“Aren't you glad we don't let you play with the sharp ones?" Laurie laughed and I couldn't help but agree on behalf of my pinky toe which was throbbing even through the tough boot.
I soon learned the knack of throwing the knife straight at the target and started to get some hits. The others weren't picking it up nearly as quickly and I felt a twinge of pride as I got my first green light on only my eighth throw.
Taylor pulled me into a celebratory hug and I smiled broadly.
I watched as he threw again and the target lit up yellow.
After I hit six green lights in a row, I got a big smile from Laurie which helped to sooth my hurt pride over my failure at hand to hand combat.
“We can come back to this tomorrow, now I wanna show you the fun stuff," Laurie announced once she grew bored of the knives.
She led the way to the guns, which turned out to be replicas which fired lasers.
There was everything from pistols to shotguns, rifles to revolvers. Laurie showed us how to load and fire each one in turn which took us the best part of two hours as she wasn't satisfied until we could remember how to do everything without prompting.
When we finally lined up before the targets, Laurie passed us each type of gun in turn so that we could get a feel for them.
I liked the power of the bigger guns but found it hard to hold my aim with them as the recoil knocked me off every time. Taylor found it easier to absorb the impact, probably due to his bigger arms and shoulders which seemed like an unfair advantage to me.
The pump action shotgun was my favourite, it didn't matter if the ai
m was a little off or if the recoil was a bit much for me as it gave such a wide range of shot when fired. Plus I liked the sound it made. It was the gun of a badass.
Laurie insisted that I got used to a pistol too, as it was a much more practical weapon to carry and rely on so I spent a lot of time learning how to use that.
I grasped the semi-automatic pistol and flicked the safety catch off as I prepared to fire. I took a deep breath as I steadied my aim at the target and exhaled as I squeezed the trigger.
The target instantly lit up green and a huge smile spread over my face as I looked to Laurie for approval.
"Nice!" She moved forwards and slapped me a high five and I began to think I might be able to do alright out there after all.
***
Each morning it was harder to get out of bed. I’d thought I was fit before but we were working out at a whole other level. My muscles locked up overnight which wasn't helped by the fact that Taylor and I were still cramming ourselves into one small bed but I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him to sleep in his own bed. I craved the comfort of having him close in this strange place and I hoped I was giving him that same feeling in return.
A hot shower each morning helped me to loosen up but it was followed by Laurie setting us increasingly difficult tasks. We worked alongside the lifers and time servers but never interacted with them directly. Laurie tried to keep us as far away as possible from Dolly, the lifer who's name sounded like a twisted joke to me and Grey, though I felt his eyes following me more often than I would have liked.
My aim with both knives and firearms continued to improve and I took delight in my new found talents. I could reload and reassemble each of the guns without prompting too and Laurie showed us how to clean and sharpen our knives properly.
I wasn't making much progress with the hand to hand combat though. It seemed simple when Laurie showed me how to move and keep my temper in check but I just couldn't put it into practice. Every time I failed I could feel myself getting angry which made me more predictable, which annoyed me even more, which made me lose focus and fail miserably.
Taylor threw me to the mat every time I took him on and I had no chance of ever landing a hit on Laurie as far as I could see. I did better against Evander. He still wasn't friendly which helped as I didn't feel too bad about punching him.
“Just don't let anyone get close to you," Laurie advised. "Take the shot, don't hesitate."
It was harder to avoid the lifers in the canteen. The Wardens kept an eye on us from their table at the far end of the room but they were more concerned with eating their own food, which was considerably nicer than ours.
We arrived late for dinner, I'd lost my temper during combat training and Laurie had taken pleasure in making me do a hundred push-ups. Taylor had loyally refused to leave me behind and was rewarded by joining me in my punishment.
My arms and shoulders burned with fatigue and my stomach grumbled hungrily.
The hall was laid out with rows of cafeteria tables and it was packed solid. Some of the convicts were loud and brash, shouting challenges and insults across the room to each other which occasionally deteriorated into scuffles. Others sat in silence, refusing conversation with anyone. A few groups had formed alliances, with the idea that they would stick together once the actual fighting began.
No one was interested in us. No one it seemed, except Grey.
He sat in the centre of the canteen. A crowd of men and women swarmed around him, hoping to gain an alliance with the most dangerous man in the room. It was hard to tell if he intended to stick with any of them, but he never sent them away.
His eyes followed me as we found a spot at the side of the room and sat down. I ducked my head so that I couldn't see him anymore and inspected my meal.