The car was jam packed, with Jackson in the passenger seat up front, while Sachin, Eddie, and Marcus were in the back. The windows were down, and the wind whipping by carried the last smells of spring. A thrumming bass, and rapid-fire drumbeat escaped out into the world, along with the boys' chatter. None of them had figured out Tommy's plan, even after knowing it required them all coming out to a national reserve called Greenhood. But they had their own surprise for Tommy.
It wasn't his car they were riding in, but Mr Woods' instead. Jackson, knowing Tommy was intentionally trying to keep him away from teaming with the rest of the Titans, couldn't think of anyone better than his dad to be the final member of his team… well, maybe he would've preferred Jasmine, but even after their discussion, they hadn't gotten back on speaking terms. At least she was talking with Steph and her girl friends.
When they reached the carpark—a last touch of civilisation before the great expanse of wilderness—Tommy's car was the only one waiting for them. The man himself was leaning against it, and looked surprised to see his father's station wagon roll into view. His shock didn't last long, soon replaced with a knowing grin; Jackson's idea had worked, and it'd been a good one.
Yet he couldn't focus on that. Tommy was alone. Did that mean he really was just going to play referee or mediator during whatever he had planned? Or maybe he was going to join one side and give them the man advantage. Had Jackson just doomed his side by bringing his dad into it?
Tommy welcomed them all with hugs or fist-bumps. 'You guys made it! Didn't have any trouble getting lost?'
William laughed, embracing his son. 'Who do you think showed you this spot, son? It'll be the others you have to worry about getting lost.'
'You didn't pick them up?' Jackson asked.
'Pick who up?' Tommy asked. 'I don't know who's on Kenny's team.'
The boys exchanged looks; Sachin and Marcus breathed sighs of relief, though Jackson and Eddie's fears weren't so easily assuaged. It sounded like Tommy wasn't going to be on Kenny's team, but that didn't mean he wasn't up to something, and if he wasn't simply going to join Kenny's team, then that something was probably even more nefarious.
'Aye, what did you drag us out here all the way to fuck knows where for?' Sachin asked.
William clicked his tongue. 'Language, Sachin. I know your mother raised you better than that.'
The boy mumbled a quick apology, then waited expectantly for Tommy's answer, as did the others.
Tommy grinned, and shook his head. 'Nope. I can't ruin the surprise just yet. We've got to wait for everyone else to get here first.'
His answer was met with groans, which only broadened his smile; his father wore a sly smile of his own, leaving no room to doubt where Tommy got his sadistic love for surprises.
'You are cruel, my boy. Not even a hint?'
Again, Tommy shook his head, his smile never wavering.
'You suck,' Jackson said, drawing a laugh from his older brother; the rest of the boys agreed.
The wait for the others was nerve-racking. The surprises had doubled up. Not only did Jackson have what Tommy was potentially doing gnawing at his mind, there was still the overarching mystery of just why they were out in the woods in the first place. Did Tommy have some kind of obstacle course set up for them? But why would they need teams? Jackson's imagination was running wild. Even if it was something horrible, knowing would be better, because then he could stop imagining even worse possibilities.
The others arriving at least distracted him for a little while. Kenny, Freddy, Shane, Rudy, and even Pete were all dropped off by their folks close together.
More greetings were exchanged, though each new boy that arrived was surprised to see Mr Woods there as well, and they all had the same question afterwards—who was on Jackson's team? Most thought Tommy had been tricking them the whole time and was part of Jackson's team, and were further surprised (and a little worried) to find out the final member was Mr Woods instead.
As the two teams stood off from one another, Kenny and Jackson shared a look. There was only a hint of friendliness in it. Despite this being a game between friends, it was still a competition. It wasn't a direct confrontation on the gridiron, but Tommy knew as well as anyone what they were all training for. Whoever won this contest, would establish themselves as the favourite to earn that illustrious varsity spot after the summer. Both Kenny and Jackson were determined to prove they were at the front of the pack.
'Hey,' Rudy said, cutting through the budding tension, 'what the hell are we doing out here?'
'Sorry,' Tommy responded, 'like I said to everyone who asked before you. We have to wait until everyone's here before I reveal the surprise.'
Those words set off a buzz of chatter. What did he mean they still had to wait? Wasn't everyone here? Some looked around for a missing member, though found none. Maybe Mr Woods had been joking when he said he was a part of Jackson's team, and was really just another moderator, or referee, or whatever it was Tommy was going to do. And then another car pulled into the lot. A few of them recognised the grey pick-up after a moment.
The men who stepped out were varying degrees of large. Carter looked bigger than before, like the former QB had been hitting the gym again since they last saw him. The others were all strangers to even Jackson. Only William recognised them.
'Pulling out the big guns, eh, Tommy?' William said as he strode forward, greeting the other young men. Each one, aside from Carter, hugged him and greeted him with one word—coach.
Of course they were Tommy's teammates. Most of them would've had to been third-stringers like Tommy, except… taking a longer look at the tallest of the bunch, who had blue curls so dark they were almost black falling down to his chest, and kept out of his face only by a headband. Jackson recognised him as Gabe Little, the backup TE for ASU, and the man one spot ahead of Tommy on the Sun Devils' depth chart. Maybe this wasn't a test for Jackson alone.
Gabe was like a lion in human form. Big, but not overly bulky, and a hairy bastard to boot.
Beside him the other two new teammates were shorter, though they were still closer to Shane's height than Jackson's.
Darren Coleman, a Safety, had a strangely relaxed look. It reminded Jackson of water that was too still, the kind that hid a predator just beneath the surface, waiting for unwary prey to get too close. His laxness contrasted with his sharp, clean shaven jaw, his crew cut hairstyle, and the tight black gloves he wore.
Jared Goldsmith—a LB, and the shortest of the group, though also the widest—looked like he could've come straight out of a mob movie as one of the silent goons, with a name like "Tiny". He was a barrel of a man, with a thick, square head, though he moved with an ease and bounce that didn't fit his size.
While his teammates were still greeting and catching up with "Coach Woods", and the younger boys were still reeling from the new shock, Tommy moved over to his car, retrieving a backpack from his trunk. He let the shock dissipate a little further before he cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention back to himself.
'Thank you all for coming here at my behest today. For some of you this was a little more sudden and out-of-the-blue than others, and I really appreciate your willingness to help me out.'
'No worries, Tommy,' Carter said, smiling.
'But, I'm sure you're all—or most of you anyway—are itching to finally learn what it is we're doing out here.'
'You didn't tell them?' Gabe said, laughing. 'Aw dude, that's just like you, Tommy.'
'You told them but not us? Bruh!'
Tommy laughed again. 'Do you wanna hear what I have to say or keep complaining about having to wait this long? No? Okay, good. Today, we're going to play capture the flag.'
Tommy unzipped his backpack, then upended it. Two small, triangular flags fell out, one red, the other blue. Along with them, however, came a matching set of red and blue sashes, as well as five black ones.
'You've already got your teams. The red flag will go to Jackson, my dad, and the boys, meanwhile team Titans can take the blue flag. The game'll be pretty simple, with a few fun wrinkles, but your main objective is to secure both flags at once. Whichever side does so will be the winner, but if there's no winner before dark, then everybody loses.
'How you get those flags… well, physical confrontation won't be in your best interest. You see, the first wrinkle, is you'll be wearing your own personal flags'—he held up both a red, and a blue sash—'and if your flag gets stolen, you're out of the game. Who are the black sashes for? That's where my team comes in. See, we won't be part of the game, not really. We can't win or lose, but we're here to shake things up, and keep things interesting. Think of us as predators, stalking our prey. We'll be watching, and waiting. If we see someone lagging behind, or a team that's being too cautious and boring, then we'll go hunting. If we snag one of your flags, you're out. Of course, you can take our flags and eliminate us, too.
'Whoever loses a flag will return to the cars, and if a whole team is eliminated, they're out, and the last team standing wins. So not only will winning this game have to do with who's stronger, faster, and has better endurance, but the winning side will also need mental fortitude, and great planning. Do you go for the team flag? Or eliminate them one-by-one? The key to victory is strategy.'
Freddy raised a hand, and Tommy nodded, permitting him to speak. 'Do the teams get to choose where to put their flags? How far away can we run?… Wh-What if we get lost?'
'Great questions, but don't worry, the woods are big, but our playing area won't be THAT large. Going north, once you start to hear running water, that's when you stop, no need to get any closer to the river and waterfall. East, there'll be a bunch of rock formations eventually, most especially one that looks like a giant dragon's head, and the ground itself will get a bit more uneven and craggy, stop there. South, we've obviously got the carpark here, and west you'll start seeing much larger trees with darker bark—the black cherries—and that's where you'll stop. As for your flags, well, yes, the team's will get to decide. We can say red is in the west, and blue in the east, other than that, it's up to you.
'If there's no other questions, come get your flags.'
Everyone moved forward. Mr Woods gathered up the red flags and handed them out, Tommy did the same for his friends with the black flags, likewise Kenny for the blue Titans. Nobody had questions immediately, but there were plenty of concerned and thoughtful faces.
'I got one,' Sachin said. 'When are we starting? Like could I just grab everybody's shit right now?'
'Sachin, please,' Mr Woods said, exasperated.
'Oh, oh, and how will we even know it's over? What if somebody's just stuck hiding thinking they need to protect the flag, and the game's been over for an hour?'
'Afraid you gonna be hiding out here all night, chica?' Pete asked, drawing some chuckles from the other Titans.
'Settle down,' Tommy said. 'They're good questions. No, we won't be starting now. I'll give you about thirty minutes or so to plan. Plus, I've got a nice whistle with me, should be loud enough'—from another pocket of the backpack he retrieved a whistle and gave it a blow; its loud shrill cry caused a few people to cover their ears—'and that'll signal the start and end of the game.'
Kenny scratched one of his ears, frowning. 'How are you gonna be watching? What if someone cheats and snags a flag after theirs has already been taken?'
'We all know each other, so we should be able to work on the honour system. Yes this is a game, but more than winning, this is about challenging yourself. There's no challenge if you're just going to cheat, right?'
Most nodded along, though Pete, Kenny, and Rudy glanced at Sachin, suspicion filling their eyes.
'Bruh.' He flipped them off. 'I ain't no cheater.'
Tommy chuckled. 'But us predators WILL be watching anyway, so even if there's a mixup between who got whose flag first in the moment, we'll sort it out.'
Shane raised a hand. 'You're acting like you'll be able to cover the whole forest, but there's only five of you.'
Darren chuckled and grinned. 'Don't worry. We can, and we will. These eyes of mine will see EVERYTHING in that forest. So somebody will ALWAYS be watching. Believe that.'
Tommy looked around the group again. Most others seemed satiated by the questions and answers, but Jackson was still contemplating something. 'What's up, Jackie?'
'Uh, I was just wondering about the flag. The TEAM flag. Does it have to be planted somewhere and stay there for the whole game? Or can it be moved around by the defending team.'
'It can be moved or planted, it's up to you to decide how best to defend your own flag. Do note, that if somebody's personal flag is taken while they're carrying the team flag, they'll have to drop it immediately.'
'It seems we've got all the rules understood,' Mr Woods said, 'but what about an emergency? I know we won't be trying to hurt each other, and there won't be any punches or nothing silly like that, but accidents can still happen, and this terrain can have all sorts of pitfalls and tripping hazards. What's gonna happen if and when somebody gets hurt?'
'We'll stop the game immediately, Dad. If somebody's hurt, give a shout, and we'll call off the game right away. That's another thing about us always watching, we'll see if someone's injured. Your phones should work here at the carpark, though the signal gets choppy in the woods.'
Mr Woods nodded approval, and after that, no-one had anymore questions. Jackson looked around. A lot of people were still deep in contemplation. Though now he had to wonder how many were worrying about getting hurt out here. He'd be lying if he said the scenario didn't pop up in his own head.
'Alright teams! I suggest you split up, get familiar with your territory, and come up with a game plan. Your thirty minutes start now.'
Kenny jogged into the forest, heading east, and the rest of team Titans followed after him. Shane gave one last look back at his opponents, and wished them luck.
Jackson watched Freddy's back disappear into the woods. Instead of being the weakest link, as he was physically—though he had grown tremendously over the year—Jackson suspected Freddy would be team Titans secret weapon as a strategist.
Darren and Jared ventured off after team Titans, while Carter and Gabe moved closer to Jackson's team, following them into the western side of the woods.
The forest was expansive and wild, though spacious. Sure there were waist-high bushes to look out for with thorns that could snag your shirt, and beneath that there were roots looking to snag your feet, but there were also plenty of wide paths that would make for easy enough running and chasing. The ground was stable, if a little uneven, but it wasn't rocky in their area. Sadly, there weren't many leaves or branches covering the ground, so there wouldn't be much of a natural alarm to warn them of intruders, yet that also meant they could sneak and hide well themselves. It smelled fresh, but old. Spring was nearing its end, but for this forest, it was but one of another cycle they'd seen thousands of times before. Despite its proximity to a road and carpark, the place still felt so untouched.
The further west they went, the more close together the trees grew, and just before they reached the point of transition, where massive black cherries started popping up and barring their way like a packed crowd of skyscrapers, they came upon a clearing. They stopped, and Jackson turned to the others. It seemed as good a place as any to begin planning.
Mr Woods quietened as the boys started strategising. He took a step back, and looked intently around the area, ingraining it further into his memory.
'Alright, so imma take the team flag, and then I can just throw off anyone who tries to take it from me,' Sachin said.
'They'll just take your little flag, man,' Marcus said, 'then you'll be out and we'll all be fucked.'
'What if you take it instead?' Eddie said to Marcus. 'No-one's gonna catch you, then the rest of us can focus on getting their flags.'
'That's not gonna work either,' Jackson said, frowning. 'They'll end up cornering him, or wearing him down.'
'Okay, bro. What if I take it instead? I'll have the best stamina here, I'm sure.'
'No. You're still thinking too small. We can't run forever, and we can't fight them off, either. One person isn't going to win this on their own. We have to be smarter about this and work together as a team.'
'How do we do that then?' Sachin asked.
What kind of plan could they use in a game like capture the flag? Jackson wondered. That was the conundrum facing them all. Were the Titans handling it any better? What if they weren't even thinking about defending but only of attacking. Maybe that was the clue? They were all offensive players, right? Yet everyone had to play both sides last year. Maybe this game was supposed to remind them that while they had a duty to both attack and defend, attacking was the more important part, and the path to victory.
Yet they still couldn't leave the flag all alone. All attack and no defence wasn't the way to win games. Not this one, and definitely not football. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
It wasn't the sound of a twig snapping, or leaves rustling that made him look up. It was the opposite in fact. Everything was much too quiet. Looking around, he noticed Carter and Gabe had faded from view. Before he could call out to them, and before he could ask the others what they'd come up with for a strategy, a whistle broke the silence.
The game was afoot, and Jackson was without a plan.