Chapter 42: 42

“You already know how to use them, you’re just bad at aiming…” I said.

“But I could get better if I practice more right?!” he retorted.

“Of course, that’s why you volunteered for watch duty. I’m just training new people to see if they could be suited to it.” I explained.

“Hon, I’d think you’d waste more bullets firing at inanimate objects. I’d think it would better if you have a shotgun or a machete.” Jenny said.

The look on Allan’s face…priceless!

“He just got burned.” I said to myself.

He slumped down but he stood up and he pointed at me.

“But Sky! How long did it take you to master them?!” he asked.

“I never said I mastered them; it would take a few decades to do so. I’m not Jerry Miculek you know. A day with my right hand and five days with my left is what it took for me to get decent. I burned through a lot of ammo and I spent a lot of time on the ranges when I got into it. I got really good at it but it’s very different from the word ‘master’ yeah? It’s different for everybody, though you need to practice diligently to retain your edge.” I said confidently.

Jenny’s eyes widened. She said, “Wow. It took me a few months, how accurate are you? My effective range with a pistol is roughly 20 meters.”

“I could hit a non-moving target with a pistol accurately for around 70-80 meters, farther if I aim higher. It would vary if the person is moving or actively trying to avoid me.” I said.

“Damn. Seriously? Is that good Jenny?” Allan said.

“That is way more than good.” she replied.

“I could show you a few awards if you doubt me. Anyways, we’ll go now.” I said as I wave them goodbye.

“It’s more than 80 actually.” I said to myself.

We went to the nearest court and we sat to one of the stone bleachers on the side. I handed the couple the same guns I gave my group. Before we even started, the gate from Andrew’s house opened and Jonathan and Esther came out.

“Hey, are you guys doing okay?” I said.

They both nodded though Esther is smiling a little extra at me, his older brother saw it and he gave her a glare. They decided to also take a few lessons from me so I let them share amongst each other.

I first gave them a lecture on basic firearm safety rules.

“Okay remember these words. Always keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction. Treat your weapon like it’s always loaded. Keep your trigger finger outside the guard and off the trigger until you’re ready to fire. Be certain of your target, your line of sight, and what lies beyond it. And lastly, always wear ear and eye protection when using and maintaining them.”

I first demonstrated the proper form and I let them copy me. It took a few minutes but then we started on shooting with blanks just to get them started. I gave them 2 magazines each to practice and I corrected the inconsistencies on their form.

“Alright guys. We’ll move onto live rounds after you guys manage to field strip them successfully. I’ll show you first and you guys watch and after that follow after me the second time.” I said.

“What’s the point of disassembling them? To clean inside the barrels?” Esther asked.

“That’s the point. Especially when we fire blanks. There would be more carbon and other buildup inside the gun so we need to always clean them after use.” I explained.

I showed them my quick version, the normal version and then the slow version. All of them is looking attentively while I do it and after the last click, I placed it in front of them and looked at the three guns left.

They now followed me step-by-step and I left them on their own after doing it twice more in front of them. A few minutes pass and they finally got it the first time without questions. Mark and Nicole managed to get them the fastest while the rest are about the same.

I then placed cardboard targets away from the neighborhood and signaled for them to go to the opposite side.

“From this side to where the targets are placed is about 30 meters. If you could hit those accurately at this distance, it would be pretty amazing. The goal today is to hit them a few times with 15 rounds, to make it fair, let’s go to the half-court first.” I said.

Esther walks up to me and she said, “Can you make a demonstration first?”

“You said you could shoot accurately at 80 meters, right?” Mark said.

The guys are still somewhat in doubt about what I said earlier so I pulled a gun with my right hand and I started to shoot at the targets.

I aimed for the two at the right and after a deep exhale, I unloaded 4 rounds quickly.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

I switched with my left hand and I aimed for the other two on the left. Same thing, another 4 rounds right after the other.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

The group stopped covering their ears and then they looked at me.

“Oops. I should’ve given you guys earplugs. Live rounds are much louder than blanks.” I said as I scratch my head.

“You should’ve at least given a warning bro!” Nicole exclaimed.

“Well they taunted me.” I said.

“We didn’t…” Mark and Esther said while the rest are rubbing inside their ears.

“Well, you now know what would happen if you do it without ear protection.” I tried to change the subject.

“Yeah, yeah…” Nicole said.

“Oh, back at topic. You could check the targets first. My goal is everyone to be able to do this in the future. Hitting the cardboard is fine for now, just take your time between each shot, we’re just training for accuracy now and not speed, remember what I taught you. I’ll bring the metal targets in the future if we have more time and a proper place to shoot at.” I said.

They walked to check the targets and some of them have their eyes wide in shock. Each target has holes on the same spots, heads and chests, dead center and a few centimeters apart from each other.

Some of them now are excited to try for themselves so we walked back to the half-court. I stood on the back and watched them. I taped a small piece of paper on the holes I made earlier in case they hit the same place.

I saw Dong’s form slowly deteriorating as his pistol is slowly moving sideways.

“Come on man, don’t give me that gangster grip, you watch too much hood films. It only looks cool; you’d hit a lot more if you do it the proper way.” I explained.

The rest gave a chuckle and we continued.

I pulled the gun again and shot twice while holding it sideways. They now have earplugs in so they don’t have to close their ears..

*BANG* *BANG*

The holes were now a bit more apart but still in a tight group.

“See? The accuracy is much worse if you do it the wrong way.” I said.

“…” everyone else.

Several gunshots rang out and the most notable one was Nicole out of all of them, 5 rounds managed to hit the target that is shaped like a person, not just the rectangle carton. I gave her an approving look and I said, “Keep that up and I’ll give you a gun for yourself yeah?”

She gave a proud smile while Alicia gave her a small kiss on the cheek. Nicole got embarrassed but she gave her a slap on the butt. I shook my head and I started on instructing the others.

Esther then sat next to me and then she said with a flirtatious voice, “Hey Sky, are you seeing anyone?”

“Direct huh?” I said to myself.

I saw Jonathan facepalming at her sister.

“Forgive my sister Sky, she knows no proper decorum. Esther, ever seen the girl next to him last time? Can’t connect the dots?” he said.

“I didn’t see a ring though, so he’s very much available right?” she looked at her brother.

I looked at her and I surmise that she’s about the same age as Olivia, maybe older, and she’s looking at me with a look I give when I make a perfect steak. I rubbed my glabella and I shook my head.

“I’m with her already, sorry.” I said straightforwardly. It’s better to set boundaries immediately before it gets worse.

“That’s fine, I’m okay with it though…” she gave a suggestive smile.

“Is this girl suggesting on an open relationship? The f.u.c.k? How old is she?! I used to know people like that and though there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s pretty surprising to be invited in one.” I said to myself.

If his brother could facepalm harder, he would. He began to grab her by the collar as he started to drag her back to their house after they returned the guns back to me.

“Come on, we’re going home now…” he said while dragging her inside.