Royale Rumble

"Alright everybody, spread out and grab what you can. Keep your eyes peeled for treasure chests. There's been a lot of good stuff since the update."

Lola watched as her team dispersed into Pleasant Park. She considered breaking them into teams of two for safety, especially since they'd just dropped and there were sure to be enemies in the area, but knew they'd be able to cover more ground if they split up. Besides, she trusted they could take care of themselves.

Well, she knew Tammy and Bob could anyway. This rookie had her worried. Alonzo had been one of their best players, but their last victory had been his seventh and thus, his ticket to freedom. Lola only had four victories herself, same as her redheaded partner-in-crime, Tammy. Bob had six under his belt, and if they pulled through with a win today, this would be his last match.

Then there was this new guy, Stephen. Fresh as meat comes. Everyone had their reasons, but she hoped he had the knowhow and tenacity to not get himself killed. She hadn't dropped in just to end up back at the lobby sooner than expected, and definitely not on account of some newbie who didn't know which was the business end of whatever gun he's carrying.

Maybe five or so minutes later, Lola was fully armed. Scavenging for weapons had become like second nature; too often she had landed in the same house as an enemy and come out on the losing end. She'd learned that lesson real quick. The one with the gun wins.

She had more than a few goodies in her inventory. A couple boogie bombs, some bandages, an impulse grenade. Her favorite primary, a golden suppressed pistol, was in her hands and sweeping back and forth over the road as she walked. She already drank a shield potion and had a green tactical shotgun on backup.

"Boss," Bob suddenly called out to her.

She turned. It appeared he too was good to go, judging by the two bulging duffle bags he had slung over one arm. He usually filled four with supplies before departing, but perhaps he would fill the other two as he went. Less of a struggle. In his free hand was a magnum.

"You good?" she asked him.

"Suppose I should ask you the same," he shot back.

They looked over at the rookie a few blocks away, blithely going to town on an old sedan with a pickaxe. Lola sighed.

"Yeah, we'll be good here," she responded with a shake of her head. "Just stay low and watch your back out there. Don't get sniped. It's been like open season on nomads lately."

"Thanks for the tip," he said.

She stared at his back until he disappeared over the hillside. This was their riskiest, most habitual play when it came to actually winning tournaments. Bob was one of the best combat carpenters around, and that wasn't for no good reason. He used to be famous once upon a time, until his show was canceled due to low ratings. After a few bad financial calls and even worse avenues taken to pay them off, Bob the Builder ended up owing a lot of bad people a whole lot of money.

So he was here, not fighting for freedom or fame, but finances. And they were lucky to have him on their side. A little after the start of each round, the team found it beneficial to leave him to his own devices and regroup with him later in the match. It didn't always work out, but ideally Bob would fall back to what he felt was the centermost section of the circle. Then, while Lola, Tammy, and Alonzo were out aggressively hunting and eliminating the competition, he would build the most spectacular fort for them to fall back to.

Just then, she heard gunfire. Sounded close, somewhere within the town. Her best friend's voice came in loud through her headset.

"Three, on me! They're pushing heavy! I need backup over here!"

Up ahead, the rookie had already broke into a sprint heading in that direction

"Hang on!" Lola yelled. "We're on our way!"