The Cory-Alice Effect

The dull thud of gunshots rang out below the mid-afternoon haze. The fog from the day before was finally lifting, and so were the spirits of a young man itching to test his mettle against a more than worthy foe.

Cory Pederson unbuttoned a worn leather scabbard and gently lifted out his only prized possession. Ol' IKE (short for IKEA) was an early 1900s model of 1896 Swedish Mauser bolt action rifle that had seen better days. Cory had painstakingly tuned up the old bolt action rifle and modified it almost beyond the point of recognition. At the start of the tournament, all of the out-of-towners got a good laugh when Cory carried Ol' IKE to the long-distance range. The locals just smiled knowingly and kept quiet. Before the weather turned sour the previous day, Cory and his Frankensteined rifle outshot almost everyone.

As Cory laid out his firearm and ammunition on the bench, his competition appeared.

"Heya!" She chirped. "I guess you are the reason I had to book my hotel room an extra night, huh?"

Cory turned to face the inquisitor. His eyes widened as the twenty-something petite autumn red-haired beauty confidently strode into the stall beside him. She wore a black leather jacket with dozens of competition patches and brand names sewn on all available real estate.

"Yes, ma'am!" He replied proudly. "You must be that famous girl everyone was talking about. Alice right? I'm Cory Pederson; nice to meet you."

He held out his hand. She took off her leather glove to shake it. He noted she squeezed a bit harder than would typically be socially acceptable. He couldn't help but respond in kind.

"Yep. Alice Cunningham, soon-to-be Olympic gold medalist, at your service," She half-joked. "I've got to say, though… I didn't anticipate having to do a tiebreaker against a guy shooting with an m1896 century-old dinosaur. Clearly, you've got at least some skill of your own."

She knelt to unlock the heavy waterproof case holding her custom-made match rifle. Her muscles barely flexed as she deftly lifted the featherweight rifle and cleared it before setting it on the bench.

"Me and Ol' IKE do ok. I couldn't see a damn thing at 800 yards when the fog rolled in yesterday," He said, then chuckled. "Had to bring the shot on target by sense of smell!"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure!" Alice laughed heartily. "You're a regular pinball wizard, aren't you."

The two continued their repartee as they prepared their rifles and PPE to warm up before starting the tie-breaker.

"I'll tell you what, miss Olympic," Cory mocked. "Clearly, neither of us is interesting enough for any crowds to show up to watch our little tie-breaker. What do you say we bend the rules a bit? There's a full-sized steel target way out there at 1000 yards… I know, I know, that's a long way for a 50m women's air rifle Olympic shooter…"

"You and your glorified musket are ON, Mr. Teddy Roosevelt," she interrupted. "Highest hit rate out of 20-rounds wins… no warm-up, no sight-in shots, and we alternate shooting and spotting every other shot."

The two negotiated the rules and flipped a coin to see who went first. Alice called it and took aim first. The shock from the muzzle of her precision rifle shook the rickety steel roof above them. After about two seconds, Cory spotted a cloud of dust through the spotter's scope. "About 50 yards short, windage looks pretty good… for a girl," he said deadpan.

"So my aim was perfect, for a guy. Is what you're saying?" She joked back as she cycled the bolt for another shot.

The next shot rang out, and Cory was dumbfounded when a metallic ding resounded from the distance. "Damn good shot…" Cory said, impressed. "Uh, I mean, wow… you barely hit it."

A smug grin grew on Alice's face as she ejected the shell and flicked the safety switch. "Your turn! Let's see what a country bumpkin with an antique can do. I bet you've never even heard of the Coriolis effect!"

With a harumph, Cory chambered a round. He knew Alice 100% had the upper hand in both skill and equipment, but he had spent every weekend for years shooting at the same 1000-yard target from the exact same position. He had the hold memorized. Right past the horizon was a tall cell phone tower. The blinking red light on the top was just visible above the berm behind the target. Cory's aiming hold lined up almost perfectly with that blinking light depending on the wind. The Coriolis effect she teased him about didn't really matter. The dynamic wind would greatly overshadow the 4" or so of drift from the effect.

Cory held his breath and gingerly pulled the trigger. A deafening blast resonated through the entire range. Cory had created his own muzzle device after extensive experimentation and calculation. His design made for a very stable recoil, but it also made the rifle unreasonably loud and oddly dissonant sounding.

Cory cursed as his first shot fell right in front of the left leg of the target stand, sending a cloud of dust skyward. "Damn! Well, that's ok; I'm sure you're still very impressed."

Cory awaited a witty reply to his prideful remark, but it didn't come. Alice just stared into space. Her crimson hair danced in the breeze in counterpoint to her static body. Just as he was about to check on her, a shiver ran down her body. In an instant, she gasped and took a deep breath before continuing as if nothing happened. "Wow! I have to admit I'm impres… I mean, that was a pretty lucky first shot… still missed, though." She said with complete normalcy.

Cory scratched his head and chalked up the whole event to her having focus and not remembering him talking to her. He cycled the bolt and retook aim. His aim point shifted almost imperceptibly. At 1000 yards, Cory found aiming to be more of an art with diopter sights. It was a feeling more than anything else. He couldn't consciously see the tiny change in aim he made, but his subconscious could feel it. With trust in his subconscious, he let another shot resound across the range.

A few seconds later, a solid gong rang out. "Wellll, slap my ass and call me Sally," Cory exclaimed with a southern drawl. "I never make that on the second shot!"

Once again, Cory observed Alice frozen, unmoving, and staring into the distance. Just like last time, she shivered and gasped for air. This time, however, she stood up and jogged to Cory's stall. Before he could react, she swatted his ass and exclaimed, "Good shot, Sally! It's my turn again, so say goodbye to the tie!"

Cory was dumbfounded. "You know that's just an old southern saying, right?" He asked.

"What is?"

"Slap my ass and call me Sally."

"What are you talking about?" She cocked her head in confusion.

"Why did you walk over her, slap my ass, and call me Sally?"

"I dunno, it seemed like the right thing to do. Besides, it looks like it had the unintended consequence of getting into your head," Alice smirked evilly and winked. "Good luck getting your next shots on target now!"

Alice nailed the target with her next two shots while Cory carefully watched the muscles in her beautiful face. He noted that she never froze up or gasped like she did after his shot.

Cory came across as a dumb country boy, but he was far from it. In fact, he had nearly finished getting a degree in Physics before his dad passed away unexpectedly and changed his life to a different course. Regardless, Cory didn't really believe in coincidences, and Alice's actions and responses were raising some red flags in his observant mind.

Cory cleared his mind and focused on the sounds around him. The barrage of booms and plinks from distant pistol range harmonized with the soft whisper of the westerly breeze as he centered himself back into the zone.

Another shot rang out, followed by a weak ping. He skimmed the edge of the target, but it still counted. Cory rapidly glanced at his competition and saw her familiar blank stare. He steeled himself before making a much more crass comment than usual.

"I'll bet it makes you hotter and hotter for me every time I make these shots." He said with a nervous laugh.

He didn't know Alice very well, but he doubted that such an accomplished woman would let that borderline harassing joke go unchallenged.

He quickly realized he was delightfully wrong, though. Like the previous two times, she shivered and gasped. This time, though, her gasp turned into almost a moan before her eyes shot to Cory and widened in surprise.

"G-great hit!" She stuttered slightly while looking him up and down appreciatively. "I guess getting into your head didn't work!"

Cory smiled as the pretty redhead checked him out. Mild confusion spread across her face. Alice was a lesbian, but for the first time in her life, she was feeling a hint of heat for a man… and a farmer at that.