Battle for Loot Lake Read online

“Place it right there.” Grey couldn’t help but laugh as Kiri put it down, because Hazel and Guang went flying back into the storm as they bounced off it. Grey’s entire squad burst into laughter as the notifications popped up in their vision:

  Hazel was lost in the storm.

  Guang was lost in the storm.

  “That was the best thing I’ve ever seen,” Ben said through his laughing. “But we gotta move.”

  “Yeah,” Grey said. They were on the edge of Tomato Town, and the next storm moved closer to Loot Lake. It would be a challenge to get that far. “We’ll have to skip Tomato Town. Half of it is already in the storm anyway.”

  “Let’s pick up stuff on the way to Loot Lake,” Tristan said as they started moving that direction. “We’ll need a lot of mats for building there.”

  “Probably,” Grey said.

  While there didn’t seem to be anyone else coming from their direction, they would soon be facing whoever had started in Pleasant Park, Tilted Towers, and even Dusty Divot and Anarchy Acres—those were all popular places to land among the top squads. There were just under forty people left on the map, and they were sure to be well-equipped after surviving those areas.

  The terrain between their location and Loot Lake was mostly fields and trees, so they broke down what they could for wood. There was a small building with some extra ammo and shields, and they were lucky to find a gold chest among a patch of trees.

  “Yes!” Kiri grabbed the glowing orange weapon, knowing they’d give any legendary sniper to her anyway. “Bolt-Action, my favorite!”

  “Can I take the shotgun?” Tristan asked. “Then I can double pump.”

  “Sure,” Grey said. He was happy to have their best shots better equipped for the upcoming fight. “How are you guys on mats?”

  “Not maxed out yet,” Ben said. “Loot Lake is gonna be all about builds—it’s so wide open.”

  “Okay, let’s stock up then.” Grey broke down the trees around them, making sure to keep an eye out in case anyone heard the noise. The battle may not have been over yet, but they had beaten Hazel’s squad, and that was always a victory in Grey’s book. If they could just keep doing that, he’d take it.

  Every other kill this game was gravy.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Grey did not like Loot Lake. While there seemed to be okay items, it certainly didn’t live up to its name. It also felt like a vulnerable position with the sprawling lake making it wide open for spotting other players. While they hid on the ground among the trees, he could already see several towers being built on the opposite side of the lake.

  “We’re late to the party,” Grey said. The adrenaline from the last fight had worn off, and so had some of his courage. “Not gonna lie, I don’t know what to do.”

  “Be aggressive,” Ben said. “That’s what you said we’re doing this game.”

  “It hasn’t gone too badly, honestly,” Kiri said. “Down to twenty-three players.”

  Grey took a deep breath. He’d already spent all his bravery on Hazel’s squad. “All right, time to build up. Maybe Kiri can get some snipes.”

  “Sweet as. Let’s do it.”

  “I’ll use my mats,” Tristan offered. “Save yours for the push, Grey.”

  “Good idea.” Grey was glad to have Tristan offering ideas because he was beginning to feel out of place as a leader now that they were facing the top twenty players. He tried to shake it off. This had been a good game for them. He should be happy.

  Tristan built their tower quickly, which was a good thing because they began to take fire the moment they had more than three stories. The players across the lake had obviously spotted them by now, and Grey’s squad needed to put on the pressure before their enemies destroyed their building.

  It would have been a good time to have a rocket launcher, but none of them had had the luck to get one.

  “Build out over the lake a little!” Kiri said. “I can’t get a good—”

  Kiri’s gear spilled from her while Grey barely processed the two swift shots that came their way, and when he read the notification he knew why:

  Tae Min eliminated Kiri by head shot.

  “Ugh!” Kiri sounded madder than usual. “I swear he’s out to get me!”

  “You did head shot him once,” Ben offered. “Tae Min never gets—”

  Tae Min eliminated Ben by head shot.

  “Oh, come on!” Grey said. He still hadn’t seen where Tae Min was, but he clearly had a good sniper nest for himself. And a powerful weapon. “Take cover!”

  Tristan opened a hole in their floor—and just in time, because another shot hit their walls as Grey and Tristan boxed themselves in their tower for protection. This was going about as well as Grey had pictured it would. He tried not to be mad, but after Tae Min gave Grey advice … Grey thought Tae Min might be on their side for some reason.

  Apparently not.

  Grey heard the sound of a rocket launcher, and he knew things wouldn’t end well if they stayed in the same place. “We’ll have to go on foot. Around the lake.”

  “May as well,” Tristan said.

  There was no way they’d get anything built at this point. Everyone on the other side of the lake had their number; plus they had Tae Min on their tails. Grey and Tristan left their tower, and Grey searched desperately for where Tae Min might be.

  A loud sniper shot sounded, and Grey realized it was coming from the center of the lake where there was a house perched on a small island.

  Tae Min eliminated Mayumi.

  Tae Min eliminated Zach.

  So that was where he was. Tae Min must have gotten to the lake before anyone else and snagged that prime spot for himself. It wasn’t always a good position, but under the current circumstances, it was perfect. He’d be able to pick off anyone around the lake while all the other squads fought it out at closer range.

  Grey and Tristan soon came upon a wonky tower, where there was obviously a build battle happening high above them between two other squads. The tower was a mess of ramps and walls, but the base was small and weak.

  “Shoot it down.” It was all Grey could think to do. They’d never be able to build up to the players at this point, but maybe they could bring them down here or destroy the tower entirely.

  “Watch for traps,” Tristan said as they took down the lower walls.

  Grey did, but there was nothing. Finally, he took out the last remaining support on the ground, and the upper walls began to break apart. He shot above them at the players, who had finally noticed their tower was going down.

  No one fell like Grey had hoped. Instead, they dropped a launch pad and jumped. Soon it was a deadly free-for-all as they descended on Grey and Tristan.

  Grey shot wildly at all the players in the air, and he got two before he was downed.

  You were eliminated by Hans.

  Tristan followed soon after. Grey looked at his ranking of eighteen and didn’t know how to feel. He knew it was good—probably the best he’d get of the day—but he felt like he could have done better, too.

  Tae Min ended up winning the battle, as usual. Grey watched as he eliminated player after player who tried to approach the island. Some were able to get close, a couple even made it to land, but Tae Min got them in the end.

  As Grey appeared back in the lobby, he started moving right to the practice area. He could feel his squad following him, but no one spoke. He couldn’t figure out why he was so mad, but he just wanted to keep practicing and he didn’t want to talk to Hazel or whoever else felt like trolling them today.

  “What’s up, Grey?” Ben said as they entered the practice warehouse. “We did really good! But you seem mad about it.”

  “I don’t know,” Grey said. But he did know. He couldn’t look at them. “I froze. We got to the lake, and I just blanked.”

  He felt like he had let them down.

  “You were brilliant!” Kiri said in surprise. “Yeah, you froze, but you were flash up to that point!”

  Gre
y shook his head. He hadn’t felt very “flash.” “I mean, we got Hazel’s group … but other than that, I was kind of a fail.”

  “We finished in the top twenty-five,” Ben said. “That’s not a fail. That’ll probably be our best game of the day … unless you’re up to try again on leading. I think you might be a natural leader—it’s just you’ve been so quiet until now that none of us knew it.”

  “Me?” Grey shook his head. “I’m not good at that.”

  Grey was never the leader of anything. He was always the one people didn’t want to listen to. Or the one who didn’t speak up. He hated having that responsibility. It always left him feeling like he did right now—like he hadn’t lived up to expectations. He regretted pushing everyone to be more aggressive. If he knew it meant he’d be suggested as the leader, he wouldn’t have done it.

  “But I think you’re good at it,” Ben insisted. “Just like Kiri didn’t know she could snipe, but you saw it. Maybe you don’t see your own abilities.”

  Grey felt like a weight had been put on his chest. As he looked to Tristan and Kiri, he hoped for them to disagree. “You guys don’t think that, too, do you?”

  Kiri shrugged. “Sorry, mate, I agree with Ben.”

  “I think we should at least try the whole day with you leading,” Tristan said. “You only froze because we don’t reach that late in the game often. But if we keep getting there because of you, we will all learn.”

  Grey let out a long sigh. “But what if that last game was just luck? I could tank us in the next ones …”

  “It could have been luck,” Ben said. “But, Grey, you thought of stuff on a different level when you let go and let yourself play confidently. Like, it was so awesome. Seriously. You didn’t even see how you were building and responding to Hazel’s group. I was shocked. We need you to keep doing that.”

  “Sorry. I need to think about it,” Grey said.

  “Sure,” Tristan said. “Go think.”

  Grey walked out of the practice warehouse, his mind racing from the battle and from what his squad was asking him to do. It was easy to pretend to be confident for one game. But to be the leader every time? It seemed crazy that Ben and Tristan would want him to do that when they had so much more experience. He couldn’t possibly be better than them at leading when he had only been playing for a few weeks.

  Grey entered the dense woods near the practice area. On the first day he was stuck here, he remembered how Kiri had run into this place when she was upset. It wasn’t quite like a real forest, more like a cartoon version, but there was something that felt more private about it. No one came here since it wasn’t in the practice area or very near the cabins where they slept.

  Finding a spot under a tree, Grey sat and tried to wrap his mind around taking on the leadership role. It scared him. And he wasn’t sure he could make it past that fear.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Grey was supposed to be thinking about leading a squad and if he really was good at it, but his mind went right back to missing his real life instead. He had been so excited to go to seventh grade, and now he might not even make it out to go. His mom had taken him to test into advanced math, and she had been so proud when he succeeded.

  He missed her hugs. Her smile. Even the way she’d call his name when she needed help.

  Squeezing his eyes shut, Grey refused to cry. It wouldn’t help anything and would only make him feel even more homesick.

  All he wanted to do was go home. Even thinking of playing more games today made him want to cry. He didn’t want to play anymore. Not today or tomorrow or ever. If he managed to make it out of the game, he’d never play again. This wasn’t how leaders thought—leaders were like Hazel, endlessly confident and determined to win.

  Finn would have been a good leader, and he would have been happy to do it. If only he was here with Grey, they’d probably be top twenty already.

  But Grey wasn’t like Finn. Grey always thought of himself as a sidekick, and he didn’t mind it. It was easy for Grey to suggest his squad be more aggressive, but it was another thing to be the one taking charge to do it.

  He’d just have to tell them he couldn’t.

  “Grey?” Kiri’s voice came from behind and startled him.

  He wiped at his eyes, realizing a few tears had escaped despite his best efforts. “Yeah?”

  Kiri appeared from behind the trees, stopping in place when she spotted him. If she saw the tears, she didn’t point them out. All she did was sit next to him. A moment of silence passed before she said, “You’re homesick, ay?”

  Grey cringed.

  “Me too,” Kiri said. “It’s bad. I’ve never been away from home this long. Never away from my family at all.”

  Grey gulped. Even though she was admitting her own homesickness, he still didn’t want to talk about his. “Yeah?”

  Kiri nodded. “I miss my mum the most, but everything else, too. School was going well for once, and at this rate I’ll miss out on netball tryouts. I miss real world things, too—food, nature, animals. Even just noise.”

  Maybe Grey wasn’t the only one struggling so much. “Did you have any pets?”

  “A cat,” Kiri said. “An orange stray we named Carrot. He would follow me home from school, and we ended up keeping him. You?”

  Grey shook his head. “But I’ve always wanted a dog. My mom’s allergic, though.”

  “That’s no good,” Kiri said.

  There was another long gap in conversation after that. Grey had no desire to fill it. He didn’t understand why Kiri was there if she wasn’t going to say anything more. He thought she would try to convince him to lead. He didn’t know if he wanted her to do that or not, or if she even could.

  “Can you guess what I miss most about my mum?” Kiri said after several minutes of quiet.

  “No,” Grey said.

  “I miss her cheering me on.” Kiri let out a long sigh as she stretched out her legs. “She came to all my games, and she thought I was some superstar. She’d tell me someday I’d be in the Olympics. Even when I lost, we’d get Indian takeaway after and she’d tell me I’d win the next one. Mum made me feel like I could do it … I wish I could hear her say that now.”

  Grey felt a lump grow in his throat and the sting of tears prick at his eyes. It sounded a lot like something his own mom would do.

  “If our mums could watch us battle,” Kiri kept going, “do you think they would say we’re rubbish, or would they cheer us on? Would they want us to give up against Hazel or try our best?”

  So this was Kiri’s plan. She was smart.

  Grey could picture exactly what his mom would say about all of this. She would tell him to fight. She would say he could do it even if he didn’t think he could. Grey could picture his mother’s smile if he told her he was the leader of a squad. She would say he’d be good at it.

  Grey leaned his head on the tree trunk, looking up through the fake leaves. “You guys really want me to lead, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Kiri said. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.”

  “While you’ve been here, how many times have you had an idea but didn’t say anything?” Kiri turned so she was facing him, and her dark eyes pierced his resolve.

  Grey shrugged. Because he couldn’t put a number to it.

  “I have a feeling it’s a lot. Hundreds, maybe.” Kiri punched Grey lightly on the shoulder. “Today you didn’t keep those ideas to yourself, and look what happened! Sometimes it’s not about how long you’ve been playing, ay? You have ideas Tristan and Ben haven’t come up with in all the time they’ve been here. Don’t be afraid. What if that is what gets us home?”

  “What if it’s what keeps us here?” Grey blurted out. “It’d be my fault! And you’d all hate me.”

  Kiri raised her eyebrows. “Is that what you think?”

  “It’s too much pressure,” he replied. “And I already crumbled under it after one game.”

  “You’re too hard on yourself! It was the f
irst time you led, and you did so well. You’re bound to get better.” Kiri shoved him. “What about just today, then? You convinced us to try one game being more aggressive. How about just today leading? Like you said—only the top five spots really matter. We can’t be afraid to try new tactics.”

  Grey sighed. “Using my own words against me.”

  “They were good words.” Kiri smiled at him, and something about it made him feel more at ease. “The words of a leader. They gave us the courage to do something different.”

  Grey almost explained that he was just being desperate and homesick, but he was still too embarrassed. Even when Kiri had been honest with him. Most of all, he could picture his mom telling him to give it a try. She wouldn’t want him to give up. She would believe in him. Maybe if he kept thinking of that instead of missing home, he would have the motivation he needed.

  “Today,” Grey said. “I’ll do it today and see what happens.”

  “Sweet as, mate!” Kiri jumped up. “I’ll go tell the others. You clear your head and such.”

  “Okay.” Grey watched her go, a small smile on his face. Kiri was a good squad mate. He was glad to have her encouragement even though he was still nervous to lead. He tried to focus on it only being one day. He could lead for one day.

  One minute until the next battle begins! the now-familiar announcer’s voice said.

  Grey closed his eyes and gathered every ounce of courage he could find in himself. He pictured his family cheering for him as if they could watch from wherever they were at the moment. Though the idea still made him homesick, it also pushed him. Maybe this way he could use it as motivation instead of letting it hold him back.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Grey couldn’t help but be nervous for their second game of the day. When he was only leading for one game—a game everyone was sure would be a throwaway—it wasn’t so bad. But now they thought he’d be good.

  He was pretty sure they would all die first because of him.

  It’s only for a day. Grey would have to take it one battle at a time.

  “Where should we go?” Ben asked.