Scarlet Crypt

Special Dummy

I didn’t notice that I fell asleep in the roof, until I heard the peculiar sound of the trumpet echo across the island of the rebels — our island. I stood up and arranged myself. I fixed my hair and jumped from the roof. “Woah!” Garrick exclaimed. I jumped right in front of him and I can tell that he was frightened. His hair was still a mess and his hands were on guard. “That was close, man!” “Sorry,” I said as I stifled a laugh. “Come on, we don’t want to mess with Ms. Cosette Lockhart,” he said and I laughed again when I realized he said her name fancily. 

 We walked together towards the place where we had the test yesterday. The place was filled with dummies and there were only few people present. Cosette went to the microphone and asked, “Where are the others?” She was at the front part where a microphone was standing in front of her. Nobody dared to answer, but I gathered my strength and I replied, “They’re still not here, Ma’am.” She looked at me, straight to my soul and for once, I was afraid that she may know my real identity. She nodded and walked in circles, making it obvious that she was already impatient.

A group of teenagers filed in and her gray eyes were fixed on them. “The first lesson for this day is punctuality. What do you think is the time now?” Everyone was silent. No eyes could transfix on her stormy gray eyes. “I do not want this to happen again. Do you understand me? I do not care whethere you have not taken your breakfast. That is your problem.” Silence filled the place. “Now, choose a partner.”

Garrick nudged me in the elbow and his eyebrows were going up and down. A look that I understood very well. I nodded and he let out a “Yes!” that made me chuckle. “If you have a partner already, grab a weapon and fight those dummies together. Be careful though; I find them quite special.”

Garrick and exchanged meaningful looks and then we both shrugged. All of us went to the trunks  in front of Cosette and grabbed the weapon compatible to me. Garrick found an automatic revolver and I found a special type of rifle. We chose the dummy at the very left and we started hitting it at the stomach. I realized that the rifle I was holding in my hand could use any kind of bullet or any kind kind of small weapon inside. You could use a knife as a bullet, inserting inside the rifle. When I tried to shoot the dummy in its shoulder, the bullet backfired and it went straight to us. “Dodge!” I yelled. It was a relief that Garrick made to dodge it. Now, I understood why the dummies were so special. We’re supposed to hit it with its weak spots and the challenging part is that the dummies move. Garrick concentrated and shot it on the head. The dummy’s head fell on the ground and we both smiled. With the rifle on my right hand, I shot its groin and the stomach. The dummy exploded. Garrick and I smiled and gave each other a high five. 

“Stop!” Our smiles were broken and we turned towards the direction of Cosette’s voice. “I have observed all of you and recognized capable fighters. I will—” A fat man interrupted her words.