Invisible, Seen
A short scene of sci-fi that I shared a few times on Facebook.
The first time Andrew saw Kate Mildred she was standing on the crest of a sand dune a quarter of a mile away. She looked to be around his age, which was a close-kept secret since he'd lied to the army recruiter. He wasn't 18 yet but he knew he wanted to get off world fast and fight the Metallics before they made their way to Earth.
Her burnished copper hair blazed like fire in the intensity of the sun and he had the odd thought that her pale, creamy skin most certainly must be getting sunburned. She stood tall, and he supposed she would probably be pretty imposing if she were closer. She was dressed, apparently, in the stylish near-full body armor indicative of a Slasher. Her bare face, arms, and legs the only indication that she was not a Metallic. Her hand was raised to shield her eyes as she scanned the horizon and, in spite of the fact he wore rust-colored camouflage meant to blend directly with the reddish sands, her gaze stopped on him.
Andrew could feel the intensity of her stare from across the distance. Across impossibility. He knew that his camo gear was the best in the 'verse complete with invisifying force shield. He was as invisible as a grain of sand against the rest of the desert.
Yet there she stood. Her eyes fixed on his location as her other hand reached back behind her. From a shoulder sheath she pulled the largest gun Andrew had ever seen. It was easily as large as her entire upper body and the way the metal sparkled in the sunlight told him it was probably just as heavy. She set her eye to the sight and aimed directly where Andrew rested in the shade of a large wandering cactus.
Andrew's heart quickened, bucking all training he'd ever had in desert combat on distant planets. He cursed himself for getting separated from his unit and for being out in the open on a planet with Slashers who very obviously had ocular enhancements. He was a sitting duck.
The boom of her shot vibrated through the air only seconds before the bullet struck the desert near his face, splattering it with a mist of sand. His heart leaped into his throat and with wide eyes he watched her put the gun away again. Without another glance in his direction she turned, her red hair flaming away into the distance as she descended the dune.
How had she missed him? he wondered. Turning his eyes slowly toward the ground where the bullet had hit, he almost laughed out loud. As he pulled the water supply unit she had fired at him out of the sand, Andrew knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was going to find that girl again one day.
And he was going to kiss her.