Sunshine

Guns

When we first came in here, clothes were laid out for us to change into. Dauntless clothes weren't as restricting as Candor but they are completely different. We were just going to sleep afterwards so I chose a black tank top and some loose black shorts. I chose a bed between Jordan and Peter. Though they fell asleep a while ago, I couldn't manage to do the same.
Besides the steady breathing, it was quiet. That is until a strangled cry interrupted the silence followed by a heavy sob. I looked at the bed closest to my feet, it's Al. He was one of my best friends in Candor. He is the tallest and most broad out of all of us yet he is also probably the sweetest. I've know him for years and he is honestly just a big teddy bear.
I get up from my own bed and move to his. He flinches and turns away from me.
"Al," I whisper. "Al, it's me, Madeline."
"I'm fine."
"No, it's ok. I'm not judging you, I promise."
He doesn't move so I do. I go to the side he's facing. "Scoot over, come on."
Al listens and moves enough for me to slip in under the covers with him. Immediately he buries his head into the crook of my neck and wraps his arms around me. I move my hand up to the back of his head and play with his hair, humming into his ear. Even though I'm nearly a foot shorter than him, the bed is still too small and barely holds the both of us. But it doesn't matter, he's my friend and he needs me to stay with him right now.
Eventually, Al calms down and his breathing steadies. I smile and get up to go back to my own bed but he stops me.
"Please, don't leave. Stay." He begs.
I hesitate but nod, slipping in next to him again. We take up the position we were in before and fall asleep with the comfort of each other's presence.
* * * * * * * * * *
The first thing I hear when I wake is my brother shouting. Wonderful.
"What the hell was she doing with you!" He screams. Al.
I shoot up out of the bed to find Al on the floor with blood trailing down his face from his nose and Peter above him with his fist pulled back.
"Peter stop!" I shout jumping in front of him and throwing my hands up. "Stop! Calm down!"
"Why the hell were you in bed dressed like that with him!" His eyes were wild and darting back and forth between me and my friend behind me.
I could tell him the truth... but he'd make fun of Al. And I won't let him do that. "I was upset about leaving mom, so I went to him. You know me and him are really good friends, he was comforting me!"
"Don't lie to me, Maddy! I know what he thinks of you, especially when you look like that!" He tries to step around me.
I growl at him and block him once more. "You know, better than anyone, Al is like a brother to me. Hell, he sees me as his little sister! Now calm down and walk away."
Of course, Peter was still furious but he walked away. Well, he stormed out of the room with Drew and Molly trailing behind him. I sighed as soon as he was out the door and let my arms drop. Everyone continued what they were doing and left to go to training. I turned to Al to inspect his nose. It wasn't broken but it was bleeding a lot.
"I'm sorry about him." I apologized while I helped him clean up.
He shook his head and gently pushed my arm away from his face. "It's fine, he's just protective of you."
"No, it's not. He attacked you and you didn't do anything wrong! We used to have sleepovers all the time and he never had a problem before."
"Before we had to dress a certain way and he knew about it. Now he had no idea and you're barely covered. I don't blame him ok? You're a beautiful girl and if I were in his position I'd freak out too."
"I hate you for being so understanding and forgiving." I grumbled, getting up to change.
Al just laughed. "Love you too!"
I waved him off and grabbed a pair of pants and another tank top to change. "Sure, sure."
       After we changed, we met up with the others in the training room. Jordan made her way over to me and gave me a hug.
       "Good job, standing up to your brother for your friend." She says and turns to Al, sticking her hand out. "My name's Jordan, you?"
       He takes her hand and shakes, "Al."
       "Well," she nods and pulls her hand away, "it's nice to meet you. I'll see y'all around."
       Jordan walks back to the front of the group as Four and Eric walk in. Al and I make our way to the group just as Four begins to speak.
       "The first thing you're going to learn today is how to shoot a gun. The second is how to win a fight." Four begins to pass out guns. "Thankfully, you already know how to jump on and off a moving train so I won't need to teach you guys how to do that."
Al and I made our way closer to the front, my brother only a few feet away. "There will be three stages to your training, not that they will be equally weighed when deciding your rank. That is why it is possible yet difficult to dramatically improve your rank."
Four placed a gun in my hand and continued on. It was a foreign feeling, something cold and hard that could be my savior or my destruction. I prayed I'd never have to use it for destruction.
"We prepare you because we don't need cowards; preparation gets rid of that. Cowards are those who can't act in the midst of fear. The first stage is physical; the second is emotional, and the third—mental."
Peter yawned, "What... does guns have to do with bravery?"
Four flips a gun and presses the barrel to Peter's temple. I tensed and surged forward, pushing my brother out of the way and gaining Four's immediate attention. He lowered the gun and locked eyes with my own.
"Brave for taking your brother's place Madeline. Stupid for putting yourself in unnecessary danger."
My eyes never left his as I spoke, "He's my brother. I'll always put myself in danger if it means he's safe."
"Your urge to protect your family is admirable... but your brother," he shifted his gaze to Peter and back, "is an idiot. The gun is loaded, he needs to wake up."
Four continued until everyone had a gun before returning to the front. "To answer your question, if you know how to defend yourself you are less likely to run away crying to your mother. You may also need this later in stage one so pay attention."
Four faces a target—a wooden board with three red rings painted on. He takes up a stance, uses both hand to hold and aim the gun before firing. The resulting bang is painfully loud. I shuffle to my right to get a better view. Bullseye.
Everyone moves to a target, mine happens to be next to the one Four used. Taking a deep breath, I stand with my feet shoulder-width apart and my right foot slightly behind the other. I hold the gun up and aim towards the target. My finger hovers over the trigger before pressing down hard. The recoil forces my arms back towards my body and an extra step follows after. My ears are ringing and the bangs from the guns continue as everyone starts firing. It took me a second but eventually I could see the small bullet hole in the corner of the target.
Shooting a gun was harder than I thought. The recoil forced me back and aim was hard to perfect. It took me 10 tries to keep my footing and arms from jolting back towards my body. But when I finally did manage it I was happy. And closer to hitting the center. My shots were between the second and third ring which was progress. Happy progress to me.
"Hey how are you do so good this early in?" The person next to me—Myra, I think—ask with an exasperated expression.
I lowered my gun and turned to her chuckling, "I haven't hit the center at all, I'm not that good."
"She rolled her eyes and grinned, "Yea but your close to hitting the center. And it's your first time shooting right?"
"Yea..."
"So how do you do it?"
"Well, for the recoil you need a firm stance and grip. For the aim and shot I find the that controlling my breathing seems to help a lot."
Myra seemed to think about what I said before trying again. Hitting closer to the target than before. She turned to smile at me so I grinned back at her. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Four watching me so I turned back to my target and shot again, hitting the center this time. Adrenaline rushed through me as a smile made its way onto my face. I did it!
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
Finally chapter three! Sorry this took so long I honestly forgot this story existed... anyway a special thank you to the reader who motivated me to write this for calling me out on not finishing it😂 So since school is out due to covid-19 I'll have more time to write and try to update a couple chapters pretty soon. Again I'm really sorry for taking so long to update but here y'all go. Stay safe and stay healthy!
— 🌙Lunagirl🌙