Reaching Salvation: Post-Acer Part 10

"My dad was a pretty good shot, y'know..." Heidi muttered, flinching every time a shot went off. Her instincts from the tournament were telling her to get the hell away from here.

"Really?" Paul asked, "What kind of gun?"

"I was younger, and I was a girl. No interest whatsoever in guns," Heidi deadpanned. She didn't know or remember. "Benji might know, Dad used to...take him out back and they'd shoot cans with a BB gun." She started patting her pockets, looking for the pocket knife she'd given to Simon out of habit.

"Well okay," Paul shrugged, leading her into the armory, "I suppose a simple rifle would be best for now." He began looking through various exotic looking rifles, glancing between them and Heidi.

Heidi looked around at all the different guns, a small frown on her face. This made her jittery.

"Ah, here we go," Paul stated, picking up a seemingly random rifle off the shelf, "This is a Model 9 bolt action." He walked up to Heidi and began to explain gun safety and how to use the gun.

Heidi blinked as it all went over her head.

When Paul finished, he paused for a second. "Just don't point it at anyone else, always check to see if it's loaded, keep your finger off the trigger unless you're about to shoot," he said, "Oh, and do not look down the barrel."

"Uh...got it," Heidi stated, looking rather lost.

Paul just chuckled and led her to a free spot. Next to them, a man and a girl looking to be about nine were laying belly down next to each other, the girl looking into a pair of binoculars and the man into what looked like something out of science fiction movie.

Paul then loaded one bullet into the gun and handed it to Heidi. "Just aim at the target down field, flip off the safety, and pull the trigger," he said

"Uh...right," Heidi nodded, fumbling around with the gun. She didn't completely know what she was doing.

Paul sighed and went behind her, moving her arms and the gun so that she was holing it right. "There," he said, holding her arms steady.

"So, then you flip off the safety, and pull the trigger?" Heidi confirmed, trying to make sure the rifle was aimed properly.

"Make sure you know where you're aiming," Paul said, "and be aware of what's behind what you're aiming at, though here it isn't necessary."

"I'm aiming at the target," Heidi confirmed, flipping off the safety and carefully pulling the trigger.

Luckily for Heidi, the recoil was next to non-existent, so the bullet managed to go down range, a small puff of white confirming her target had been hit.

Heidi blinked, confused by the puff of smoke. "I actually hit something?"

"Yes," Paul nodded, smiling.

"Which way?" Zackary asked Nathan.

Luke nodded determinedly.

I need to get her the best present ever as thanks!

Heidi stayed quiet, a bit confused, before stating, "Lucky first shot. I'm not good at guns."

---

"Once we find out what day it is, let's make a calendar, so we can celebrate Christmas, and New Years, and Valentine's Day, too," Kira suggested, smiling widely. With Luke, she felt like she could live how she had originally intended to before the Storm.

"Yeah, can't wait," Luke replied. Normality was nice for him after the tournament and a hectic five years as a wanderer.

"It'll be nice to be a little normal..." Kira murmured, still smiling. It had to be good for your sanity to not have to worry about your Flow, or people attacking.

"A bit of normality wouldn't go astray alright," Luke agreed happily.

Kira sighed contentedly, snuggling against Luke. "You make me feel normal...like I don't have to worry about anything."