First Watch-Excerpt

First Watch

     The early morning had been especially long to Marcus today. It was almost too boring, not that he ever wanted something to happen; God forbid they all got overrun, but he did enjoy the moments when he would scout out the perimeter to check out a strange noise, or the occasional instances when he would see one or two, maybe even a small group walking along the horizon. He would grab his binoculars or maybe just use the high-powered scope on the sniper rifle to watch them, just waiting for them to make their way towards him. He remembers the rush he felt the few times he actually got to shoot them, squeezing the hair trigger on the rifle while peering down the crosshairs, watching through the scope as the bullet expelled the back of their heads. He was fifteen, with a free pass to kill, assuming of course they were already dead.
      The sun rose over the fields as dawn began to break. The air was cool but pleasant, with a slight crispness that was almost soothing when inhaled. Although today he began to feel overtaken with boredom, this was still his favorite time of the day. He was alone on morning watch-he always sat alone for a couple of hours in the early morning while the others slept-it was his time to be alone, to be the man in charge, the man who was solely responsible for the safety and survival of the group.
It was also the time when he was alone with his thoughts.
      Staring down at the long barrel of the sniper rifle that was held across his lap, he thought about his mother and father. He always thought about them, thought about how his father left and was never there for him or his mother. He thought about the day he came back, just as the outbreak began, trying to be a hero, acting then as if he cared, swearing to keep them both safe.