Behind Enemy Lines

It was 4.30 in the evening and the sun was blazing down upon us. I was on my knees crouched behind 4 empty metallic oil barrels. Bullets were whizzing past me in all directions. One small peek to the side of the barrel was enough provocation for the enemy to fire a volley bullets. Phat, Phat, Phat , the sound of bullet against the metal barrels. The enemies were on the other side of the bus and getting into the bus was our only hope of capturing their base. I was hoping that the barrels would withstand the fire and not topple over.

Few metres to my right, behind a badly damaged car was my comrade trying to cover me. I shouted out to him, "I will keep him busy on the left, you try to get him from the right". But, he had other plans. He wanted me to entice the enemy to peek out and fire at me. I was shocked. I told him that we were not on a suicide mission. He then clarified that, through a small hole in the window of the car, he had a clear view of the enemy. This, the enemy didn't know.

There started my hide and seek game. My comrade had only one chance and if he failed, the enemy would know of his presence and call for backup. I pointed the end of my gun's barrel to the left of the oil barrels such that it was clearly visible to the enemy. No response. Had the enemy somehow caught on to our game ?

Far to the right, I could see my captain and his cover trying hard to make it to the bus. We had to somehow disable the right flank of the enemy for them to proceed. The right flank of the enemy has two guys (we assumed), one of them was firing at me and the other somewhere close to him! I had to do something.

Then, i did the unthinkable. I put out my head for a split second over the barrel. This was enough invitation for the enemy. I just managed to crouch back to avoid few dozen bullets whizzing past my head. Then, I heard one shot from the right, my comrade's gun went off. Then, he turned and look at me. A tense second passed by.

He showed me the thumbs-up sign. The enemy was down. One more to go.We conveyed this to the captain and then I said to my comrade to cover me while to i try to run ahead. 3..2..1, off i went recollecting all the athletic skills i learnt back in school and skidded to a halt behind another burnt-down car. There, I saw something, anyone with a gun in the hand and in a fight would love. The enemy had not seen me.

He was in my line of sight , but i was not in his, as he was busy firing at my captain and his cover. I had to get him in one shot, lest he realise my presence.

Phat, one shot, on his right chest, he was down. Our captain immediately ran for the bus and started firing indiscriminately at the enemy.

"Run for the flag, Run for the flag" shouted my captain. I ran, again. This time, straight for the enemy base. I went inside and grabbed the flag and came running outside. Phat, Phat, I didn't hear the shots, I felt them , on my back. Two shots right on my spine.

I had been shot by the enemy.

But, who cares, the shots don't count. All we had to do was to get the flag. We had won the scenario.

Welcome to Paintball in Cyprus ! The game, that gets you as close as possible to a real battle. The guns not only look real, but also feel real. They are heavy and the sound of a bullet going out of the gun is the real thrill. The bullets, small plastic balls filled with paint, explode on contact and leave a sticky spot of paint on you. Of course, we are given masks and goggles to protect our face and an overall is optional for the rest of the body.

Paintball is an expensive game though. For the 2.5 hours we played yesterday, the cost was around 2000 Indian rupees, too expensive to frequent, but it is fun, much more than i expected.What about bruises, yes, I have 2 red spots on my back. But they don't cause pain, they are just scars of the battle which i can proudly show off for the next 2 weeks until they disappear.