Calm before

*Swish*

*Boom…*

*Swish*

*Boom*

In the short few minutes since I heard Fay's first shot, her barrage drastically changed. 

From steady, well-aimed strikes separated by the few seconds she needed to adjust her aim and correct for the enemy's movement, Fay now moved on firing as quickly as she could. 

'Silence,' I thought once the echo of the distant yet closing explosions ceased, fading into obscurity amidst the darkness of the night. 

And as the moment without the sound of Fay's bullet stretched into several seconds, a realization struck me. 

'She's changing the barrel.'

It didn't take a genius to figure it out. After covering the area ahead of us with such an intense barrage, why else would Fay suddenly stop?

"Is it over yet?" Claudy asked in a voice less steady than usual. 

'Right, he was on the receiving end of this kind of fire,' I thought, nearly instantly mending the impression his quick question left on me.