Hunting
The lad took a deep breath and exhaled.
At that moment a load of buckshot hit the backside of the thick tree he was sheltering behind. The bark shattered in different directions. Arthur Travis (that was the lad’s name) shuddered and shrank back. He stood like that for several long seconds. There was no second shot. He straightened to his full height again, still with his back to the saving trunk.
— I’ll get you, you bastard! — came a shout from a house in the clearing at a distance from where the shooting was taking place. — I’ll fucking get you!
Travis squeezed his eyes shut, equalized his breathing, and moved swiftly into the woods.
Keeping his eyes on the tree, Sergeant David Hall, standing by the kitchen window of the house, continued to wait, clutching tightly the shotgun he had just fired from. When the target appeared for a moment from behind cover, Hall muttered grudgingly: «Gone!» — He turned and left the kitchen. Walking down the corridor, he opened the storeroom where the weapons were kept. Hall took the gun and handed it to his subordinate Corporal Miller, who had come running in at the noise from his room.
— Here, Henry,“ Hall said. — „We’re going after him.
— But, sir, what about the security of the facility? — Miller asked perplexedly. — «We have orders…
— Didn’t you see the corpse in the kitchen?! — The sergeant objected. — What the hell kind of facility, Henry? Wake up, there’s a murderer lurking out there who might come back for us. We must avenge our comrade’s death, lest it be in vain. Before the bastard gets too far away, there’s a chance to catch him. I know where he went and how he got here! Either he had no choice and had to get out of the way, or he went where he was safe. While we’re talking, he’s getting away.
Corporal Miller stood in indecision. Hall held out his pistol to him with the words, «That’s an order.» Henry silently tucked it behind his belt. Hall also took two automatic rifles from the storeroom. One he gave to the corporal, the other hung on his shoulder. He kept the
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