Number 37 clambered to his feet, his legs shaking so badly everyone could clearly see, and scuttled back over the safety of the red line and out of the shooting range.
"Next time you think talking back to your trainer is a good idea you might find yourself as target practice for a trainee," said Jimin. He stepped back and swept his gaze across all of us. "Now that you've had a demonstration, it's your turn."
When he strode away everyone loosed a collective breath and began quietly murmuring to each other, facing their respective targets.
The Outworlder clinging to my arm finally released my arm, flustered as she realized for the first time what she'd done. "Sorry," she laughed a little, though there was a strain in her voice. "I just... that was intense."
"Yeah. It was," I murmured, gaze flickering towards where Jimin was now watching everyone from behind the row, his eyes penetrating every person one by one. I quickly turned to my own target before he caught me watching.
I still wasn't quite used to seeing him in full trainer mode. The last time had been with the little boy, number 5, all those weeks ago.
"I'm Yeri by the way." The girl flashed a sweet smile at me. Her rose red Marks reminded me of flowers, swirling in lovely designs across her skin.
"Jiyeon." I assumed the stance that Jimin had made.
"I can't believe the trainer actually made a trainee stand in front of the target like that." Yeri muttered, also sliding her feet into position. "Why are all trainers so ruthless?"
I almost decided not to answer. Unsure even how to answer. In the end I just said, "They do what they have to do."
I recalled Yoongi's voice, despite the ache it brought, trying to remember everything he'd said the few times we'd gone to the shooting range. Feet shoulder width apart, both hands in front rigid, but not locked. Make a triangular shape with my arms before me to minimize the jolt of the recoil when the gun fired.
I sank my teeth into my lip as I squeezed the trigger, hating how loud the gunshots were. My arms just managed not to go flying back into my nose when I fired. My ears rang from the shot.
From this distance I could tell the bullet had gone through the outer most ring. I ground my teeth. I wouldn't fail this session. I refused to fail.
I fired again and again. My ears at one point had become muted to the loud cracks as I zeroed my attention on the target.
Finally, after countless shots and several reloads, the bullet slammed right on the inner rim of the center circle. Victory flooded through me.
Yeri offered me a quick thumbs up before turning back to her target. Despite her almost innocent aura, she had lethal aim. She'd been one of the first trainees to manage hitting inside the center circle. And not just inside, but almost directly in the bullseye. I briefly wondered if she'd had previous training with the gun.
The person on the other side of me, however, was not having much luck. I paused, now that I'd accomplished the session's task, and watched. The trainee beside me was another Outworlder, with rose gold Marks. He had a small, angular face with youthful charm, which at the moment was set in frustration and concentration. His name was Felix, I'd briefly met him on the first day of training.
I watched as he lifted the gun and fired. I grimaced. His posture was sloppy, feet a little too far apart, arms loose so that the recoil of the gun snapped them to the side. His bullet didn't even come close to hitting the target.
I stepped closer to him. "Hey."
Felix glanced at me and my heart twisted at the next to desperate look on his face. We'd been shooting close to two hours perhaps and lunch was just around the corner. He was going to get the boot if he didn't succeed soon.
"You need to fix your stance," I told him. I nudged his feet into proper position with my own foot. He allowed me to do so. "Show me how you hold your gun."
He obediently held up the gun. I shook my head a little and stepped up. I guided his arms into the right position. "Don't lock your arms," I scolded. "Keep them rigid like this. Good. Now aim. Fire."
I stepped back and held my breath as Felix zeroed in on the target. He fired. The bullet slammed into the bottom rim of the center circle.
"There you go!" I beamed.
To my surprise, Felix threw an arm happily around me in a half hug. "Thank you so much," he sang happily. "You're a lifesaver!"
A low voice behind me erased my smile immediately and my spine straightened, heart immediately quickening.
