I just got back from a whole day of paintball. We went to a small establishment near the foot of the Angeles Forest. My friends had invited over a hundred people, but only four of us made it there. We actually got there late, but nothing has started yet. I guess it's tough for young people to get up early on the weekend.

After donning up our face masks and tested our guns, we started the game. I was inexperienced enough to have a jammed gun right from the beginning. Fortunately, a teammate showed me how to unjam the gun barrel. It didn't help much though, because I got shot before I fired a single bullet.

The second round, I learned my lesson, so I fired pretty much constantly at my opponents who were well-protected behind some barricade. Before long, my ammo ran out, and I was forced to use my gun as a bluffing tool, firing just blanks. I didn't have any reserve ammo with me.

I became smarter and smarter throughout the day. We skipped lunch and played on. The adrenaline was just feeding us. More and more people arrived, and the battles became quite chaotic. During each round, bullets just flew in all directions. And some of the times, I got hit by a sniper that I didn't even see.

When it came down to the last game, I got pretty brave. It was all or nothing. So far, I only shot one guy out. I was going to be either the hero, or go out in a blaze of glory. I made gradual advances toward the other team's flag, and surprisingly, I wasn't hit. I was just crawling around in the sand by that time. My face gritty with sands, my knee skinned raw from skidding on rocks, my brow dripping with a mixture of sweat and paint, I was running on my last leg.

Then I got to just a few feet within the opponents' flag. Bullets were flying in all directions. I said my prayer (even though I am an atheist), and made a dash for their flag. Shockingly, I got there and captured their flag without being shot, unlike the guy before me who tried the same thing.

I thought the game was over. I raised my gun, and shouted "game over". My enemies must have been pretty stunned, because for about ten seconds, there were no shots fired anywhere. Then, one of my teammates ran to me and said "give me the flag". Someone suddenly clued me that the game wasn't over until I bring the flag back to our base. I started running back, but then half a dozen shots hit me on the back. I felt like a victim in a John Woo movie.

What a way to end a day of paintball. I learned the meaning of "capture the flag", and earned some red badge of courage in the process.

Yeah, I know what you all gonna say. "What a n00b not knowing the rule in advance". But I had fun, and that's priceless.