Shorties: Number 29

This is not a feel good write.  It describes horror going on in our world.  It needs to stop. 

 

Diana fought to maintain control but panic was quickly rising.  She was certain her baby was dead.  It was only a matter of time until she succumbed to the darkness searing the edges of her vision.  Minutes before, she was crossing the street with a friend.  He already had the range and simply waited until the pair was in the middle of the street when he squeezed the trigger. 

He knew his target, the baby in Diana’s stomach, would be squarely hit.  Such a hit would get him the prize when he returned to base.  He didn’t smoke but a pack of cigarettes was a badge of honor for him.  Even if he somehow missed and hit the other lady closer to him, he had time to resight his target and take another shot.  The only difficulty in hitting a pregnant woman was the limited number of them walking the streets. 

It was a game for the snipers.  Yesterday, the goal was groin shots.  On another day, it might be head shots.  Doctors and emergency personnel quickly learned the horrific game being played.  They dreaded learning what the game du jour was. 

The baby, two weeks from birth, died instantly after the bullet shattered the spine.  Her friend stood puzzled for a moment wondering why Diana so violently fell to the side.  Then the delayed crack of a supersonic projectile met her ears and she knew Diana had been shot.  She bent down to help Diana to safety when a bullet slapped into her ear causing blood to splatter onto Diana after it exited.  She slumped onto Diana in a heap. 

Diana struggled against the weight of her friend’s body.  More than anything, she wanted to get out of the kill zone.  Just as she was coming free another bullet sliced through the tibia of her left leg.  It was shattered.  Standing was impossible now.  She would never be able to run to safety.  She pondered her options.  She had none.  Diana knew she was completely at the mercy of the one looking through the sight.  Rage filled her.  She screamed obscenities at her assassin.  She cried. 

Another bullet hit her arm and more blood pooled under her.  People on both sides of the street congregated and watched the horror.  Agony filled them.  They knew the sniper was good.  Anyone going to her aid would be hit.  Fear planted them behind the buildings on each side of the street.  Diana screamed another curse to the unseen one toying with her.  She mourned her dead husband.  She mourned her unborn child.  She felt life draining from her body. 

A man hiding behind the building pulled a pistol and gave a quick glance in the direction of the sniper.  He picked a spot and again hid behind the corner of the building.  Then he blindly fired round after round from the pistol.  His added curses with each shot.  Tears streaked his cheeks.  When would it end?

All any of them wanted was to live.  They wanted to raise their families in peace.  They wanted to share meals with friends and family.  They wanted to grow old and share their wisdom with younger generations.  Instead, they were at the mercy of monsters who only viewed them as game.  They weren’t human. 

The final vison in Diana’s eyes was her father and mother.  They died the previous month after an explosion flattened their home.  Crushed in their bed as ten floors collapsed upon them, they never knew what happened.  Her only thought was how much she missed them.  Once more, she mourned for her unborn ba…