NaNoWriMo (Day 16 of 30) Strangers in the Dark (43, 908 words left)

I had the day off today so it was a good day to write, but the bad news is that my car had to go into the shop :( It's making a bad noise!!! So far, it's not looking too expensive, but the people aren't done looking. Cross your fingers for me.

Other than that, I want to ZUMBA! tonight and it was totally fun and a good work out. I'm thinking of doing it every week. :)

Well, here's more of Strangers in the Dark...

Strangers in the Dark

(Chapter Two Continued...This is almost the end of chapter two. I just have one more section planned.)

Handling a gun wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. The cold of the metal, the weight of the trigger, and the kick of the shot made me feel more confident. The only thing that jolted me was the blasting sound, but I even got used to that after a few shots. Kale had built a makeshift man out in the fenced off backyard using a sturdy wooden table with two cardboard boxes stacked on top. Nora stood on top of a kitchen chair so she could be the look out, letting us know if anyone was walking by or if the shots were attracting unwanted company. Nora gave the go-ahead nod.

Kale continued with his lesson, “Now that you’ve got the feel of shooting the gun, let’s try aiming. The best way to incapacitate someone with little chance of seriously injuring or killing them is to aim for the meat of their thighs. Think of this set up as a man standing in front of you. The boxes are the man’s head and torso. You shoot there and you could be causing some serious damage. It really should be the last resort unless you really understand the body; like where the empty space and the vital organs are inside. Now, think of the legs of this table as the legs of a man. Squeeze the trigger of the gun slowly while aiming at one of the legs. Then, take a single breath, and squeeze again at the same leg.”

I did as he asked and aimed for the front leg on the right. I wasn’t sure where the first shot went, but the second nicked the inside of the leg I was aiming at. Once my ears stopped ringing a bit, I could hear Kale clapping.

“Excellent job. Nora had to try at least three times before hitting the leg, and her target was twice as big.”

“Watch it, mister. Now I could take off your pinky finger if I wanted to.”

Kale smiled for the first time since I met him. “That’s very true. Now try again, Talis. You’re doing just fine.” I repeated the same two shots with the same results. “Again.” This time I hit it with both shots. “Good, here’s a new clip. Replace it and make the same shot.” I was sloppy while replacing the clip, but I got it in there and made the same shot, hitting the leg twice again. “Now, aim for a different leg, using the same kind of shot.” I did as he said, aiming for the front leg on the right. I missed the first shot, but nicked the outside of the leg with my second shot, a near mirror image of my first try. I looked to Kale for further guidance. “You’re aim is very consistent. That’s good. Let me try something now.” He took the gun from me and adjusted the sights on the top just a bit. “Now try again, same leg, same kind of shot.” I did as he said and hit it twice, splintering the leg from top to bottom. “Perfect. Let’s try a few different shots with the rest of the clip.”

Nora jumped down from her look out spot and placed some empty pop cans on the table, on the boxes and on the ground. There were four cans all together.

Kale instructed me once again. “Now, this time, aim at the first can on the ground, shoot, take a breath, aim for the second can on the table, shoot, take a breath, and so on. Even if you miss, go to the next can.” I did as he said. I missed the first can on the ground, hit the second on the table, hit the third on the card board box, and missed the fourth by the fence, only by an inch though. “Great job. I’m actually very impressed,” he said while giving me a little hug around the shoulders. “We should stop, though. I’m sure we’ve attracted some attention and it’s getting dark. You might get the chance to practice more in the future, but spare your bullets just in case. Just remember, even though you have a gun, doesn’t mean you have to use it. Be careful, be resourceful, and defend yourself.” (716 words)

See you all tomorrow. I should have another movie review tomorrow as well. If not tomorrow, then definately Friday. Have you guys been enjoying them? I bet you can tell that I have been watching a lot more movies than reading books. I'm sad to say that I haven't finished a book in a long time. I've been reading the same book for the last two months. The even sadder thing is that it's an excellent book! Oh well!