Reckoning

Chapter Twenty Four: Preparing

I exit the infirmary, shocked from what just happened.

Theo, Emma, and Eli turn around and see the paleness of my face. Theo, a concerned look in his eyes, asks me, "What happened?"
"Tina...", I quietly say, "She didn't make it."

Emma gasps and covers her mouth, and Eli stares at the ground in remorse.
"It's a boy...Oliver", I say, before walking away.

I head for my house, which isn't too far.

On the way there, I stop in the middle of the street and cover my face with my hand, stricken with sorrow.

My thoughts are interrupted by a tap on my elbow.

I turn around and see six year old Thomas looking up at me with soft, blue eyes. Thomas was with me and the others back before we came to Haven. He was taken care of by other people out there, but he maintained a sense of awareness that not everyone survives.

Thomas has on a striped, dark red long sleeved shirt with jean shorts and of course his short caramel brown hair

"Hi David", he says, looking up at me.
I sniff, kneel, and I give a smile to hide my sorrow, "Hey, Thomas. How are you?"
"Good I guess", Thomas looks down and kicks at a pebble.

"So, Thomas", I say, resting my right arm on my knee, "I'm sure you've heard about the bad man."

"Yeah", Thomas mumbles.
"Are you scared?", I ask him.

"Not really. I think that the monsters outside are scary", he tells me. I nod.

"You know Thomas...", I say, "If anything bad happens inside the wall you need to make sure that you can defend yourself, so I wanna teach you how to shoot a gun."

His blue eyes go wide and he says, "But I'm only six!"

"It doesn't matter", I tell him, "These are very bad people, Thomas. I know you're strong, so you need to channel that strength."
"Won't Lucy be mad?"
He's wondering this because Lucy is usually the one who looks after him.

"Hopefully she'll understand", I tell Thomas, "Follow me."

Thomas follows me towards the south wall where Cody was not too long ago.
Within the next few minutes, I go over to the stables to borrow a few stacks of hay from Logan and a couple of empty glass bottles from the cafeteria.

I pile the stacks of hay in front of the south gate and place two glass bottles on top.

While Thomas waits, I run over to the armory and pick out a small handgun to use for practice. Back at the south gate, Thomas waits for me.

I kneel next to him, showing him the pistol. His eyes widen and I tell him, "Now remember. This isn't a toy. If you're not careful, this can hurt someone. Okay?"
Thomas nods.
"This is the safety", I tell Thomas, pointing to the small switch at the end of the gun, "When you're not using it, always turn it on."

I also teach Thomas about how many rounds there are in a pistol, how to load another clip, and to keep your finger off the trigger.

"Okay" I breathe after telling Thomas the basics, "Let's get down to business."

I stand up and put the pistol in Thomas's hands.
"It's not too heavy", he says, looking up at me.
"Yeah, it's not", I chuckle.

The glass bottles sit on top of the hay stack, just waiting to be shattered.

"Now let's get to shooting", I tell Thomas, "the trick is to hold your breath for a quick second, then gently, but quickly, squeeze the trigger. And when you aim, relax your arms so they don't tense up. Okay?"

"Okay", Thomas answers.

Thomas holds the gun out toward the glass bottle atop the hay stack. I lean down towards him and whisper, "Remember, hold your breath for a quick second, then pull the trigger how I told you."
Thomas quietly sucks in a small gulp of breath, then shoots the gun.

He misses the bottles completely.

Thomas also flinches when the gunshot rings out.

"I missed", Thomas sighs.
"It's okay. You can try again", I assure him.
"I don't know if I can hurt a bad person", Thomas mumbles.

I put my hand on his shoulder and tell him, "Don't worry, Thomas. Chances are you wont have to, but this is just a precaution.

Thomas nods, then aims the gun at one of the two bottles on the hay stack.

I watch as he holds his breath for a split second, then he pulls the trigger.

The bottle shatters on impact of the gunshot.

He actually shot one of the bottles.

"Great job, Thomas!", I exclaim.
Thomas smiles.

"Okay", I say, "Let's do this a couple more times..."