"Marcus I need you"
He almost chocked on his water as Abby planted herself in front of him. Placing his cup on the floor next to him he raised his head one hand on his knee, the other lifted against the light pouring over the tiny woman in front of him.
"Abby"
She smiled as he stood, both hands brushing his thighs, his rifle swinging by his hip on its sling. He took a step forward raising his rifle across his chest as he re-buckled the sling.
"I need you to train me"
"There really isn't a whole lot that I can teach you Abby" he laughed slowing his steps so that he could walk beside her.
"I need to be able to defend myself … I want to be able to look after myself" she replied as they made their way towards edge of camp. With a nod from Marcus the gates where opened and the pair stepped out of the camp.
"Teach me how to shoot"
"There is a lot more to being able to defend your self than just being able to shoot a gun"
She shrugged out of her jacket and dropped it at the base of a tree as they stopped in a clearing. He smirked and unclipped the buckle on the sling across his chest, allowing the rifle to swing back down to his hip.
"I'll show you the basic's … but only if you agree to let me teach you basic self-defense" He asked as he stepped into the centre of the clearing, the rifle raised to sit against his right shoulder. She came and stood behind him, looking over his left shoulder.
"With this kind of weapon it needs to be pressed into your shoulder, that way the kick back is reduced as much as possible and your aim is much more centered" He raised the rifle, his left hand resting under the barrel and his right sat on the pistol grip, his index finger resting gently on the trigger guard.
He nodded for her to come to his right side and indicated a small part of the rifle with his finger.
"This is the safety catch … the single most important part in this entire thing … with this on you cannot shoot yourself or anyone whether on purpose or not" he watched her face as he explained, her eyes not leaving his.
"You only take this off if you are ready to fire … otherwise it stays on" she nodded when he paused and stepped back over to his other side. He lifted the sling over his head and motioned for her to stand him in front of her.
Helping her lift the sling over her head and tightening it up he stood behind her.
"Now raise it up until it is sitting against your collarbone, it should rest there comfortably" he used his right arm to help her guide the rifle up and then guided her left hand with his until it was resting under the barrel guard, his fingers wrapped over hers.
He could feel every breath that she took, his chest pressed against her back.
"Now I'm going to slide your left leg forward slightly, it helps to keep you balanced and is generally just a more stable stance" and with that he pushed gently against the back of her leg with his until it shifted forward, the height difference between the two of them now even more pronounced.
"I want you to aim at the tree in front" he gestured with his right hand, pointing towards a tree on the edge of the clearing.
"I am going to walk you through this okay" he whispered against the side of her head, his right arm coming back to rest against her hip as his left tightened on hers.
Matching her breath for breath he counted to five.
"Now flick the safety catch"
He saw her finger move and heard the click as the small piece of metal slot down into the firing position.
"Breath with me … I want you to breath in deeply and place you finger gently on the trigger … you have to squeeze the trigger … if you pull it the rifle will jerk and your shot will go off target", she nodded again moved her index finger until it was resting against the trigger.
"Now breath"
And together they inhaled; one long smooth movement and just as she went to release she squeezed the trigger. He felt her jump as the rifle kicked back against her shoulder but smiled when he saw the bark on the tree splinter on impact with the bullet.
"That was very good"
He watched her flick the safety catch back on, a small tinge of pride surfing through him as she made the move unprompted. She lowered the rifle, it swinging to her hip as it did on him.
"You are a very good teacher" she whispered as she closed the last little gap between them. Marcus raised a hand and ran it gently along her jaw until it slid into her hair. He felt her hands on his chest, her fingers sliding under his jacket so that they could grip onto his shirt.
"The best" he bent his head down at he same time that she went onto her toes, their heads meeting in the middle. One of her hands found its way to his neck, her fingers brushing the hair resting there.
"Lets move on to the next lesson" he muttered against her smile.