Lucid

Chapter 39

*knock knock*
Once again, I pull upright and glance at the clock. There's no alerts or notifications, which means whoever is knocking on my front door is clearly allowed to be here. Pulling on a pair of pants, I grab a sweatshirt and toss it on as I stroll up the hallway and open the door.
"Hi" says Leeseo, who's standing there on my doorstep with an intentionally innocent looking smile and a backpack. I sigh.
"Hi"
"So, all the others were busy and I didn't feel like being alone. So they dropped me off here. Thanks for letting me come over." With a small groan, I step aside and gesture her inside.
"End of the hall, put your bag in there. I need a second, so don't leave this floor." She nods and walks off. "Computer, close armory door. Close garage access door. Shut off lights in the shooting range." I walk after her after tossing some orders to tidy up.
"This is cool!" I hear her shout to me from the end of the hallway. I walk up and meet her, looking out over the view of the city. "So, what should we do?" She looks at me, with big, expectant eyes. Oh god, this will be... rough.

We walk into the armory. "So have you ever shot a gun before?" She shakes her head.
"Never." She walks along next to me, eyes wide at the racks and racks of guns, mags, clips, and attachments.
"Well, I'll start off with something light and not too hard to use." I look down the rack, strolling over to the sidearms collection. "Hmmm...." She pops up next to me.
"Why are they all black?"
"Technically it's called Gunmetal grey. It's a dark, metallic gray." I grab a small sidearm from the shelf, and load it with .45 caliber recoiling blanks. "Alright. This is a Unity. It's a small, lightweight pistol. It's semiautomatic, 12 rounds, with an open hammer mechanism. Follow me." I walk to the range, and tap for a target to move to 10 meters, then place the gun on the table.
"Can I pick up?" She asks, excited.
"No. First things first- a few ground rules. This is a gun. Yes, it's got blanks in it. But you don't ever care about that. If you have a gun that's not disassembled or disabled, then you treat it as if it could shoot someone. Yes?" She seems a little taken aback but nods.
"Okay."
"Second. You don't point it at someone unless you're going to shoot them. You don't shoot them unless you're going to kill them. Understood?" She nods again, slightly uncomfortable now. "Look. It's intense. Yes. These are guns. They're serious. Not toys. They're very fun, yes! They're impressive and fancy and they feel cool. But they're not toys. Are we clear?" She nods, looking a whole lot less certain about using one now. "Okay, now. Pick the gun up." She reaches down and wraps her hand around the grip, and raises it slowly. I step behind her and put my hands over hers, guiding her slowly. "Dominant hand goes on the grip. Finger should not be in the trigger guard! Keep it on the side of the gun until you're ready. That's called trigger discipline. Your other hand wraps over your first hand, to operate the safety or reload. Now, don't lock your arms. Look down the sight. And once you're ready, put your finger in the guard and pull the trigger." I step back, letting her ready herself. I see the tension in her arms, as she braces before squeezing down the trigger. A shot rings out and she nearly drops the gun in shock. Shit, I should give her ear muffs now. Good for her to hear one raw though. She gasps, her hands shaking a little.
"I- I did it!" She smiles happily, impressed with herself.
"You did. Very impressive." I pat her shoulder before grabbing a set of muffs. "Put these on, they'll protect your ears."
"Oh, yeah, thanks. It's really loud! Why is it so loud?"
"It's an explosion. Just a contained one. They're loud." She nods.
"I didn't think of it like that." She picks back up the gun, gripping it more confidently now.
"Go ahead and fire a few more. Just hold it steady, don't lock up. Fluidity is important." She nods, and starts firing again, one shot followed by a few seconds to recover, until she's fired till empty. Then she turns around, smiling again.
"Good work. Seems like you're getting the start of it. Ready to try out live rounds?" She seems concerned.
"Live? Like, it could hurt someone?"
"Yeah, live rounds aren't for making people live. But don't worry, as long as you keep it pointed away from you and down the range, nobody will get injured. Or we can wait and try something else, or just keep shooting with this." She thinks for a moment, not confident in any of the options. "Oh, I have an idea!" I say, scrambling to think of something. "Here." I walk over, and luckily I thought of it. Grabbing a Liberty, I walk back with that and another mag of blanks. "This is a Liberty. It's a little bigger, has more recoil. It's more accurate too, but that's not going to mean anything since it's got blanks. Now-" I load the gun and pull the slide, chambering a round before flipping it in my hand and holding it out for her, making sure not to point it at me else I break my own rule. She takes it, looking less nervous now.
"So, it won't be really intense?" I shake my head.
"Nah. A Liberty won't be an issue. This kind of gun, this one is intense." I grab a Malorian from my belt holster, and show it to her. "This thing, is a gun nut's dream. It fires a .50 APSP round that can put a round through an inch of steel at a hundred meters. And it's got enough recoil to break your arm if you hold it wrong." She looks at it, very concerned. "I'm not letting you touch this one. But me, on the other hand..." I point it at the range target, lining it up for a moment before firing off a three round set, two to the chest and one to the head. Each one strikes the target dead on, and I place the gun down on the table. "Easy." I smirk, looking at her surprised and awed look. "So take that liberty, and puts some shots down range." She nods, looking determined, grabbing the gun and firing off five rounds, still using the correct form, which is good.
"I did it!" She smiles, happily.
"You did indeed. Nice shooting. Now, empty the clip while I grab your next one." Walking back up the armory, I stroll past a number of guns, and can't decide exactly which one honestly. G7? D5? Umbra? Liberator? Hmmmmmmm......

Coming back to the range, I set three targets, one to 10 meters, one to 20 meters, and one to 30 meters. I put down a Fenrir smog at the 10 meter stall, a Scathelock assault rifle at the 20 meter stall, and a Sentinel sniper rifle at the 30 meters. "Okay, which one first? You've got close, medium, and far guns here. Pick your range and lock your target." She wanders across them, looking at each one carefully. Then she picks up the Scathelock, and examines it. "Good choice. Lightweight, 600RPM assault rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO, with a red dot sight." She nods, trying to look like she knows that that means.
"So, is it safe for me to use it?"
"Well, make sure it's pointed that way. Then, yes. Fire at will." She grips it tightly, aiming at the target, and I realize I should probably tell her how to use it since she's currently gripping the magazine like a second grip. Stepping up behind her I put my arms around her, placing one over her hand on the grip, and picking up her other hand to place it on the foregrip. She flinches when I touch her, but calms after a moment when she realizes I'm helping her. "Like this. Now, go ahead." I step back, and she fires a stream. As soon as she stops, she drops the rifle, her hands shaking a little and turns to look at me, smiling widely. I laugh, and she laughs with me.
"That was crazy!"
"It was good work. You held that pretty steady! You've got a bit of marksman in you already." She grins, proud of herself, and looks down at the target. There's a splatter of bullets, mostly around the outer ranges of the shoulders. Realizing she missed rather heavily, she slumps. "A bit of a marksman. Not a lot. But it's not bad for your first hour of experience. Now let's keep going." She comes upright, determined again.

After a half hour of random shooting of guns, I decide it's time to be more educational. "Leeseo! Over here. Let's do something calmer." She puts down her SMG and walks over, curious. I pat the stool next to me as I start taking apart the BR55 in front of me. "It's not just about shooting the guns. Guns only work when they're clean." I detach the stock and top rail, followed by the barrel and upper casing. "So, each piece needs to be clean, and undamaged." I hand one piece after another to her. "Check them for scratches, deformation, dents, any damage or issues." I finish breaking it down, setting the ammo aside. "Now, take this cloth and wipe them. They need to be clear of dirt and grime, as well, and even dust can hurt your accuracy." I towel off the breech, watching her attempt to towel off the inside of the barrel with little success. Her dedication is good, even if the execution is a little off.