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these
times I would walk in first, giving me the advantage of surprise, but for the
other two I would be on the opposite side of that element. This match I was
walking in second.
    “Your first match is Tek.” Brin opened the doors and all but
pushed me in. “Good luck!”
    Tek was a recruit with an affinity for WCR’s. A watcher in training. That likely meant that he had already
seen me from a distant hiding spot. I had to locate him and closed the distance
if I wanted any chance of winning this match. A roaring cheer instantly became
a deathly silence as I rose. I quickly scanned the room. The arena was
circular, with outer walls that stood ten feet over us. The stands were filled
with other recruits, instructors, and other spectators. The arena had a sandy
floor, with scattered walls of rock and metal, that acted as cover. Everything was chillingly still. I raised my rifle and stepped towards
a large rock to my left. Two shots flew by me, making a ringing sound as they
flew dangerously close. A third simultaneously ricocheted off the rock and flew
upward before dissipating in an invisible shield. I dove for the rock and hid
behind it. I could hear my heart race as silence returned.
    I took a deep breath and counted to three. On the third
count I rose from my cover, rifle raised , and searched
for Tek. After about five seconds another shot was fired diagonally right from
me and shot struck my rifle. I dove behind the rock again and inspected the
gun. It was not truly damaged, but refused to continue working, in accordance
with the simulation. I dropped it in annoyance and drew my sword. A thought
struck me. I grabbed the rifle again and looked for the nearest cover. I turned
back towards the rock and set myself to watch for Tek. I slowly raised the
rifle again. A shot rang out from my right, and the rifle flew from my hands.
This time however, I did not flinch. Tek may have been a watcher, but he was a
recruit. He raised himself to change positions. I did the same and charged for
him. He sidestepped behind a wall and raised his gun to fire, missing me only
by seconds. I had halved the distance between us, and now we both knew he was
unable to change his position again. I counted the amount of shots he must have
fired in my head. Seven. WCR’s held ten. I did not see
another rifle on him. If I could get him to waste three more shots, then I
would win.
    I looked to my right. A decently sized pile of rocks sat a
meter away from me. I glanced around the wall. Tek, no longer behind cover was
staring directly at me, rifle raised. He understood the situation just as well
as I did and also knew that I had no other gun. I tossed my sword towards the pile,
and readied myself to jump. A shot rang off, blasting its way through the metal
wall I used for cover. The shard missed my head by only a few centimeters. I
steadied my breath and forced myself to roll to the rocks. Tek fired again,
sending the bullet across my back. The pain of the simulated round was
surprising. My back felt as if it had been burned by a metal bar that had been
left in the sun too long on a summer day. I could not bring myself to rest my
back upon my new cover. I looked over the pile to find that Tek had moved.
Immediately I realized he was to my right. Before I could react, Tek fired his
last shot into my leg, then charged towards me, his
rifle raised to strike me. I twisted myself over my stunned leg and rose my sword to block his makeshift bludgeon. I pushed hard
with my other leg and forced Tek off balance, while bringing myself to a
standing position. I quickly followed with a slash that struck downwards on his
torso. Tek fell to the ground, weaponless. I stood over him, pointing the sword
at him while balancing all my weight on my good leg. I waited for someone to
call an end to the match. I looked up for a moment in confusion, and felt my
sword knocked away from Tek. He had something in his hand. It was a knife.
Before I could retaliate, Tek twisted his