skedaddle
\ ski-DAD-l \ , verb;
1. to run away hurriedly; flee.
1. a hasty flight.
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This was not where Mark wanted to be. In fact, anywhere else would be fine. Just, not there. Mark had been walking aimlessly through the
streets of the city he now called home, only to run into a group of somewhat
unsavory individuals. He looked at the
group nervously as they regarded him with sneers and suspicious looks.
“Uh, hey
guys.” Mark said, trying to sound less
scared for his life than he actually was.
“I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere.”
“No
kiddn’.” Said one of the group. The speaker was a large man, in every sense
of the word. He towered over Mark by a
good five or six inches, and had a stomach to match. His black studded leather outfit did his body
no justice, but he didn’t seem to care that much.
“Yeah,
you know how it is.” Mark said with a
nervous little laugh. “I was just kind
of, you know, wandering around and lost track of where I was going and just
kind of ended up here.” He said.
Mark
cast a nervous glance around, looking for any avenues of escape. He was ready to beat a hasty retreat at the
first possible opportunity. Unfortunately
for him, those windows were looking farther and farther away. Members of the gang were moving in to
surround him, cutting off any chance of fleeing.
“No, I
don’t know.” Said the large man. His
mouth curled up in a wicked sneer as he spoke.
“Why don’t you explain it ta me.”
“W-well,
ok then. It’s actually kind of
funny. Well, funny to me anyway, you
might not see it that way though. So, I
just kind of moved here. You know, I’d
heard good things about this city. Low
crime rates and good jobs and all that.
So yeah, I got one of those jobs and was celebrating at this place that
everyone said is great. Well, a little
food and a few drinks later and I find myself just walking around. Taking in the sights, you know? And then I get to thinking about things and
not paying attention where I’m going, and I end up here. So, yeah, that’s about it.” Mark hopped that it was enough to get him out
of there with minimal injuries.
“And you
‘spect to what? Believe that? How do I know you ain’t from Benny’s
boys? Huh?” The big man said.
“Oh god,
there’s more of you?” Mike said. He had heard there were any gangs or other
such violent groups in the city, and now he was hearing there were at least
two. He was more eager to get out of
there than ever.
“Heh,
you don’t even know about the groups?
Man you must be knew here.” Said
the big man. He looked a bit happier and
backed up a bit.
“He
might be lyin’ boss.” Said one of the
other gang members. This one was much
smaller and skinnier. One might even call
him wiry. Alone, he didn’t look that
tough, but the thick, heavy chains wrapped around his torso more than made up
for that.
“Hey
yeah, how do I know you ain’t just makin’ all that stuff up?” The big man said. He leaned forward slightly, bringing his face
uncomfortably close to Mark’s.
“W-well,
I guess technically you kind of don’t?”
He said. He hoped there was
another answer, but he couldn’t think of any at that moment.
“So you
are lyin’ then?” The big man said.
“No no,
I didn’t say that. I’m telling the truth
I swear. It’s just that you just met me
and all so you don’t really know that I’m honest. Which I am.”
He added that last sentence quickly so as to avoid digging his own grave
too deeply.
“Aw
jeeze, now I don’t know what ta think.
You lyin’ or not?” The big man
said, backing off again and scratching his head.
“I say
we just take ‘im out and be done with it.”
Said another gang member. This
one was a girl that was clearly not someone to be messed with. The spiked gloves she wore attested to that
well enough, even without the myriad of scars across her face. “If he’s one of
Benny’s boys, then we get rid of a problem.
If he ain’t, oh well. We dump him
and move on.”
“You
know what? I like that plan. I like it a lot.” Said the big man.
“I don’t.” Mark said pitifully.
“Too
bad.” The big man said. He held his hand out behind him and one of
the other gang members gave him a thick metal pipe. Mark’s eyes widened with terror and he
renewed his efforts to find some kind of opening that he could use to run.
The big
man reared the weapon back and Mark covered his head with his arms in a
desperate action to defend himself. The
pipe flew down and struck home. Nothing
happened. Mark uncovered his head and
looked up. He had definitely been hit
with something, but it wasn’t metal. The
big man held the pipe to his head as if waiting for him to do something. He took a closer look at the weapon, only to
find that it was made of rubber. He
looked at his attacker confused.
“Well?” The big man said expectantly.
“Well…what?” Marks said.
“That
was a kill shot. You have to fall now.”
“Huh?” Mark asked, more confused than ever.
“Dude,
you’re dead. You gotta drop.”
“What
are you talking about?”
“Hey
Dale, I think he’s a bystander.” Said
the guy with the chains. The big man
looked at Mark critically and then backed off.
“Er, are
you playing?” He asked.
“Playing
what?” Mark asked.
“Oh
geeze man, I’m sorry.” Dale said,
suddenly looking a lot less dangerous. “You
came here and I just thought you must be playing on Ben’s team, so I just kind
of went with it.”
“Wait,
team? You mean this is some kind of
game?” Mark asked.
“Oh
yeah. It’s a LARP system we’re trying
out. This is our first play test.”
“I told
you we shouldn’t have done this in public.”
Said the scarred girl. “Hold on,
I’ll call Ben and tell him to put things on pause.” She said as she took out a
cell phone and made the call.
“A
game. Really?” Mark said.
“Oh
sure. You must not be a LARPer. See, we dress up in costumes and stuff and
act out parts. It’s like being in a big
improve play, except we get to hit people with stuff.” Dale said.
“Well,
that’s a bit of a relief.” Mark said,
taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
“Wait,
you thought this was real?” The chain
guy said.
“Well,
yeah. I mean, wouldn’t you?”
“Not in
this city. It’s like you said. The worst crime you see out here is J-walking
and littering.”
“I don’t
know. I take it as a compliment.” Said one of the other players, another girl
this time. “It means our costumes are
good and we acted it out right. That’s
like, the best thing that could happen.”
“So, do
you guys do this a lot?” Mark
asked. He only wanted to know so that he
knew where not to go.
“Oh sure. Not this game though. This is kind of something we’re making up ourselves. Why?
You interested?” Dale said,
looking very hopeful when he asked.
“Uh, no
thanks. I don’t think this is really my
thing.” Mark asked.
“That’s
cool. It’s not for everyone. But if you ever change your mind, you know
where to find us.”
“Oh
yeah, sure. I’ll uh…I’ll think about it.” Mark said.
He
started moving away from the group of gamers.
Although he now knew that they weren’t dangerous, he still didn’t
exactly want to stick around. The group
moved aside and let him pass, and soon he was free. He got as far away from them as quickly as he
could, telling himself not to go around that area again, just in case.
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What do you think? Can a LARP game like this be doable? All it takes is the right kind of person to find out. Unfortunately, that's not me, so I just have to content myself with writing about it.
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