(Author's note: There is a discord server where you could discuss or suggest things to the author on future stories. Link is in my bio.)
Alberta, Fort Nelson, 26th of September 2015, 1015 hours:
Clouds continued to cover the skies that day, not letting the sun's ray touch the earth aside from a few pockets allowing light to go through, causing those lights to appear like pillars from heaven. Inside the Harlington residence, the air was cold and only a few lights were on. Alisia was standing in front of the table where a phone set lies. Her hair was a bit wet as she just took a bath after attending club activities for a short while, wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a knee-length skirt with socks and a green blazer.
"Well, Alisia. Tell me, what does your school's tankery team look like?" One young, excited feminine voice asked her.
"Well, um, Misses Moley. Uhh, it's good.. I guess? Some tanks and staff.. Some students like myself.." Said Alisia in a stuttery and unamused tone.
"You don't sound that excited, are you?" Moley asked once more.
"Well uhh.." Alisia remained silent for a few seconds, struggling to answer the question asked towards her. "A bit.."
"A bit? Mind elaborate on that?" Moley asked for more clarification from the words Alisia just said.
Alisia remained quiet for a while, being somewhat afraid to answer, until eventually she does. "Well, uhh, I just don't like being the commander.."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Moley's tone turned to that confusion.
"... I was picked by a pencil." Alisia explained further.
"A pencil? Huh, where have I heard this before.. But besides that, damn. Sucks to be you. Have you ever asked to deny the position or were you forced?" Moley asked once more, with a worried tone.
"... I don't know Misses Moley.. There's just something that... uhh.. makes me cannot speak up." Alisia explained. "I just can't say it for some reason."
"Oh, I see. Well, there are many people I met out there who never complain about them being the commander of a tankery team; they like it. They even go into nerd mode when it comes to talking about tankery, tanks, and all that stuff related. But never in my life has someone said while being on a tankery team that they don't want to be the commander."
"It should've not been me.. Maybe someone else like Jack; he's in the weapons club before in middle school. Going on hunting events and stuff, he's capable."
"Huh, even recommending others. Is this just because you're all being Canadian or-" Moley could be heard giggling on the line. "Oh, sorry. But yeah, you're different than the ones I usually talk with. Trust me, you'll like the position later in the future."
"I hope so.. Misses Moley."
"Oh, please, don't call me Misses; I'm still 17, just a year older than you."
Then, a knock could be heard from the door entrance. Alisia stared at the source of the sound, feeling both confused and curious who was coming to her house.
"Uhh, I have to go. I think there's a guest coming."
"Huh, ok then. Goodluck."
Alisia placed the handset back in its place. She then stood up and began making her way towards the door where it was knocked earlier. "Coming!"
Alisia went down to the lower level floor, putting on the sandals placed below, and reached towards the door and used the key placed on the cabinet to unlock it. She then opened the door, where cold wind entered inside the house, and there was revealed a middle-aged man with dark brown hair, wearing a polo shirt with trousers and boots. She observed his appearance from bottom to top; his appearance is somewhat familiar.
"Who you might be, Mister?" Asked Alisia, unaware of the man's identity in front of her.
The man stared down at her with a look without expression, staying quiet for a few seconds after Alisia asked for his identity. Inside his mind, he was conflicted on what answer he should give; he wants to just tell her that he's her father, but the guilt from not seeing her for a long while got up to him. He was conflicted for a few seconds, until he decided to speak up. "Oh, well, uhh. I'm John Harlington."
"Mister.. John?" Alisia thought for a while. "I have a lot of relatives named John; sorry, I can't remember you." Alisia's torso leaned down for a bow, apologizing in a sincere tone.
The man stared at her, with a look of disappointment on his face. He immediately shook his head and spoke up to her once more. "Well, uh, yeah. But anyway, your father told me to bring you out to help with socializing at the town's event." He struggled saying the word 'father'.
Alisia's body froze in place, feeling something weird inside her at the mention of the word father. It's been a while since she ever had a father figure in her life. "I have a father?"
"Well, you sure do have a father, like all children, dead or alive, Missy." John struggled with saying the last word, wanting to call her by her name, but the guilt was immense within him.
"And also, the town's event?" Alisia thought once more of what John was talking about. "Hmm.. Oh, are you talking about the... uhh.. hunting event?"
"Well, yes. He said something about trying to get you out of the shell. You're not doing anything else at home aside from being in bed and playing with your computer, eh?"
"Huh..?" Alisia stared up at him with a look of confusion at the man's knowledge about her activity. "How do you know?"
John stayed quiet after the question Alisia just asked towards him, his body frozen and unable to move, stuck in the situation, trying to answer her question without sounding or looking weird.
"Usually only Mrs. Carter looks after me. Does she.. tell you that?"
"Oh, how silly. Kids nowadays play with their computers and stay inside their rooms all day. Now, how about you get yourself prepared? We're going to the firing range to get you ready for the day, haha.."
"Eh? Uhh.." Alisia thought once more. "But.."
"But?" John was confused by Alisia's response.
"I... don't know how to hunt." Said Alisia in a low tone.
"Well, that's ok. I'll guide you, but of course, we'll get you prepared in the firing range first."
"Oh." Alisia nodded, but then she asked him again. "What's a firing range again?"
"Ah, I knew you'd ask this. Well, basically, it's where you practice using guns. It's somewhere near the town center. The event's going to be next weekend, so while waiting for it, let's sharpen your skills to shoot."
Alisia looked up, thinking whether she should come with him or not. Well, he does look familiar, but she doesn't know who he is. The morning club activity was tiring enough, and she felt the urge to say no. But then, she's the commander; she got to set a good image in front of the team so that they'd put trust in her and not repeat the mistakes in the previous match.
"Sure." Alisia nodded.
"Splendid! Well, get your stuff. Like medicine if you have some sort of condition, some spare clothes maybe, and a canteen." Said John.
Alisia nodded before going back to the house and towards the kitchen, going back to grab just a drinking bottle if she had one, even since she rarely ever went out of her house. The last time she went out of her house was during middle school, during a field trip visiting someplace for outside study. She continued rummaging through the kitchen shelves while trying not to touch the fragile dishes and glasses, and there she found it-a blue non-transparant Tupperware bottle. She then grabbed it before going over to the sink, filling it with water before going back towards the door.
"Ready." Said Alisia.
"You sure? No clothes or anything?" asked John as he saw her only holding a bottle of water.
"No need. Not like I'll get sweaty or dirty or anything, right?" Alisia looked up towards him, asking for confirmation.
"Well, who knows if you fell down? There's going to be plenty of puddles in the city with this kind of weather."
"I'll be fine, Uncle John." Alisia reassured.
"If you say so." John then turned towards the rover parked just beside the road, with its door open and key on the starter. He proceeded to switch the keys, turning it on, before going over the back seat and opening it. "Hop on in."
Alisia came over after locking the door and wearing her shoes, with the houses' keys in her skirt pocket, holding her bottle of water still, and climbed up the steps before reaching the seats and sitting down. John then closed the door before going back to the driver's seat and closing his door. He then switched on the gears, pulling down the brakes, and hit on the gas, moving the car forward and away from the house.
Fifteen minutes passed, and the car had entered the town center, where there were few activities on the streets, yet activity was packed inside the stores, with cars could be seen parked on the sideroad parking spots. The inside of the car was warm, with the front and doorside heaters being produced by the car.
Alisia was sitting there near the door, the height of the window barely reaching over her shoulders, looking over the almost empty, cold sidewalks. She then sat up on her knees on the seat, looking over to the back to see two bags of the same size with a long shape, coloured in khaki.
"Uncle John, what are these bags?" Asked Alisia as she sat back, looking over John that was driving the car.
John looked at her through the rear-view mirror upon hearing her question before then answering. "Ah, there's guns inside; I figured that the guns would be of use, but then halfway to your house, I remembered that-I mean, your father told me you never used a gun before."
Alisia nodded once hearing his words and went silent, going back to see the street out of boredom. Then, she saw on the right, the long street section full of stores disappeared, and there stood a large parking lot with, she guessed, of the parking spot filled up with cars after a quick look, and a long square building with a shining board hanging near the entrance.
"We're here." John drove the car towards the parking lot before settling down on an empty spot, far from the rest of the cars, before pulling the brakes.
Alisia then grabbed onto the door handle, pulling it, causing the door to open. She then slid down from the seat and towards the ground, her shoes splashing into the small puddle of water below. She inhaled the air outside; it sure felt somewhat different to her, feeling everything was new around her despite, well, living in the town for years already.
"Right, let's go." Said John after he turned off the car's engine.
The two walked side by side towards the building ahead; the wind was blowing from the west of the site, where it flew through their skin. Alisia was shivering as she felt as if the wind blew over her skin despite being pretty much covered, aside from half her legs.
"You should've worn warmer clothes," said John.
"Y-Yeah, I know.." Alisia cuddled close to her bottle.
The two eventually arrived at the doorstep of the building. John opened the door to let Alisia in first. Alisia entered inside, and the air temperature changed drastically from cold to warm. She first saw a bunch of shelves full of unloaded tagged guns, gear, and other items, and the cashier placed glass tables with wheels where boxes of ammunition could be seen inside. The place was also packed with people inside, some families and old people doing their own business, with the old people being seen mostly armed with the Smle rifle, with the bolts pointed upwards. There were also some deafening gunshots heard.
Alisia then looked around to look for John, and she spotted him near a table, writing something with a stationary pen on a piece of paper. She walked towards him, looking closer at the table before asking. "What are you writing, Uncle John?"
John looked down towards Alisia before answering. "Ah, these? Waiver papers, usual stuff." Then he looked back towards the paper, signing on the paper before looking at the young staff lady wearing the firing range's staff shirt with jeans. "All done."
The staff lady then took the waiver paper, nodding. "Right, Mr. Harlington. I'm guessing you're taking your child for her first time?" Asked the staff.
"Ah, no! She's my.. niece. Her.. father told me to bring her to the firing range to prepare for the upcoming community hunting event next week." Said John, stuttering in some of the words he just said.
"Ah! The hunting event. There have been a lot of families that came over here since morning." She then leaned down towards Alisia. "Tell me, young lady, is this your first time at the firing range?"
Alisia flinched back by a few inches after the sudden approach. She hesitated for a moment before answering. "Y-Yes, Miss." She still clung to her bottle.
"Oh, well." The staff stood back up. "Well, sir. She definitely can only use the 22lr's. That's the only calibre of gun that is suitable for her for now, and the hunting usually requires something like the .303 or .308's since.. You know, a deer won't drop with 22-lr guns, nor will a bear."
"I'm aware. But hey, no harm in trying and training, yeah? At least if she isn't ready, she's ready for the next one."
"Right.. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Mia; I hope we get along. Now, with me please." Mia guided both of them towards a doorless room, where other people could be seen inside the room, and other staff could be seen giving guides to people who appeared to be new to guns, since there were also other staff teaching them. Just like what Alisia was going to do.
"So, what are we doing now?" Asked Alisia.
"Well, getting you familiar with how to handle guns, small ones first before going with the big ones." John explained.
The staff then went towards a table where she took a Browning Hi Power coloured blue with an orange tip inside a polymer hostler before turning towards Alisia, where she pulled it out, pointing it at the ground.
"Right, Miss Harlington. Now I shall first introduce you to the rules of firearm safety. First rule: always treat your gun as if it is loaded and ready to fire, and check the conditions of the firearm because you never know there's a bullet inside the chamber." Mia then pressed on a switch, which caused the magazine of the gun to drop down. "Right here is how to empty a gun; you first drop the magazine and then..." She cocked the slide of the Hi Power. "You pull the slide like this; a bullet would pop out from the chamber, and do it two times. After that, check the chamber of the gun inside." She then kneeled down to her height, showing the inside of the chamber. "Do you see any bullets inside?"
Alisia took a closer look; she saw nothing inside and then shook her head. "No, Miss."
"Right. Here, try doing what I just did." Mia inserted the magazine back into the pistol, cocking the slide before handing it towards Alisia. "Don't worry, it's filled with rubber bullets. But still, imagine as if it is a real gun."
Alisia nodded. She placed the bottle down the floor before taking the gun from her; her hands felt the surface of the gun being made out of metal and the weight of it. She then tried cocking the gun's slide, but she ended up aiming it upwards, with the barrel pointing towards the staff.
"Eits! Missy, don't forget what I just said. Keep the gun pointed to the floor." Mia scolded her before shoving the gun down. "Also you forgot to release the magazine; now try doing it again."
Alisia flinched when the staff scolded and shoved the gun down, scared a bit. She nodded before pressing on the switch, causing the magazine to drop from the gun, before trying to pull the slide back while trying to keep it pointed to the ground. Then, after a few seconds of struggle, she managed to cock the slide back fully, of which a rubber bullet popped out from inside, before releasing it.
"Good! One more, you can do this." Mia motivated her.
Alisia then pulled the slide of the gun again, attempting to cock it for the second time, and in just a few seconds, she managed to do it once more, in which a clicking sound could be heard after the gun was fully cocked.
"Good! Now, next step, you know what to do, right?"
Alisia nodded and proceeded to cock the gun once more, getting more used to pulling the slide, still pointing the gun down but without realising it was pointed at her feet.
"Watch your feet, Missy." Said Mia in a stern and scolding tone.
Alisia flinched after hearing the voice; she was confused about what she really meant by watching her own feet.
"Your barrel's pointed at your feet; you're going to put holes on it if you keep the barrel pointed there."
Alisia's eyes widened, and she lifted the gun until the tip of its barrel was no longer pointing at her feet, before then checking the inside of the barrel, in which she saw an empty chamber. Mia leaned in close to her to see the result of Alisia's work, checking in to see the chamber being empty.
"Ah, good job," said Mia in a complimenting tone and gave her a smile before standing back up. "Now, basically, that's how to empty most pistols around here. However, revolvers are a different story. But eh, only the oldies use them around here, and they're harder to control anyways, or do you want to know also?"
Alisia thought for a moment about whether she should try stuff with the revolver or not. Well, she kind of wants to get things over with, so she shook her head, replying in a polite tone. "No thanks, maybe in other times."
"Right.. Now, the next rule. Guns are.. How should I say this? Ah! They're like a child of a very protective parent, and their parents always keep them at home, also known as hostlers. You must keep them inside with safety on, or else some people with their naughty hands would mess around with it. Got it?"
Alisia nodded at her explanation. "Yes, Miss."
"Right, now for the next rule. Keep your fingers off the trigger." The staff proceeded to showcase her a demonstration, where she held the gun with her fingers placed somewhere near the slide. "Like this, until you have your target in sight, keep it off the trigger. Place the finger you use to fire the gun at the slide. Now try." She handed the gun back towards Alisia.
Alisia took the gun before then doing as she instructed, where she gripped her hands on the firearm, but instead of placing her finger on the slide, her finger went lower and near the trigger.
"No, no, no! Keep your fingers on the slide; putting it down like this would cause you to fire the gun accidentally." Mia leaned in before moving Alisia's finger, which was just beside the trigger, into the slide. "I know, it's a bit stiff at first, and after shooting it can get a bit tiring, but you'll have to get used to it."
"Oh." Alisia nodded once more in understanding.
"The last one would be to never aim the gun at something you don't intend to destroy. Keep your hands off the barrel and never ever aim at people; keep it down. Now, let's try to simulate firing a gun. Since this is just a prop gun with rubber bullets, I'll let you do it and see if you heard what I just said."
Mia then proceeded to place the gun back inside the hostler. She then grabbed a belt and attached the hostler to it with a small hook before leaning down and putting it on Alisia's hip. She then walked off towards a target paper, which she then hung near a table.
"Now, look over here." She clasped her hands together to gain her attention. "This is your target; keep your eyes on it. Now, I want you to pull the gun out very carefully. Remember what I just said, make sure to not point the barrel over yourself."
Alisia then reached her hand down towards the grip, where she began pulling the gun out in a slow manner, carefully lifting it, and kept the barrel pointed away before then aiming towards the target in front of her.
"Right.. Lean closer to the iron sight, but not too close. It's the thing with three bars with one bar in the middle aiming at the target. Do you see it?"
Alisia leaned closer to the iron sight, following what she was instructed, leaning her head down, close to the iron sight that's aiming at the red target ahead.
"Now, use both your hands and hold the grip."
Alisia then used both of her hands to grip, as instructed, but her index finger was just beside the trigger. Mia took notice of this but did not call her out yet.
"Right.. Now to fire the gun. You got the sights on the target? I recommend you using only one eye to aim."
Alisia nodded, staying quiet; her breathing was a bit heavy. She closed her left eye, leaving her with only her right eye.
"Take a deep breath, Missy." Mia ordered.
"You can do this." John assured her.
Alisia took a deep breath; her eyes were closed for a moment before opening.
"Right, if you have your eyes on the target, finger on the trigger. Don't forget to turn off the safety; it's somewhere near the magazine discharge button."
Alisia then placed her index finger on the trigger, yet pressing on it. She looked over at the gun, looking for the safety button Mia mentioned at the location she was told. She continued looking before eventually finding it, turning the toggle down from safe to false, and aiming the gun back up.
"Squeeze the trigger."
Alisia began putting pressure on the trigger, pulling it back to the edge until a clicking sound could be heard.
"Nice work; now return it back to the hostler."
Alisia released a sigh of relief; it felt like she was firing one, though she wondered what it feels like firing one for real. She then lowered the gun back to the hostler without realising that the barrel hovered over her hands while it. The gun then finally was back on the hostler.
"Now, for the mistakes you made. You did good at the start, but you did not place your index finger on the slide and instead beside the trigger, and you just pointed the barrel at your own hand. That action would've cost you a hole in your hand. Now, let's repeat it once more.
"Ehh!? Ugh.." Alisia groaned after being told to do it once more; she released a heavy sigh before nodding.
The process repeated once more, as Alisia did the exact same thing as ordered. Multiple errors happened, causing her to repeat it, which also caused frustration to build inside her; it was stressful.
"Good job! Well, onto the next part."
"There's more?!" The frustrating basic training was very frustrating for Alisia. Having forgotten and repeating the parts she went through. Though she should know all of it by now. Right?
"To the firing range. Are you ready?" asked Mia.
Alisia nodded. "Maybe."
"Don't force yourself; we can do this next Saturday if you want."
Alisia hesitated. She then turned up towards John, giving a stare as if asking whether she should do it or not.
John noticed her stare and just raised her shoulders. "Up to you, Missy."
Alisia thought once more whether she should try shooting or not. It was until an unexpected voice called her.
"My.. Miss Harlington, is that you?" A familiar voice could be heard from behind.
Alisia turned back to see a woman wearing trousers with a sweater. "Misses Cathleen..?"
Accompanying Cathleen was a young man beside him, being Alan, wearing long pants with a shirt.
"Do you go here regularly?" Asked Miss Cathleen as she got close.
"Uhh.. no. This is my first day here." Alisia answered, looking up at her.
Cathleen then stared towards John, who was still observing. "And you must be..."
"Ah, well. I'm her uncle. Her.. father told me to bring her to the firing range for the community event that'll happen soon." John explained.
"Oh." Cathleen nodded, but then she asked another question. "What community event?"
"Hunting, sometimes done at the end of the month." He answered.
"Oh, I see... Why doesn't her father do it with her instead of you?" Cathleen asked once more.
"Well uhh.." John thought of the answer, thinking for a while before then answering. "He's... busy. He has lots of work overseas."
"Ah, ok then." Cathleen nodded.
"What are you doing here, Ms. Cathleen?" Asked Alisia.
"Well, I heard the firing range's open for everyone, including outsiders, and that we only need to pay for munitions, and I heard it's cheap to buy it around here. So, I want to check it out with him." Cathleen pointed towards Alan. "Just signed the papers, and the staff told us to go here."
"I could've gone with the other folks and not you.." Alan grunted.
"Oh, young man, when was the last time you shot a firearm?"
"What? Does shooting cannons not count as shooting firearms?"
"Nah, you're shooting with me. Don't worry, I'll pay for all the things!"
Then, another familiar voice could be heard.
"Huh, Miss Cathleen, you're here?"
Cathleen, Alan, and Alisia stared towards the familiar voice to see Jack standing over there, wearing long trousers with a plain top, bringing with him a long leather bag.
"Ah! Hello there. Well yes, I am. Do you go here regularly?" Asked Cathleen.
"Well.. yes, I do. Trying to sharpen myself for next week's community event." Jack replied.
"My, someone as young as you hunting, hm? But aren't you still a high schooler, though? Where's your parents?" Asked Cathleen.
"Ah, he's still signing some waivers." He pointed his index finger towards the outside of the room.
"Oh, I see."
Then, the staff interrupted after a short encounter between the four. "Ok then, well, Mr. Harlington? Ms. Harlington? Mind if you two?"
"Right-" John suddenly felt a ring from within his pockets. He rummaged through with his hand before then pulling out a cellphone. He then checked the screen; someone was calling. He then leaned it close to him, answering the call. "Yes? What's the problem?"
Alisia looked up towards him, wondering who John might be answering to. She then forgot something-her bottle. She then looked around at the floor before spotting her bottle and went walking to grab it.
"Can't you handle it? Christ.. Alright, I'll be back." John placed his phone back in his pocket and looked at the staff. "Uhh, Miss. I have something to do. Mind if I hand her over to you?"
Mia shook her head. "I cannot. Sorry sir, but parents or their guardians must be with their children at all times."
"Oh hey, Mr. Harlington." Cathleen approached John. "I can register her under me. Don't worry, I can take care of her."
John turned towards Mia, "Can she?"
"Well.. I mean sure. Do you know her?" Asked Mia.
"Just now, but she's quite familiar with her, so that's enough." Said John.
"Man, this town sure is this trusty." She muttered.
John heard her words, taking notice of her words before asking, "You're not from here, are you?"
"Hm? Oh, I transferred work here from Ontario yesterday since people told me that this municipality has some kind of special autonomy in northern Alberta. This job is just a side job; my main job is as an accountant in some oil company."
"Heh, well, you're not wrong with that part, but it just happens that people here have lots of automatics and sawed-offs before 1977."
"But isn't the prime minister trying to disarm it though?"
"That's where the special autonomy power comes in."
As the two continued talking, Jack was staring at Alisia with a look of confusion and wondering, what was she doing here? Was she here to shoot too? He then walked up towards her from the rear before calling her up.
"Oi."
Alisia turned back towards Jack. "Yes?"
"Why are you here? I thought you're never interested in shooting." Asked Jack.
"Eh? Uhh.." Alisia thought, she had forgotten why she came to the place in the first place due to the frustration of the firearms safety she had undergone just minutes ago. Wait, what were the four rules again? Was it four? Her eyebrows furrowed from frustration. She then just answered vaguely.
"Stuff."
"What stuff? You have bad short-term memory or what?"
".. Maybe."
"You're insufferable.."
"Maybe.."
"Ugh.." Jack walked off from the room, muttering and grunting under his breath. "God, why is she even the commander?"
In a room with a long concrete wall desk facing against a metal door with a 'Keep Door Closed at All Times!' sign attached to it, Mia could be seen handing down Alisia protection glasses and ear muffs to her.
"Here, put these on."
"Thank you." Alisia took the two items before putting them on.
Mia then turned towards Cathleen and Alan, who just wore the protection glasses and ear muffs. "You two ready?"
"Ready," said Cathleen and Alan, each responding just seconds apart.
"Right, into the chamber." Mia instructed and picked up two large, long black bags and a small bag, holding them all by the strap. She then headed over towards the metal door. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot." She lifted a walkie-talkie from her pocket, leaning it close to her before pulling the PTT pressure, activating it. "Hey, mind if anyone checks if someone's coming from the other side?"
"Yeah, checking right now."
Alisia heard the conversation Mia just had through the walkie-talkie; she was curious about the request Mia just asked. Just as she was about to speak up to her, Mia turned towards her. "Right, I almost forgot again, damnit. Oh well, uhh.. So here's another few rules in the firing range. Keep the doors closed; keep those gears on unless you want to lose your hearing and your eyes; shoot only in your lane; and remember to keep your guns pointed down the range. In addition with the other rules I've taught."
"Someone's coming in."
Then, the door opened to reveal a family of three with long leather bags on their shoulders, walking towards the desk while talking off their protective glasses and ear muffs before placing it down.
"Right, now's our turn; with me, please."
The four then entered the chamber. The room was entirely covered with soundproof pads, with no gaps between the pads. Alisia looked around the tight, small room. A bit tight for her to breathe comfortably. Some gunshots could be heard, but only sounding like a metal wall being hit in a padded room. Mia then closed the metal door.
"What we're about to enter is a hostile environment; anything could happen, so be very careful with what you're doing. It's very loud inside, like real loud, so I advise you not to take your ear muffs off. Now, you ready?"
Alisia gave a short nod. Mia saw this and opened the door. Gunshot sounds could be heard louder than before the door was opened, a cold breeze could be felt being blown from the AC, and a long corridor of stalls filled with people could be seen doing their own activity. Burnt gunpowder could be smelled across the room. Alisia coughed up after breathing in the sharp smell, and in response, she covered her mouth and nose. The feeling was very different than being in a tank. It was less louder and very smelly, and breathing inside was a bit harder.
Mia looked down on Alisia, noticing her struggling in the environment. "Strange, the ventilation here is always above standards.. Is it the smell?"
Alisia looked up towards Mia and nodded, still covering her mouth and nose.
"Ah! I see. Well, you'll get used to it."
After walking the long row of mostly low-level stalls, Mia eventually stopped and placed the three bags on a wall desk that was facing against the stalls. "Ms. Cathleen, Mr. Bridgeman, your arms are here in the black bags. Do you need some training for it?"
Cathleen walked towards the bag on the desk, unzipping it to reveal a gun with a wooden grip, stock, and safeguard, with a thick barrel and a wooden handle. Its breech was stuffed with a flag. "My, a heavy-barreled FN FAL. Close to what the blokes back home showed me."
"Yep, and it's automatic, so have fun with it. The magazine's empty, so if you want to load it, the vending machine is over there." Mia pointed her hand towards what seemed to be a vending machine with ammunition of varying calibers inside, from small to big.
"Automatic? Don't have those back home; all the stuff there is semi-automatic." Cathleen remarked.
Alan approached the vending machine, looking at the prices. "These things are... a lot cheaper than I thought. 20 dollars for a box?"
"Well, you can thank the guy who funded a lot of money towards transports and infrastructure and the community. He sure loves throwing money into this town." Said Mia before looking back towards Alisia. "Now, the next lesson would be the real thing. Do you remember what you've learned so far?"
"Uhh.." Alisia turned her head away from Mia's gaze. "Yesn't."
"Hah? Pardon me? Oh well, you probably already know it. Now, take this." Mia handed over a small bag to Alisia. "Take stall 12, and we'll be starting our lesson."
Alisia took the bag and looked up at her, nodding before then walking towards the stall with the label number 12.
"Right, uhh.. first step: place the bag down, make sure the barrel is pointed down the range. It shouldn't be too hard knowing where the barrel is."
Alisia followed as instructed, placing the bag down on the stall. Looking at the shape of the bag, she could see where the barrel of the gun is and pointed it towards the range.
"Now, unzip the bag."
Alisia proceeded to unzip the bag to reveal a gun entirely different than the prop Hi-power Browning pistol used for training earlier. It has a pipe-shaped upper body, and it was smaller. It also has an odd-looking slide, which she assumed needs to be pulled instead of the half-upper body being slid. She could also see the chamber being stuffed with an orange-colored object.
"That's the Ruger 22 Mk. III pistol. The recoil should be good enough for you to handle, and it only requires you to pull the... uhh.. Rear slide. Now, there's a magazine inside, empty. You have some toonies in your pocket?"
"Eh? Uhh.." Alisia thought for a moment, she never really used coins or any physical money for purchases since, well, everything she usually asks directly to her parents and has them pay for it. Rarely does she ever go outside either. "Uhh, no."
"Not even a single toonie? Have you ever been given a single loonie even?"
"What's a toonie? Or a loonie?"
"Y-You don't know what those terms mean?" Mia tilted her head.
"Uhh, no. Can you please explain..?" Asked Alisia in a low tone, muffled by the gunshots around them.
"What? Can't hear you! Oh well, I'll be nice today." Mia reached down to her jeans' pockets, pulling out three pieces of $2 coins before handing them to her. "Take these and go buy a box of 22lr's."
Alisia looked at the coins, taking them, and gave the coins a look before nodding at the request. She then walked towards the vending machine Mia pointed earlier. Upon reaching it, she saw lots of munitions being displayed with the tag price, all of them having a price not exceeding 40 dollars. She then looked down towards the 22lr's, which cost only 6 dollars per box, the exact amount Mia gave to her. She inserted the coins into the hole before then pressing the button on the 22LR.
A thud could be heard from inside the dispenser. Alisia reached her hand inside and through the small door, taking out a 6x4-sized cardboard box. It felt a bit heavy for her hands. She gave it a good shake, leaning it close to her ears, checking the content. She could feel the content being loose and shaking, not tight. Just as she was still checking, Jack appeared with a straight face, staring straight at her.
"... What are you doing?" Asked Jack while still staring down at her.
"Eh?" Alisia turned her head back towards Jack, gazing up at him. "Oh, hi."
"Looking at you shaking that ammo box makes me want to die." Jack slapped his own face in disappointment. "You look like an idiot.."
"What? I'm just checking." Alisia then looked towards Mia and walked back towards her. "I'm back."
Mia looked down at her. "Took you a while." She crouched down to her level. "You seriously don't know what a toonie is? Or a loonie even?"
Alisia shook her head. "I usually ask my parents if I need or want anything, and I rarely or barely ever buy stuff myself." She answered in a low tone.
"... gosh, you're so sheltered. Do you even have friends?" Asked Mia.
"Uh..." Alisia thought for a moment before nodding.
"That.. delay.. You don't really have a friend, do you?"
"I.. do?"
Mia sighed; she then stood back up. "Alright then, now start unpacking the box and get the magazine." She pointed at the empty magazine
Alisia nodded and turned her attention towards the box. She first took off the tapes that were holding the box's opening together, placing the waste on the table to be disposed of later. She then pulled the slide out to reveal 5 rows of 22lr bullets, each row having 10 bullets each. After that, she eyed towards the bag of the gun, eyeing at the empty magazine, before grabbing it out.
"Good, now to load it in. Hold the magazine and keep your thumb on the follower button right here." Mia pointed at the button placed in the long hollow area. "You push it down just a bit and insert the bullets one by one. You press down the button every time you load in a single bullet. Got it?"
Alisia heard through the instructions being told by Mia, hearing closely amid the gunshots in the background. She nodded.
"Now try doing what I just said." Said Mia.
Alisia proceeded to grab a bullet from the box with her one free hand, while the other hand was pressing down the follower button. She then proceeded to insert the bullet in before sliding the follower button once more and grabbing another bullet to be inserted in, and again, small noises of metal being scratched could be heard as Alisia pulled the follower button down, pushing the spring inside down. The process continued until 10 bullets were inserted, being the maximum capacity of the magazine itself.
"Good, now.. Ah, I almost forgot. Please wait here; I forgot to take the target paper." Mia left Alisia and headed towards the door.
Alisia saw as Mia left the scene, leaving her alone in the scene. She then looked over to the other stall, where she could see Cathleen with the FN FAL; her body was rigid, her right leg being forward while her other leg being backwards. Her right hand was holding tight on the grip, fingers yet on the trigger area. Her left hand was holding on to the wooden handguard. Her breathing was steady, and her eyes were looking straight at the iron sight that was aiming at a target that was a metal sheet with a target paper attached to it that was around 500 meters away.
Without a warning, she placed her finger on the trigger, immediately squeezing on it, causing the rifle to release off bullets into the air and to the target ahead, of which Alisia was guessing it was a few hundred meters away. Cathleen was squeezing the trigger in short bursts, firing 3 to 4 bullets in a single burst. Bullets could be seen falling from the gun's chamber, and in just seconds the floor was littered with empty casings.
Alisia looked in awe at the many bullets being fired off in less than a few seconds. Then, the rifle ceased to fire; instead, there could be only heard clicking sounds. Without a second spared, Cathleen went on to press on the switch, causing the magazine to loosen off. She took the empty magazine off and took another magazine filled with bullets from the stall, loading it in and cocking the chamber, before firing the rifle once more in short bursts.
The amount of automatic sound produced from Cathleen's stall gave attention to the people surrounding, causing a crowd to gather, as they were distracted or interested from the large volume of bullets being fired in automatic fire.
"Damn, who's that woman over there?"
"Who's firing automatic that long?"
"It's so loud over there."
Then there was silence once more as the magazine was drained. Cathleen dropped the empty magazine back to the stall and grabbed one last full magazine into the rifle and went on firing the gun in long bursts once more.
Jack approached from the rear, looking over Cathleen, who was shooting like a mad lady. Never had he ever seen or heard automatic fire this long. People around here shoot one-shot intervals most of the time.
"Do people around here never see someone firing this long?" Asked Alan from behind, his rifle placed on the stall with its magazine off.
Jack turned towards Alan. "Eh, no. Most of the people here own semi-automatic guns. Only a few have it here, including the firing range. Those types of guns are not really popular around here since they're expensive and hard to get."
"Huh.. I see."
Then, after a few seconds, the magazine ran dry once more. Cathleen ceased and lowered the rifle, setting the switch to safe, and placed it down the stall. She then reached her hand to the toggle on the circuit box that was attached to the right barrier, the barrier which separated her stall with the other stalls, pressing it downwards, which caused the crane that was holding the target paper to move towards her stall.
The crane eventually stopped right in front of the stall, taking a minute to arrive. The paper showed off the result of Cathleen's shooting. The majority of the bullet holes could be seen right near the center of the dot in the middle. The crowd looked at the paper in amazement.
"That's one accurate automatic fire over there.." Said one spectator, staring at the target paper, looking at the results of her shooting.
The crowd clapped at the performance Cathleen just did, clapping at the results. Cathleen turned her head back, feeling odd as she heard no more gunshots in the long room, only to see a crowd behind her.
"What is happening?" Cathleen was oblivious to what was happening at that moment.
Alisia looked as the crowd continued clapping and saying words of compliment towards Cathleen, feeling somewhat jealous. It was until she heard her name being called out from behind.
"Miss Alisia!" Mia could be seen approaching Alisia with some target papers on her hand. "I have some ready here. Mind if you step aside?"
Alisia looked up towards Mia, looking at the item that was in her hands, before nodding and stepping out from her stall. Mia leaned in towards the stall, pulling the toggle on the right barrier, causing the crane that was holding a metal sheet to lurch forward at a fast speed, before stopping right in front of the table. She then proceeded to unclip the clip on the metal sheet and placed the paper on the surface of the sheet before clipping both surfaces together.
"There.." Mia pushed the toggle up to the indicator that was written on the board circuit, setting it 50 meters. The crane immediately dragged the metal sheet back, moving at rapid speed before stopping at its intended place and range. "Right! Let's get started. Your target is up ahead over there; the distance is 50 meters. Remember your training and stay calm. Now, take your firearm."
Alisia heard the words of instructions being told to her. She then lifted the ruger from the stall, all while keeping the barrel pointed down the range, doing as she had been taught just a while ago. Both her hands were holding tight on the ruger's grip, and her breathing was growing uneasy. She can feel her palm getting wet despite the AC's that were cooling the shooting range. She doesn't know why it was sweating, but the texture on the gun's grip helped with keeping the grip tight.
"Now, take a stance."
Alisia moved her right leg forward, with her left leg going slightly backwards, her body forming the shape of an upside-down Y letter. She kept her eyes on the gun, making sure that it was pointing towards the ground and making sure it was not pointed to even an inch of her limb.
"Take aim, safety's off, and keep your fingers off the trigger if you're not steady yet."
Alisia lifted the gun up and used one of her fingers to turn the safety to false, and both her hands continued holding tight onto the grip. She can feel her hands shaking from her nervousness that was building inside due to the growing tension of her about to shoot the firearm.
"Stay calm; take a deep breath." Mia leaned down to Alisia's level and straightened her body, fixing her posture to be more straight.
Alisia flinched from the sudden touch, feeling even more nervous as she felt her body was being touched; her body was feeling sensitive for whatever reason.
"Gee, stay calm, will you? Or do you need to drink?" Mia looked into Alisia with a look of worry on her face.
"I-I'm fine."
"Nope, you're definitely not fine." Mia released a sigh and lowered the gun Alisia was holding. "Your grip was shaky; you'll hurt yourself if you hold it like that. Let's just take a rest, ok?"
"O-Ok.." Alisia released a sigh before placing the gun down the stall, keeping the barrel pointed down the range, and toggling the safety back to safe.
"Heh, too nervous to fire?" Jack's teasing voice could be heard from behind.
Alisia turned her body towards him, confused by what was just said by him. "Yes?"
"I managed to fire a full magazine on my first try. I can probably now even beat that old man over with his silly old rifle there." Jack pointed towards a gray-haired man wearing a line-patterned long-sleeved shirt with a short-sleeved sweater, long dark trousers and black shoes, and a beret cap, who was laying a Lee Enfield on his right shoulder.
"Excuse me, young man?" The old man gave him a stare with a smirk. "That sounds like a challenge you just said to me!"
"Ha, you're old! I doubt you can shoot straight!" Said Jack in a high arrogant tone.
"Yikes.."
"Here we go again.."
"Oh, ya cheeky." The old man looked over to Mia before asking her out loud, "Young lady, mind if ya?"
Mia nodded before walking towards the circuit box near the soundproof chamber; that was the entrance/exit. She opened it to reveal multiple large switches inside. She pushed one of them down, causing the room to go dark, followed by dim lights lighting the room. The cranes lifted all of the metal sheets up before each pulling down cardboard targets shaped like the upper torso of a man, all of them yet having holes inside.
The old man went to one of the stalls and took off his sweater, revealing a webbing beneath with pouches. He opened one of the pouches, revealing multiple strips of munitions inside, and pulled out one of them. He lifted the rifle up before bolting up the bolt of his smlee and loading in the loaded strip filled with munitions, before shutting the bolt and bolting it once more. The lights suddenly started flashing, which would cause a seizure to anyone who might have epilepsy.
Bright yellow lights could be seen, followed by the sounds of gunpowder being ignited from the shell as they were blown up from within the chamber by the ignitor. There was only a short moment where the lights showed the old man's posture; his facial expression was rigid and emotionless; he was using his middle finger to pull the finger while using the thumb and index finger to bolt the rifle. The sound of the fire ceased; the sound of new clips being inserted in could be heard before another burst of fire could be heard and seen.
The people surrounding looked at the old man in awe, except for Alisia. The lights constantly turning on and off in such a short amount of time were hurting her eyes, along with the muzzle flash. She used both her hands to cover her eyes to protect them from the epileptic lights.
Then, after around a few dozen shots, the fire ceased, and moments later, the lights went back to normal as Mia lifted the switches back up. The old man could be seen, still standing on a posture; the barrel of his rifle could be seen smoking and slightly red. The cranes then began dragging the paper target body, before stopping right in front of the stalls. Each target paper body was showing holes that were recently made from the old man's shooting, with the holes being either dead center at the center body mass or the head.
"Woah, all twenty targets hit!"
The spectators began looking at the target paper body, their faces giving mix expressions, but most were showing faces of amazement and surprise.
"Damn, old timer doing it again."
Cathleen walked out of her stall and went on walking through the stalls, seeing the result of the old man's work. "My, what an outstanding marksman.."
The old man looked towards Jack, with a smirk on his face. "Still dare to challenge, young lad?"
Jack was frozen in place; his eyes were wandering here and there, staring at the body target papers. This.. was not what he was expecting. Never had he ever seen such marksmanship, even with the lights flickering and flashing.
"S-Sorry.." Jack looked down, conceding.
Cathleen approached the old man with a smile of excitement and curiosity on her face, "Greetings, Sir! I'm very impressed with your shooting; never before have I seen someone be able to pull it off. Where did you learn such impressive marksmanship?"
The old man turned towards her, "Ah, well." He placed the rifle down, holding it by the handguard, and chuckled, trying to remember. "Let's say.. I shot a lot of Tojo's cronies back in the past."
Alisia opened back her eyes and looked at her surroundings. She looked at her stall, just in time as the crane began pulling back up the paper body bag and lowering down the metal sheets from earlier.
She then looked at both Cathleen and the old man, looking at them, talking with each other. But from what she was hearing, the old man did something that was even more extraordinary than Cathleen. She had a sudden urge of determination deep inside her to get good at shooting.
"Ms. Mia?" Alisia looked around to look for Mia.
Mia heard as her name was called; she looked over to the source to see Alisia calling her. She then walked towards her, "Yes?"
"Can we shoot?" Asked Alisia.
"Well, are you ready though? You sure you don't want to drink first?" Asked Mia in a worried tone, looking down towards her.
Alisia shook her head. "I'll be fine."
"Well.. If you say so. Right, take up your gun, please."
Alisia took the gun from the stall with both her hands while keeping it aimed towards the ground.
"Oh! I almost forgot; cock the slide first."
Alisia looked over at the gun; there was nothing that resembled a slide. She looked up towards Mia, "Uhm.. where?"
"Ah! My bad, you see that handle on the rear?"
Alisia looked over at the gun, looking at the rear, before spotting it. "I see it.."
"Now, pull it; remember what I have said; don't aim the barrel to the side."
Alisia nodded and proceeded to move her body to the side and pulled the slide handle until there was a clicking sound. She then let go of the handle, which was hard for her to keep holding onto, causing it to crash back inside.
"Now, take a stance."
Alisia moved back to a standing position before moving her right leg forward while moving the other leg backwards. She kept on gripping on the ruger, keeping the barrel pointed down the range.
"Take aim."
Alisia lifted the ruger, taking a deep breath. She closed her left eye, using her right eye to aim at the sights.
"Fingers on the trigger when you're ready."
Alisia placed her index finger on the trigger; her breathing was steady as a ship.
"Pull the trigger when ready."
Just as Alisia was about to pull the trigger, all of a sudden, she saw a parabola line pointing out from the barrel of the ruger. She lowered the gun, showing a look of confusion on her face.
"What's wrong?" Asked Mia with a look of confusion on her face.
"Do you see a line coming out from the barrel?" Asked Alisia as she continued looking at the barrel.
"Huh?" Mia looked at the gun, seeing nothing on the barrel at all. "I don't see anything. Maybe you should get a pair of glasses?"
"Hmm.." Alisia aimed the gun up, holding it just at the level of her chest, and without looking at the sight, using whatever the line was pointing at to aim at the target ahead, and pulled the trigger, causing the ruger to fire off a bullet from inside the chamber and her hand to shake from the recoil and was about to let it off her grip.
"What are you doing?!" Mia had a look of horror on her face and immediately took the ruger away as it was about to fall down to the floor. "Gosh, you weren't supposed to aim it like that! You could've gotten yourself killed!"
"I think I hit the dark part." Alisia pointed at the target paper ahead.
"What do you mean-" Mia turned towards the target paper to see a hole in the dark radius. Her eyes widened and she immediately turned the toggle on the circuit box, setting it back towards the stall.
The crane then brought the metal sheet holding the paper target ahead, and upon arrival, and a closer inspection. Mia's eyes widened even further as she saw a hole on the right bottom, hitting in between radius 7 and 8. "Seven and eight.. what?"
"Damn, you hit that thing without aiming?" Alan's voice could be heard from the back as he observed the event that just happened.
"Y-Yeah?" Said Alisia in a hesitant tone.
"Nah, this might be just because of luck.." Mia held her head with her free hand. "Try again." She toggled the safety of the ruger to safe mode before handing it back to Alisia and toggled the crane back to 50 meters.
Alisia received the ruger back from Mia, holding it back into a grip, and went back to the shooting posture. She was holding the gun just at the level of her chest, not aiming through the sights at all, and was relying on the guiding line.
"Ready?" Mia looked down towards Alisia, still bewildered from the shot earlier and irritated by the posture Alisia was posing, not the posture that she was usually taught. She was afraid that Alisia would get a bit sloppy and the recoil upwards would cause her to drop the gun and... She shook her head, not wanting to think of it at the moment.
"Ready.." Said Alisia as she fixed her eyes on the gun and line that was helping with guiding her gun.
Mia looked over to Alisia. Well, for someone short like her and being a beginner, aiming like that, she sure managed to aim hit near dead center at a target 50 meters away. But it could be because of luck, but even luck couldn't be that good. She sighed. "You may fire when ready."
Alisia looked over at the line, making sure it was straight at the target, at the dark radius. After adjusting for a moment, she tightened her grip and pulled the trigger, causing the gun to fire once more as the ignitor ignited the bullet inside from the trigger's response, flying out from the barrel and straight towards the target ahead. Her hands flinched slightly from the recoil, but she fixed her grip before firing off a few more rounds.
Multiple sounds of small metal objects crashing into the flat surface could be heard as the bullets fired off from the ruger Alisia was firing with impacted the hard metal surface of the metal sheet that was holding the target paper, creating multiple holes. Eventually, after shooting a couple rounds, Alisia stopped firing. She can feel her hands and wrists getting hurt from the amount of recoil she has to sustain.
"Why stop? Just one more shot you know." Asked Mia.
"My wrists.. so painful.."
"Huh, ok then.. Put the gun back on the stall." Mia pulled the toggle, setting it to return back. The crane dragged the metal sheet carrying the target paper before stopping right in front of the stall. There could be seen the result of Alisia's shooting. There was not a bullseye, but the majority of the shots are somewhere around 6 to 8.
"Such consistency," Alan remarked.
"My, nice accuracy!" Cathleen could be seen returning back, holding the FN FAL she was firing with upwards. An orange flag could be seen stuffing the chamber, and its magazine was also off.
Jack meanwhile was in shock; his body was frozen in place, and his eyes were wide. He clenched his hands into a fist. Two times humiliated that day by an old man and a girl he barely even knew until recently, getting picked as a commander because of a stupid pencil.
"Uhm.. Ms. Mia. You sure you don't put some sort of shooting assistant inside this thing?" Alisia could be seen was about to inspect the barrel of the ruger.
"Huh- Wait! What are you doing?!" Mia rushed towards Alisia as she saw the safety of the ruger still on false, with a look of horror on her face. Cathleen also saw this and rushed at her, dropping the rifle she was holding, followed by Alan.
"DONT!"
"Huh?" Alisia looked towards the three as they rushed towards her. Unbeknownst to her, one of her fingers was on the trigger, about to press down on the trigger. Just as Mia was about to grab the gun away, Alisia's finger pressed down on the trigger, causing it to fire off a single bullet.
1502 hours:
Gray clouds continued covering the skies above the town. Cathleen, Alan, and Jack could be seen walking out from the building, with Cathleen carrying Alisia on her back. Alisia herself was in a state of shock; her eyes were wide open, and she was staring blankly, not having a point to focus on, as her mind was in a mess. There was a single band aid on her forehead, covering a scratch wound.
"What a day. Poor lass shot herself in the head." Said Cathleen.
"Well, at least it only grazed her forehead, or else it would've been much worse." Said Alan.
"Eh, should've remembered the rules. Her fault anyways." Said Jack in a nonchalant tone, he was holding a leather bag on
"Hey, that's rude.." Cathleen turned her head towards Jack; her eyes were furrowed, staring at him with a disapproving look, before sighing. "Anyways, do you know where her home is?"
"How should I know?" Jack raised his tone.
"What an arrogant man, ckk.." Cathleen shook her head. "Aren't you supposed to be with your father?"
"Huh? Well, he got some important work to do, so he left earlier. The firing range already knows me anyways, so no worries." Jack explained.
The three continued walking out of the firing range complex, entering the sidewalk, and were about to enter the town center. Meanwhile, a few distance away, in the woods, a tall humanoid figure with a deer skull head and with a skeletal body, fur cloak, long hands, and long sharp fangs, crawling and hiding, eyeing at the group while releasing a guttural voice, particularly eyeing at Alisia that was being carried by on the back by Cathleen.
Its eyes were glowing red, illuminating what appeared like a screen running a program in unknown characters. It growled and was about to step out of its hiding place until a loud buzzing noise could be heard, getting nearer and nearer. The creature ran back into the forest, as it decided not to do whatever it was about to do.