The Shooting Gallery

“This sure doesn’t seem to make sense to me.”1

“Quit your squawking, they know what they are doing.  Besides this is the Army and you know what they say about doing and dying?”2

“Yeah, yeah, but even you have to admit this doesn’t make much sense.”3

“Look we’re here and we are being paid to do this so live with it,” the second soldier insists as he and his partner stroll down the avenue of what seems to be an amusement park.4

The first soldier’s face registers his lack of enthusiasm.  They are supposed to be in training to be warriors.  Plus they were told they were being sent to the training area to develop their skills.  But this place looks like some old time amusement park filled with rides and a carnival section where they are currently walking.5

What bugs him the most is that he can’t even remember how he got here.  One second they were standing in that armory and being issued weapons.  The next they were standing on this avenue filled with booths and games.  He didn’t mind doing his duty, but he hated when it was just plain weird.6

His partner doesn’t seem to let this reality bother him.  He just keeps his rifle slung over his shoulder and moseys along eyeing the different games like they were there to have fun instead of on patrol.7

“Hey Sam look there’s a shooting gallery,” the second soldier comments.8

“Oh yeah that is going to be so helpful to our training Pete.”9

“Hey we might as well check it out.  It isn’t like we have anything else to do at the moment.  After all if they didn’t expect us to have a little fun they could have given us better orders”10

Sam shrugs as they walk up to the shooting gallery with all its targets moving on their respective belts and the stationary ones flashing with lights as if they were just begging to be shot.  The only thing that really bothers Sam is that there isn’t anyone else around. There is not a single attendant or other visitors in the entire place.  It left him with a real creepy feeling like something wasn’t quite right.11

Pete takes his rifle off his shoulder and aims it at the shooting gallery.  “Man I always wanted to use a real weapon on one of these.”12

“Oh come on this is silly.  I mean your bullets with your rifle set on auto will totally ruin the place.  What kind of challenge is that?”13

“Does it matter?  Think about it Sam, we aren’t here by accident.  They wanted us here.  You can look at it anyway you want, but who is to say that this isn’t part of the training?”14

“Right,” Sam groans.  “Shooting at some stupid wooden ducks is really going to make us great soldiers.  I still feel in my gut that something isn’t quite right about this.”15

“Well until we see any better options, I’m going to get in some target practice if you don’t mind.”16

Pete eagerly sets his weapon on automatic and pulls the trigger.  The wooden targets disintegrate as the bullets rip through them.  Sam just stands there shaking his head.  This all seems so pointless and stupid.17

When he uses up a clip of ammo, Pete lowers his weapon and grins.  He looks down at the set of stuffed animal prizes and grabs a teddy bear.18

“What are you doing?” Sam demands to know.19

“I won didn’t I?”20

“If you want to call it that.  Look I’m getting bored here.  I just can’t believe this is why they had us come to this place.”21

“And I’m getting hungry.  So how about if we go and check out the food?”22

Sam shrugs.  Some food wouldn’t be bad.  He just never quite imagined that this was how he would train for going into war.23

“Hey there’s a good looking place,” Ed says a few minutes later as he points to a corn dog shack.  The lack of customers and anyone inside does give him a spooky feeling, but his hunger overpowers his fears.  So he leans his rifle down on the side, goes around back, opens the door and walks inside.  A few seconds later he emergences with four corn dogs and two cups of cola.  Handing Sam his share, he moseys over to a nearby table and chairs and sits down.24

Sam follows Ed’s lead and puts his weapon against the side of the corn dog shack.  With nobody around it hardly seems important if they hold their rifles.  Then he shuffles over and sits next to Ed.  “Some training this is.  Like I really needed the Army to learn how to eat a corn dog.”25

“It sure beats marching, doesn’t it?”26

“For now.  But we are talking the Army.  They wouldn’t go to this trouble unless they had a plan.  You just wait, I’m telling you before we are done I bet we will have to shoot someone or fight in some way.  Otherwise none of this could possibly make sense.”27

“You worry too much,” Ed observes as he bites into his corn dog.  At least he knows the food is real regardless of what else you can say about the place.28

“Who was that?” Sam asks a few minutes later after he sees some movement off to his right of what he thought looked like a couple of figures ducking behind one of the booths.29

Ed looks over and squints when he sees a rifle barrel sticking out from the booth. “Now that is really strange.  That’s a barrel of a musket.  One of those like they used in the Civil War if I’m not mistaken.”30

“Maybe the guys are like part of park’s entertainment or something?”31

Suddenly several men dressed in Confederate gray come out from hiding and start to aim their weapons at Sam and Ed.  “I don’t think they are part of the park.  Duck!”32

Both men get up from the table and manage to leap behind the corn dog shack as they hear the musket fire explode in the air.  Their balls strike the shack and rip through the wood.33

“What they heck do they think they are doing?  This is nuts,” Sam complains.34

Ed takes a peek to see the men have reloaded and are preparing to fire another folly.  “I don’t feel like sticking around to ask.  We got to get out of here.”35

“But what about our rifles?  We could shoot back you know?”36

“You want to try to reach out and get them with those guys blasting at us go ahead.  We can come back later, right now let’s just get the heck away from those nuts.”37

Ed and Sam both use the back of the corn dog shack as cover as they get to their feet, crouch down and begin running away from the direction of the Confederate soldiers.  As they turn the corner they heard another round of musket fire.38

“You think we’ve gone far enough away?” Sam asked, being out of breath and panting after they stop a few blocks later and hide behind the Ferris Wheel.39

“For now.  I got no idea what kind of person thought up this insanity, but they sure are sick.”40

“Oh my god, there’s some more soldiers.  But at least they aren’t dressed in gray.”41

“Nope.  But judging from their weapons and uniforms I’d say they look like they are from World War II.”42

“This is getting absolutely ridiculous Ed.”43

“Shhh, I think one of them heard us.”44

About that time one of the World War II soldiers looks over in their direction.  He points his Thompson Sub-machine gun towards the Ferris Wheel and squeezes the trigger.  Sam and Ed manage to run away just as the bullets strike the Wheel.45

“God this is a nightmare,” Sam complains a while later when they are hiding over by the restrooms.46

“We got no choice.  We have to figure a way to get back over and get our weapons.  These guys definitely plan on killing us.  I got no idea who set this thing up, but it appears they somehow have managed to bring soldiers from different times in history together and expect us to do the obvious.  Kill each other.”47

“See I told you something bad was going to happen.”48

“It’s a little late for that.  Anyway let’s get moving, we got no choice if we want to live.”49

They slowly follow the different buildings and constantly keep a look out for any type of soldier as they move back towards the place they left their weapons.  Along the way they notice that the soldiers from each era seem to stay within a certain area like they are bound to it.50

And making it back to where their rifles are located they feel like they have somehow stepped through the pages of time.  Along the way they managed to avoid being seen by soldiers from the Korean War, Revolutionary War and World War I.51

“I can’t believe it, we made it,” Sam says with a smile.52

“If I survive this I’m going to go and punch that stupid recruiter in the nose.  Be all you can be my butt!”53

“I’ll be glad to help.  In the meantime we better worry more about how to kill those guys before they get us.  The really weird thing I noticed is that unlike these other guys we can move through the whole park.”54

“I’m just guessing here Sam, but I think the thing is since this is our present and not theirs it somehow gives us that kind of freedom.  Don’t ask me why, but something inside tells me when we end up taking on any one group, the winner gets to move to take on the next group.  Call it a gut reaction.  I just sense it is somebody’s twisted idea of seeing who is the best soldier, survivor getting the chance to stay alive.”55

“Well all I know is it is time to get even for those jerks for shooting at us.”56

“We wouldn’t be soldiers if we didn’t!  I think we better go after the World War II guys first.  Because even though they aren’t much different than the guys from the Korean War it just seemed like they were better at stalking us.  So we best get rid of our biggest threat first I reckon.”57

“Yeah, if we got no choice, but to fight it sure sounds like a plan to me.”58

They move cautiously and carefully towards the area where the Ferris Wheel is located.  A couple of minutes later one can hear the sound of automatic weapons being fired.  It only lasts a few seconds before there is silence.59

“I’m out,” Sam says a couple of hours later, after checking the ammo clip in his rifle.60

“Me too.  But at least we took care of everyone, but the Confederate Soldiers.”61

“So what do we do now?”62

Ed looks over the corn dog shack and notices the Confederate Soldiers are putting down their weapons and pulling out knifes.  “Looks like they are out of ammo too,” He pulls his knife from its sheath and grits his teeth.  “Guess we got to do this the hard way.”63

In a dark, windowless chamber filled with computers and monitors an Army Lieutenant sits at a screen and watches the scene in the Amusement Park.  He hits a button on his keyboard and then a green light flashes.64

About this time a Colonel enters through the door.  He looks down at the Lieutenant and asks, “How did the two privates do with our shooting gallery test?”65

“Not bad.  But they lost in that hand to hand phase.”66

“Don’t tell me the boys in gray did it again?”67

“I’m afraid so.”68

“So did you make the transfer as usual?”69

“Yep.  I switched the two privates for the two Confederate soldiers like we have done before.”70

“You know it is kind of amazing to me how we’ve done this test so often with all kinds of soldiers from different struggles and those guys in gray just end up being the victors.  Makes you wonder how they lost the war?”71

The Lieutenant shrugs his shoulders as the Colonel turns to head for the door.  Behind the Lieutenant in a special transformation platform the two Confederate soldiers who won in the hand to hand combat with Sam and Ed and are now in their uniforms stand, looking very confused.  Smiling, the Lieutenant rises to his feet to explain to the two men how they are now in a new modern Army where being the best has a whole new meaning.72

Meanwhile Sam and Ed awake to find they are dressed in Confederate gray and part of a long line of soldiers who are part of Picket’s Charge at the battle of Gettysburg.  Their shock is short lived though as the shrapnel and musket balls quickly rip through their flesh.73