Camp Koradel

It was in a state of almost nothingness that Sophie returned to the group of girls. Erin was the only one who even offered a glance; they must have felt awkward about the situation.

“Galvin—”

“I know,” Sophie said, forcing a smile. She knew they knew, and of course Galvin would want to inform them of his little disaster. Little? She asked herself with a slight shiver.

“Alright, ladies, it’s specialty time.”

The girls scrambled around, standing to their feet and each heading the same direction. Sophie, confused and dazed still, followed without question, but Galvin called her name and she turned around, asking, “What?”

“We’re headed up the hill so that everyone can practice their own specialties. Do you have something you are good at?”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

Ho nodded knowingly. “We’ll test you on many different things and see where your skill lies.”

“And if I don’t have one?”

He smiled. “You have a skill, Sophie; you just haven’t found it yet.” For once, the man seemed gentle and caring, and Sophie really smiled. They continued their walk up the hill until Sophie saw a few people sprinting to certain areas. She could see Charley and Anna aiming guns at human-sized figures, Erin fencing with Paige, and Sabrina pummeling whatever popped up around her in an odd, see-through room. “Would you like to try guns, first?”

“I’ve never shot a gun,” she admitted quietly.

“Then that’s where we can start.” Galvin led her to a stand next to Charley, and she observed the guns carefully, lightly stroking a silver pistol.

“I don’t even know how to shoot a gun. All I know is that I’m not supposed to point it at anyone—”

“Yet,” Galvin finished for her. She looked at him. His brown hair billowed in the soft wind as the sun danced against his tan skin, and he beamed softly at her, revealing marvelously white teeth. He seemed different that day, for reasons Sophie couldn’t comprehend. “Now,” he instructed, “this wouldn’t be a very good gun to kill someone with, unless it’s all you have. Hold it with your right hand and keep your arm straight.”

She did just as he instructed, but it felt odd. “Put this hand here,” he ordered, placing her left hand on the other side of the handle. She could see Allison by the human figure, and she shook her head as her eyes widened. Remembering she wasn’t supposed to point a gun at anyone, she began to lower it, but Galvin supported her grip with his large hands. “Use that hand to cock the gun. All you have to do is pull this back, and then you can pull the trigger.”

Boom! She had shot the gun as soon as he had said the word trigger, and then she looked at him. He was smiling, lips pressed together in an effort not to laugh. “You missed by far.” She looked back at the figure, and Allison was gone. Had he not seen her?

“Well, then let’s try something else.” She stalked off towards where she had seen Sabrina at, and stepped inside the translucent room-type thing. First, an object that looked similar to a head popped out of nowhere to her left, and she automatically reached out to punch it. It immediately disappeared, but another one appeared in front of her. Soon enough, the heads popped up in so many different places that she became dizzy and almost fell to the ground. The last one she saw made her feel nauseated, and for a moment she stood there staring at it. It was a female head, with hair that fell to her shoulders, and she wore rectangular glasses. Allison. She stepped out of there and frowned at Galvin.

“Have you ever done archery?” He offered with an apologetic smile.

She shook her head and followed him to a little table that was about 30 feet away from a target. On the wooden table were 5 arrows and a bow. She looked at him helplessly. “I did say I’ve never done this before”

He chuckled and said, “I want you to try and figure out how to hold it first.”

She gaped at him for a moment, but then picked up the bow and one of the arrows, placing her hands where it felt natural. There was a spot already there for her left hand on the bow, and a small place to set the arrow. She bent her elbow as she placed it there and awkwardly held it with her right hand.

“That doesn’t feel right, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t.” She kept her stance, though, and when Galvin adjusted her elbow into a more appropriate position, she tried to remember that she had angled her arm up too far. He then moved her body so that her left hip was a little bit closer to the target than her right. Allison was standing in front of the target when she looked back up. Are you going to kill me, too? Her voice felt like a knife in Sophie’s brain, but she blinked hard a few time and the apparition was gone.

“Okay,” he whispered, sounding slightly excited, “now you can shoot.” The arrow soared through the air, and when it struck the target, he removed his hands from her waist and shouted, grinning from ear to ear. “I think we’ve found your talent, Sophie.”

“But,” she said, looking at the target, “I didn’t hit the center.”

He looked at her intently then. “You hit it. As long as you hit a person, that’s good enough. Plus, that was your first shot with a bow. Ever. And you made it. I’m impressed.” She smiled shyly, and for a moment she forgot. She freed her mind of Allison as she turned back to face the target again. Breathing deeply and letting all thoughts flow out of her, she took the position for only the second time, and it felt good. She pulled back on the arrow, careful not to let her elbow bend upward as she aimed. Shoof was the sound it made, and then, with her eyes closed, Sophie heard it strike the target. There was silence; she couldn’t open her eyes.

“Sophie, open your eyes.”

She obliged, and gasped. The arrow was in the very center of the target. “Bull’s eye,” she whispered, and could hardly believe it. Finally, there was something she was good at. She remembered the first time her father had hit her; she’d cried, and he had criticized her to the point that she felt no more than dust in a difficult place. She had failed in holding back her tears.

The night her mom died was as clear as any other five-year-old memory can get, but she knew she would never forget it. Daddy, no! She had cried over a decade ago. A train is coming! Get Mommy and Jimmy out of the car!

They’re sleeping, sweetie. We wouldn’t want to wake them up.

No! Sophie had screamed as the train chugged its way closer. Mommy! She had tried to run to the car, but her father wrapped one arm around her tiny waist and pulled her into him. She watched as the train trampled over the car, its blaring horn hurting Sophie’s young ears. She had cried so hard her throat was sore for weeks. She screamed again and again, but it never helped her mother or the little baby boy in her arms.

She had failed in saving her mother on the train tracks that night. But this day was the day she finally finished as victor. It was the best feeling she’d ever had, and she wanted to shoot it again.

Turning around, she glanced across the area to where the guns and human figures were. At probably at least double the distance she had just shot, she knew she had to aim higher. The same procedure took over her as she entered a tranquil, faraway world for a minute before releasing her grip on the arrow. Shoof! And it struck the figure right in the gut. Charley, Anna, and Paige turned to see where the arrow had come from, and their jaws fell when their eyes fell on her.

“Great job, girl,” Paige said with a smirk.

“Okay, now that’s impressive,” Charley said.

“Good thing she’s on our side,” Anna giggled.

“Sophie,” Galvin muttered behind her. She turned, staring at him expectantly. “Where were you aiming?”

“The stomach,” she answered immediately.

“Are you sure you’ve never shot a bow and arrow before?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied honestly, nodding as she aimed at the head in the open, clear room that she had last been in. It struck the nose and Sophie laughed, relieved.

“Alright, girls,” Galvin yelled loudly. “I guess we’re done for the day.”

A few ecstatic shouts and a “hell yeah” were their responses, and he laughed. “Sophie, I think we need to talk.”

She nodded, and as the rest of the girls made their way back to the cabin, Sophie stayed back with Galvin, pulling the four arrows out of her targets and placing them back onto the table. Looking up towards the sky, Sophie felt nothing. There was happiness earlier that day, and then there was more, but the news of Allison had shocked her to pure numbness.

“What are you thinking or feeling, Sophie?”

She didn’t even glance up at him. “Nothing except nothing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” she tried to explain, “I’m not really feeling anything right now, and what I’m thinking about is that feeling of nothingness.”

“Is this nothingness bad?” When she shook her head, he asked, “Do I need to reschedule tomorrow’s activity with you and Erin?”

“No, don’t do that.”

“Were you and Allison good friends?”

The sudden question astonished Sophie; she was frozen by it for a moment before she could speak. “We were…close enough,” she said simply.

“I see,” he said very seriously. Sophie was still looking at the arrows on the wooden table when he said, “Sophie would you please look at me?” Reluctantly, she granted his wish and saw that he looked extremely upset. “I’m sorry about the way I came on to you. It’s natural for me at first to do that to all of the girls, but you made me realize that it was wrong. Will you accept my apology?”

Knowing she wasn’t the first he had said this to, she didn’t speak.

“Sophie, I’m fighting, too. I’m not training you girls just to leave and give up.”

This got her attention, and her head snapped up. “You’re fighting with us?” He nodded, and she almost wanted to smile. “Then I’m sorry I yelled at you yesterday. I was just— you caught me at a bad time.”

He shook his head. “I fully understand, Sophie. I would’ve yelled at me, too, if I were you. Why would I be here, though, helping you, if I wasn’t even going to fight for my country along with you? Arrows may not be too modern, but that’s never a bad thing; in fact, it’ll be a surprise to see you holding a bow and arrow to their face, and they’ll never expect you to actually be able to hit them. You can be our secret weapon, shooting from the inside of a tank, but with your good aim, we can be almost positive you won’t hit any of us.”

“Galvin, I just got lucky.”

“No,” he insisted, “you didn’t see yourself shoot. The focus you put into it… It made you look fierce and beautiful at the same time.” He smiled. “Well, more beautiful.”

She giggled and then tried not to scream as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to his side to kiss her cheek. “I’m not kidding, Sophie.” Looking up at him, she thought about what the other girls had said about him being a “jerk”. What would they say if they saw her in his arms like that? What would they have thought if they saw the way he looked at her?

She kept wondering until he kissed her. His large hand caressed her chin, lifting it so that he could kiss her easier. His lips were soft and somehow strong at the same time, and it didn’t remind her of her father in any way; instead, her mind was cleansed until all she felt, heard, and tasted was him. Her arms wrapped around his waist as she returned the kiss. As their lips separated, he hugged her tightly, and she wished he wouldn’t have stopped. Momentarily, she wondered if it was normal to be so infatuated with someone five years older, but she soon concluded that it was quite usual.

“This can’t happen,” Galvin said, and Sophie’s excitement crashed. “This is a war training camp, not some romance place. We can’t — that did not just happen.” He let go of her, and began stalking away, leaving Sophie shocked-still beside the bow and arrow table.

Not some romance place. What happened? As she stood there, silent, and unmoving, she only became more and more confused by this guy. “Galvin, you are a true drama queen.”