Page 67 of Fated
We walked around to the front of the building, where a simple metal door marked the only entrance. Above it, a sign caught my attention. My face lit up as excitement buzzed through me.
The Game Zone.
Ash smiled, clearly enjoying my reaction. I couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across my face as adrenaline pumped through my veins. This was perfect.
He opened the door for me, and I stepped inside. The lights were dimmed but neon strips lined the ceiling, casting a colorful glow over the room. Music blared from the speakers, drowning out the sounds of laughter, cheering, and what sounded like bowling pins crashing in the background. Just a few feet ahead, there was a counter with a boy working behind it.
A glowing sign above his head read:The Splatter Zone.
As we strolled past, my eyes darted from one game area to the next, excitement building with each step. I stopped and stared at the Rolling Zone,which resembled a bowling alley. Right beside it was the Dart Zone where players stood in front of half walls, throwing darts at rotating targets. As each target filled up with darts, a mechanism would flatten the board, dropping the darts to the ground before a machine quickly gathered them and returned them to the players.
I peered through the window of a door labeledNetball,catching a glimpse of players locked in a fast-paced battle, trying to score by throwing a ball into the opposing team’s net.
Room after room revealed more games, each more thrilling than the last, but before I could take it all in, I heard someone shouting.
“Areeeeeeeeeeeya, you made it!” Keo threw his arm around my shoulder as if we were lifelong friends. “Pretty great, huh?”
I was grinning from ear to ear, fully embracing the gaming nerd I was. “I love it, Keo!”
Fin slowly made his way behind his brother, a shy smile on his lips.
Without even thinking, I spun and flung my arms around Ash’s neck, hugging him. His body slightly stiffened under the unexpected hug.
“This is amazing, Ash! I can’t believe you planned this for me.”
Slowly, his body relaxed, his arms wrapping around my waist, hugging me back.
I turned back to Keo and Fin, doing my best to contain my enthusiasm.
“We already bought your tickets for splatter ball,” Keo said, bouncing on his toes like an overexcited puppy. “We’ve got thirtyminutes until our game starts, but we can do target practice until then.” He handed me two tickets.
“Yeah, ok, let’s do it!” I was practically vibrating with excitement, fighting the urge to jump up and down the way Keo was. Ash stood back, watching with a bemused look, clearly entertained by my show of exuberance.
We made our way back to the front of the Splatter Zone, handing our tickets to the attendant and stepping through the door. Inside, we found ourselves in a large open room, with rows at one end, similar to those in the Dart Zone.
Players stood behind half-walls, shooting at moving targetswith guns that shot colored balls.
As the balls hit their marks, they splattered in bright bursts of paint.
“Oh, my God, it’s paintball!” I yelled, turning to Keo and Fin, who looked at me curiously.
“Where I’m from, we have something similar, but it’s called paintball.”
At the opposite end of the room, rows of one-piece uniforms hung on hooks alongside vests, guns, and protective eyewear. I turned back toward the targets, watching as a guy shot at the four moving targets in front of him. Once shot, the targets would disappear somewhere below to be replaced by new ones dropping from above. Excitement coursed through me, my fingers itching to grab a gun. I was entirely in my element.
Fin led us over to the walls of uniforms, and I wasted no time gearing up. In fact, I was the first one ready. Once everyone else was ready too, we headed to the last lane of targets.
“A little warm-up before we go into the arena.” Keo grinned as he stepped in front of the lane of freshly moving targets, four in total.
He lifted his gun, taking a moment to line up his shot. His first landed just shy of the center, and his second attempt missed the target altogether.
With a determined frown, he tried again and managed to hit the target, though he was two rings from center. His third shot was a bullseye, and his last barely grazed the target’s edge.
Next up was Fin, who studied the targets for a moment before taking his stance.
His first shot hit dead center, the second a few inches from the bullseye, and he missed the third. Unfazed, he lined up another shot and hit center once again, then his last shot hit a few inches left of center. He lowered his gun with a triumphant smile.
“Show off,” Keo muttered under his breath.
