- The Ambush -
(A page from MAA¡¦s little Airsoft diary ¡K)
I¡¦ve been shot and killed 4 times today and my team eliminated twice before they found me. That makes 12 total deaths for me in the last three weekends in a roll, without a kill. Well, earlier tonight, I shot a guy when he exposed his back to me from 30 meters away, while he ran up to one of my teammate¡¦s barricade and shot him point blank over the top. But since the enemy didn¡¦t flinch, I guess I could have missed.
So the time has come for tonight¡¦s last game.
Thought I try a new strategy: this time instead of moving up and into enemy territory, I¡¦ll just hang back. Way back. And let the suckers come to me.
But 5 minutes into this game and I¡¦m regretting it already. Insects are eating me alive. Mosquitoes are biting any part of exposed flesh, and tiny little fire ants are crawling up my boots and under my pant legs. Oh, the agony, but I guess if real life grunts long time before me had to bear 1 or 2 tours of this same tropical environment with their actual lives hanging on the line, I could at least put up with a half-hour of this for the sake of fun and games.
Talk about my boots. Take an inventory of my gear: 1 pair of made in China Magnum boots (feel more like sneakers), a set of East German rain pattern cammies and matching M42 cap, set of ¡§VN era¡¨ nylon Y-harness, patrol belt, and M-16 ammo pouches that turned out later to be made in 1986, a pair of gardening gloves. My weapon: 1 borrowed TM CAR-15 standard power, with a hi-cap 9.6 volt battery set that came with my M-4 (out being modified to 1.9J at that time) that were too big for the CAR forearm, and therefore simply wrapped around the outter barrel with black electric tape. I loaded my mags with 0.25 gram BBs, figuring on the extra juice can push out the heavier BBs and give more impact power with the greater mass (probably the reason why I had missed my first kill at 30m).
The humidity and heat are punishing even at night. We¡¦ve been out at this small field (100 meters square) for close to 8 hours. So, the body has taken a beating. Very thirsty too.
I hear guys getting eliminated on both sides. My side¡¦s been losing all day. So, I guess this game is going the same way. By that theory ¡V someone will be coming upon the deep end real soon.
Sure enough ¡K flash lights from someone¡¦s weapon. He¡¦s about 20m away. I¡¦m not sure he¡¦s coming towards my corner though. If he doesn¡¦t, I¡¦m gonna have to go after him. Flash lights going on again. The sucker is getting closer now. C'MON IN ¡K OLD MAA IS WAITING FOR YA!
And ALA Charlie Sheen in "Platoon" ¡V while in my sitting, armed, and ready position: the enemy¡¦s silhouette appears in slow motion. I held absolutely still, because if I move just a hair surely he would notice me. He¡¦s only 10 meters away. I was certain he would pick out my form out of the darkness ¡V but the Airsoft god was on my side this time. He doesn¡¦t see that a man sitting less than 8 meters away has him in the cross-hairs. He looks to his right and pushes the button on his Surefire light. WRONG MOVE SUCKER! PLINK PLINK PLINK PLINK PLINK. I see him lowering his full-metal and fully accessorized M4 with slumped shoulders as if to say ¡§Ah, Damn! How did I miss that guy?¡¨.
Then in my excitement over my first confirmed kill, I plink him a few more times just for good measure, and the guy says in perfect English (he had figured out that it was the guy from Hawaii who had shot him): ¡§ Hey! You got me already. Damn it!¡¨. Lucky it wasn¡¦t my 1.9J firing M4 that I was using tonight.
What satisfaction! Way better than fishing. I say to myself: Welldone, my man. You are now officially a member of the exciting sport of AS skirmishing.
/MAA at a skirmish on Cobra's Paintball & Airsoft field in 1999, just outside of Bangkok, Thailand.
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother."Edited by: [url=http://pub217.ezboard.com/bthealienslegacy.showUserPublicProfile?gid=menatarms>MENATARMS[/url] at: 12/3/03 3:59 am
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