Lt. Caitlyn Smith was one of the US Army’s best kept secret. She graduated first in her class and had a wall full of medals and awards, for shooting. Unfortunately a female sniper was still hard to accept by the brass, so they kept her behind the desk… Until the nuclear strikes happened.
Being forced to call to active duty everyone they could, Caitlyn was one of the first shipped to the European theatre of war, and within months of being on the ground she’d racked up an impressive kill count. Her story was told everywhere stateside. She certainly would have been able to fill another wall with the awards and medals to come, but that was not to be, for the world as she knew it came to an end.
She wore the gillie suit and was poised atop a hill, concealed from view. It was early dawn, perhaps a few weeks after the end. She still didn’t quite comprehend what had happened, but her pick up never showed, and she’d spent the last week behind enemy territory. Seemed the enemy was doing no better, she stumbled on several wreckages of enemy aircraft scattered about the country side… Nothing made sense.
She was overlooking the village she had used as a base of operations. Unknown to the villagers of course. She’d sneak in at night and steal whatever food or supplies she needed and then spent the day hiding in the hills. Pick had been suppose to be nearby, so she figured it was best to stay close, though she was starting to doubt anyone was coming… Though the villagers had never seen her, they knew someone was looking out for them. Since the fall a few weeks earlier, marauders had been coming to steel, pillage and rape, but shots were heard, and marauders fell…
She was looking through the high power rifle’s scope and the same scene was unfolding. Two marauders had snuck in town and were dragging a poor young girl to their vehicle. The other villagers hid in their houses, doors locked and shutters closed. The first man held the poor girl down while the second dropped his pants and prepared to take the girls innocence.
But that would not happen… * One shot, one kill * was the saying, and that was good, because Caitlyn was down to her last two bullets. But as always, her aim was true. The first shot rang out and the man with the lowered pants fell. Before he hit the ground the second bullet was away, and the second man’s life had been extinguished… The girl screamed as she ran back to the house from which she had been torn…
What now… No ammo… That was the hard decision LT. Smith had to make.