The Rising Of The Anomaly - Chapter 178

So, uh…that didn’t go at all how I thought it would. Kilzachs, you kinda turned the game on its head, man. Well, anyway, I think I’m starting to sober up, so let’s take a quick break for some drinks!” Suggested Mitchell with a grin.

We were back downstairs, sitting on the couches and refueling on alcohol, snacks and weed. Some of the others went easy on the intoxicants, since they were still pretty not-sober from the previous round.

“Gotta say, I was really surprised when Kilzachs and Katie suddenly appeared, both with waterguns in hand and I got blasted with water before I could even make out what was going on,” Sighed Taayin, as he lit up a joint and took in a deep puff.

“I planned to turn the tables that way pretty much as soon as you explained the rules,” I informed Mitchell, as I munched on a brownie, “I was about to ask you about it, but decided against it cuz I figured that you might add a rule that prevents that.”

“Yeah, I probably would’ve…I mean, it’s not hide and seek if you can turn the tables, you know,” He pointed out in response.

“I don’t know, it actually sounds more fun that way,” Spoke up Lin with a look of interest.

It was that pair, Zoya and Lin, who were the last to be found. They’d been hiding underneath a bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms, and were pretty surprised when they found out that their pair had lasted the longest before being found, since, you know…their hiding spot was one of the most clichéd hiding spots in the history of hiding spots.

“Huh…alright, in that case, let’s switch it up! Let’s call it water tag, and form four pairs plus one solo player…the solo player will be whoever did the best in the previous round, so I guess it’ll be Kilzachs first up. Hm, and after that, we’ll determine the best player by using a point system…okay, I got it! Tagging another player with a watergun eliminates them from the ongoing round, and the player who tagged them will gain a point. And whoever tags the solo player gets two points. Whoever gets the most points is the solo player for the next round!” Suggested Mitchell, after thinking it over.

“Did you…just come up with that right now?” Inquired Zoya in surprise.

“Hm? Well, yeah, but I just tweaked the rules a bit is all, no biggie. Alright, let’s determine the pairs and-…actually, never mind, scratch the whole thing. I’ve only got three waterguns,” He suddenly sighed in disappointment.

“Aw, man, for real? Too bad, that sounded like it could have been really fun,” Mused Taayin wistfully.

Hm…guess I’ll help out…

“Hey, if you don’t mind each round lasting less than ten minutes, I can make copies of the waterguns with my powers,” I spoke up and offered.

“For real!? Hell, yeah, thanks a lot, dude!” Grinned Mitchell as he slapped my shoulder.

“Ow…don’t worry about it, it’s no big deal,” I replied with a shrug, as I tossed the last bit of the brownie I was eating into the air and catching it with my mouth…mm, so good!

“I still can’t get over how much your face lights up when eating something sweet,” Remarked Lin with a laugh.

“Yeah, he usually looks all serious and stuff, but that just melts away when eating sweets,” Added Taayin in amusement.

“Leave my face alone,” I sighed as I rolled my eyes.

“Guyssss, come on, let’s start the game! I think we’ve refueled enough, right?” Remarked Mitchell, standing up with a slight wobble.

He’s a bit more annoying than usual when drunk, that’s for sure.

“Yeah, um…I think I might have overdone it a bit,” Hiccupped Seila, her face slightly flushed.

“That’s fine, just have fun!” He responded with a wave of his hand.

Huh…that doesn’t really make sense, but whatever.

“Hey, we should set up a synced timer, since the copies I make will disappear after ten minutes,” I pointed out.

“Hm, good call…alright, then, let’s sync up our I-Watches and set nine minute countdowns! Oh, and let’s add another rule, anyone who’s not eliminated by the end of round will gain another point to their tally! Let’s draw lots to determine the pairs and then get started!” Declared Mitchell with a grin, before adding, “One more thing, for the next round after this one, we’ll all have to take a shot, except for whoever gets the most points, they can opt out of it if they want to. Oh, and when I say shots, I don’t mean a single gulp out of those tiny glasses, I mean a teacup-full of booze per person!”

Seriously? That’s a lot of alcohol, especially since we’re already pretty inebriated. But no one really protested in earnest, so whatever, I’ll refrain from raining on the parade.

Anyway, once I made the copies of the waterguns, we all spread out throughout the house, me on my own and the rest in pairs. We’d put a thirty second countdown ahead of the nine minute countdown in order to spare some time to fan out before starting.

And that countdown is over, so it’s time to begin the game. I stayed downstairs this time, and ended up in the kitchen. I’m definitely a far way off from sober right now, so there’s no way I can move the way I usually do, but like Mitchell said, maybe that’s what makes this fun.

I could faintly hear some yells and laughs echoing out from upstairs, looks like things has started to get underway…but all I could think about was eating more of those brownies. In fact, I was having quite an intense craving for them.

And a big part of that was definitely the fact that this kitchen was filled with the slight yet rich aroma of the stuff, I was continually gulping to keep my mouth from oversalivating. I should get out of here, I can’t focus at all with this heavenly fragrance.

Hm, but I won’t leave empty handed…I picked up an empty tray as I headed for the door, before slowly peeking out and looking around. No one in sight, huh…well, I guess it makes sense that they’d avoid standing around in an open area where they could easily be spotted.

I quickly shot through the hall, keeping an eye out…my vision was a bit shaky and my legs were moving slightly clumsily, though. And then, right as got within sight of the staircase, two people suddenly emerged from the space underneath it, their guns raised.

It was Zoya and Mitchell, who’d been paired up. The other three pairs were Katie and Seila, Lin and Bytra, and Taayin and Suri.

I then quickly raised the tray as Mitchell fired at me, blocking his shot before leaping off to the side as Zoya fired…and nearly losing my balance in my drunken state. But I managed to stay upright, and swiftly countered with a couple of shots from my watergun before they could fire again.

I struck Zoya’s right shoulder and Mitchell’s chest with the streaks of water that I fired out, which were both way off since I’d been aiming for headshots.

“Aw, man, you got us,” Sighed Mitchell with a wry smile.

“I told you that you should have acted as a shield while I shoot from behind you,” Frowned Zoya as she nudged him.

“Well, you guys definitely caught me by surprise, you’d have probably gotten me if I didn’t have this,” I grinned, holding up the tray.

Wait, hold on a sec…the upstairs area had suddenly gone quiet, what’s going on? Don’t tell me it’s-…unfortunately, I realized it too late, as a stream of water rained down on my head from above. I glanced up to see Katie, leaning over the railing with her watergun pointed downwards.

“Got you,” She called down at me with a slight smile, before nearly losing her balance, her partner Seila quickly pulling her back away from the railing…before a crash echoed out as they both fell over.

“Wow, that ended quicker than I expected,” I remarked in surprise, as the others showed up at the top of the stairs, each with wet splotches on their bodies, Katie the only exception.

Unlike with the hide and seek, there was no rule saying that a single person couldn’t eliminate both members of a pair. Which means that someone must have eliminated Seila before both them and their partner were eliminated by Katie.

“Yeah, it’s only been six minutes, there’s still nearly three whole minutes left in the timer. Oh, well, not a problem, let’s get to the next round…but first, let’s take some shots!” Declared Mitchell with a grin.

“Not sure it’s accurate to call full teacups of vodka ‘shots’, but whatever,” I responded wryly.

“So, how did it play out for you guys?” Zoya asked the three pairs that had gone upstairs.

“We got eliminated before we could shoot anyone else, Taayin got me and Suri got Bytra,” Replied Lin with a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, whatever,” Grumbled Bytra, as Suri gave her a smug look.

“I also eliminated Seila, but then got eliminated by Katie, and so did Suri,” Said Taayin.

“Hm, let’s see…that’s two points each to Kilzachs, Katie and Taayin, but Katie gets an extra point for remaining uneliminated at end, so she’ll be the solo player next round. Alright, then, let’s go get a bit more wasted and then keep going!” Exclaimed Mitchell, the others responding affirmatively.

It’s probably a bad idea to get too much more drunk than I already am…but fuck it, let’s just see where this goes…

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