Bodman 1

Isaac Bodman
Ms. VanderSlick
English 100-15
17 September 2014

The Game Afoot

I can hear him. Well, him or her Im not certain of that particular at this
point and time, but they are undoubtedly approaching. Deeming themselves quite
duplicitous, no doubt. I peer through the tall grass. Its around the time that the
seasons are beginning to change; summer into fall, and the dying weeds provide
more of an impediment than the cover that I initially intended them for. But, thats
hardly an insurmountable problem.
I can see him now. Yes, its definitely a him. Slowly, ever so slowly, I raise my
marker1 into position and fire! He is out, but the game is now afoot. Everything
explodes into action around me as players determine if theyve been compromised
or not.
They then react in accordance to their decision. In one short moment, in the
span of one shot, everything has erupted into chaos, including me. I stood up,
grasping my marker firmly in my right hand, using my left to balance on the uneven
ground while deftly dodging paintballs intended to neutralize my teammates and
1

A paintball gun is referred to as a Marker in paintball jargon.

Bodman 2
me. I fire back in a blaze of glory. None of my shots are actually intended to hit the
opposing team at this time. Theyre merely a diversionary tactic that acts as cover
fire for myself. Now its time to mobilize. Forward I spring out into the open, now
aiming for the kill as I yell for my teammates to follow.
Cmon guys! Make it to that bunker! From there we can lay down heavy
suppressive fire on their base!
Its going to be one wild time trying to get there, Isaac! responds one of my
teammates.
Wesley confides with me for a moment. I believe that we should assume the
standard double cover technique, he whispers.
This involves each team-member pairing up with another. Team member one
then advances approximately twenty to thirty feet, while team member two
provides the necessary cover fire. Player one then covers Player two until he
advances the twenty feet between them and an extra twenty to continue the cycle.
I assume the standard crouched walking position as I weave in and out from
cover to cover. My breathing begins to heavy. The worst fate of paintball has now
been bestowed upon me a foggy mask. Running purely on memory of the course
and the vague outlines that I can see through the plume of condensation upon my
visor, I hear the response Ive been waiting for.
Alright, I yell. Bravo team advance!

Bodman 3
Wesley and I, the Alpha team, hold back while the Bravo team
advances to cover. The Delta team flanks the enemys bank opposite the Bravos.
Its all clear, Isaac! yells Wesley, my tail-gunner. The Bravo team is laying
down some heavy cover fire for us! If we capitalize, we can take the flag!
So, it is all coming to an end, I think. This could be sublime. I can see the
suppressive fire as the paintballs, seemingly in slow motion, pass ten feet in front of
me. The mortified expressions of the poor rascals on the other side, their faces
nearly frozen in horror as sense the impending doom. Wesley is frozen in midair, an
epic leap across the main ravine, leading into the other camps base. Everything
begins to move again, I smell the anticipation.
Wesley and I come out of our leap at full exertion, rolling onto the soft, leafy
ground that lay between the two massive hills. We are now vulnerable targets.
There is no cover in the vast crevasse, so we count on the adeptness of the Bravos
and the Deltas to keep us from harm in our moment of vulnerability. Just like in any
other sport, you have to count on your teammates in paintball, or you cant count on
anything. If your allies and friends are not cooperating for the greater good of the
game, the balance of your strategy degenerates.
The fire and cover-fire resumes yet again. They did their part. Run. That is all
that is on our minds. Run. Fire. The horn. Up the hill we bound, taking control of the
prominence and by default, the enemy base. Their buzzer is within my grasp. I reach
out

Bodman 4