Chris was left alone with Theo. Chris wasn't the most outgoing person, but he wasn't introverted, either. He was very popular among the people in his school, especially the girls, so he was used to dealing with strangers, but Theo was different, so was everyone else on Team Spectre. They didn't treat him differently just because of his status.
Chris glanced over at Theo, who was a head shorter than him. He understood why Anna treated him like a body pillow. He himself was holding back a small urge to hug him.
How can a boy be this cute? Chris thought.
"Mr.Arden?" Theo noticed his stare and looked up at him.
"Chris is fine." He averted his gaze. "So, Theo, what do you think about Sergeant Hastings?"
Chris was just trying to find something to talk about. He had no idea why that was the first thing that came to his mind.
"Anna? I think she is a very dependable leader. She is the most talented and capable soldier in our academy. You can definitely trust her with your life." Theo answered.
Theo must have thought I asked out of doubts in Anna's abilities, Chris thought.
"No, I meant, as a person." Chris corrected himself.
"As a person?" Theo paused to think of an answer, "Well, she is friendly, maybe too friendly."
"Do you not like that of her? I find that quite charming."
"No no, I didn't mean it like that. But if you have her treat you like a body pillow, you will get what I mean." Theo chuckled.
"Really? I don't think I would mind…" Chris realized what he was saying and his voice drifted off.
"Oh?" Theo nudged Chris on the arm with his elbow.
Soft gunshots came from some distance away in front of Theo and Chris.
"We must be getting close, right?" Chris changed the topic.
"Yeah. We are only a couple of blocks away."
Soon, they reached the outdoor shooting range on the other side of the academy. The gunshots were now loud and clear. Their academy had multiple ranges to accommodate the large population of students and a wide variety of weapon systems. The one they were heading toward was the main outdoor range between the rear of the school and the mountain ranges behind the academy that were kept to serve as training grounds.
The two walked to the military fences that surrounded the range and observed the club activity.
"So this is the Special Designated Marksman Club, huh?" Theo asked with a hint of envy in his voice as he pulled out a pair of binoculars from his side pouch.
Chris knew Theo was thinking of how he could never reach their level of marksmanship. Chris himself wasn't even sure if he could compete with them.
"Yep, that's them alright." There was a crowd of roughly 50 people around Chris's age sitting on the sidelines while 5 students, occupying a lane each, shot at targets 200 meters away with bolt action rifles. There was no sound other than the booming gunshots and the loud, metallic pings from the distance where the bullets made contact with their targets.
Most of the students were wearing the dark-grey academy uniforms with a few exceptions. Many of the academy's clubs were opened to the public and accepted talented citizens who for some reason or another, did not attend the academy, which was a rare case.
"Switch! Squad 5, you are up!" A man in his 30s wearing badges indicating his instructor status shouted from the sidelines.
With a simultaneous, "Yes Sir!" Four tough men holding a rifle each stepped up and the 5 shooters on the lanes wrapped up what they were doing.
"Bell! Private Bell! Where have you gone this time?" The instructor yelled into the crowd.
"Oh. Here!" A short, young girl wearing shabby clothes shot up from the crowd. She started walking onto the field.
"Who is that?" Theo asked.
"I am not sure," Chris answered.
The girl's behavior showed etiquette. She was not just some commoner, but out of the many dinner parties with countless aristocratic families Chris had attended, he didn't recall seeing someone that looked like her.
She was pretty, definitely high above average, but not quite as high as Anna or Charl, Chris thought.
Chris noticed that the weapon she was holding wasn't the same as the other members.
"Is that a DMR?" Chris muttered to himself.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Theo asked. Clearly, he didn't pay much attention in Firearm Variants Class.
"Yeah. DMRs have much higher magazine capacities than bolt action rifles, and they are self-loading, but there is a catch. Their types of cartridges are very small and limited, therefore losing a lot in accuracy and bullet speed." Only those with extreme confidence in their marksmanship will choose DMRs over bolt actions. Chris added to himself.
"Hmm." Theo put his binoculars to his eyes.
Chris thought there was going to be laughter, or some sort of commotion among the crowd since this poor, young girl was openly displaying her superiority, but they were completely silent.
The five students lined up in their lanes. The girl named Bell was making some adjustments to her scope.
"Fire at will!" The instructor shouted, followed by consecutive gunshots.
Bell's target was unscratched.
"She missed," Chris said.
"Wait, no. Look at this, Chris," Theo said with a surprised voice as he handed his binoculars to Chris.
Chris took the binoculars and put them against his eyes. He looked around for what Theo might have been talking about, and there it was. The target at the 750-meter range. All the other ones were untouched, except for the one in Bell's lane. It had a dent, dead center in the head.
"Amazing," Chris murmured, but it was not over.
While the other shooters were pulling their bolts, Bell took no time to pause and continued pulling the trigger repetitively. Each new bullet landed in the exact same spot as the original. It was an impressive sight to behold.
"It's her, we need her," Chris said as he handed the binoculars back to Theo. "Let's go wait at the exit. I want to talk to her after they are done."
Some time has passed. It was now 7 o'clock. Chris and Theo were standing by the fence beside the exit. The members of the club walked out from the range in groups, chatting and laughing. Bell was the last one to leave, isolated and alone.
Upon seeing her up close, he realized she was very clean, and her hair was well treated, despite her less than appealing clothes.
"Private Bell," Chris called out to her.
Bell looked over to Chris. Her face was expressionless as before.
"I'm not a soldier." She stopped in her steps.
"My bad. Mrs.Bell, then. Do you have some time right now? We have someone that wants to meet you." Chris walked up and offered. Theo followed behind him.
"And what is it that you might need me for?" Bell glanced over Chris and Theo. He could feel her analytical gaze pierce through his skin.
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