Round 1 Action

The Tournament

Round 1 Kurt Shilling (offense) vs Leo Rameriz (defense)

1-30-2035

Leo Rameriz was running.

It was a moonless night, so the woods around him were dark. He moved between the bushes and trees nearly soundlessly. He was in great shape and not even breathing hard yet.

He had a silenced automatic in his right hand and his woodsman knife in his left hand. The disc, that would prove his innocence, was in his shirt pocket with the flap buttoned to prevent it from bouncing out as he ran.

A wolf broke through the woods to his left and darted for him with uncanny intelligence. As he turned towards the sound, the wolf leaped. Leo shot it in the air. The wolf yelped, twisted in the air, and hit the ground a twisting, whining lump.

Leo hurdled it and kept running. Cryodyne's genetic experiments had evidently had more success than he'd heard or would have believed. If they could train wolves to hunt on command, then maybe all the rumors he'd heard about them were true.

Another wolf appeared from the right, too close to bring his gun up and hope to aim well enough. Leo hit the ground, rolled on his back, and stuck his knife up. The wolf was on him just as he wedged his knife arm against the ground. The wolf hit the knife just below it's throat. Its paws clawed at him and it twisted futilely.

Leo rolled over, forcing the wolf on its back. He got to his feet, jerked the knife out of the wolf, leaped over it, and resumed running.

He could hear two more wolves behind him. Not nipping at his heels, but within twenty feet. If another came from one side or the other they would slow him enough for the two pursuers to jump him. He couldn't allow that.

Leo topped a slight hill and increased his speed on the other side. After five seconds, he threw himself to the ground, spun around, and trained his pistol at the top of the hill he'd just passed through.

The two wolves raced into sight. They saw him way too late. Leo dispatched them with well aimed bullets, one to each wolf's brain pan.

Then he was up again. As he ran, Leo calculated how much further he had to go before he reached the boat. Probably no more than three minutes.

He reached another small hill and topped it. He was breathing a little harder now. At the top he was brought to a stop by the sight before him. Beyond the hillcrest was a gradual decline to the ocean shore. Bobbing two dozen yards out was his boat, still anchored. But between him and the shoreline was a wolfpack at least ten strong. They were lined up side by side, completely blocking his path to the boat unless he wanted to stray from his narrow trail into the thick undergrowth.

He shot a look behind him. He knew Cryodyne's chief of security, Kurt Shilling, was following. He wasn't nearly as fast as Leo, and he'd have his rifle with him, but he was coming. The wolves were the least of Leo's worries.

And it wasn't like he could lie in wait for Kurt. The wolves would either betray his position or overrun him if he tried an ambush.

Leo had to get through the wolf line and he had to do it now.

He started down the hill, both weapon hands ready.

The wolves tightened up. Their fur bristled and they showed their teeth. He thought he heard a couple growls. But other than that, they waited for Leo with very professional and unwolflike patience.

When he closed within five yards he began firing. Two wolves in the middle of the line were thrown back. The rest charged him en masse. His mind couldn't get over their behavior. Normal wolfpacks would try to harass him into exhaustion, rarely did they charge like the calvary. Leo fired again, cutting down another one. Then the rest were on him.

Leo kicked one, stabbed another, and pistol whipped a third. But two more went for his ankles, sending him crashing to the ground. He softened his fall with his knife hand, knowing if he lost the pistol he was dead.

The remaining wolves drew in, loving that he was now on his back. Leo fired at the two going for his face and throat. Two more seized his ankles and a third tore a chunk of flesh from his right thigh. That was okay. But the two going for his arms had to be taken out now. Leo curled his left arm under his back to protect it from the wolf on that side and fired at the one going for his right arm.

Even as that wolf's face evaporated, Leo twisted around and shoved his pistol into the open mouth of the one on his left still trying to get that arm. He fired again.

The only three left seemed to realize attacking his legs wasn't going to get it done. One went for his groin and the other two for his throat. Leo rolled onto his back to protect his groin, found the knife with his left hand, and shot the left charging wolf. The one on the right reached his neck and sank its teeth in.

He was out of position to shoot it, so he slashed its eyes with his knife. The wolf yelped and instinctively backed away from the hurtful knife. Leo blew its brains out for its trouble. So their programming or intelligence or whatever wasn't all inclusive.

The final wolf, frustrated with trying to get to his balls, leaped for his throat. Leo shot it in mid air and rolled away before it landed where he had just been.

Leo leaped to his feet, testing his ankles. They would get him to the water. He shot a look at the top of the hill. Kurt was just appearing, bearing his telescope equipped rifle. Leo emptied his pistol that direction, noting the security chief throwing himself to the ground.

Then Leo was tossing aside the pistol and running to the water. When the water was at his knees he threw himself forward and started swimming. Water began splashing around him, followed by several rifle reports.

Leo took a deep breath and dived under. The shore bottom fell away quickly so he found himself ten feet under even though he was only about 30 feet from the shore. He couldn't see but could sense bullets racing past on all sides of him, but he wasn't hit.

Almost free! If he could reach the boat and start the engine, he would be out of Kurt's range in less than a minute.

The air in his lungs was stale. He had to surface. Hopefully he'd be close to the boat. He didn't think Kurt would follow him into the water, but he switched his knife to his right hand just in case.

Leo's head broke the surface a mere five feet from his boat. Two powerful strokes and he was there. He could hear Kurt reloading his rifle behind him. That meant two things, both good. Kurt wasn't following him into the water, and Leo had time to get aboard, drop the anchor line, and start the engine. Excellent.

Leo lifted himself up and swung his sore, bleeding legs into the boat. He still had the knife and he used it now to cut through the anchor line. Then he tossed the blade aside and made his way to the aft. A glance at the shore told him Kurt had finished reloading. He could barely see the man in this gloom, so he would be our of range very quickly.

Kurt fired, but he was way off. Leo turned his back on the security chief and placed his thumb on the starter. It read his print and the engine purred to life. Leo grabbed the steering wedge, about to use it to turn the boat around so he could get the hell out of here.

Something plucked at his neck. It felt like a mosquito bite. Funny, they didn't bite after dark ... did they?

Then he heard the delayed rifle report. And felt the shower of blood soaking his shirt. He had to get down.

And then he was flying off the boat. Leo heard another shot, his coup de grace, right before he hit the water.

A shudder passed through the world...

Leo opened his eyes. His memories were returning, driving away his false wounds. "Wow." He muttered. "So close."

"Yes, you were." Kurt commented. He was already beside the game bed. "I thought I'd lost you."

"Good scenario." Leo replied. "The wolves were a nice touch."

The reporters were washing over them now, thrilled that Kurt, their darling because of his impending death, had won again. The longer he remained in the Tournament, the higher ratings his games would receive.

Leo rolled off the other side, not surprised that not a single reporter followed him from the room.

He wondered if Alyson had seen this match.

Home

Julie Amore (offense) vs Kurt Devore (defense)

Blake Ezor (offense) vs Damien Johnson (defense)

Alyson Kerrigan (offense) vs Gabrielle Sallor (defense)

Roland Windom (offense) vs Katya Floski (defense)

Anne Layden (offense) vs Harry Brown (defense)

Sissy Crydom (offense) vs Eli Vaquez (defense)

Kim Jong (offense) vs Max Fields (defense)

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