Born to Die

8

Alli
I stopped at my cell quickly to grab my crossbow, then I held Carl's hand as we ran to the target practice, mostly because I was dragging him there. He liked trying new things, but he always seemed reluctant to do them at first. "Okay" I said as we came to a stop at the row of targets.

"First things first, you can just watch me. So you can see how to shoot it" I told him and he nodded, moving back a few steps. I picked up an arrow from the table I had put them on, I load the arrow and look through the scope, focusing on the target, then pulling the trigger, bullseye.

Carl looked at the target, then back at me "come on, your turn" I tell him and he scratches the back of his neck "I don't know if I should-" "get over here" I cut him off and he comes over to me. I give him the crossbow and an arrow, instructing him how to load it, which he did easily enough. "You might wanna take your hat off" I suggest and he laughs, putting it on the table.

"So you're gonna have to pull it back and hook it there" I pointed to a piece on the crossbow and within a minute or so he did it right. "Now just aim through the scope and pull the trigger" I tell him and he looks through the scope and shoots, hitting the grass beside the target. "That went well" he says sarcastically and I laugh, grabbing another arrow and handing it to him "you're not gonna get something on the first try, it doesn't really work like that" I laugh, watching him load the crossbow again.

"Hold on" I tell him, repositioning his hands, then I step back again "now go" I say, then he shot it, hitting the rim of the target "better". "I don't think crossbows are my thing" he laughs a bit and I shake my head, handing him another arrow "we're gonna run out of bullets sooner or later, you're gonna want one then". He shot again, getting a little closer to the target "see, if you just keep doing it, you'll get better".

"Better at what?" I heard and turned around, seeing Daryl walking up to us "oh, I'm showing Carl how to shoot a crossbow" I tell him and he nods, glancing at the bow "we'll, I won't blame you if you completely miss, that's an old bow." He comments and I furrow my eyebrows "I don't know what you're talking about, I've been getting bullseyes with that for years" I say and he nods "that's impressive then, where'd you even find an old model like that?" He asks and I laugh "didn't find it, my dad left it for me when he left" I tell him and his eyes widen "oh, you're self taught then" "yeah".

He starts to walk away "Well, dinner should be soon, so don't be out here too much longer" he says and I nod "alright, bye Daryl" I say, making sure that he was out of earshot then look back to Carl "you wanna go to the house tonight?" I ask and he nods "yeah, I'll meet you in your room when everyone falls asleep" he says and I nod.

"Okay, just do one more shot then we can head inside" I tell him and he nods, shooting a final arrow and making it closer to the bullseye. We clean up the arrows and bring them inside along with the crossbow. I put the stuff in my cell then Carl and so walk to the cafeteria for dinner.

By the time it was dark out, Carl and I were hanging out in one of the guard towers, nothing important, we were just bored of inside. "Holy crap, it's been almost 2 minutes, how are you still holding your breath?" He asks and I shrug, still breathing with my cheeks puffed up, then he frowns, pinching my nose.

I shake me head, taking a deep breath when he let go "you're such a cheater" he laughs and I shrug "I was seeing how long it'd take you to realize" I laugh back at him. "Have you cheated at every game we've played?" He asks, faking that I'd offended him "this is the only game we've ever played" I point out and he laughs "oh, then you have cheated in every game" he says and I laugh again "yep, you got me".

I glance up at the sky, the stars were starting to come out. "You know any constellations?" He asks and I nod "a lot of 'em, my sister and I were always interested in the stars" I told him and he nodded, looking up to the sky "I only know a few, that's the Little Dipper right?" He asks and I shake my head "that's Cassiopeia, the Little Dipper looks the same, it's just bigger" I explain, moving my finger to point to the actual Little Dipper.

There was a moment of silence between us, he looked down from the sky, just looking at me smiling. Carl and I had pretty much become best friends when I came, we hang out all day, everyday. Every once in a while though, I wonder if we're supposed to be more than that, the idea definitely interested me. I didn't really have a doubt in the thought, if him and I dated, I don't see how it wouldn't go smoothly, I just don't know how anything would start.

I looked down from the stars, making eye contact with Carl, he smiled and I smiled back. He's definitely cute, I'll say that. His eyes were enticing, I love them, they're just so nice to look at. His hair was pretty long, but it managed to look good on him, and he always wore that sheriff hat, which I still hadn't asked about. "Wanna go see if everyone's sleeping yet?" He asks and I nod.

We both stood up quickly, but when Carl did, his hat got knocked off by the guard rail, falling onto the grass below the guard tower. "Well, we're going down anyway" he laughs and starts to climb down, knowing that I'll follow.