TF2: Doctor's Assistant

(1) Batter up!

"Your Scattergun is your best bet when it comes to close range fighting." stated the Scout, who was walking back and forth in front of me, bringing up his own to demonstrate. "The more bullets you pump into them, the better." His voice took an enthusiastic tone, echoing around the practice room as I followed him back and forth with my gaze. "You see, when the gun fires, it shoots about ten pellets, so the closer you are, the easier it is to kill 'em...or..." He changed directions again, walking back to the right, this time turning and stopping in front of me. "hitting groups of people on only one shot..."

I looked down at my own that I'd been holding for some time now. I hadn't gotten a chance to use it yet. Scout had made sure he had told me everything and anything he could about the gun before he even let me hold my own. He was teasing me before training had even started, saying how fun it was to shoot. I only responded to his speech by smirking and looking back up at him. 

Scout wasn't usually one to ramble a lot about anything very useful. If it were to mock teammates or to taunt the other team, sure, but seeing him go on and on about only one of his weapons amused me greatly. I guessed that he was a bit exited about having a partner in crime. Having an extra Scout meant being able to push the load twice as fast as the team usually was ever able to. Even though I made no promises about how good I could be out in the battlefield. 

"So...are you gonna let me shoot it now?" I asked, playfully mocking his Boston accent. He smirked back at me.

"Alright," he replied. "If you feel you're ready, I'll shut up for a bit." he rolled his eyes at me, smiling and moving himself out of the way. As I walked past him I saw that a couple old targets had been prepared, having appeared from small holes in the ground. I decided to go for a soldier that posed to look like he was aiming at me. As I shot the first time I realized I hardly had to aim. I just had to point my gun in that general direction, but as well as that, I also discovered how much the gun kicked back. It made me jump, making me blush as Scout chuckled under his breath behind me. 

"Nice shot.." he said, seeing the holes I had blown in the target, a majority of them centering around the Soldier's neck and upper chest. I smiled in satisfaction as I pointed my gun towards a Demoman target, taking another shot, this time tensing my arms a bit. I didn't jump again, which I was happy for. This time I had blown holes the Demo's chest, making me perk up a little. I had never remembered ever holding a gun like this before, nevertheless, shooting one, but even Scout looked a little surprised as I looked back at him. 

"You're a very good shot." was the only thing he came back with, which made me smile. "Now remember..." he started, looking from the targets to me. "This is only standing still. Maybe tomorrow I'll have you moving, cause this practice we're doing now," He pointed to the targets. " ain't nothin like the battlefield." He then pointed towards the windows. He seemed happy at the thought of running around outside, but my heart dropped in my chest. He must've seen it on my face, because his expression changed from hyped and exited to concerned. "but...uh..."

For the first time in about half an hour, Scout seemed to have finally lost words. Him and I both remembered our first few practices. It was to test my cardio level and how well I could work under pressure. We hadn't been at it for more than twenty minutes before I had collapsed. A few trips to the Medic were offered, but I denied them. I was determined that if I did practice enough I could train myself so that didn't happen anymore, but the next few attempts and practices had easily proved me wrong.  

"I'm....not sure about..." I started looking down. I was embarrassed that I couldn't keep up with everybody else, and the fact that I was struggling in practice made it worse. 

Scout lifted my chin, looking serious this time. "Are you positive you don't want to see the Medic..? He could really help you.." He said gently. I nodded. 

"I'm sure..." I replied. "I don't think this is something he can help me with." 

"You never know." He smiled, putting his hand on my shoulder and shaking me slightly. "but if you don't want to, then I'm not gonna argue. Let's just stick to shooting for now."