspected that the teachers were using her actions in the game as an evaluation into her ability to command, she still found solace in completing its sometimes complex puzzles. Most recently she had discovered the wolves with children's faces.

Pausing her character in game, she reflected over the similarities that it had in comparison to real life. Being brilliant meant being alone and the children in Texas were no less vicious than the pack of wolves in game. Several times she tried out running them, only to have her character eaten alive. Her next approach was to kill them, but as always she was out numbered and swarmed. Many times she had huffed in frustration over the lack of weapons the game gave you to defend yourself. A rifle, gun or hell...even a thick Calculus book would have been enough to win the scenario.

So with little confidence she advanced her character near the edge of the stream towards the playground where they were always waiting for her, and like clockwork, the laughing, jagged-teeth children appeared, taunting her with cruel rhymes and their clawed hands. Then the game shifted slightly; the children's faces changed from random ones to those in Dragon Army. Slowly, she advanced her character closer to the wolves and was amazed at the sudden change. The pack just stood there, fangs still dripping with saliva but just staring her down - especially the front wolf, which was slightly larger and must have been the Alpha, she wagered. It kept the snarling pack at bay, its slanted pupil eyes glaring at her.

Snap.

Turning her character at the sound behind her, her hazel eyes widened. A book had materialized on the ground. A blissfully heavy academic book - the advanced mathematics book she had been coveting while in game for so long. She began to reach down when another hand came down and snatched the book away from her. Startled, she looked up.

'What? YOU!'

'Surprise.'

With savage agility the interloper brought down the book and smashed in her head. Repeatedly it hit her, spraying blood and covering the grass around them with it. The Alpha and its pack of wolves looked on with their canine smiles.

The screen went black, and the words GAME OVER appeared in white letters.

Sitting up in her bed, Stormie shook her head. 'What the hell?'

'Hey,' said a quiet voice.

Stormie turned behind her at the voice and again her eyes widened in fear as she watched the interloper behind her reach forward and snatch her computer desk from her lap. Without hesitation the other student brained her with her own computer desk. The sickening thud of the desk connecting with her skull echoed in the near empty Dragon Army dorm until her head was nothing but a bloody pulp, leaking precious grey matter everywhere.

Dropping the now-bloody desk back on the bed next to Stormie, the interloper turned to leave.

'Surprise.'