"Your other right hand," he growled.
She switched hands.
He started by clearing his throat, then, "Do you solemnly swear that you will uphold and defend the constitution of the United States, defend this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and kill the hell out of any and all zombies you contact so help you God?"
Zoe nodded and confirmed, "Yes, Sir."
"State your name," he ordered.
"Zoe Rebecca Templeton," she complied.
"I don't like that name," he announced. "From now on your name is Private Princess."
A little ripple of laughter swept through the room and she smiled just a little.
"You got that, soldier?" he barked.
With a quick little nod, she giggled, "Yes, Sir."
"See to it you remember that, Private. Finish up with this M-2 and then report to Sergeant Morris for outfitting. He'll be in charge of getting you trained and equipped." The Colonel turned smartly and strode back toward the elevator, ordering, "Carry on."
Not quite an hour later, Tex strode into the rally area, looking around for the girl and finally saw her, and he did not expect what he saw. From the beginning, the other soldiers largely rejected her. She was a zombie, the enemy, and that was all the soldiers had been able to see. Now, most of them were embracing her. Most of them surrounded a table and seemed to be cheering her on as she worked to reassemble the big fifty caliber machine gun, and he stopped behind part of the crowd as she slid the last pieces into place, turned the barrel to lock it into the receiver, then she pulled back the bolt and let it slam home, and when this happened, the soldiers around her raised their hands and cheered her.
Morris folded his arms and shook his head as she raised her hands and cheered with them.
Her eye caught the Sergeant and she lowered her arms as she saw him and she smiled a big smile.
"Okay, children," he called. "I need to borrow Zoe for a while. Everyone carry on and get your gear ready to go. Zoe, come with me."
She bounded to him with the springy step of an excited teenage girl, and when she reached him she informed, "Colonel Halstead doesn't like my name anymore, so now I'm Private Princess."
Hesitantly, he nodded, then turned to the elevators and folded his hands behind him. "Private Princess, huh? Well, okay. Come on then, Private. We have an appointment."
Zoe also folded her hands behind her as she followed him, she still had that little spring to her step and a little swing in her hips as they approached the elevator door.
As they stood at the door and waited for it to open, he looked down at her and observed, "You seem to be feeling better than you did a little while ago."
She nodded, just staring at the door as she confirmed, "Yes, Sir. I feel better." She glanced up at him and explained, "Colonel Halstead explained to me that we are all a family here. I miss my mom and dad and my brother Steve and I think I always will, but he said I'm part of his family now."
"Halstead explained that to you," he said. "So, the Colonel found your smile."
Zoe just nodded and stared at the door.
Tex shook his head and mumbled, "Who knew that crusty old Marine actually had a heart?"
The door opened and they entered the elevator, and both turned to face the door as it closed.
"Where are we going?" Zoe asked innocently.
"Roof," was his reply. "We haven't found any gear your size, but the Colonel thought it might be a good idea to train you in firearms use. We've set up a range up there for target practice, since we know the adjacent building is empty and we won't hit anyone over there.
She glanced at him again. "Um, Daddy always told me I shouldn't be playing with guns."
A slight smile touched his mouth and he informed, "You won't be playing up there, Kiddo. We also found a weapon in that sporting goods store that will suit you perfectly."
What could Zoe do but giggle?
The weapon they found for her was a snub nose, nickel plated revolver with pink grips and a pink cylinder, pink sights and a pink hammer and trigger. She held it loosely and with an apprehensive grip as she turned it over and over, shaking her head the whole time."
"What do you think, Princess?" Sergeant Morris asked with a smile.
She squealed back, "It's so pink!"
"Thought you might like it," he assured. "Okay, noob, for safety's sake we've cleared everyone off of here so that you can get the feel of this thing without any danger of anyone else getting hit." He looked beyond them, beyond roof vents, solar panels and the like to the other end of the roof about fifty feet away where targets were hanging from a wire that was stretched between two poles, one an antenna, and he pointed to them and asked, "Do you think you can hit the one in the middle?"
With a shrug, Zoe admitted, "I don't know. I'll try."
As she held the weapon up and took aim, he reminded, "Just like I showed you when we first got here. Put the sights right under the bull's eye and squeeze the trigger."
Zoe leaned her head slightly, looking over the sights with one eye closed as she lined the weapon up on the target. Slowly, she squeezed her hand as she had been shown and the hammer of the revolver retreated back, then slammed home with an empty click. She flinched when it happened, then looked to the gun before observing, "I don't think there are any bullets in here."
"There aren't," he confirmed. "I just wanted you to get used to the feel of the weapon. Try it again."
He had her pull the trigger on the empty revolver a few more times before her stopped her and commended, "Good. How's it feel?" She responded with a nod and he gently took it from her, opened the cylinder and reached into his pocket. "We're going to start you with thirty-eights. In the field you'll use three fifty sevens, but for now let's see how you do with these." He had the weapon loaded in seconds, closed the cylinder and handed it back to her, grips first.
Zoe took it carefully. Knowing that it was now loaded seemed to change things and she handled it with an apprehensive touch.
Tex produced earmuffs and slipped them over her head, closing them gently around her ears as he loudly said, "This will keep your ears from ringing later. Take a couple of shots. The targets are twenty-five feet away, about the range you'll be shooting."
She nodded and looked to the first target, the one in the middle. Raising the weapon as she had before, she took careful aim. When she squeezed the trigger, the weapon made a horrible pop and there was a bright flash and billowing smoke, and she barked a scream as she backed up a step. Looking hesitantly up at the Sergeant, she waited for his judgment, and saw him staring at the target, and nodded.
"Not bad," he praised. "Looks like you scored a head shot. Try it again."
Just hearing his praise sent a surge of confidence into her and she raised the weapon again, aiming and squeezing the trigger as before, then again, and again. She hit the target every time, and each time was a small triumph that made her feel more and more confidence, and she giggled like a giddy little girl as soon as her sixth and last shot was fired. Looking up at the Sergeant, she squealed, "This is fun!"
He smiled and patted her shoulder. "That's good to hear, Princess." He took the weapon from her and opened the cylinder, dumping out the spent brass before he reached into another pocket. "Okay, let's try you with the big boys." He reloaded the weapon and handed it to her as he had before. As she took it, he pointed to the right of the targets where a cinder block was set up on its end. "There's your target. These rounds will kick a little more and they're going to be a lot louder, but they do a lot more damage, which comes in handy when you're in a firefight." He backed up a step and ordered, "Take it out."