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"That’s the probleive her eddon happened, I was known fortoo much, but I had to be careful never to s traffic But it has absolutely no effect on Ringer She doesn’t squint in its overwhel luminescence She doesn’t even blink

"Your technique is good What’s going on when you shoot?"

"Generally speaking, Iof srin from her I decide to ht than a Zombie one, but old habits die hard

"I et," she says

Huh? "Well, when it pops up--"

"No I’ertips on et twenty yards away

"You’ve lost er"

"You have to think of your weapon as a part of you Not the M16 firing; you firing It’s like blowing on a dandelion You breathe the bullet out"

She swings her rifle off her shoulder and nods to Oompa She doesn’t knohere it’ll pop up, but the head of the target explodes in a shower of splinters before it even gets upright

"It’s like there’s no space, nothing that isn’t you The rifle is you The bullet is you The target is you There’s nothing that’s not you"

"So basically what you’re saying is I’ot a smile with that one The left corner of her ain

Her eyebrows coether Strike three "It’s more like quantum mechanics"

I nod seriously "Oh, sure That’s what I meant to say Quantum mechanics"

She turns her head away To hide a smile? So I don’t see an exasperated eye roll? When she turns back, all I get is that intense, storaduate?"

"I want to get the hell away froh" She points across the field at one of the cutouts The wind plays with her bangs "What do you see when you sight a target?"

"I see a plywood cutout of a person"

"Okay, but who do you see?"

"I knohat you meant Sometimes I picture Reznik’s face"

"Does it help?"

"You tell me"

"It’s about connection," she says She motions for me to sit down She sits in front of , cold as the bodies in P&D "Close your eyes Oh, co for you? Good Okay, reet It’s not what’s between you, but what connects you Think about the lion and the gazelle What connects theer?"

"That’s the lion I’ what they share"

This is heavy stuff Maybe it was a bad idea, accepting her offer Not only do I have her thoroughly convinced I’m a lousy soldier, now there’s a real possibility that I’m also a moron

"Fear," she whispers in azelle, fear of being eaten For the lion, fear of starvation Fear is the chain that binds theether"

The chain I carry one in ht ht was last night It’s over It’s never over It isn’t a line frohten around hers

"I don’t knohat your chain is," she goes on, warm breath in my ear "It’s different for everyone They know Wonderland tells theun in your hand, and it’s the saet" Then, as if she’s read my mind: "It isn’t a line, Zo sun creates a halo of golden light around her "There is no distance"

She nods and urgesup ainst et will rise--you only know that it will Ringer signals Ooht a h time; it’s an eternity

There is no distance Nothing between rates with a satisfying crack! Ooether off the ground and twirling her around I’ her When I set her down, she takes a couple of steps back and tucks her hair carefully behind her ears

"That was out of line," I say I don’t knoho’sto catch our breaths Maybe for different reasons

"Do it again," she says

"Shoot or twirl, which one?"

Her mouth twitches Oh, I’"

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