Annalise Springster's a High School Dropout

Chapter 8

Cassie's POV

Annalise Springster is pointing a shotgun at a bright red target. Over her shoulder, hovers her father instructively and protectively.

"Now ease into it. Shoot on an exhale." POP. The gun jerks back and Annie's father holds Her shoulders to catch some of the blow.

"Aha!" Her father says. "Look at that! Almost center."

Annie lowers the gun, trembling slightly, and then looks at the target.

"Whew. I forgot how that kick felt."

"Yeah? You took it like a champ, kiddo." He ruffles her hair. "Hey, Cassie. Sure you don't want to give it a try?"

I wince a little as he thrusts the shotgun towards me. "No, I'm alright."

"Well let's load up and head out then." He straps the shotgun over his back and leads us out into the shooting range.

Annalise and I linger a little ways behind him. She nudges me lightly. "Hey, you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you ok?"

She shrugs. "I'm alright I guess--not excited about shooting things, but I'm happy to be able to spend this time with Dad."

"Yeah."

I should be at home with my mom.

"Y'all keeping an eye out back there?"

"Yup," we both say obviously without thinking.

"Then did you two catch on to the deer tracks we've been following for the last 5 minutes.

We look at each other and then down. Before us lay a neat set of rabbit footprints and behind us, a mess of our own tracks are mingled in.

"We should be getting close. She's round here somewhere."

I gaze into the bare thrush of the forest that is in front of us. Looking behind, I see no trace of civilization. The only indication that we are still near town is the soft vroom of car motors in the distance.

A light rustle sounds from ahead. Annie's dad looks to us with a finger to his lips. Swiftly, he takes the shotgun off his shoulder, takes the safety off, and aims. Less than 10 seconds later, his shot rings off in the atmosphere, and he's headed in the direction in which his barrel was pointed. Annie winces at the pop and we stand still, waiting for him to come back with his prize.

"She's a big one! Looks like I didn't ruin much of her either. Reckon we take her home, Annie?"

Annie winces again, except this time she was trying to hide her disdain.

"I don't think we need to," she says definitely.

"Alright. Let's leave her and keep going. I hope you were paying attention, Annie. Next one is on you." He smirks before leading us deeper into the woods.

The next catch doesn't come as easy. It takes us about 20 minutes to find more tracks. But when we finally find some, Annie's dad is doing a near diddy.

"Ladies, we've got a doe on our hands."

"A baby deer?" I ask.

"Course, dear. Ain't you the smart one?" he jokes. "I think she's right over this hill. Here, Annie." He hands her the shotgun. "Remember to look before you shoot."

Annie tentatively takes the lead.

Annalise's POV

We climb the hill and I feel sweat emitting from my palms and the back of my neck. We practically stumble upon the doe. She was so unaware of us, so naive. I take a position at least 5 meters away and I feel my dad's presence over my shoulder.

"Just breathe," he says.

Just breathe.

I cock the gun under my shoulder and aim in the direction of the deer.

She doesn't even know we're here.

I take off the safety and peer through the scope.

Suddenly, my heart begins pounding in my chest. I can feel it in my ears. It distracts me, begins to pull me out of reality. The pounding speeds up. Images of the last hunting venture replay in my mind

My breath hitches in my throat. I'm wheezing. I need to get some air. I need to get out of here.

Tears build in my eyes and my hands tremble.

Focus

Focus

I can't

Focus

I--can't

Focus

Please just--

Focus

"I CAN'T" I drop the gun. The round fires into the ground, and the doe takes off. I lean to support myself against a nearby tree, still heaving, still gasping for air.

"Hey, hey, Annie, it's alright," my dad says catching me before I fall. "Breathe."

My vision's gone blurry.

"I can't see," I choke.

"Yes, you can. Breathe."

I focus on each breath, being careful with each one. After a few minutes, my sight is fully back to normal and the tears are gone. The first thing I see clearly is my dad's worried expression and the second, Cassie wearing the same one.

"I'm sorry." I feel the tears building up again.

"For what? Being human. It's alright. Let's go home and get something good to eat.

The thought of eating almost made Annie forget this whole ordeal even happened--almost.