The Final Battle

by Anna Wu

  Chapter 23: The Idiot Savant

  Once Nick had finished explaining the necessary details of the shotguns and rifles, he strolled over to another box he and Butch had been forced to drag the three kilometers out. "Alright, we're almost done for today," he told everyone. "You've learned a lot of the basic information about each gun and their reloading actions. Now it's time to see how good of a shot you are."

  Everyone watched as Nick pulled a paintball gun out from the box. "This is a paintball gun. For today, we're going to practice aiming with these. I don't know a damn thing about these toys, but I'm guessing that they're a lot different from normal guns. Even if they are, it should give me an idea of how good a shot you are. Once we get some basic training in aiming, we'll practice with real guns and bullets."

  Nick began passing out paintball rifles, pistols, even a couple of shotguns. "As I'm sure you've noticed, I have some targets set up around here. If you look to your left, you'll see them about twenty meters out. There are squares on the ground drawn in chalk where you're supposed to stand. We're going to practice shooting straight ahead. I've got around twenty of these paintball guns, but I only want ten shooting at a time. Now grab a gun and line up."

  Just as Nick had said, there were ten targets twenty meters to their left. The targets were boxes, boulders, and other junk that the kids had packed. Nick had painted rings with a bull's-eye in the center on them earlier that afternoon. There were ten in a row, with around ten meters between them.

  Jimmy, Cindy, Butch, Betty, Sheen, Brittany, and five other kids walked up to the box of guns. Jimmy pulled out a pistol and a handful of paintballs. He shoved the paintballs in his pocket and then grabbed Nick's arm and pulled him aside. "What do you mean; we'll practice with real bullets?"

  "I meant that once we practice aiming, reloading, and all of that stuff, we'll use real guns and real bullets. Everyone needs to get used to using them," Nick explained.

  Jimmy shook his head. "We don't have unlimited ammo, Nick. A single bullet could make or break this battle. We don't have any to waste."

  Now it was Nick's turn to shake his head. "Jimmy, I agree with you one hundred percent. We don't have unlimited ammo, and we can't stand to waste any. But target practice is not wasting ammo. None of these people have ever fired a real gun. Hell, even I've only fired a gun once. For all I know, I can't hit the broad side of a barn. You want me to send them into a battle having never once fired a gun?"

  Jimmy stood still, his teeth clenched. His mind pondered Nick's words. Jimmy realized that he was right. He's right; they have to have at least some experience with real guns. Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand and gripped the pistol with the other. "You're right. Just ration the ammo carefully, alright?"

  Nick smiled and nodded. "You got it, chief. Now get over there before the spot next to Cindy is taken."

  Jimmy was about to continue his ongoing argument with Nick about his feelings for Cindy, but he saw that Butch was indeed preparing to take the spot next to Cindy. Jimmy ran over as fast as he could and slid to a stop beside her. Butch shrugged and took the spot two squares over.

  "Hey Cind," Jimmy said while smiling over at her.

  "James," she playfully flirted while flipping the few loose strands of hair out of her eyes. "Ready to see who's the better shot?" she asked while loading her gun.

  "Absolutely," he quickly responded, accepting the challenge. He watched her load the gun and imitated her actions.

  Jimmy watched as Cindy took a deep breath and put her arms straight out in front of her. The sound of paintballs being fired surrounded them, but Jimmy and Cindy blocked it out. Cindy to concentrate on her gun, Jimmy to concentrate on her. She looked incredibly natural and at home holding a gun and in a dangerous environment. Her skin glistened with sweat, and her eyes were dangerous, yet inviting, pools of green.

  Cindy flexed her fingers and drummed them on the pistol. Her legs were straight, her right about a foot in front of her left. She squinted her eyes and looked over the barrel of the gun. Suddenly, she fired off four crisp shots. Jimmy's eyes darted over to the rock she was shooting at. Four splotches of paint appeared on the target. Two landed dead in the center, the other two were on the border of the center's ring.

  Cindy's serious expression faded and a small smile spread its way through her lips. "Not too shabby," she muttered.

  Nick began to walk past the two of them, but paused when he got a look at Cindy's target. "Cindy, how many shots did you fire?"

  "Four," she told him while putting a few more paintballs in her gun.

  "Four shots and four hits. Two a direct hit. Astounding. Keep it up, Cindy," he said while continuing past them.

  Jimmy continued staring at Cindy as she twirled the gun in her hand. "How did you do that?" he finally asked.

  Cindy smiled, happy to see that Jimmy was impressed. "Five years of karate, James."

  "They teach you how to fire a gun in karate?" Sheen asked. He was on the other side of Cindy, still aiming his gun.

  "No, but they teach you balance, concentration, all of that stuff. Plus, I'm so good that they actually let me use a throwing star once, so I got to practice aiming projectiles," she proudly explained.

  Jimmy nodded, impressed in spite of himself. "Well, that was pretty good, but prepare to see the master," Jimmy said with a sly grin. He gripped his gun, imitated Cindy's firing stance, and let loose four rounds. One flew past the box that was his target. One hit the box, but not the circles that represented the actual target. The other two hit the inside of the circle, but not in the dead center.

  Nick strolled by them once again and stopped to inspect Jimmy's aim. "Not too bad for your first try, Jimmy. You need some practice, but you're definitely an asset to this team."

  Cindy patted a consoling hand on Jimmy's shoulder. "Yeah, you just need some practice, Big Brain. You're not as good as me, but you're still an asset to this team," she said in a mocking tone.

  Jimmy turned to face her and gave her a challenging smile. "Give it time, Vortex. In a week I'll be shooting circles around you."

  "Well, we'll just have to see about that," she flirtatiously told him while reloading her gun.

  "Chill with the flirting, guys," Nick sternly instructed them. "Five more minutes and then the next group of ten comes up. Try to get in a few more..." he was abruptly cut off by the sound of six shots being fired right next to them. The three of them spun around to see Sheen spinning his paintball pistol around his index finger. They looked down the firing range to see that all six of his shots had hit the center of his bull's-eye. They turned once more to see Sheen flawlessly stop spinning his pistol, catch it, and shove it in his waistband in one fluid motion.

  Sheen noticed that Cindy, Nick, and Jimmy were staring at him, their faces holding expressions of amazement and disbelief. "What?"

  Three kids looked to each other, and Nick stepped forward. "How did you, when did you, what did you..." he struggled to say. Jimmy slapped him in the back of the head. "How the hell did you do that?"

  Sheen looked at his gun and then at the paint-stained rock. "What? You just look down the barrel and pull the trigger."

  Nick was amazed by Sheen's apathetic attitude towards his own talent. He plucked the paintball gun from Sheen's hands and placed it on the ground. Nick then took his own Glock .22 pistol out and turned the safety off. He handed it to Sheen. A terrified Jimmy and Cindy immediately took a few steps back as Sheen held the weapon. God, he'll kill us all, Jimmy thought as he cowered behind Cindy.

  "Do you see that rock that's jutting out of the ground fifty meters out?" Nick asked while pointing ahead of him.

  "Sure," Sheen replied.

  "Shoot in the middle," he instructed while taking a step back.

  Sheen shrugged and gripped the weapon in his hands. It weighed a little more than the paintball gun and was a lot more threatening. He shook off his fear and took aim. He pulled the trigger, and a bang resonated throughout the firing range, ten
times louder than the sound that the paintball guns had been emitting. Everyone turned towards the source of the noise. "There," Sheen said while handing the gun back to Nick.

  Nick took the gun and put the safety back on. He slipped it back inside his waistband before taking a deep breath and running as fast as he could towards the target. He paused when he reached the rock, studied it for a moment, and then ran back. "Almost exactly in the center," he breathlessly told the kids that had gathered around Sheen. "Not two centimeters off."

  "Sheen, where did you learn to shoot like that?" Jimmy asked.

  "I think I know," Cindy said with disgust. "Sheen, what's your favorite video game?"

  "You know that! Ultralord the Video Game!" he enthusiastically shouted, glad to be reminded of his favorite TV show.

  Jimmy and Nick got the hint. "That's a first-person shooter, isn't it?" Jimmy asked. Sheen eagerly nodded his head.

  "He must have spent a thousand hours playing that game," Cindy angrily told Nick.

  Jimmy took notice of Cindy's hostility. "What's your problem?"

  Cindy shot him a glare. "Nothing. I spend five long, hard years practicing karate, he spends ten hours a day playing video games, and he's better than me?" she shouted.

  Nick was far too amazed to give a damn about Cindy's anger. He had long gotten used to her temper. "At any rate, you've got a new rival for valedictorian for this class, Cindy. Alright, you ten can head back home. Who wants to shoot next?" he asked.

  Jimmy, Cindy, Sheen, and the seven others began the long trek back to their camp. Cindy was lagging behind, and Jimmy slowed his pace so that he could walk beside her. "He beat me. Ultrafreak beat me," she muttered in disbelief.

  Jimmy shrugged. "You're cuter than him, if that counts for anything," he whispered to her while kissing her cheek. Nice segue, a voice whispered inside his mind. Cindy froze as his lips met her skin.

  "Jimmy, come one!" Sheen shouted from the front of the group.

  "Coming!" Jimmy shouted back while running up to his friend.

  Cindy remained frozen for another moment, and then she slowly reached her right hand up to touch her cheek. Another moment passed, and she continued walking. "I can't believe he beat me," she angrily muttered once more.