Stalking their prey, they scan their hit list, and wait. They wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Ambushing their victim, they draw their weapon and pull the trigger.

Screaming, they reel back in shock as they look down and see they’ve been hit.

Drenched with water, it’s game over.

Welcome to water wars, where juniors and seniors, in teams of four, try to take each other out with squirt guns or water bottles.

Bringing it from California, senior Macey Edmunds organized the school’s first epic water battle.

“My cousin plays it in California and it’s really big there,” Macey said. “I’ve always wanted to play it so I just thought I would try to make it a thing. I talked to my mom about it and she was like yeah you should totally try and do it so I made the rules and then I pitched the idea to everyone and everyone was so down and so I was like okay we’re so doing this.”

84 students each paid $15 to play, with a total of $1260 on the line, and the winning team sharing the spoils of victory.

To get there, players are given a list, and accumulate points by taking out their targets.

Mediating it all is Macey’s mom, Sharalyn Edmunds.

“I do a lot of matching up and then there’s a lot of controversial kills that require me to just make a decision on,” Sharalyn said. “I think it’s been really fun and the kids for the most part have been really great and respectful and have followed the rules that we set up and it’s just been really fun.”

With the possibility of being ‘killed’ at any place outside of school and work, players are constantly on edge.

“It’s really stressful,” senior Austin Widner said. “I’ll be leaving a couple places and I’m just super freaked out about sounds around my car. Especially because I don’t know who I have eventually someone will try to get you. I have no idea who has me so I’m just constantly freaked out.”

Going to the extent of memorizing cars, senior Truman Davis’, along with Widner have let the paranoia sink in.

“Well the mindset while playing is, you always gotta keep your guard up, always gotta stay strapped, just always watch your surroundings,” Davis said. “The mindset we’re playing is to get your targets or to stay safe. You’re constantly having to watch cars driving make sure no one’s following you. It’s kind of difficult just because you literally have to memorize every single car that any player in the game has that could follow you and I guess the hardest part of the mindset is just keeping your guard up at all times.”

Although a big pay day awaits the winners, it’s about more than the money for Macey.

“I think the main intention of it is that I really just wanted to have a good time during my senior year and just try and bond with our class and even some of the juniors,” Macey said. “I thought we’ve done powder puffs in the past and I know that’s not what the school is doing anymore and it’s never as fun as it usually ends up so I wanted to do something everyone would enjoy and something everyone would remember as something new and something that nobody has done before.”