𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚞𝚗 ☼ 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚕 𝙳𝚒𝚡𝚘𝚗

ᴠɪɪ. (ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ꜰᴇᴀʀ) ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴘᴇʀ

Shane barked your name, almost causing you to drop the pistol in your hands - just barely managing to fumble with it and keep your grip. Him and Rick approached you where you stood, legs hip-width apart like they'd instructed, shoulders back and feet planted firmly. You could hear Shane chuckle at your reaction, and you saw Rick shake his head with a small smile. You could tell that they were trying to make you feel better, but you also knew that Shane would crack first and start yelling at you if you didn't improve soon.

"How's it possible that someone can be this bad?" Shane taunted, eyeing your target and the tree beside it, which had more bullet holes in it than the white paper you were aiming for.

You felt frustration bubble up into your stomach, and heat start to rise up your neck. You were trying, really you were. You usually picked things up quickly, so whenever something didn't fall into place immediately for you, it set you back mentally. Each shot had been getting further and further away from its mark before the pair had come to check on you.

"You tell me, Walsh. Maybe it's your teaching?" You huffed, trying to mask the bite in your voice.

You knew it wasn't the man's fault, but you also didn't want to admit how useless you were out loud.

"Don't think that's the problem here." Rick interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "Shane always taught the new recruits. Was good at it, too."

You sighed, lowering your gun and flipping the safety back on. The last thing you wanted to do was shoot either of them in the foot - no matter how tempting it was.

"You can't shoot for shit." Shane reiterated, agreeing with Rick but more crudely.

You bit your lip, unable to defend yourself. It was like every shot you took pulled to a different direction and you couldn't control the recoil. Your arms felt shaky and you could barely hold them up anymore. You looked over at the others, at Carol and Lori and even Carl. They were all doing so well. Andrea had even surpassed everyone's expectations, getting invited to Shane's 'advanced class' later on. You tried not to think about that too much.

You remembered the first time you were handed a pistol, just after the outbreak. One of your colleagues, Sam, had given you a five minute tutorial on how to use it as the dead banged on the glass of the building windows. You barely remembered a thing of what he said when the time came to run, everyone pouring out of the back door to make for the vehicles in the parking lot. You'd only had to shoot once, and even then you'd completely missed the head of the walker you had aimed for. You hit its shoulder instead, Sam covering you so you could get into the truck.

Since then, you had stuck to the long knife you'd found instead. It was more reliable, even if you weren't yourself. They had told you that bullets were precious and so you weren't allowed near another firearm for a while. Everyone had joked about that back then, but now you realised how necessary it was.

Rick could see your apprehension, and came closer to offer you words of reassurance. Shane excused himself to go and check on the rest of the group, leaving you two alone.

"You'll get it." Rick said after a few seconds, looking out at the target in the distance. "Wasn't any sharp shooter myself, when I first joined the force." He explained, looking down at the pistol still in your hands. "Had to practice a lot. Shane ripped into me most days."

He took the gun from your hands gently as he continued, stepping forward and taking off the safety. "He was a natural. But not everyone is."

He lifted the pistol in one hand and lined it up before pulling the trigger. It sounded loudly next to you, before you looked out to see that it had hit the target dead centre.