Capture the Flag

The branches scratched my skin as I hoisted myself up the wall. Legs dangling, I pushed my palms down hard onto the bricks and felt my muscles working, breathing. My knees scratched against the surface as they swung on top of the wall. Before a whimper could exit my mouth, I bit down on my lips. Silent. No noise.

The wind was stiff and my mouth was dry from all the running. I crouched in place, ignoring the red dribble trickling down my leg. The sidewalk ahead was vaguely lit by a lamppost and the famous blue button was just down the block, but I didn't register any of that. I was too busy listening.

A branch cracked. Twigs broken underneath a foot. My head jerked up; I was alert, aware. I scanned my surroundings, looking for the slightest bit of movement and there he was behind a tree. Stealthy, like always, he jumped away before I my legs thought to move. He knew I was there and I could either wait for him to find me, or I could run.

The flag hung across the street on the second story of the business building. I chose to run.

-----

Every other Saturday night we met up. To others we must have looked like a cult, a group of hoodlums, all wearing black, but really we were college students reclaiming our youths. The same blue and red flags were used every time - large and bright against our dark clothes and the dimly lit campus. We designated areas early on and knew the boundaries - nothing was out of bounds, but what was the point of running to the theatre building when we were playing on the east side of campus? Two buildings were bases, two buildings held the jails and the flags. We divided the teams, chose defense and offense. We had rules.

There was Chris, solid as a statue when he hid in public view, who never feared jumping from buildings. John, who ran faster than anyone else. Me, the girl who didn't mind climbing ropes or the sides of buildings. And Joe, who wasn't crazy in the way that made you scared, but in the way that made you want to follow him and his insane scheme all the way to the end, just to see what happened. It started as a game, but sometimes became serious, scary. Some were into it more than others and some were taunted by outside observers. But the outside world didn't always register. Not when faced with a flag.

-----

I jumped from the wall and ducked behind the tree, ignoring the white lines dug into my arms. I heard him turn; it was now or never. I snuck around the tree to an opening, trying to make myself as small as possible. And then I heard the noise.

Quite at first, whispers and nudging. Then it got louder.

"Hey. Hey you, why are you hiding?"

"Yeah, why aren't you over here with us?"

"Who're you with?"

"You don't need to hide from us."

"We just want to have some fun."

My body tensed up and I quickly looked behind me. Down the hill, not far, were two guys standing by a car. I closed my eyes. When playing the game in grade school it ended with high-fives and tears. We didn't understand fear other than the boogie man; we didn't know there were worse things than losing. Naively, I still wanted to live like that. But I couldn't anymore. Much like the flag, invisible to my eyes at the moment, waiting for me, I had two choices - I could wait for them to get me, or I could run.

I didn't do either. I didn't have faith in others, in those that lurked in the night, but I did have faith in my friends. I stepped into sight.

He was good - very good, and was almost at me the moment I showed myself, but he stopped running when he saw my face, ashy, wide-eyed and scared.

"What's wrong?" He asked, slowing down.

"Them," I said, nodding behind me, still hearing their taunts. His eyes squinted, turned down and angry. His lips pressed together hard. But he wasn't a fighter.

I felt my past fade and a new light burst inside. I was different.

Putting his hand on the small of my back, he led me away. The noise disappeared. I felt safe.