Instability

※ 10 ※

"I'll be right back," Daniel says. "Just keep shooting." I continue shooting my gun as Daniel walks behind neighboring trainers. I aim my gun and fire with a deafening bang. My bullet puts a hole in the second ring. I'm actually getting good at this.

Daniel grabs the trainer at another station, leaving the girl next to me to shoot by herself.

Once both guys are out-of sight, the dark-haired girl lowers her gun and looks at me as if she's waiting for me to stop. I shoot a bulls-eye one last time and lower my weapon, too.

"Oh, good, you're done," she says. "I'm Vivian."

"Oh, hi, I'm Ashley," I say. "So, how long have--"

She cuts me off. "Listen, we don't have much time, but I'm going to let you in on a secret."

I nod slowly, confused. Vivian turns around to face the building we're stationed near and heads towards it. I follow her, and she pulls two water bottles out from a box against the building.

Handing them to me, she says, "Daniel's going to take you to the maze to shoot. You'll run through it and at the end, he'll taunt you by not giving you water. When he taunts you, shoot these with your gun." She motions at bottles. "They're filled with vinegar and baking soda."

"What?" I say, confused beyond belief. Is this girl insane?

"Did you not-- are you-- arg!" Vivian says, exasperated with my confusion. This confuses me even more. "Vinegar and baking soda react and cause explosions. It's a prank, Ashley, do you know what a prank is?"

"Yes, I know what a prank is!"

"Good," she sasses.

This girl is psycho, but something in her rough sarcasm makes me want to trust her. "How do you know so much about Daniel?" I ask her.

"Because Danny trained me when I first came here. I want payback on him."

"For what?"

"For hitting you. Duh."

"How did you know that he hurt me?"

"Saw the guards carry you in," she states happily.

My dull hatred of Daniel flows back as I remember the pain and fear he put me through. I agree to Vivian's plan. If it works, this ought to be good. Though I wish I had the video camera.

We walk back to our stations and aim our guns at the targets just in time as Daniel and the other trainer come back. Daniel spots the water bottles on the ground, but he only picks them up and locks them onto either side of his belt.

"The boy has fallen for the bait," Vivian mumbles to me. Her smile is wide, but she mask her grin when the trainers reach our sides again.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

After aiming for a good four seconds, I fire my gun, releasing yet another rubber bullet with a loud bang. Bulls-eye.

"Ha," I say, turning to Daniel. "You thought I'd be bad at--" Vivian's gun goes off, its sound making my hearing explode.

"Here," Daniel says. He steps behind me as I turn to glare at him. What the hell is he doing?

"Step back," I command. "You're too close."

Daniel steps closer to me in response. I can feel his breath on the back of my neck. I want to punch him so hard, but I crack my neck and take a deep breath to calm myself down. All it does is make my palms sweat.

I know exactly what he's doing. He's trying to teach me to shoot under pressure. Why he chose this method, I don't know.

I aim my gun, stiffening my arms. Daniel runs his fingers up my waist and back down again. His touch is so distracting I nearly flinch. Nearly.