"Here's the target, and here's your weapon." Clara adjusted the end of the gun with her svelte fingers, while eyeing the chamber from which the bullet which could come out. Despite assuring herself that she inserted blanks instead of live ones, she still eyed Iodine, hoping the girl wouldn't shoot to kill.
Despite this, Iodine's gaze wandered around the Bunker, dotted with little sparks of light thanks to the lightbulbs above. From the corners of her dark eyes, she imagined some sunlight drifting down towards the Bunker's walls, providing some form of comfort amongst the artificiality which made their society possible. None of them found their way on the target, etched on the concrete wall with a few streaks of chalk.
"Are you ready?"
Iodine shook her head while lifting the gun. Her fingers trembled, while she thought about how long it took for her to install the magazine. Seeing the blanks layered like coins alongside a wall made her do a second take; if she could navigate through the inner workings, she could rest her feet on the ground and not worry about anything flying.
"Maybe...?"
Clara frowned. "That's not a good response. You're either prepared to kill or you're not. If you waffle, you're the one with a bullet in you." Then she pinched Iodine's abdomen, adjusting her pinch to insure that she didn't get the girl's appendix.
Iodine adjusted a hair strand, still dripping with oil. "Then I'll try."
Coiling her fingers around the trigger, Iodine gave it a little push. Nothing.
Another time, she fiddled the handle and imagined a dragonfly hovering near the hanging lightbulb, waiting to find a home in Clara's hair. The latter shook her head. readjusting the gun to focus on the right direction.
"Try again, Iodine," Clara snarked. "Until you can hit the target over there."
"Shouldn't I be able to defend myself?"
"This is why I'm teaching you." She held Iodine from behind, with her arms over the girl's, eyeing the little chalk spot once again. What was supposed to be a few seconds turned into a minute, as Clara found Iodine's shoulders drooping. Snapping them back to place, Clara channeled her energy into Iodine.
All of a sudden, a click of heels entered from above, and Alitasie strutted back onto the base with a nonchalant gaze. Her scarlet hair obscured the message she was writing, and her neon green coat contrasted with her uniform.
"Hello everybody," she mumbled, before shuffling for her keys to the office. "I've had something weird come up in the real world..."
Iodine's gaze narrowed, everything becoming clear. Her finger pressed on the trigger, and she gritted her teeth. As circles started forming her mind, and Alitasie gave several signals, she fired the gun, and fell onto her back.
Finally got my computer! I'm so glad I can now more easily transfer my writing from the journal directly to my computer, it's waaayyy easier than typing it up on a phone lol. I think I will continue to use the journal for writing my rough drafts though, I find it much easier to get my thoughts down that way and it's a lot less daunting haha. Anyways I'll be gone for a week as I'm camping with family for the fouth of July weekend so you guys probably won't get another chapter for a bit haha. Also always I hope yall enjoyed this chapter and please support my Ao3!
“Alright I think the best place to start is learning how to wield a gun.” Asher began as he held a rifle in his hands, pointing down at the ground. It was early in the morning, wet dew still clinging to the grass as the sun lazily made its way up in the sky. Rosie looked at the gun with wide-eyed curiosity, “why guns?”
“Because while being physically capable of fighting is important, and we’ll go over that another day, right now you’re physically defenseless. So, you’ll need to rely on guns to protect you from Creatures. Even I always carry a gun on me in my jacket, just in case.” Rosie nodded, “Is, is using a gun hard?” Asher smiled, “It’s not hard at all, I’ll show yah the ropes.” he reassured her, seeing her hesitation in the way she eyed his gun. “It just takes practice and a bit of respect. I’ll show you everything you need to know, step by step.”
He then gestured for Rosie to come closer, showing her how to hold the rifle properly while explaining each part and function to her. Rosie nodded along as she did her best to take the information in and memorize it for later. “Remember Rosie, a gun is a tool, nothing more. It’s how you use it that matters, and right now it’s our best defense against these Creatures.”
“Ok.” Asher then gently placed the rifle in her hands. Rosie immediately stiffened, “Don’t be nervous, ok? I won’t let nothin’ happen.” He said gently, seeing her tension. Rosie nodded stiffly, “Ok.” Asher gave her a moment to get used to the weight before going over how to load and unload the weapon and what to do if it jams. He showed her a couple of times before letting her try, which she managed to do after a couple of false starts.
“Ok, so now that you know how to load and unload, let's work on how to hold it.” Asher said as he took it from her for a moment. “Now remember the most important thing about holding a gun is, never point a gun at someone, unless you intend to kill them. When not in use, always point the gun down towards the ground and away from your feet. That way, if it were ever to accidentally go off, you won’t injure yourself or your companions.” Rosie felt a bit nauseous as he explained this to her, though she wasn't sure why that was.
Asher then handed the gun back to her, as he helped to hold it up to her shoulder, “Alright, now when you fire it, you hold it against your shoulder here, nice and tight. Now, take a deep breath.” He guided, making her take a breath to try and relax, “Yep, there yah go. Now it’s important to hold the gun here when you fire, so you don’t end up busting your nose or ribs, ok?”
“You can bust a rib?” Rosie squeaked, eyes like saucers, “If you don’t hold it correctly, then yeah. This thing will buck when it goes off, which is why you gotta hold it tight to your body, ok?”
“Ok.” she said as she adjusted the gun again, feeling a cool lump of nerves sitting in her stomach like a rock as she tried to relax, making sure her grip wasn't too tight. “Good job, Trapper. Now let’s practice aiming. See that tree there?” Rosie followed his fingers as he pointed to a distant tree, squinting as she focused. Asher then guided her as he adjusted her stance and helped her aim, lining up the sights as best she could, “ok, take another deep breath, and when you're ready, squeeze the trigger.”
As Rosie took the shot, an air splitting crack boomed out, and she managed to stay upright as the rifle bucked her shoulder back. The side of the tree exploded slightly as her shot hit just the outermost part of her target. “Great shot, Rosie!” Asher exclaimed with a proud grin on his face. As soon as she heard that, the pit in her stomach vanished as she smiled up at him, eyes sparkling, “You think so??”
“You’re a natural, but let's do a bit more practice, ok?”
“Ok!” Rosie chirped, all her nerves being replaced with a sense of excitement as the adrenaline rush hit her all at once. Asher chuckled at Rosie’s newfound enthusiasm, glad to see her truly relaxed, “That’s the spirit.”
The next few days were then spent practicing with the gun as Rosie worked on her aim and accuracy. With his guidance, she gained a solid confidence and respect for her weapon as she got better at aiming and could actually hit the center of her targets.
Once Asher felt like she’d learned enough to defend herself properly, he moved on to the next phase of training. “Ok, now that you’ve gotten a good handle on guns, we can focus on hand-to-hand combat. Do you have any experience with that?”
Sitting crisscross in the grass, Rosie thought about it, “well, I watched my dad practice a couple of times. But other than that, no.”
“Alright, then we’ll just start with the basics.” he then had her stand as he guided her into a standing pose, one foot back and turned out to the side. He then brings her arms up to guard her face, “This will be your basic stance. Now, do you know why it’s important to stand like this?”
Rosie shook her head, “Here, watch this.” he then stands in front of her, with a regular stance, feet together. “Ok, try to push me over.” Rosie raised a brow, but walked over and gave him a light shove, making Asher stumble back easily as he smiled at her, “Not bad. Now watch.”
He then changed his stance to be like the one he showed her, feet apart and arms up, “Now try again.” Rosie tried to shove him again, but this time he held steady. “Come on, give it your all, kiddo!” Rosie laughed but kept trying to shove him over, putting more of her weight into it, but Asher remained rock solid as he grinned.
When Rosie finally gave up, he broke his stance, “You see? When you have a good stance, you’re harder to put down. Now, stand in position again.”
Once she got into her pose and Asher adjusted her a little, he stood in front of her, “Now I’m going to show you how to punch, ok? This first punch is called a jab. See the foot in front of you? Take the hand on the same side and bring it forward and into my hand here, taking a slight step forward when you do, not a big one, just a small step as you bring your fist forward.”
Following his instructions, she stepped forward and brought her fist into the palm of his hand, “Good, now do that again and remember to bring your fist back to your face when you step back.”
Asher has her practice this in repetition. Her movements were a bit clumsy, and her punches were weak, but he still nodded in approval, “Good, good. Not bad for your first time, now let's try the next step. This next punch is called the crisscross...”
By the time the sun had reached it’s highest point Asher had drilled her several times, going over her form as she punched, as well as showing her a few kicks, though she’d almost fell over a few times as she struggled to keep her balance.
She was more than happy to stop and take a break at Asher’s suggestion as she flopped over, sweaty and exhausted. Asher, while just as sweaty, was far less exhausted as he sat with her in the grass, “Good work, Rosie, you’re picking up on this quickly. As long as we keep working on your form and stamina, I think you’ll be a natural in no time.” Rosie could only let out a garbled mesh of words in return as she laid there, completely spent.
Asher chuckled as he patted her on the head, “You’ll get the hang of it soon enough, kid. Just remember to keep your balance and to stay guarded. You’ve got several weak spots to take advantage of when you're fighting.” he then leaned over and tapped her face lightly, tapping at the side of her eyes. “Poking or gouging out the eyes is always a good go-to. It’s both very painful and very disorientating.”
He then tapped her nose, temples, and ears, “These spots are good when defending against people. You can really shake a person up if you hit them in these spots, less so for Creatures. Unless you can apply a lot of force to it, only headshots will really do it. I ain’t seen anyone successfully punch a Creature out, other than your dad.” she scrunched her nose at that as she looked at him with disbelief, “Really? My dad?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen it firsthand. I was this close to getting mauled by a Creature after it managed to back me into a dead end. I thought I was done for. But your dad? He came out of nowhere and just decked the thing, knocking it off its feet and straight into the asphalt. He’s really something else...” he said, eyes a bit distant as he reminisced, his cheeks turning pink.
“Wow, I wish I could be that strong.” Rosie said wistfully. If she could have that kind of strength, then maybe she could be strong enough to save him.
Asher returned to the present as he looked at her, “You’ve got the potential, Trapper. You are his daughter, and I see a lot of him in you.” he said honestly. Rosie’s chest swelled at his words as she suddenly sat up and looked at him, eyes bright with a renewed energy, “Can we get back to training? I wanna go a few more rounds!” This made Asher smile, “Of course, let’s get to work.”
Montanha found himself unable to sleep, a cold sweat glistening on his skin. Rosie had been training with Asher for a few weeks now, and he was so proud of his daughter. How could he not be? Every day, she worked hard, and he could see a passion and drive in her eyes that he hadn't seen before.
He knew this was her finally finding the thing she was meant to do. She was meant to fight. But that was also terrifying to him as he knew what kind of road that could lead her down, and he knew exactly what kind of death that could lead her too as well.
Every night since she started training, he’d been plagued with unwanted memories that kept flashing behind his eyes. Every time he did, he saw her. Though the details were hazy from time, he could still remember her fiery red hair, her freckles, and that buck tooth smile, and it pained him.
Sitting up in bed, he rubbed his neck stiffly as he let out a tired sigh, before moving the hand to his hair, running his fingers through his long brown locks, as a heavy sense of loneliness ate away at him and left him feeling cold.
Slipping out of his bed, Montanha padded his way across the cabin and found himself in front of Asher’s door. Quietly, he opened the door to his room and stood in the threshold, “Hey, you still awake?” he asked softly, almost hoping he wasn’t.
Asher sat up a bit and looked to the door where Montanha lingered, “Can’t sleep either?” Scratching the back of his neck, Montanha felt nervous, “Do you remember, back in the day, when the three of us would cuddle up?” Asher smiled, “We did always sleep a lot better that way, didn’t we?”
“I, I know it’s been a while, but would you...?” At his question, Asher patted the side of his bed, inviting him in. Finally, Montanha crossed the threshold as he joined him on the bed, sitting himself down next to Asher.
Asher then laid himself down, getting himself more comfortable. Montanha took that as a cue to do the same and lay beside him, “I don’t know who owned this cabin before, but I’m glad they had a thing for big beds. Probably some rich asshole.” he joked, making Asher laugh softly, “Well thank God they were rich assholes. Otherwise, this would be a lot less comfortable.”
As they got more comfortable, Montanha turned and opened his arms without much thought, as he waited for Asher to join him. This just earned him a brow raise and another chuckle from Asher, “You become a big spoon over the years?”
“Erm, well, kinda. My daughter likes to be held...”
“Well, I don’t mind being the little spoon if that’s what yah like.”
“Well... I remember when you used to be the one to hold me. I kinda miss that.” He admitted. Asher’s cheeks turned a bit red at this confession, “W-Well I can certainly hold you if you’d like that.” Montanha turned over at that and allowed Asher to come closer.
They now laid chest to back with Asher’s arms resting over his waist. Montanha let out a deep, content sigh as Asher put his face into the back of his neck. It felt warm, it felt right, and both men felt more relaxed than they had in years.
“Just like the old days.” Asher sighed as he snuggled in closer. “Yeah... Hey, remember that one night in the summer, when we all laid under the stars? Making up constellations since we couldn’t remember some of them?”
“Correction. You couldn’t remember any constellations other than the big dipper.”
“Hey, just cause you're right, don’t mean yah gotta wound my ego like that.” Montanha said, making the two of them laugh softly. “But yeah, I do remember making constellations... Do you remember any of them?”
“I remember all of them; I never forgot.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“I missed those days. I missed you, Ash. It’s been so hard, without you here.” Asher squeezed Montanha a bit tighter, “I’m sorry... I regret leaving.”
“... I never asked before, but did you ever find your dad?”
“It’s not something I like remembering.”
“I understand, I won’t push you if you don’t feel comfortable talking about it.”
Asher let out a heavy sigh as he hugged him closer, “After I left, I traveled back to North Dakota, to my hometown, to look for him. I kept in touch with my dad every now and then, texting him and letting him know where I was. When I finally got there, I let him know and... He said, ‘your mother and I can’t wait to see you.’” Montanha frowned, “You told me your mother died on the first day, didn’t you?”
“I did, so when I read that, I realized in that moment... That my dad had been gone for a long time.” Montanha reached one of his hands up to grab his, giving it a gentle squeeze, “I’m so sorry.” he said softly. He couldn't see the way Asher’s face twisted into one of pure, cold malice as he continued to speak, “I also realized that the thing that was wearing his skin was still there. So, I went to see the thing, and I tore it to pieces.”
“That must’ve been so hard...” at that, Asher’s anger went as quick as it came as he squeezed Montanha’s hand back, “After that, I kinda went on a big rampage, tearing apart any Creature I could find. It was a dark time for me. I was then taken in by a small resistance group, and I spent the last fourteen years helping grow that resistance.”
“It sounds like you did a lot of good. What made you want to walk away from that?”
“Honestly? It was the possibility of running into you and Rosie again. It’s what kept me going a lot of days, and it’s what drove me to try and find you.”
Montanha blushed at that. Still, there was a guilt in his heart, “I wish I could have been there. I don’t know what I would’ve done, but I could’ve at least held your hand.”
“No, don’t feel guilty. I should’ve come back sooner, then I could’ve held your hand.”
“I guess we both feel guilty. But there's no changing the past, unfortunately. But at least I got my daughter out of it. That I’ll never regret.” Asher hummed at that, “Yeah, she’s a great kid.”
“And I'm sure you made friends at that resistance camp.”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Maybe I can meet them someday?”
“Yeah...” Asher said, eyes heavy from the warmth and comfort of having Montanha there with him. Which brought all his defenses down, as sleep was quickly washing over him like a gentle wave.
“Asher?”
Asher hummed.
“I, I love... I'm glad that your here with me now.” Montanha said softly.
He was met with another soft hum from Asher, and he realized that Asher was more asleep than awake in this moment, so he just mumbled a soft, “Good night.” Before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
Secrets; "You stand here and you point your weapon. Point like you point your finger. Do not think about it. I'm talking about muscle memory, girl - muscle memory. Now go on. Shoot that son of a bitch! He's comin' for you! He's ten feet away! He's 9 feet, he's 5 feet away! Right there! That's the walker that got Amy! Now you shoot that son of a bitch! Shoot him!" -Shane Walsh
With these points, I will try to introduce the subject of safe gun handling to the uninitiated and to offer some tipsto these of us who already have guns.
