\u201cCome on, Hanna! What’s the matter now? Go around the concrete mixer to the right and I’ll let you know when you can climb over!\u201d Patrick hissed angrily at Hanna while trying to attach the water gun to his back, the strap on which had just broken. They were hiding behind a bare brick wall, among building rubble, with an abandoned concrete mixer blocking their path to the right. From a little further off, there was an excited murmur: Team Green were already preparing for the decisive battle at the other end of the construction site.
\n\u201cBut Patrick, if I go from the right, I won’t fit through the window! And then I’ll have to leave the water bombs behind.\u201d
\n\u201cSo, leave them and run when I tell you! You are terribly slow; you\u2019re messing everything up! We will lose again if you carry on like this!\u201d
\nHanna was almost in tears, but waited for the instruction in silence. In the army, you need to take this sort of thing like a trooper.
\n\u201cAnd remember that rookie privates don\u2019t answer back to commanders!\u201d Patrick said, as he finally fixed the strap of his water gun. Ready to attack, they were waiting for the rest of Team Red, who had gone to fetch water for their weapons.” “The long-abandoned construction site was surrounded by a dilapidated fence at 58 Flower Street. A huge \u2018Private property!\u2019 sign on the almost ruined gate, did not really bother the kids from the street: led by Patrick, they took over the building at the beginning of the summer and had been playing there every day since. Of course, the game was always Patrick\u2019s favourite: Capture-the-Flag.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll get everyone a water gun and make water bombs. You can be Team Green, with Benny in command,”” Patrick was pointing at a small group of children on the last day of school when he had the idea for a game that would last all summer long.
\n\u201cNoel and Kari and I will be Team Red, and I\u2019ll be the team captain,\u201d he continued, \u201cwhoever gets their shirt completely soaked, is out! The team that has more people standing at the end of the day wins!\u201d
\n\u201cSo, which team shall I be on?\u201d Hanna asked timidly, shifting from foot to foot. Benny, captain of Team Green, burst out loud:
\n\u201cNo way you\u2019re coming along! Nobody with glasses is allowed! Besides, there are too many of us already!\u201d” “Hanna was on the verge of crying.
\n\u201cAll right, knock it off! You can join us in Team Red, maybe we\u2019ll find some use for you\u201d Patrick said graciously on the last day of school. Although Hanna had been trying to please him for weeks, she was too clumsy for the game, never running fast enough and always missing the target with her water gun. So, she kept herself busy filling balloons with water to make water bombs, while the others engaged in increasingly exciting battles on the abandoned construction site.
\n\u201cToday’s battle is a crucial one,\u201d Patrick told her one morning in July, \u201cwe will launch an ambush from upstairs. Since you are the smallest among us, and only you will be able to get in through the little attic window you can come with us this time. But if you mess up this mission for me, I’ll kick you off the team!\u201d
\nWhich was how Hanna ended up next to Patrick during that day’s battle, but the concrete mixer that stood in their way meant she couldn’t get through the attic window unless she left the water balloons behind. But an order is an order, so she squeezed through the attic window and stealthily made her way towards the Green base.” “She had almost reached the Green headquarters in the cellar under the back terrace of the building and from above she could see some heads moving excitedly and hear Benny’s voice as he explained the strategy to the others.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s it!\u201d Hanna thought, \u201cI’ll spy on them, go back, and tell Patrick what they’re planning.\u201d
\nShe was very happy to be useful at last. She pulled herself forward on the attic beams to get closer and hear better. She clung to a protruding beam and tried to stretch her neck as best she could through the crack in the window.
\n\u201cOh no! Watch out!\u201d A desperate cry came from below. A roof tile that dropped down narrowly missed Benny. The captain of Reds looked up and immediately spotted a startled Hanna in the attic window.
\n\u201cSpy! Spy! Come on! Forward!\u201d Benny shouted, and Hanna was caught in crossfire, or rather cross water from below. The Greens charged towards the Reds’ hideout: Hanna had no chance of stopping them, and her clothes were soaked too. She was out.” “The Reds suffered a humiliating defeat: even Patrick got soaked, despite being a great leader.
\n\u201cNever come here again! You ruined the whole mission! You are excluded from the team!\u201d Patrick shouted at Hanna during the Greens\u2019 celebration.
\nHanna was crying as she walked towards the gate, but suddenly forgot the reason for her sadness: the sign on the gate had disappeared. It was definitely there in the morning. Someone must have taken it while they were playing in the building.
\n\u201cPatrick! Benny! Look!\u201d shouted Hanna after recovering from the shock. \u201cSomeone has taken the sign down!\u201d
\nThe rest of the team scrambled to the gate, and suddenly Patrick didn’t care about the lost battle.
\n\u201cWhat the hell?\u201d he said in disbelief. \u201cSee that car over there? I’ve never seen it around here before. There\u2019s a raven sitting on top of it,\u201d Patrick said, pointing out a big black car parked on the street.
\n\u201cWow! Look at the dashboard! A real bird\u2019s skull! And the black cat on the shelf at the back! Is it still alive?\u201d Benny replied, as he ran to the car.
\n\u201cOh my God! It is alive! Let’s get out of here!\u201d He screamed, as the cat stretched its limbs and stared straight into his eyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1068,"template":"","class_list":["post-1070","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n