Echo [11] (ON HIATUS)

Chapter 16

3 Weeks Later...

"You know, you're getting pretty good at this. Remember--in through the nose and out through the mouth," Sam said, as I arrived early in the morning, early enough for dew to still be clinging onto the grass. 

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I've heard it 20 times," I said, rolling my eyes. We set off onto the track, Sam with a stopwatch going to see how long it took me to jog the half-mile. 

"Uh oh," he said suddenly. 

"What?" I asked.

"They're coming," he griped. Suddenly, Steve sped past us.

 "On your left," he said.

 "On your right," on my other side, Bucky sprinted past. 

"On your left," Inola followed after Steve.

"On your right," Becca said, grinning. 

"Come on!" Sam shouted, running a little faster.

 "Damn Super-Soldiers. Every time!" Sam griped. 

"This happens often?" I asked.

 "They may seem nice, but they're passive-aggressive little shits," he grumbled.

"Noted," I said. Soon enough, we rounded the corner and arrived back at the start.

 "15 minutes and 13 seconds," he said, checking the stopwatch. 

"Okay, I'll shave off those seconds tomorrow," I said confidently. 

"Wait, tomorrow?" he asked.

"I didn't tell you? I'm taking the test tomorrow. I've got the parkour part down, I'm really close with the running, I only need to learn to shoot a gun and finally climb that goddamn rope," I admitted. 

"Speaking of which," Carol came over. 

"It's time, isn't it?" I asked, and she nodded. 

"You can do it. Remember our training," she said as we went over to the rope. I nodded, jumping as high as I can and wrapping the rope around one of my feet.

I repeated the pattern, push, wrap, reach. Push, wrap, reach, push, wrap, reach. I got to the top and slid back down, hitting the ground with a thud. 

"26 seconds!" She exclaimed, holding up a hand. I gave her a high-five, unable to keep the grin spreading across my face.

"Come on, let's go grab some breakfast," Carol said, and the three of us headed back inside. I grabbed some food, taking my seat at the table where Asya was already sat. 

"Ready for your test tomorrow?" she asked, poking at her food.

 "As ready as I can be," I shrugged. Asya had recently taken and passed her test. 

Of course, it was easy for her. After all, she was trained as a Russian spy. I turned when there was a tap on my shoulder to see Wheels. 

"Ready to learn how to shoot a gun?" she asked, and I nodded.

 "Let's get this over with," I sighed, standing up.

 We made our way to the gym, where a separate room was set up for weapons training.

 "Okay. You're gonna wrap your pinky, ring finger, and middle finger around the handle like this," Rue said, demonstrating. I mimicked her actions, and then put my thumb against the back as she said.  "Okay, now do the same with your other hand, and curl your fingers so they're within the trigger guard," I did so, and Rue wheeled around me, adjusting my position so I was standing with my feet squared and my shoulders back. "Now, when you fire, the gun's gonna jerk up. Try and prevent that from happening. And when you pull the trigger, you're not actually pulling it. Apply an even and steady pressure. Also, put these on," she said, passing me some earmuffs which I slid on my head.  "One more thing--never treat this as a toy. This can take someone's life away, and if you're disarmed and someone has a gun aimed at you, it's basically over. Prevent that at all costs," I felt nervous, holding this weapon of death in my hands.

 "Now, aim for the heart or the forehead. Fire," I pulled the trigger, the bullet landing in the throat.

 "Again," I hit the stomach area. 

"Again," this time, the left thigh.

"Can you give me a demonstration?" I asked. She took the gun from me, firing seven consecutive shots, before pulling back on part of the gun and firing another ten after switching hands.

 "Hopefully, you'll never see me when there's a person on the other end of that," she said. I swallowed nervously. 

A grin broke out across her face, going from ear to ear.

"And, if you're lucky, it won't be you,"