“What are you doing all holed up in the control room with Rylan?” Daniel whispers in my ear from behind me, and if I knew any better there was definitely a hint of jealousy in his tone.
“Nothing,” I say, turning to face him. “Apparently I find it difficult to follow instructions. I cut my thumb, he was fixing it,” I say, holding my bandaged hand up for him to see.
“Righto,” Daniel says suggestively, trying to get a rise out of me, though this one hit a little close to home for my liking.
“Why? Are you jealous?” I shoot back.
Daniel dramatically throws his hand over his heart in a show of pain. “Oh, Bianca,” he cries. “Why do you hurt me so?”
I give him my best eye roll as I break into silent laughter. “You’re such a moron.”
“I know,” he smirks before a sweet sympathy enters his eyes, proving again just how much he cares for me. “Are you alright though?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say with a smile.
“Alright.” I hear Rylan’s dominating voice over the excitement of the class. “We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s get on with it.”
Chapter 12
The room falls silent as each of us becomes curious about what the day’s lesson will hold. Rylan silently picks up the box lying next to him and carries it over to a door before pushing his way through. The class follows him in a hushed silence with excitement filling the air. Nervous energy begins to fill me as I realize that today is going to be an important lesson, one that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Rylan walks deeper into the mystery room and the hyped-up crowd follows. I take a good look around and realize that I am standing in what seems to be a shooting range. It’s a dark room with a row of targets numbered 1 – 10.
“Looks like we might get to shoot something after all,” Trey says in a hushed tone with his eyes widening in excitement. Feeling too nervous to respond, I simply give him a smile and continue down the corridor past the targets into a small clearing where Rylan stops and places the box on a small table. The group crowds around him and waits for Tessa to close the door and flip a few switches again.
The room comes alive and I squint at the sudden onslaught of clinical light flooding through the room. “Okay,” Tessa says in a serious tone. “Today you will learn to shoot a gun. You will each be given a handgun, safety bullets, and protective wear. However, before you get started, we will give you a demonstration and some pointers on the correct and incorrect ways to shoot.”
Rylan takes an intentional step forward, demanding the room’s attention. “Before we begin,” he says with complete and utter authority. “One rule.” He holds up his pointer finger and gives each of us the stare down. “Anyone caught mucking around will be dismissed from this session. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that this is a large factor of your grade. If you do not pass this part of your training, you may as well join a different elective. A gun is not a toy. It is a weapon and has the ability to end lives. So, while we are using safety bullets, they can still cause serious harm. Do I make myself clear?”
Rylan pauses for effect while the group of morons around me slowly nod their heads, too afraid to make a sound. “Good, now we’ll be demonstrating gun safety. Once you’ve got that, you’ll be having a go. Tessa will come around and hand you each a gun. They are not loaded. You will need to earn your bullets.”
Tessa makes her way over to the small table, takes the lid off the box before picking it up. She begins to make her way around the room, handing each of us a black handgun. She comes to me and I take it from her and the nerves in my stomach go wild. I suddenly feel dangerous with the hard, cold metal in my hand, and I’m desperate to shoot it.
“Alright, each of you should have a gun. Take a moment to get familiar with it, take note of the weight and the feel in your hand,” Rylan says as Daniel puts it in the waistband of his jeans before ripping it out, lowering himself to one knee, and holding the gun as if he were 007. My eyes flick towards Rylan, who I’m sure is about to scold Daniel for screwing around, but he watches on in amusement before rolling his eyes and launching into his spiel on gun safety, which seems to last forever. Nonetheless, I listen intently and take in every word he says.
“Okay, who can tell me the types of bullets you would use for each supernatural creature?” he asks the room.
My hand shoots up and his eyes land on me. He gives me a nod to go ahead. “Silver bullets for were-creatures, wooden for Vampires, and a chemical mixture for the Fae.”
“Right, and why a chemical for the Fae?”
“Um…” I start, my eyes flicking to Tessa before landing back on Rylan. “Because they are natural creatures made of the earth and the chemicals screw with their system?” I say slowly, sure of my answer but starting to doubt myself.
“Good,” he nods and continues on with the lesson. Phew!
Excitement fills me when it’s finally time for the demonstrations. Rylan steps up to the small white line painted on the floor with a target at the opposite end. He takes hold of his gun and expertly inserts the bullets, his muscles twitching with each movement. The act alone sends shivers throughout my body. He repeats this a few times, making sure we understand exactly what he’s doing.
He pauses for a short moment and raises his arms, holding the gun firmly and comfortably. He takes a deep breath in then lets the bullet fly. I feel the noise vibrate right through to my soul and I completely miss the blur of the bullet, but I know without a doubt that it hit home. He demonstrates a few more times and I find it physically impossible to tear my eyes away from the amazing man before me.
A desperate need to succeed fills me and I watch Rylan as he finishes off his demonstration. I focus on his hard body, taking note of his technique and watching how he holds the gun, how he positions it, how he holds himself.
Tessa sends us off to give it a go. I stand between Daniel and Trey, who are annoyingly excited. “Bet you can’t hit the target on your fist go,” Trey whispers to Daniel with a smirk.
“You’re on,” he shoots back with a wicked grin.
“You guys are idiots,” I remind them, rolling my eyes.
Tessa passes by, handing out small boxes of bullets to each of the students. “Here,” she says handing me a box before leaning in. “I know you’re behind in combat, but with weapons training, you’re on an equal playing field with the guys. It will do you well to focus. Don’t get distracted,” she instructs in an encouraging whisper which for some reason reminds me so much of my Dad.
“Got it,” I say with a smile and a small nod, ignoring the curious glances coming from Trey and Daniel.
“Good, watch your shoulder. First time shooting can be difficult,” she adds then steps away to continue handing out the bullets.
I place my bullets down on the small ledge in front of me and raise my gun, concentrating on Tessa’s words ‘You’re on an equal playing field with the guys’. This is my chance to redeem myself, to prove that I belong in combat. I focus on the target in front of me and take slow deliberate breaths, the same way Rylan had while ignoring the loud echoing gunshots coming from all around me.
Feeling confident that I can do this, I bring my gun back down and load it the way that we were shown, feeling the curious eyes of my classmates on me, who have no doubt each shot at least three or four bullets by now and are wondering just what I have in store.
Nerves begin to quiver in my stomach. I try my hardest to ignore my surroundings and focus on the red rings of the target at the opposite end of my lane. I raise my gun and position my body, mimicking Rylan’s earlier demonstration.
My finger rests over the trigger, I take a slow deep breath, and then finally, I pull down hard.
Pain shoots through my arm, high up into my shoulder and my whole body is thrown back from the force of the shot. I steady myself and place the gun down on the small ledge, breathing hard as I give my shoulder a rub, knowing that it’s going to hurt tomorrow. I focus once again on the r
ed target and sure enough, in the bottom right-hand corner is my little bullet, poking out of the target.
“Holy shit,” Daniel says from beside me in complete disbelief. “You actually got it.”
“Um, not really. I got the corner, not the actual target,” I clarify, slightly confused. Daniel averts his eyes, looking anywhere but at mine, and it hits me. “You didn’t think I’d be able to do it,” I accuse, completely outraged and causing an apologetic smile to come to his face.
“Good shot,” Rylan says from behind me, cutting off whatever harsh words I was about to throw at Daniel. “You can do better. Go again,” he orders in a flat tone. The thought that he had watched my performance is equally thrilling as it is embarrassing.
I raise my gun and prepare to shoot. “Wait,” he demands, stepping forward and placing a hand on my shoulder rendering me speechless, then saying in a hushed tone. “The second you shot, you lost all tension through your arms and body. That’s why you had such a big kickback. Put your weight on your heels and hold your core,” he instructs, waiting for me to make the necessary adjustments. “Right, now raise your arm a little higher and check your line, only then take your shot.”
Rylan steps back, giving me space to make my shot. I look firmly past my gun, down to the target, focusing hard on the center of the rings. I feel a lot more confident the second time around, though the hint of excited nerves linger in the background knowing Rylan is right behind me. I ignore the throbbing in my shoulder as I hold the gun steady. I take a breath and squeeze the trigger.
Wow. That was heaps better. I stare down the target and see a second hole, this time slightly closer. Hell yeah! I freakin’ rock! I turn to face Rylan who has a hint of pride behind his eyes. He gives me a small nod then quickly turns and makes his way back down the line and I promise myself that I would do anything in my power to see that look of pride coming from him every damn day.
With the boys concentrating on their own targets and Rylan far down the other end of the room, I’m finally able to practice shooting on my own terms. After a good shoulder rub, I put myself back in position and let a few more bullets sink into the target, after a few rounds I feel like I’m on fire, despite the dull throbbing in my shoulder that reminds me I actually kind of suck. By the end of the session, I’ve managed to get the bullet a lot closer to the center of the target, but I still have a long way to go.
Tessa calls out and instructs us to unload any bullets and leave our guns, bullets, and protective gear on the small ledge. I place my gun down and stretch out my hand which has been cramping up for the past thirty minutes from constant shooting, though I’m sure I will just have to get used to that.
We follow Tessa out of the room while Rylan stays behind to pack up. The boys are loud and enthusiastic about their session, each and every one of them bragging about their shots which I must say didn’t actually get anywhere near as close as mine had, but who am I to bring down their good mood?
“Good work today. I feel that was an excellent introduction to gun use and safety. We will come back for round two next week,” Tessa says as she closes the heavy door behind her. “Please meet us here again for tomorrow’s session. We will be focusing on daggers.”
The boys whoop and shout enthusiastically as they walk away from the shooting range. I turn to follow but hear my name being called. I stop and wait as Tessa catches up to me. “You did really great today. You should be proud of that,” she says, squeezing my shoulder and sending shooting pain down my arm that I desperately try to hide.
“Oh, thanks. I must admit I was pretty impressed with myself,” I say, adding to the ever-growing monster that I call my ego.
“Good, you should be,” she says encouragingly. “I haven’t seen anyone shoot that good on their first try in a while. But keep up your practice. You’ve still got a long way to go, and you want to keep ahead of those boys. Anyway, I’ll let you go, you probably have a mountain of schoolwork to get through.”
“Thanks,” I grin before turning away.
“Bianca?” she calls and I turn back to see her grinning from ear to ear. “Can’t wait to see what you can do with those daggers tomorrow,” she practically sings with excitement as I remember that knives had always been her specialty.
I walk back to my dorm room with a smile plastered on my face. I must admit, I’m feeling pretty good about myself. All I need to do is keep on top of those boys and I’ll graduate the best shooter. If only my combat skills were that good.
I push through the door of my room and am shocked to find Jacinta curled up in the dark on her bed with tears streaming down her pretty face. “What are you doing?” I gasp, confused as she usually studies in the library after class for at least a good hour.
“As if you have to ask. I can’t show my face in public after my breakdown at lunch. I’m so embarrassed,” she cries, burying her face deep into her pillow.
“Oh, come on. It really wasn’t that bad.” I say, turning on the lights and sitting across from her on my own bed. Though she knows I’m lying, it was that bad. “And it’s not like you said anything that we didn’t already know. The boys were just speechless because they’ve never seen you quite so…animated before.”
Jacinta sits up on the bed and squishes her pillow into her lap. “Whatever. I made a complete ass of myself. Did he say anything during class?”
“Well…no,” I admit. “We didn’t talk about it. We were shooting today, so the boys were distracted, you know comparing the size of their guns and all.” She gives me a funny look and rolls her eyes at my witty comments. “I can talk to him for you.”
“No, that’s okay. I should talk to him myself,” she says. “He probably hates me after I yelled at him like that.”
“No, I’m sure he doesn’t hate you, and besides, it’s about time a girl put him in his place,” I say with a smirk that finally wins her over.
“You’re such a dork.”
“Glad I could help,” I tell her. “Now shall we go get a massive bowl of choc-chip ice cream to brighten up your day?”
“That sounds amazing,” she smiles, climbing up from her bed and wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve. “Now tell me all about your shooting,” she insists. “I bet you were great. Oh, what happened to your hand?”
“Well, it’s kind of a long story,” I say as we exit the room, launching into the details of my wonderful afternoon, not skipping a single detail.
Chapter 13
Jacinta and I sit in the busy afternoon rush of the cafeteria sharing a massive bowl of choc-chip ice cream, covered in sprinkles. “Why, hello,” Daniel says with his trademark wink, plonking himself down at the table and eyeing our ice cream. “Are you going to share?” he asks, grabbing my spoon as I quickly rescue it from his greedy fingers.
“No way in hell,” I announce, protectively sliding an arm around the bowl and pulling it closer while I narrow my eyes at him in warning.
“Alright, alright,” he says, holding his hands up in defeat. “Just remember ‘A moment on the lips, forever on the hips.”
“That may be true, but at least this ice cream is lucky enough to get anywhere near my lips and hips,” I say, slowly scooping up another bite and putting it in my mouth, making sure to slowly lick the spoon clean.
“Damn, what I wouldn’t give to be that spoon right now,” he says with an intense fire burning in his eyes.
“Bianca, stop teasing him. You’re going to send him into heart failure,” Jacinta scolds, taking the bowl away from me and deciding I’ve had more than my share.
“She already has,” Daniel says dramatically with a hand raised to his heart.
“Ugh, you two are made for each other,” Jacinta groans with an equally dramatic roll of her eyes before getting up from the table. “I’m getting a drink. Do you guys want one?”
“Sure,” we say in unison to her retreating back.
I check over my shoulder to make sure Jacinta is far enough away. “Hey, where’s Trey? Aren’t y
ou two usually a package deal?” I ask, launching into my interrogation.
Daniel shakes his head. “He’s been sulking since lunch.”
My brows furrow. “Seriously? He seemed fine during training,” I comment, not that I paid much attention to anything that was actually going on around me.
“Yeah, he was, but that’s because he finally got to hold a gun. As soon as class was over he went right back to sulking. I swear, he has got it bad for that friend of yours.”
“Tell me about it, she’s been the same all afternoon. Why do you think we’re here sharing a bowl of ice cream?”
“Ahh, that makes sense.”
“Well, I think it’s about time we intervene,” I say, glancing back and making sure she’s still preoccupied.
“Oh, I’ve always wanted to be in cahoots with you,” he says excitedly. “We should have code names. I can be ‘Mighty Eagle’ and we can call you ‘Sexy Swan’,” he laughs before giving up when he notices the less than enthusiastic look on my face. “Fine, what’s the plan?”
“I don’t actually have one,” I say, momentarily clueless. “I know she wants to take the shopping trip on Sunday, maybe you guys could come?”
“You mean like a double date?” he says, hopeful. “The Mighty Eagle and Sexy Swan are finally going to have a chance to fly together?”
“You wish,” I laugh. “But the sooner they realize they’re perfect together the better,” I say getting him back on track.
“Yeah,” he says, locking eyes with me. “Same goes here,” he adds slowly, giving me a serious and meaningful look.
“What are you guys talking about?” Jacinta asks suspiciously, putting the drinks down in front of us as I make a mental note to thank her for her perfect timing.
“Oh, nothing,” Daniel says with a sparkle in his eye, throwing his arm over my shoulder. “I was just trying to seduce Bianca here, though apparently, it’s extremely hard to get this girl into bed.”
Soul and Disaster: Slayer Academy (Book 1) Page 10