Jungle Logs And A Free Barbecue (Part 3)

A Jungle Game In The Bushes

Our second game was in the bushes and more realistic to a Vietnam jungle situation. This time around we were a touch more organized as I pushed off to the right with Jett and Shawn to create some cover defense for each other. Starting to get better and crawling through the dirt and mud this game, I got myself close to the middle of the game area, crawling my way to a huge log that had a wooden barrack set up.

Around this time my glasses were starting to fog up intensely to which I was finding it hard to see but considering you weren’t even allowed to move the mask more than an inch or two, I was stuck with bad vision for the rest of that game. However, I had my fun as in the far distance over the path and up the hill, I noticed one of the enemy lying down, crawling through an open section trying to get to another location.

Deciding to take some pot shots with my bad vision, I found that my bullets were curving left and right around him but never hitting him. As his bullets got dangerously close to hitting, I ducked behind cover to which I felt pellets now flying in from every direction. Killian was also on my team to which he yelled out “Take cover Tony, just stay down” so I done just that for a little while.

Surrender At The Log

However, I soon got a shot through the barracks as I kept poking my head up trying to shoot at a guy in a barrack ten meters down. Watching from the sides, I noticed that Shawn and Jett were still in the game, mostly side by side progressing up one side of the field. However, as there were five main people on our side heading up the right flank, they ended up getting the flag and bringing it back while Shawn and the rest of them created a diversion.

Playing this game again but in the other direction, I received a small benefit before getting myself shot. Making my way up quickly through what was literally a mostly open forest, I ran my way up to a large log and it wasn’t until the last second that I pulled back from running forward any further. Through a crack of the toppled log I could see there was an enemy waiting behind that log, as confused as I in what to do. Falling over myself to stop, I heard the referee shout out “Hey you’re too close, one of you will have to get behind each other and surrender them”.

Therefore, I left it up to myself to run around the far side of the tree, sneak up on him quickly to yell out “Surrender”. Putting his hands up to my request I heard a shout of applause in the background from Jett but all my efforts were soon undone as I was exposed to enemy fire in my fragile position. Seconds later, even with my ducking for cover I got another shot to the head but considering I was almost blinded from the fogging goggles, it was a worthwhile forfeit.

Playing Terminator

Winning two games each, we headed back to the original game but this time around it was time to play the ‘Terminator’. The idea of this game was to have a flak jacket in the middle instead of a flag to which whoever donned it become the ‘Terminator’. The only shot that would constitute a hit was a direct hit to the head. You could sense the contrast of anxiety soaring through the air as you had diehards who wanted to become the Terminator and others who were quite happy hiding behind barracks.

Beginning the game, the opposing team ended up being the Terminator first and as so, he walked around in the open shooting down everyone he walked past. I think I was out fairly early in the game which pissed me off because I thought I was getting rorted. However, in the second game as we swapped direction, Jett ended up getting the terminator outfit as me and him made a desperate run for the jacket.

When making it there together, I rolled off to the right and tried to get around everyone to which Jett hid amongst a huge wooden keg wheel. Making some extensive ground, I was shot down in a dogfight between some other guy who was also heading behind some flimsy twigs and rocks for defense. Those last two games we ended up winning and from there we headed back up to the camp so we could have a rest and have lunch.

Gun Trouble And A Free Barbecue

Everyone’s gun had some sort of difficulties through the day and this was a chance for everyone to take a pit-stop. Handing in my gun like everyone else, I had my goggles thoroughly cleaned and the gas on my gun checked. When I was filling up my gun with pellets, I accidentally hit the nozzle running from the gas to the barrel which emptied out most of the cylinder.

Being kind enough to fix it for me, a similar problem happened just before lunch where they weren’t shooting with too great a force. Sausages, Kebabs and other barbecued items were free as I headed over there and grabbed me a feed or three. Sitting down and chatting with everyone about our bruises and our heroic experiences, I headed to the toilet to wash my grubby hands. Checking my hair, it was festered with white marks from being shot countless times but I was alright, I lived to fight another day.

Grabbing my gun later as I was called up, I stood alongside Mike Munroe and as I turned to face him, I feigned not to recognize him and said hello as if he was just some Joe Blow on the street. Heading to the Ute and grabbing some money, we bought ourselves some drinks that obviously weren’t selling free for business purposes and soon enough, we were back on the field, to maul some more opponent ass.

Defending The Fortress

There were a couple more games we played before the day’s official end. The first was a game called ‘Fortress’ and already the second part of the day was looking better than the first. The aim of this game for our team who started in the fort was to repel the enemy who had to run down the hill, hide behind burnt out vans, turrets and barracks to run into the fortress and recover the flag to take outside.

This is where my first major gun problem began which would haunt me for the rest of skirmish. Putting together a game plan as the enemy lined up behind a thicket way up the hill, we made plans to man each little turret in the open fortress including the upstairs region. Feeling a touch like I was in a castle defending against a bombardment I readied myself behind some 40 gallon drums and manned myself at a door.

With the whistle sounding bullets starting flying in all directions, ricocheting off the tin walls and making the splattering shots sound all the more intimidating. Everyone was ducking for cover in this one as after some shots from downstairs I climbed up to the top level, popped my head over the top and began shooting rather aimlessly at the people behind the wooden shields with a small space to shoot out from.

My Gun Jams Again

Through the thick of this war, my gun jammed for the first time and calling over the ref who was also ducking for cover he came over and examined my gun. “Shit, I’ve never seen this happen before” he told me to which unique problems always come my way. Unable to find the problem of why the gun wasn’t shooting out any balls, he also had a hard time taking off the front nozzle. Finally, we found the problem to be the paint pellets which had broken open in the feeder to the cartridge and nozzle.

The paint inside had made it almost impossible for the bullets to slide through and as he finally opened it up, with the clanging of the tin walls, he took out a rag and fixed my gun. “What’s wrong Tony” Jett yelled over the clangorous noise. This problem although fixed temporarily dogged me for the rest of the day. Nevertheless, some good came out of this advantageous disruption as I lasted the full length of the game for the first time.

By the time my gun was fixed, I was going to head back down the stairs as I could feel the enemy upon us but as I waited patiently at the top of the stairs I wasn’t quick enough to click when seeing someone stepping through the door. Looking straight up at me, the only person in readiness to defend, I started my hit-or-miss shooting tactics and as he quickly nabbed the flag and shot towards my direction at the same time, the game was over. That was the last stand and I wasn’t apt enough to protect the fort but I was pleased with my involvement.

Charging Down The Hill

Switching the platforms, we were now in attack upon this game and before we began up on top of the hill we had a goggle break. Mostly everyone’s goggles had fogged up by now so with everyone putting down their guns, we were told that we could take our masks off. Safety was a key issue in this camp but we didn’t care about the restrictions once our masks were off. Taking a breather before another adrenaline pumped countenance of skirmish, we donned again our masks and upon the whistle made a desperate dash for yardage.

The game plans were getting better and Jett and I figured that we could be the heroes of the game. From our viewpoint at the top of the hill, we could see the inside of the fort and most of the bobbing heads on the first level. In addition, Jett and I had mapped out the direction we would take when heading down the hill. Seeing a little shed with an open window area some fifteen meters down the landscape, we worked with the hill and gravity, charging down the steep hill with crazed zest.

The hill was so steep that it was hard to stop from rushing and as I had to push off the wall of the cabin, Jett ran straight into it. There was a third guy who ran down the hill with us and as the three of us rammed into the wall hidden to the enemy, we quickly ducked down and started shooting out of the little window at unsuspecting braves.

The turn of this game came when my gun failed to shoot again inside the cabin. Each time I fired the ball would travel half a meter and plummet to the ground. Wasting pointless shots wasn’t my idea of action so with a swift biding arm I called over the ref. Whilst he was heading over I seemed to get hit by a bullet from inside the fort and as the other army guy had pointed it out to me, I decided to wipe myself down and act like I wasn’t shot.

Swapping Guns At The Van

It wasn’t fair anyway since I’d been incapacitated to some degree. There was no way to fix my gun and as I was without a weapon, I continued to play the game, hoping that I would be able to at least have one guy surrender his gun to me. Creating an illusive coy of my shooting at the fortress, Jett made a quick dash to the A Team van another ten meters down the hill, nearly perpendicular to the fortress and ten meters away.

Drawing attention to myself, I started to make a fleeting run to the van and with pellets whizzing past my ears, I arrived unmolested by enemy fire. Unluckily, as Jett crept around the hood of the van to draw fire upon some people in turrets, he himself was shoot and yelling out his vile detestation, he waved his gun up in the air and prepared to walk to the dead man’s area. “Jett, give me your gun”

I kept yelling as he without heed kept walking. Calling out a couple more times, Jett finally clicked to turn around slowly and head for the van so that he could drop off his gun. Handing him mine, I picked up his shoulder boulder with plenty of ambitious faith that I could make a difference. However, before I could even come to terms with the weight of the gun compared to mine, I was shot through a window of the car as the pellet came swerving down through the air.

There were another two games played in which I arrived all the way to the outside of the fortress when next attacking. Nevertheless, again, I only lasted a couple of seconds but it felt good to have made it all that way, so close but yet, so far.