3 Chapter Three: Lisa Smith

I slowly sat up, rubbing my temples as my head pounding like a drum. A boot violently struck me in the ribs, the point of contact throbbing intensely as the breath left my lungs. I swore angrily as I looked up into the scathing eyes of Lieutenant Lorries, who stood over me, his lips frozen in the ever present sneer on his face.

"Get up, salvage what you can, then come find me." He demanded gruffly before leaving.

I attempted to stand up, but stopped as white-hot pain shot through my entire left leg. I cried out, my leg giving out beneath me as I roughly slumped back to the ground. I looked down and saw that it was twice the size it should be, the pant leg soaked with blood. The Lieutenant looked back at me, grunted apathetically, then left. Off to talk to the captain I guessed. I struggled for a few long moments to get up on my good leg, then I hopped along towards what was left of the ship, my leg protesting with every movement.

I finally made it to the entrance to what remained of the ship, my clothes sticking to my skin from my exertion that it took me just to get here. I hopped inside, making my way uphill on my hands and one leg, the floor was slanted up because of the way the ship was leaning. I made my way all the way into the storage room, out of breath and my three good limbs burning. I found the storage room a wreck, but most of everything was still here, I was slightly relieved that at least some fortune had existed on this cursed day. Nothing like 2020 at least, I chuckled to myself.

I grabbed a backpack off a hook on the wall and started filling it with any canned food or water bottles I found. I nearly jumped when I heard a female voice from the space behind me.

"What are you doing?" She questioned.

I turned my head and saw that stupid alaskan snob standing there in the shadows.

"I'm scavenging, Lieutenant's orders." I snapped at her.

She gave me a rude hand gesture, which I mirrored. She grabbed a bag and began filling it with supplies, paying no mind to me.. When my bag was finally full of goods, I slid back down to the ground and began hobbling in the direction of the Lieutenant's angry screaming, which just about matched the screaming from my leg.

When I finally made my way to the source of the noise, the Lieutenant was screaming his head off at the infantry soldier who had been sent with us, Sergeant Freeman. I think that was the name. I gently dropped the bag to the ground. The Lieutenant stopped screaming mid sentence and turned his icy glare towards me. I lowered my gaze. He stomped over and picked up the bag and opened it. He sorted through the bag for a minute, his brow furrowed. Then looked back up at me, still glaring. I held my breath, waiting for him to get angry and start screaming at me. Instead, he tossed me the bottle of painkiller I had stuffed inside.

"A weak soldier is useless, rest up and find more tomorrow. I'll have more work for you then" He said before turning to the quiet soldier behind him who hadn't moved since I got there.

"Sergeant, Find the others." He ordered sternly.

The sergeant snapped a salute then ran off. I was almost feeling as though today might not actually be the worst day of my life, when that stupid alaskan snob showed up with TWO backpacks. She had found more food and medicines than I had, and had even found A welder and set of radios. She also found a half dozen machetes, two pistols, as well as a few magazines and a large number of bullets for the firearms. Lorries raised his eyebrows and nodded in approval.

"You've done well Private, rest up." He stated, patting her on the back.

I wasn't sure how yet, but one day, that snob would regret outdoing everyone at everything.