Chapter 10 - INTO THE COASTAL LIGHT
Sarah walked out of Bay 7, her sneakers clicking softly against the gravel path that ran along the rear of the shooting lanes.
The late afternoon sun was sinking below the horizon, painting the Pacific sky in brilliant shades of amber, violet, and deep indigo. The coastal air blew cold against her skin, rustling the red windbreaker jacket tied around her waist.
She walked past the main pro-shop counter, handed the plastic gun case back to the range safety officer with a quiet word of thanks, and stepped through the double glass doors out into the open parking lot.
Behind her, inside Bay 7, Corporal Miller stood by the counter, watching her through the chain-link perimeter fence as she walked toward her old, dusty pickup truck. He watched the steady, unhurried rhythm of her stride—the stride of a woman who had walked through the dark valleys of the world and come out on the other side, carrying her strength in silence.
Sarah opened the door of her truck, set her keys on the dashboard, and paused for a second before climbing inside. She looked back at the range bluffs one last time, hearing the faint, distant echo of gunfire fading into the roar of the ocean waves crashing against the Oceanside shore.
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She didn't need the uniform. She didn't need the rank. She didn't need the praise of young soldiers looking for heroes.
She climbed into her truck, started the engine, and pulled out onto the coastal highway, driving into the sunset with the quiet, unyielding peace of someone who knew exactly who she was.
