Chapter 15 Upgrade, Level 2 (1/2)

Besides pain, Laz didn't feel much else. He looked at the sky and just blanked out. He knew he had almost made it, but he was still going to die in the end. Looked like the only bright side was getting shot didn't hurt as much as he thought.

The searing pain in his back felt more like getting hit with baseball bat than stabbed. Guess that was something to take to his grave.

The only sound entering into his eyes now was his own painful breathing, the harsh blowing of the wind and a constant, roaring laughter.

'Asshole,' he thought, closing his eyes. He was so weak he couldn't move his body. He just wanted today to be over.

”HAHAHAHAHAHA, you flew like a ping pong ball. Damn, I wish I could have recorded it,” Bill mocked him.

'Oh, so the bastard likes to re-watch his kills. Animal.' Laz didn't even care anymore. He was done.

”Alright, that's it for today's exercise. When you drag your useless carcass up off the ground, you'd better get walking to make it back in time for dinner.” Bill fumbled a bit in the storage bag on the front rack, looking for something.

”I'm not dead?” Laz asked, somewhat unsure of himself.

”Nope, but once you start moving again, you'll wish you were. Rubber bullets not only hurt like hell, they also leave one hell of a bruise that won't go away quickly,” Bill replied, digging deeper.

”Rubber bullets? RUBBER BULLETS?” Laz couldn't accept what he was hearing.

”THAT WAS NO RUBBER BULLET THAT HIT THE FUCKING GROUND!” Laz was sure of it. It drove itself into the dirt as only a real bullet could.

”Oh, that,” Bill commented, pulling out a small, handheld device. ”Yeah, the glock's bullets arn't rubber, but the rifle shots were. Added to the realism of the whole thing. You didn't think I would actually kill you, did you?” Bill asked with a wronged look.

”I'M GOING TO KILL YOU OLD MAN,” Laz roared, trying to get up.

”Might want to work on walking first, it's a long trek back,” Bill replied. Without getting off the 4-wheeler, he tossed the device towards Laz, hitting a spot a foot away.

”That's a standard GPS. The location of the farm is already marked. Don't get lost on your way back.” Bill was totally unaffected by Laz's outburst. He just revved the engine, turned the handle bars and proceeded back along towards the farm, not even glancing back.