The guys and I had been talking about it all week.  A fun-filled weekend of Airsoft wars and hanging out.  I was all packed.  All of my equipment was stuffed into an olive green duffel bag, and I had my Airsoft gun in one of my dad’s rifle cases.  My phone wouldn’t stop buzzing to notify me off all the excitement in a group message that the guys and I had made.  We were going to Myron’s cabin about 30 minutes away from Amery, where we all lived. 

We all met at Myron’s house, and made piles of our equipment on his deck that needed to be loaded in the cars.  There were 12 of us: me, Myron, Bergen, Mitchell, Zach, Cam, Alex, Ryan, CJ, Cory, Connor, and Jake.  All of the moms met and talked, while all of us played a game of pig in the driveway.  After the moms left, we packed the cars and were off for Myron’s cabin.

Before I knew it, we arrived.  We immediately unpacked our guns and camouflage.  The sun beat down on us and gave life to the vibrant-colored greens in the woods.  We set up all our equipment on a picnic table under a small roof next to the cabin.  I put on sweatpants and a sweatshirt.  Even though it was hot out, I wanted to be protected because I knew how much an Airsoft BB hurts when it hits me.  I loaded my gun’s magazine to the very top and said I was ready to go.  Most everyone else was too, so we started to pick teams.  The teams were divided into six and six.  My team was to go out first and hide, so the opposing team would come find us. 

My team started to walk down the trail into the woods.  The first turn reached, we blended in among the trees.  Mitchell and I were set straight off the curve, in the ferns.  Bergen and Myron lay right before the curve in the woods, in case the enemies tried to run back from the direction in which they came.  Zach and Ryan lay right the curve, in case the enemies tried to run away farther down the trail.  Laying on the ground, Mitchell and I covered ourselves with mud and plants.  We all fell dead silent, so I could hear my heart beating and the blood throbbing through the veins in my body.  I was breathing hard from walking in the hot sun.  I tried to hold my breath to match the silence of the nature around me, but it did no use.  My eyes met Mitchell’s eyes, and we smiled because we suddenly heard the approaching voices in the distance.  “Here they come”, he whispered.  As they got closer, I checked to see that my gun was off safety, ready to attack.  Bodies slowly came into sight.  I saw Connor, then Cory, and then the rest had followed.  After most of them had followed the turn, Jake walked right into my sights and there was no way I could miss him.  Boom.  I pulled the trigger and my guys opened fire on the single file line that stood on the trail.  At first, the other team didn’t even know where we were, but then I then stood up along with the rest of my team.  The opposition tried to escape every which way, each one being pelted with BBs going up to 550 feet per second.  The first round was an easy win for my team. 

Both teams walked back towards the cabin and regathered at the picnic table.  After we all had reloaded, we were ready to set out for another round.  Myron’s dad announced that he had the grill fired up and would have hot dogs and hamburgers ready for us when we got back.  That got us motivated to make it a quick round, because we were all starving.  Everyone agreed that the teams were fair, so we just switched sides.  The other team admitted that our tactic had worked, so they set out to hide first this time.  We waited five minutes to let them set up.  When the time came, Myron announced that we should head out. 

Myron led us down the same trail that we started our ambush on.  Bergen followed up the rear, watching our backs in case they tried to flank us from behind.  We soon came up on the first turn in the trail up ahead, and we were on high alert.  I peered into the trees where my team once hid and there was no one waiting to attack, so we moved on farther down the trail.  Up ahead, the trail split and a small, plastic hunting blind laid between the new openings.  The window facing us was wide open, so we suspected someone to be in there.  Three of us, crouching as we walked, got on both sides of the trail.  No one spoke a word until we were close enough to conclude that there wasn’t anyone in the blind.  We knew this only because if there were someone in it, we would’ve been shot well before we reached it to find out. 

We finally reached the second curve in the wooded trial.  It continued straight, and also turned to the left.  I followed Myron and Bergen to the left, while Zach, Ryan, and Mitchell continued straight.  I looked to my right into the heavily vegetated brush, and thought that it would be a good spot to hide in.  It was so secluded and hidden in fact that I decided to look further off the trail.  I thought that if I was lucky I would discover some spots to remember for the next round. 

As I looked under the tree cover, my eyes caught glimpse of a pair of Cory’s sunglasses about 10 feet away.  I honestly thought he hung them on a tree and left them there, until I noticed a wide smile of teeth and I realized the sunglasses were on Cory’s head.  I knew that the rest of the enemy was nearby, but I didn’t dare look for them, in fear of getting ambushed.  I tried to act like I didn’t see him and it worked.  I played it off, but I knew if I raised my gun towards him, he would get me first.  I could feel the adrenaline pumping so fast through me and the sweat dripping off my nose.  It was so hard to fake that I couldn’t see him, I wanted to burst out laughing just knowing that I was stupid enough to give him this opportunity.  I decided that what I did next was my best option in getting out of this situation “alive.”  I screamed “They’re here!”, and then ran as fast as I could in the mud that covered the trail.  My arms ached as I turned to lift my heavy gun to shoot into the woods while still sprinting.  Myron and Bergen trailed behind with the sound of the electric Airsoft rifles firing everywhere at us.  Now, this may sound weird, but there’s something addicting about the excitement of being in danger, and having it simulated in a non-dangerous way.  In that moment and those to follow, I realized that was one of the reasons why we all participated in Airsoft battles, besides feeling like the glorified military heroes that everyone looks up to in the action movies.  We continued sprinting down the trail to the next curve.  I looked back just in time to see the other three of my guys being captured, after being shot.  I kept my pace up and didn’t look back.  Once I realized that I was alone, I stopped and turned around.  I saw Myron and Bergen waving me to go back to the cabin.  I thought to myself, “Those suckers must’ve been shot.”  Then, they yelled that I had been hit too! I realized that in all the excitement I didn’t even notice if any BBs had hit my body or not.  They said I was getting pelted with them as I was running.  Dang.  My team headed back, and once again it was a win for the team that set up the ambush. 

Returning out of the opening of the trail back to the cabin, my mouth watered as I smelled the grilled meat ready for feasting.  We all had to clear the picnic table of our guns, cases, BBs, and the rest of our equipment.  “I hope you boys are hungry”, Myron’s dad said.  The table was the only place where we could sit and enjoy the once hot, now cool summer air on a beautiful night.  Myron’s parents brought out platters piled high with hot dogs, hamburgers, and huge bowls of corn and watermelon.  It was the perfect summer meal.  We washed down our parched throats with multiple cans of Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew.  It was the best feeling to have the cold, sweet soda after a long day in the humid summer air.

I proposed the idea that we could get a quick round in before the light of the sun would vanish for the night to come.  Everyone agreed, so we chose to play a round of capture the flag.  We gathered in the square-foot acre food plot right next to the cabin.  The field contained a few trees and a trailer that was used to haul four-wheelers.  Luckily, since everyone was much closer in range to each other, everyone had a brought a low-powered pistol that would only sting a bit if hit with one of the BBs.  I loaded mine up feeling at an advantage because my pistol had a larger capacity than any of the other guy’s guns.  Each team had been provided with “flags”, which were actually old dish towels that Myron’s mom was going to throw out.  The teams hid them in their bounds of the field, and we lined up to start the game.  Everyone yelled in cadence, “1…2…3…GO!”  We all sprinted at each other, shooting and screaming.  I decided to run to the right, into the cover of some pine trees.  Luckily, no one saw me and I immediately started to search for the flag.  I found it in a matter of seconds.  It was halfway under a rock.  I picked it up, and started running towards my team’s area.  Everyone else had once been busy shooting each other that they didn’t notice me sneak around.   I’m not very fast so I didn’t make it back in time.  I was being shot at from behind, and I got hit at least 10 times.  I was the last one alive, so my team was defeated, once again.

After we were done, Myron’s mom wanted to take a picture.  I decided to quickly go to the bathroom before, so I headed to the outhouse.  Now for some reason, the outhouse at the cabin had a lock on the outside, not the inside.  So of course, all the guys locked me in once I got in there.  “Let me out!” I yelled.  I figured they would’ve just unlocked it when they went to go pose for the picture, so I wasn’t too worried.  Once I was done, I tried the door.  It was still locked.  I looked out the small window to find my friends all ready for their picture to be captured, but Myron’s mom noticed I was missing.  I started knocking on the window but no one could hear it.  I could hear her ask “Where’s Bennett?”  What I saw next made me laugh out loud; everyone looked at each other with guilt knowing that they had forgotten about me in the locked outhouse.  They ran over to the outhouse laughing about what happened.  When they opened the door, I said “Oh, hey guys”, and we all burst out laughing. 

After the picture, we all gathered around the fire to roast marshmallows.  In that moment, while we stuffed our faces with s’mores, I looked into the starlit sky.  I was surrounded by my friends on a beautiful summer night.  This moment felt perfect, and I wanted to cherish it forever.