One Dumb-Ass Down

by Marie Colligan

Her body—engulfed in the perplexity of pain preceding shock—recoiled.

“Agh! I’m hit!” She hugged against the wheel-well of her disabled Humvee and blinked away the blood dripping into her eyes from her head wound.

In the seconds before losing consciousness from the Al-Qaida bullet that tagged her, Sergeant Beth Verga fired her automatic and killed her assailant.

“Hang on Sarge! I’ve got you.” Her lieutenant pulled her to safety.

“Yeah, and I got him…one dumb-ass down.”

Marie Colligan, a New Jersey native, currently resides in Lynchburg, Va. She is the oldest niece of 4 veterans who saw active duty in WW2. Her novel Marcel’s Gift and the 1st Place award-winning short stories in her collection Hurry Up, Charlie are all available on Amazon. She is currently working on a collection of WW2 short stories and poems.