𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞

𝟓𝟒. 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞

I felt a hand touching me and shaking me softly. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a tall man towered over me. His appearance alone was seductive. It was Derange. His black hair, which glistened in the moonlight illuminating from the window, was combed back and his face was carefully structured. His cold brown eyes were full of intensity.

I felt one drop of water falling on my cheek, I fully opened my eyes only to see Derange with a white towel wrapped around his hips. The water dripped down his hair softly. And the drops slowly made their way to his body and the perfect abs he had. The water defined his well, organized and obviously worked out body.

"Get up," he gently said and rushed to the bathroom.

I checked the clock and it was four in the morning, what was he doing? "It's four," I yelled at him.

"You have your first lesson today," he yelled back. "Just get ready," he added. "Wear black."

I started getting dressed with some black pieces of clothing that I found in my small suitcase. A pair of black jeans and a black hoodie. I was ready for the funeral he was going to take me. Once again my emotions turned jagged and my insides tightened. I needed a hug, even if it was just words. I needed soothing like a child. And then there were hot tears, falling fast and thick onto my hoodie. I felt the wetness of my skin and each drop as it emerged from my open eyes. Memories from Victoria's funeral emerged to my mind.

I quickly turned around so that Derange wouldn't see me crying as he walked out of the bathroom, so I rushed inside. I locked myself in there, washing my face over and over again until all my tears were invisible. I knew what to do, that was familiar in a way that was almost traumatic. I was always hiding my tears from my dad. I swallowed down the pain, ate it up into my belly and wore a passive face, a tentative smile. I finally walked out of the bathroom and found Derange waiting for me on his bed.

"If you are done crying then come here because we have work to do," he simply said while looking inside his bag. "You know, what we are doing here needs strength, this is no game so man up soldier," he was trying once again to make me laugh and once again I would be forever grateful. I liked that he was direct with me.

Derange took a gun on his hands.

"This is a Beretta M9, semiautomatic, 9mm, it can reach up to 100 meters. Oh and it has an iron sight," he said while loading it with bullets. "All yours," he threw it on the bed towards me.

"Mine?" I asked him surprised.

"Now come, sit next to me and let's learn how you can load it," he said and patted the bed next to him. "Load the magazine. Place one 9 mm bullet at a time onto the top opening of the magazine. Push and simultaneously slide the bullet back against the magazine wall. You can put up to fifteen bullets," he said in a serious tone.

"Only fifteen?" I asked curious.

"You have fifteen chances to save yourself," he smiled. "Engage the safety switch located on the top-left of the M9, just near the rear sight. Flip the switch down to cover the red dot. The covered red dot indicates that the safety is on," he was explaining while I was trying to do whatever he said. In the end I finally did it.

"I did it." I said exclaimed excited.

"Don't get excited there is more," he chuckled. "Slide the magazine into the magazine well. When you hear the click, the magazine is locked into the weapon. Grasp the serrated area of the slide, then pull it to the rear and release," he said while looking at my hands and the gun.

I tried to stay calm as my eyes met Derange's intense stare.

"Disengage the safety switch by flipping it back up, revealing the red dot," he carefully said. "You're now ready to fire doll," he chuckled. "You did it, now please remember the steps to do it again."

The gun had two huge advantages. It was light and it was very compact. I weighed it in my hand, trying to find the balance between myself and my weapon. Derange had explained that this was essential to learn the techniques of shooting. I allowed my finger to curl around the trigger and smiled grimly. I put my eye next to the scope and looked around the room.

"Remember that you have fifteen chances in there, fifteen chances in saving yourself. Listen, I don't know how things are going to turn out, we are not dealing with just one random guy, we are dealing with something bigger. In any case of emergency you must use it and not hesitate," he said with worried eyes.

"I know Derange and don't worry, we will do everything in your way and nothing will happen," I touched his hand and looked at him deep in the eyes. "Now, can you tell me why we are awake that early?" I said annoyed.

"Wasn't I clear when I said we have work to do?" he teased. "First of all you, we will go downstairs and you by the stairs of course. And this time I expect you to fly."

"Fine," I sighed.

"A friend of mine located the old Jones house. We will go later to ask around about them."

"What? That's perfect," I exclaimed excited. My heart started bumping like crazy, it was anxiousness but also fear of what might happen to us, to Derange.

There were times I felt like the world was slowly disappearing in front of me. Or maybe it was just me who was fading away. Those moments it didn't mattered anyway. Because my empty burning lungs and my heart hitting my chest so hard, ready to break my ribs and rip apart my skin, were the only things I could think about. And the void. The black hole in my head, deep inside my soul, slowly swallowing all my hopes and dreams. That was the worst of those moments. The realization of the vacuum, the nothingness, the absurd of my existence.

I slowly started getting dressed as Derange was waiting for me. I didn't know who would find there and who we would meet. The same applied to Derange, he was someone new I had me, and he remained a mystery. Meeting someone new was a divine pleasure. Regardless of how things would turn out, I loved the dance that began. The most important idea was to be able to get a true feeling for who they were over a few weeks and months without ever forming an opinion of them. I would let Derange develop as an old polaroid photograph, nice and slow.

As soon as we left the hotel and entered the taxicab I couldn't stop looking outside of the window. After the blackness of night, Earth's star rose on the horizon, spreading her gold in every direction. She came in the way that natural forces do, needing not invitation yet feeling her welcome. The light was her gift, bold and free, for anyone who cared to open their eyes in the dawn and watch the world awake. Finally everything looked good for one time, nothing was going to stop me, stop us.