Capture the Bloody Flag

>A game is a game by only its name if the name of the game is the same as the name of all of the other games.
 
                                                                                                                                             A game to some might be a terrible situation to others<  
 
    In Capture the Flag you split a group of people into two teams and give each team a ribbon or cloth. A large area is split into two segments assigned as territories for each team to control. If one player enters an area not his own, he or she can be tagged out and put in a ‘prison’ until either the round is over or another one of their teammates crosses the boundary and saves them. The objective is to protect your ‘flag’ while stealing the enemy team’s ribbon and bringing it to your side.
Capture the Flag, or CTF, as I liked to call it, was one of my favorite games and I had heard rumors at school that tonight a group of really brave people were going to play it in my neighborhood. It was really rare to see games played lately, as most teens now were too chicken to even think about trying one. I remember being a little kid and almost every weekend hearing about a game played by the older teens. Hide-and-seek, ultimate Frisbee, and tag. My parents would lock me in their room with them those nights, mortified that I’d step foot outside and be mistaken for a player. I had wanted to play so bad but I hadn’t yet realized what those games meant. But now I was older and didn’t have a curfew or rules to follow. My parents couldn’t control me anymore. The lip piercings and tattoos I got on my right arm when I was fifteen showed that to be a fact. If the rumors were true that there was going to be a CTF game tonight, I’d be there. It had been nearly a year since the last game was played.
    After school I hurried home, messaging all my friends my plans. Obviously all the replies were people begging me not to do it but that’s what you get for having friends that pissed themselves if you merely mentions hopscotch. In my room I packed what I’d need in a small backpack: a flashlight, good running shoes, and a butcher knife. The hours passed by and all I could do was sit on my bed, tapping my feet while trying to distract myself with music. My parents came home after a couple of hours and I pretended like nothing was happening. I excused myself from dinner to go to bed early. Waiting in my dark room for it to become midnight was a chore but it was whatever, you know?
    I left through my bedroom window, thinking of leaving a note but decided against it.
    It was a dark night outside. Perfect for CTF. The only illumination came from the streetlights placed sporadically, half of them broken by bored kids throwing rocks. There were no cars or people out this late; it was too dangerous out here for even the criminals and cops. But not for us. The animals, the teens that loved the games and weren’t afraid to have the biggest adrenaline rush ever, you know? You know?
    We met in the intersection at the center of town, ten of us. I wasn’t surprised Adrian was there. The dip-hat was the most cunning, bloodthirsty son-of-a-gun ever born. I’d seen the way teachers and adults stayed clear of him; let him get away with whatever he wanted. Rumor was that he kept his family locked up in the basement of his house and tortured them every day. He was the one holding two flags: one blue and one red.
    I recognized two other kids. A brat by the name of Carlos; small, fast, and whinny. I prayed to heaven and hell that he wasn’t on my team. There was also Sasha. She was pretty cute so I guess I’d be cool with her on my side. The other kids all looked to be from the upside of town. The rich folk that only watched games on those illegal channels that got sent you to prison if you were caught. Those were the same folk that bought game-winning children from shady guys working at the docks then put the children in these indoor games where no one had a chance to win.
    Adrian grinned at me when I stepped out of the shadows.
    “I thought we’d have an odd number. Man, I’m glad you’re here Tate. Wanna be a captain?
    The way he talked to me made my stomach cold—a little. It was nice but in the way a predator was nice to a captured animal. But I had never even dreamed I’d one day be called to be a captain of a CTF game. It completely made me forget who I was talking to.
    “Yeah! I’d love to!” I replied.
    Adrian tossed me the red flag; a small piece of cloth the size of a handkerchief. I was a little disappointed. The red flag was easier to see in the dark than the blue one.
    “’kay guys. Line up. Tate and I are going to pick teams.”
    The teens milled about for a second, then formed a line. Adrian frowned as if he had just remembered something.
    “You all signed the Games-Right Agreement out in the banned book locker at the library?”
    I had signed it that morning, sneaking to the locker down in the public library basement while the librarians were distracted with something else. Of course they couldn’t throw away the Games-Right Agreement, it was against the law. So they had tried to hide it from us instead. But we were teens, we could find or get into anything we wanted to if we were determined enough, you know?
    Everyone nodded yes, that they had signed the agreement.
    “Good.” Adrian said with a serpent-like smile. “I’m first captain so I get to choose first. I want Mikey.”
    One of the kids I didn’t recognize walked over to stand next to Adrian. He was tall and skinny, with black oily hair. He looked fast so I frowned to myself a little.
    “Sasha.” I said. What? I had the hots for her.
    The long-haired brunette walked over to me, biting her lower lip. She looked nervous to play the game.
    “Carlos.” Adrian said and I sighed in relief. The annoying short kid stomped over to Adrian’s side, smug look stamped on his face.
    We chose the rest of our team members, with me getting a red-head, a kid that looked like a toad, and some dark-skinned guy that whispered to me he was a basketball star and could run for miles. I was somewhat confident in my team but then remembered the rumors on Adrian. That he’d played games before. Secret ones in the upside part of town. That he’d volunteered to play a couple of games in the illegal warehouses against kids that were bought and sold by those rich parents. Volunteered. Crazy stuff, those rumors. Made you feel jittery.
    We marked our boundaries; main street being the separation line and the entire neighborhood—including backyards—the playing field.
    “Right. You have ten minutes to set up your flag somewhere. Hide it but make it visible enough that it can’t be missed if we come across it. We’ll do the same.” Adrian instructed. “Once the ten minutes are up, the game has begun!”
    We went off to our own team areas, hearts pounding in our chests. The toady kid hopped up and down, whispering about the adrenaline rush. Sasha stayed right next to me, which made me feel confident. After we’d gone far enough away to be out of earshot, I stopped and turned to my team.
    “So where should we hide the flag? Any good ideas?”
    “How about under a parked car?” the toady kid suggested.
    We all rolled our eyes. “No, it has to be visible.”
    “Fine, how about off a tree-branch?” he huffed.
    We looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. “I guess that works. So what’s gonna be our strategy?”
    “I’ll be a thief.” volunteered the dark-skinned basketball player.
    “Me too.” said Sasha.
    “I can’t run fast so I’ll guard the flag.” said the red-head. The toady-looking kid also said he’d guard.
    I chose to be a thief as well. I looked to the two defenders. “Just hide somewhere near the flag but not next to it. We don’t want to give away its exact position if they don’t see it themselves.”
    They nodded. I turned to the attackers or ‘thieves’.
    “We just have to split up, sneaking and sprinting through their area until we find the flag. Try not to use your flashlights so that they can’t pinpoint where we are. Most of all, don’t get caught.”
    “Where will be our jail? You know, in case we tag someone on our side?” asked the red-head.
    “In front of the dumpster in the Callahan’s property.”
    We moved off down the street looking for the perfect tree to pin our red flag. We came across a maple and had the toady kid climb up to tie the flag to one of the branches. We were pretty satisfied: it was a visible place, but tough to get to. We all kept track of time on our watches and phones. When the ten minutes were up and our two defenders were hidden, the basketball player, Sasha, and I pulled out our flashlights and sprinting off into different directions; our goal being to make it into Adrian’s territory through the backyards of some of the more compact houses. As long as one of us got their flag and brought it back before ours was stolen, we would win the round.
    I ran to a house with a fenced backyard right on the border between red and blue team. The house was closely surrounded by other houses and the backyards were narrow, fenced, and full of junk. I knew for certain I could sneak around the area and into deep enemy territory without being caught. I hopped the honey-colored wooden fence and found myself in a thin backyard full of rotting cars, rusted grills, scraps of old fencing, and a moldy boat. I ducked and bobbed among the garbage, ears perked for the slightest sound. I pushed myself under a car and army-crawled out to the other side, hiding behind a pile of rubbish. I heard a dog bark out in the distance and it made me hope that I wouldn’t run into an animal and have my position given out. I snuck around the boat, then decided to climb up it. It’d give me a good vantage point to see over the fence and maybe even spot an enemy team member.
    My foot nearly slipped on the fiberglass but I finally tossed myself up onto the deck. I crouched, crawling forward to the front of the boat. I was high up—the boat had been sitting on cinderblocks—and I peeked the top of my face over the edge. I could see half the neighborhood from up here. I made the decision that even after this round was over, I’d use this place again as a secret nest in the enemy territory to get a view of the area. I looked around at the streets but didn’t catch any movement. Somewhere out here was the flag. Where would Adrian have put it?
    I knew the guy had a sick sense of humor so I was betting he would have made it visible, but out of easy reach. I climbed down the boat, careful to not make any noise when I heard a cheer from the street. I jumped, startled.
    “Round over!” I heard Adrian yell. “Meet up in the street!”
    What? No way! The round had just started! How could they have won already? What had happened?
    I stopped, right before climbing the fence. Could this be a trick? To be safe, I ran back through the backyard and hopped into my side of the playing area just in case Adrian was trying to trick us: he couldn’t tag me here. I walked towards the middle of the street and found everyone waiting there for me. Adrian gave me a large smile.
    “Man, you’re sneaky Tate! Where the heck were you?”
    I didn’t respond to his question, instead I turned to my team.
    “What happened?”
    “They got our flag.” the red-head said, face flushed and sweaty. Apparently he’d been trying to chase down the enemy thief. The toady kid next to him didn’t even look like he had run at all.
    “Yeah, their entire team crossed into our side and swarmed our area all at once.” Sasha explained to me. “I saw it from where I had been.”
    Adrian stepped into the middle of the area with his arms outstretched. “Well, you know what that means Tate. You lose. Pay up. Who’s it gonna be?”
    My stomach sank. To finally be in this situation—it was a lot different than I had expected. I had to choose. I grimaced. I couldn’t believe it. This was real. This was really going to happen!
    My entire team looked terrified. They each took a step back from me as if I had transformed into the grim reaper himself. I made my decision. I pointed to the toady kid.
    “Him. He didn’t even try.”
    “What!” the kid yelped, turning to run. Face flushed in horror.
    Adrian’s group tackled him to the ground before he even made it five feet. The kid began to pee himself.
    “No! Please no! I didn’t really play! I quit! You can’t do it! I quit the game! I’m just gonna go home! No, don’t!”
    All of Adrian’s team pulled out knives. I looked away, feeling sick to my stomach. I was hit with a terrifying reality check. I was doing it. I was playing the game.
The toady kid screamed like crazy as they stabbed him repeatedly. Adrian was loving every second of it. He made it painful. He stabbed the kid in the crotch and between each toe. They cut off his privates and each of his fingers. They spent nearly ten minutes before they finally killed him. The rumors had been right: Adrian was crazy.
    The red-head threw up. I was crying like a stupid baby. Why? I knew what the games were about. I had gotten myself into it and now I had one less player on my team for the next round. Stupid, you know?
    “Same rules as before. Ten minutes to hide your flag! Go!” Adrian said, face and hands covered in blood.
    My team and I ran off deep into our side; I was gripping the flag like it was a lifeline. Where to hide it now? Blue team had found it so quickly! We decided on hiding it in a rosebush. The roses around it were almost the exact same color and if you stepped away and glanced at it quickly, you’d never notice it was there.
We left Sasha and the red-head as defenders, keeping the basketball player and me as the only thieves. The ten minute mark hit and off we went. I went into the same backyard and climbed the boat, scanning my surroundings. I saw two people from blue team sneaking off to the far edge of the neighborhood. They were going to sneak around from the side. I felt almost a hundred-percent sure Adrian had two others going around from the other direction in a pincer-movement. Which meant there was maybe only one person guarding the flag.
    I looked to the rooftop of the house next to the boat. If I climbed to the ridge of the boat and jumped, I could land on the roof of the building. The houses were so close together here that I could cross quite the distance before touching the streets again. I made the jump.
    Crossing the rooftops was tough. I didn’t want to make noise with my feet and every time I hopped to another roof, my landing echoed out. I bet all the people in the houses knew I was up there. But what could they do about it? We were playing a game and they knew not to interfere. They knew the rules.
    I was about to jump to another building when I saw it. The enemy flag. Adrian was a smart person. He had hung it right underneath a real flag, at the top of a flagpole. Below it at the foot of the pole was one of the players. Carlos. He was leaning against the post, yawning.
    I gauged the distance between me and the pole. Maybe ten feet. Could I make the jump? Maybe. Once I hit the pole, holding on to the metal would be almost impossible. But I had to try.
    I started by peeling off a roof tile. Aiming for a dark patch of street on the opposite side of where I was to the pole, I threw it. It hit something solid and shattered, making Carlos jump and swear. He turned and shined his flashlight at the area, leaning forward to see better.
    “I know you’re there! I’m not stupid!” he yelled.
    I threw another tile just a ways off from the first and farther into the darkness. It shattered loudly as well. Carlos took off into the darkness, screaming that he would tag whoever was out there.
    I didn’t let the chance pass up. I jumped. Wind hit me and a sense of weightlessness reached into my bones as I flailed in the air. I slammed into the pole and frantically scrambled to get some sort of grip. I slid down ten feet but held on. Without pause, I began to climb, almost instantly feeling my muscles burn. When I reached the small flag, I tore it loose, grabbed it by my teeth, and slid down to the road. When my feet hit the road, I heard a yelp of surprise. Looking up, I saw Carlos coming out of the darkness of the alley he ran run to. I grinned and sprinted off, pumping my legs as furiously as I could.
    I was a fast runner. One of the fastest in my school. I knew that there was no way Carlos could keep up, especially after having already worn himself out chasing shadows. He tried non-the-less but I quickly lost him. By sheer luck, I didn’t encounter anyone as I made it across the line, letting out a shout of triumph. I held the flag in the air, shouting that I had won the round. Adrian and three of his team came out of the shadowy streets on my side of the field where they had been madly looking for our flag to no success. Adrian didn’t look very happy. My team showed up as well. Lastly, came a panting Carlos, face flushed dark red.
    We all convened in the middle and in surprise Adrian immediately grabbed Carlos and threw him at our feet. The boy cried out.
    “No! I tried! I was by myself! There was no way I could do it by myself!”
    It was time. I licked my lips, face feeling cold. I didn’t want to do it. I’d never done anything like this before. Kill someone, that is. Carlos looked at me, eyes pleading. I’d never liked him, but still… my throat seemed to close up.
    I was the only one that hesitated on my team. They pulled out their knives and got to work—stabbing as fast and as hard as they could. My shaking hands pulled out my knife from my backpack and I kneeled down next to Carlos and he screamed out so loudly I could see which teeth in his mouth had fillings. The red-head and the basketball player were enjoying it but Sasha seemed to stab away with glazed eyes, as if she was trying to escape the moment or on drugs. I pulled my blade out right as Carlos thrashed about, blood splattering all of us. He was gripping my shirt.
    “Tate! Please man! It’s a game! It’s just a game!”
    I freaked out—he looked nightmarish; covered in blood, eyes as wide as the gates of death. I did it by instinct, stabbing my butcher knife into his mouth; slitting his tongue open like a raw sausage and biting all the way down through the back. The tip of my blade popped out the side of his neck. His scream became a violent spewing gurgle, prolonged and wet as blood overflowed the front of my shirt, his neck and chest, and spread out across the asphalt. I pulled my knife out and stood. I was sobbing. The rest of my team stood as well, wiping their blades clean on their shirts.
    Adrian gave an approving nod. “Good. Next round.”
    We hid our flag in the same spot as before: the rosebush. Blue team had never found the location and we hoped it would work out again.
    Ten minutes in and the basketball player and I were off, leaving the red-head and Sasha behind to protect the flag.
    This time I didn’t go to the backyard with the boat, instead I snuck through an alley between a house and a brick wall. It was a bad move. I nearly ran into Adrian. He shouted out in glee and pounced me before I could turn to run away. I was tagged.
    “Now you have to sit in our jail until someone on your team saves you or the round is over!” Adrian said.
    I felt like an idiot. My team was at a sore disadvantage now. Adrian led me to a pickup truck parked in front of a pink house. He had me sit on the bed across the back, open for anyone to see but difficult for anyone to get to. Adrian appointed someone to guard me and then disappeared into the night. I looked to my left, seeing another person guarding blue team’s flag which sat pinned to the cove where two wooden fences met. It was a great spot to put the flag. It was enticingly open to grab but you’d put yourself right into an inescapable corner to do so. I waited impatiently for almost fifteen minutes without anything happening. The two sentries guarding both me and the flag looking just as bored.
    Finally there was a cheer. A cheer from Adrian. My stomach sank. The sentries and I trudged back to the main intersection where we’d been meeting and stopped. Everyone was gathered and waiting on me to show up.
    “Choose, red team.” Adrian said, looking like he just wanted us to hurry up.
    My team and I looked at each other, hearts in our throats. They could choose me. I got caught, so they could choose me! I was about to have a panic attack, my breath erratic and uncoordinated.
    Both Sasha and the basketball player pointed to the red-head.
    “He let the flag get captured twice now.”
    I horridly pointed my finger to the red-head as well. Coward, you know? Just like the others he tried to run and to plead for mercy. We couldn’t give it to him. It was a game. Games were to be taken seriously.
    He died quickly unlike the toady kid. It just took a couple of stabs to end him. I think our team just wasn’t feeling it, we mostly were just mad that we now only had three players left.
    We cleaned our blades and separated for the third round. Sasha was cool with guarding by herself and so after hiding our flag off of a rain gutter, the basketball player and I ran off to capture the enemy flag. I went to the boat, deciding to not make the same mistake as last time. I climbed to the top and gazed around. I saw Adrian running straight down the road. He was doing a frontal attack. Quick and brutal. He was fast too. Maybe even a faster runner than me.
    I snuck off of the boat and hopped the fence, staying to the dark. I heard footsteps heading my direction. Multiple pairs. I threw myself into a bush, scratching my face and arms. No way was I going to their prison on top of the truck-bed again.
    It was the basketball player. He was being chased and he had the flag! I calculated how fast he was going compared to the other people. He was going to be captured before he crossed into our side! He hadn’t lied to me: he was a good runner, but not as good as me. I did something brash. I jumped out of the bush as he was passing by, nearly making him trip in fright.
    “Hand the flag to me!” I yelled.
    He looked over his shoulder, saw blue team catching up and passed the flag with a nod. I gripped it tightly and burst forward, muscles moving confidently. I outpaced all of them and burst into my zone with a yell.
    After a bit, everyone showed back up. Adrian was now looking at me in a different way. Was it respect? They chose one of their teammates at random. Like before, they were brutal animals. Adrian beheaded the kid and waved the head around, splashing blood all over themselves.
    We won the next round as well when I snuck across the rooves and found their flag behind a garden gnome. We finally lost when both the basketball player and I were captured and Sasha was left by herself against the two remaining blue players.
    We eyed each other in fear. In a move of terror and selfishness, I stabbed the basketball player without warning, choosing him. Sasha joined in and we killed him quickly. His eyes locked onto mine in anguish and betrayal before they glazed over.
    I felt bad but it was either him, me, or the hot girl. It was just bad luck.
    Two on two now. I left Sasha to guard as I made my way to the boat. I wanted to watch them cross to our side and then sneak up behind them, tagging both of them out. If I could get one more win… there’d be no way Adrian could beat us by himself. I was close! So close!
    Sitting on top of the boat I watched as two figures snuck over the road and ran quietly towards the center of our area, their heads moving around as they scanned for us and the flag. Should I go after them or the flag? They had no one protecting their side!
    I decided against it. Instead I climbed down off the boat and began to make my way after them as they headed deeper and deeper into our area. My heart hammered and my hands felt sweaty. As I drew closer and closer, I thought for sure they’d turn, spot me, and run off. But they didn’t. Eventually they spotted Sasha, partially hidden behind a car. They knew the flag was somewhere near her.
    She stepped out, arms outstretched, ready to give chase to either one. They circled around her, cat-calling and teasing as they pretended to take a step forward, faked, and doubled back. She jumped at every move they made and I could tell that they were slowly drawing her away from the flag—which they had now spotted hanging from a fire hydrant; partially camouflaged. I knew they were going to make a dash for it at any moment and decided to take action.
    I jumped out from behind the tree where I had been hiding and ran right towards Adrian. He spun on his heels, eyes widening. Sasha attacked from behind. We both tagged him out at the same time. But we were too late! The other player had used the opportunity to grab our flag! He ran as fast as he could towards his border, me giving chase with all I had.
    I was getting closer and closer, arms reaching out… fingers wiggling in the air to grab him… and he passed his border. NO!
With a yell, he jumped up and down in triumph, fists in the air. Sasha—looking ashen-faced—and Adrian—with a large grin— walked up to us.
    No! We had lost! I panicked, breath becoming gasps. It was either Sasha or I. One of us had to die. It was the rules. Only one of us would be left and at that point our chances of winning would be almost zero! No!
     “Pick Tate. Or you can, Sasha.” Adrian said with glee. “Hurry up.”
    Six bodies surrounded us on the street, mangled and crimson. Chunks of flesh and meat splattered around them like strange art. I didn’t want to die! I didn’t want Sasha to die either you know? This game, it was all this game! I chose to play!
    I looked at Sasha, she was gripping her knife tightly. She wouldn’t go down without a fight. But I couldn’t kill her! I wouldn’t! Yet I didn’t want to die! Not yet! I had so much to live for!
    I pulled out my knife and Sasha tensed.
    The game!
    It was the game and the game was serious and un-fun and it meant death and it went beyond normal reasoning and… But we played the game because games were meant to be played. Winners and losers, champions and failures.
    I made up my mind. Narrowing my eyes and clenching my jaw, I took a deep breath. I spun and stabbed my knife down. But not at Sasha. At Adrian. My knife sunk deep into his shoulder, wedging into bone. He howled and screeched, trying to throw me off of him. Sasha lunged out and attacked the other boy. He was in so much shock, he didn’t even dodge. The blade bit right into his throat. She was on top of him, stabbing and making these strange animal noises.
I pushed myself on top of Adrian and he fell backwards under my weight.
    “Cheater! You cheated! You cheated the game!” he screeched out like a wild cat.
    I pulled my blade out with effort and sunk it back into his chest. Sasha joined me and we both took turns disemboweling the screaming psychopath. He punched and bit and bled all over. He reached out and grabbed my face with an iron grip.
    “You suck Tate! You suck!” he yowled.
    I slammed my knife through his eye and his body went limp.
    Standing and trying to catch my breath, I looked to Sasha. She stood as well and gave me a nod. Smiling, she ran off into the dark. She took both the flags as trophies. Not fair.
    I sighed and grabbed my backpack, putting both my flashlight and knife away. It had been a scary first game. Harrowing. But still, I had loved it and now, now I was addicted you know? That terrifying rush. Horrible and glorious. I think I had wet myself.
    I walked home slowly, enjoying the night air. My body quivered. Tomorrow the whole school would know I’d won. No one would suspect I’d cheated. Sasha wouldn’t tell. I knew she wouldn’t. Maybe I’d host the next game myself you know? That’d be cool.