Beyond What Meets The Eye

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Dammit.

Mira let out a grunt as she pushed herself to her feet, lifting her fists in a ready position as she faced Adrian in the ring. He'd woken her up bright and early that morning and the one before to take her down to the training room to work on some self defense.

He lunged towards her, his fist swinging towards her face. She sidestepped him, grabbing his wrist and yanking him away from her, taking the opportunity to kick him in the back of his knees. He stumbled forward, catching himself before he faceplanted into the ground.

"Thank god," Mira let out a huff, wiping the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. She'd had her ass handed to her by Adrian about fifty times before, and this victory, although small, showed some improvement.

"Not bad," Adrian said as he stood up. "At least everything I've told you hasn't gone through one ear and out the other." He walked over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder as he gave her a satisfied smile.

"Yeah, I got kind of tired of eating shit," She replied back. He smirked, walking over to the edge of the ring and slipping between the ropes.

"Ready to move on?" He asked, and she couldn't help but to bite back a frown. She knew he meant to practice shooting, but after being forced to use a gun to take her father's life, she despised the idea. But it was necessary, she'd have to overcome this mental block, otherwise, she might've been the one taking a bullet to the head.

Adrian lead her into the gun room, the lines of life ending weapons taunting her as they rested against the racks. He plucked one from the rack and walked over to one of the targets, motioning for her to follow him.

He placed a pair of headphones over her head before holding the gun out to her. She hesitated before taking it into her clammy hands. His hands gently wrapped around hers as he guided the barrel of the gun so that it was aimed at the target.

"I think your problem is that your so caught up in the idea of killing someone, you haven't considered that you're not always aiming to kill. In your case, your aiming to keep someone alive. Accuracy can both end and save a life."

He lifted their hands so that the gun was aimed at the targets head.

"A headshot, kills." He shifted their hands again. "If your shooting to injure, not kill, you want to avoid arteries and aim for places where blood loss will be minimal. Arms, thighs, hands and feet are the safest options, but don't hit them directly. Aim off a bit, and you'll have a good chance of harming them without doing lethal damage."

She gave him a slow nod, repeating his words in her head. She wasn't shooting to kill. No more people had to die at her hands.

He released his hands from hers, taking a step back. She sucked in a deep breath as she aimed for the outer side of the targets shoulder, pulling the trigger. The bullet hit the empty space next to the target, and although it wasn't a direct hit, it was fairly close.

Shocked by her own accuracy, she lifted the gun again and aimed for the same spot, the bullet this time, hitting exactly where she had aimed.

She looked back at Adrian, who smiled, nodding his head approvingly.

"Keep going." He encouraged. She focused back on the target, her confidence growing. She shifted her aim towards one of the other spots Adrian had suggested, emptying an entire cart before Adrian came and pulled the gun from her hands.

"A lot better than last time, that's for sure. That's because you weren't afraid when you took the shot. You have to remember that you're the one in control, here. The bullet will go where you want it to, you just have to aim with confidence." He pulled the headphones from her head, hanging them with the others.