Chapter 7 - THE UNFAIR TRAPThe crowd noticed Sarah delaying her shot. The 60-second timer on the big screen was ticking down rapidly.
50 seconds... 40 seconds...
"What is she waiting for?" the commentator shouted. "Sarah isn't taking the shot! Is she freezing under the immense pressure of the final round?!"
Emma smiled triumphantly, folding her arms. "Out of time, Sarah? Give up! Go back to your broom!"
Inside Sarah's mind, memory flooded back. She remembered her training in the freezing rain of sniper school; she remembered her brother’s voice: "Focus isn't in your eyes, sis. It's in your heart. When you can't see the target, feel it."
25 seconds... 20 seconds...
Sarah did something that shocked every expert in the stadium.
She reached up, unlocked the high-magnification scope from her rifle frame, and ripped it off entirely, tossing the expensive optic onto the floor!
The crowd shrieked in terror.
"She removed her scope?!" the announcer screamed. "At 200 meters, aiming at a coin-sized target with iron sights is practically IMPOSSIBLE! It's a miracle if she even hits the board!"
Emma’s smile instantly vanished, replaced by sheer horror.
10 seconds... 9 seconds... 8 seconds...
Sarah didn't hesitate. She lined up the raw metal iron sight with the distant black dot. She shut out the noise of thirty thousand screaming people, shut out the flashing lights, shut out the ghosts of her past. She felt the wind drift across her skin, calculated the drift in her head, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The sound echoed through the silent stadium.
For three agonizing seconds, no one moved. The computer calculated the hit.
Suddenly, the massive LED screens flashed bright red and gold, displaying bold letters that shook the foundation of the stadium:
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PERFECT 10.9 — EXACT DEAD CENTER HIT! NEW WORLD RECORD! WINNER: SARAH VANCE!
The stadium erupted into an absolute roar! Spectators jumped out of their seats, cheering wildly, clapping, and chanting Sarah’s name!
