This past weekend I met my Dad at Penn Station and took the train up to CT. I did the worst possible job packing - so ungay. I only brought one pair of pants. What was I thinking? I guess I figured the paintball place would give use jumpsuits or something. Nope. I suited up in jeans and an Abercrombie, long-sleeve tee. Not exactly the most macho outfit. But, my uncle gave me a vest and flannel jacket...and now I'm a lesbian.
But, we got the range and I was uber nervous. Once we got our masks and guns we had to test them. Every time someone fired I jumped. The first game was a warm up - we were on a course with dozens of inflatable things to hide behind. I got shot in the hand, but it didn't hurt too much. I really hit my stride in the second round - killing at least 4 people. I felt just like an SWAT team member from Rainbow Six. The third and fourth rounds were on a different course with lots of tires and wooden shields. In the third rounds, I got shot and headed to the dead zone with my hands in the hard only to continue being shot at in the legs. In the fourth round, my mask fogged up. Everything was a huge blur! I was essentially useless and just sat in one of the forts while everyone else went crazy.
One of the most fun courses was the castle. One team defended a castle at the top of a hill, while the other team tried to storm the castle. Think - beaches of Normandy during WWII. My team defended first. It was fun, but it was pretty easy. We just picked the other team off one by one until we won. Then we switch sides. My cousin, John, and I had a plan to advance forward. We'd take turn running ahead while the other provided suppressive fire (if that's even the correct terminology). I made it pretty far until I looked to my left and saw someone from the opposite team coming around the side. I didn't stand a chance!
The last round was Pain or Paint. You had kept going until your ran out of paintballs or until you simply couldn't take the pain of getting shot. I took cover behind a wooden fence. I would take turns shooting the people on the left and right sides. I got hit in the arm and it hurt like hell. I took off the flannel jacket because I was so hot, but that mean that there was less to soften to the blow. I hit quite a few people and our team won before I could really cause some damage. Before the round ended, I remember getting hit right over my eye on mask. It was red paintball and splattered - all I could see was red, just like blood.
The best part was the sheet excitement. I remember hearing the paintballs wiz past my head and hearing them slam into the wood and splatter. I remember tasting the paint as I would get shot in the mouth. Just waiting for someone to make a wrong move so you can pull the trigger and hear the sweet sound of semi-automatic paintball fire is such a rush. It was tense and serious and dangerous and exhilarating. I found a paintball place in Queens, so I can see a trip with my crew soon.
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