Being born as a child prodigy used to be a blessing for Claire Rivers, especially in a world where the survival of the human race was the ultimate goal. Always be the smartest person in the room, treated like the most essential personnel, having a c...
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CHAPTER EIGHT new age, new crime.
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ㅡ Day 19 ㅡ
THROUGH the front sight assembly of the rifle, Claire's eyes caught sight of a deer fifty yards away from where she was. It was a normal deer, with only one head. From its size, the brunette could easily tell that it was already an adult. It was eating the acorns she had deliberately placed there at the time, completely unaware of her presence.
"No need to rush. Wait until you get a clear shot."
Another voice was heard from next to herㅡit was Bellamy's. The Male Blake was supposed to be her instructor for today, as she had never gone hunting before. And she did as he instructed, waiting patiently while trying to get a clear shot.
"Behind the forelegs, head and neck are what you should aim for."
And Claire chose the head. Not only it could instantly kill the deer, it would also give them the least meat damage. Though it was actually too riskyㅡa deer's brain was a small target, just a fraction of an inch off, and that deer ran off, probably dying somewhere alone days laterㅡ, it was a necessary risk. After all, it was the true purpose of the hunt; for Claire to improve her shooting skills. What else could be more effective at achieving that than a hard target?
"Take a deep breath."
She inhaled deeply, brain calculating the wind speed to find out if it would affect her shot or not. And when she was sure it wouldn't, she waited for the deer to lower its head to pick up the acorns with its mouth againㅡshe was planning to get the brain from the back of its head.
"Relax, andㅡ"
And just as she squeezed the trigger, the deer fell in an instant.
After sharing a glance with her, Bellamy came out of their hiding spot and approached the lying deer. Claire slung the rifle over her shoulder and followed shortly after.
"Impressive," Bellamy commented as he crouched down next to the deer, staring in amazement at the little hole between its eyes before looking up to Claire who was standing in front of him on the other side of the deer's body, "You sure you've never had gun training before?"
The supplies at the location given by the Ark four days ago turned out to be weapons; rifles and ammunition. And since then Bellamy had been giving them gun training, in order to be prepared to defend themselves if the Grounders intended to attack them after the one they captured escaped.
Amongst the delinquents, she was the one who trained the most and showed extraordinary progress. Her eidetic memory had helped her remember everything there was to know about riflesㅡnomenclatur, basic rifle safety, loading and unloadingㅡin just one time Bellamy told them, while the others needed to be reminded a few times. And it took her a day to master the foundational marksmanship skills (grip, shooting positions, sight picture and alignment, trigger manipulation and more), as well as reloading under stress and quick. The next two days she spent mastering the ability to hit unmoving targets at various practical ranges. Thanks to her ability to accurately calculate anything including the correct angle to shoot, and her extraordinary powers of concentration, self-discipline, and self-control, it only took her three attempts to hit the bullseye the first time. And she had never missed the target again after that, not even the one at 500 yards range. It was safe to say that Claire was Bellamy's favorite trainee, and that was why he decided to grant her wish and take her out to train with moving targets today.
