This is the 52nd a series of 365 Flash Fiction stories I’m writing. You can find out more about the challenge here.
The Bleeding Heart, by Jonathan L. Lawrence, 22nd January 2012
Word count: 831
Theme: lost cause, grief, road less travelled, determination, love, serendipity
The story:
“We go in by the numbers, we don’t know what hostiles we’ll face. Keep it clean, come back alive,” the lieutenant said to the gathered troops.
“Yes, sir,” the troop replied in unison.
Thus began the long wait for private first class Rory Simmons, it was his first combat misson, after basic he’d served two years as part of guard unit protecting stores Gamma Sigma, an area too far inside of the Commonwealth’s territory to be under much threat, and in two years there had been no action, except drills.
The private had gained acceptance into an active combat unit on his lieutenant’s recommendation, and his training certificates in seventy one distinct weapons. It was rare for a soldier to be trained in more than the weapons they would be assigned. Even then, it had been an uphill struggle, he’d had a black mark in training, (he’d panicked in a training op), but lieutenant Gabriel Gibson, or The Horse as he was nicknamed, took a chance. Note all Simmons had to do was payback that chance.
Continue reading “Daily Flash Fiction Challenge 52: The Rookie”
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