by A Lorenzen
The inside of this gun range looked just as rundown on the inside as you were led to believe from its exterior. At the bottom of the stairs, it looked pretty much like a bowling alley except that there were no oiled wooden aisles leading to the pins; instead there was grey carpet leading to mannequins and drawings of human shapes on large papers in the back. At the start of the lanes were high tables and between each lane a separating wall. We were alone in the basement.
Blake stopped at the first lane with a mannequin at the end of it. The white mannequin had two bullet holes in its left shoulder and one under the left ribcage.
‘Take your gun and shoot the dummy,’ he pointed towards the end of the lane.
Blake handed me protective headphones and positioned himself to my right. I pulled the gun out of my jacket pocket and put it on the table. The nervousness in my stomach made me sweat, so I took off my jacket and sweater before lifting the gun to my eyesight and pointing at the dummy.
Blake helped me with my stance before he let me shoot. It made me nervous that he was eyeing me, more so that I could see him eyeing me.
I aimed the gun at the dummy, closed my eyes, and squeezed the trigger. The backfire forced my hands back and the gun flew out of my grip. It fell clicking and clattering to the ground. Only when it was silent again did I open my eyes. Blake was scratching his chin with his left hand.
‘Could be worse,’ he picked up my gun.
‘First, never close your eyes. Look at the enemy.’ He put two fingers under my chin and lifted my gaze to meet his steel-blue eyes.
‘Second, never let go of your gun.’ I felt the uncomfortably familiar weight in my hands as Blake placed the gun in them. I could feel the heat coming off the weapon and a smell like cheap fireworks.
Blake moved to stand closely behind and guided my hands to adjust my aim. I had missed the dummy and it was impossible to see where the bullet had hit on the grey wall.
‘Aim for the head or the heart,’ he said, ‘anything else will at best slow them down, and definitely make them angry.’
I felt his hands move from my arms down to my hips. That was too much for me. I wriggled out of his grip and backed to the table, holding the gun up in the air. ‘Stop doing that! Just because you’re my trainer now doesn’t mean you can just touch me everywhere!’ I exclaimed.
‘Careful with that gun, please!’ Blake stepped back, eyeing the gun in my right hand. ‘I was just correcting your stance. I didn’t mean anything by it. You’re the first female I’m training; I didn’t know the way I teach would be a problem.’
A few seconds passed while I let his response sink in. ‘You haven’t trained a girl before?’ I asked dubious.
‘No. Not many girls are selected to be here.’ Blake still kept an eye on the gun in my hand.
‘Fine.’ I reluctantly agreed, turning back to the dummy.
Blake approached me again. He readjusted my shoulders and repositioned my hips. ‘Now try again.’
Once more the gun backfired violently, but Blake put his hands on my shoulder to steady me and I was able to keep a grip on the gun.
After the gun range, he forced me to do exercises back at his house and then he took me jogging. I tried my best, but after fifteen minutes, I was out of breath and tortured by side stitches.
‘Don’t slow down or we will run twice as long!’ Blake warned me. I schlepped behind him as best I could, dragging my feet, rasping like a chain smoker.
It was night-time now and a slow drizzle started. The streets were illuminated by yellow streetlights.
When we arrived at the house, I was so exhausted I barely managed to shower. Blake was still working out when I came out of the bathroom. I couldn’t believe his endurance.
‘How was the day for you?’ Blake stopped and walked over to me.
‘Intense.’
‘Too intense?’ he asked in a soft tone eyeing me.
I nodded tiredly. Tomorrow I wouldn’t be able to walk. On top of that, my head was buzzing.
Blake sighed deeply. ‘You have to get good fast, or you get killed. Whoever you were before, you’re not anymore. Now you’re a ghost, a soldier whose job it is to kill demons. And they’re not waiting for you to get up to speed. And from what I’ve seen today, your shooting is alright for a beginner, but you’re far behind in your physical shape.’
‘Why do I need to get in shape if I can kill them with a gun?’
‘What if you lose your gun? Or you run out of ammunition? You’ll need to run after them or carry a ghost to safety. You can’t neglect the physical aspect of it. Unfortunately, we need to be ready for anything.’ Blake brushed his blond hair back. His eyes rested on me for a while.
‘Alright’ I approached my bedroom. ‘I’ll do what I can.’ This was depressing me already, but there was no way back. And if I ever wanted to see my family again, I would just have to do as I was told.
Days passed. Training continued. Improvements were scarce. Blake did not lighten up and I was exhausted. I couldn’t keep up with him in any way, but he expected me to. There was no special beginner training plan for me. More than once I completely fell to pieces and was unable to move. Blake would put his hands on his hips and sigh annoyed. Then, he would shake his head and sit in his chair strumming on his guitar until he had calmed down. I tried my best but deep down I was convinced I was not cut out to be a ghost.
After a few weeks, my shooting had improved somewhat, and Blake steadily increased the distance to the mannequin. I couldn’t help but feel flustered when he corrected my stance and touched my skin. But I was sure this was more related to my need for reassurance and comfort than anything else. He was a strong man, confident and good-looking. My hormones were just spiking.
‘You need to stop being so tense,’ Blake said as he moved in front of me and I lowered the gun. ‘I can see you don’t like holding the gun, but that piece of metal is the thing that will save you.’
‘I get that, but it’s still a weapon!’
‘You need to start thinking of it as your saviour. Now keep shooting.’
Blake moved to the side. I held the gun up again and discharged a full magazine into the dummies he had positioned at the back of the range.
My dad would be so proud to see me use a gun. He had hoped I would like clay pigeon shooting and it could be an activity we could do together. I wondered if he would also be proud to know I was training to kill demons. It made me think about how much this world would change me before I made it back to my human life. Would my family and friends even recognize me?
BOND OF SISTERHOOD
‘Kim,’ she introduced herself and stretched out her right hand. She had a round face, full lips, and long black hair that curled at the ends. She was my height and had a radiant smile. Her tan and facial traits indicated she had Asian roots in her family.
‘Ameerah.’ I met her hand with mine. We looked at each other with curiosity.
‘Kim has been a ghost for a little longer than you and has been field approved. We thought she might help you… acclimatize,’ Blake said. He looked over to Dominic, who was Kim’s trainer. He was the man we had run into the first day at the gun range. Now he was much closer and I could see he had olive-skin and a strong jawline. He looked like he had come straight out of a coffee advertisement.
Blake had explained that I would be submitted to a field test supervised by the council in a few months. Once approved, I would be deemed able to defend myself and allowed to move freely, without Blake or another approved supervisor. It also meant that I would then officially be deemed combatant and would have to kill demons regularly.
‘Kim can help you prepare for the test,’ Dominic said.
The way Dominic and Blake stood together and eyed us; one could think they were brothers. They had the same hard stance, strong body, and watchful eyes.
Running around freely sounded nice, but I was unsure what would actually happen during my field test. Blake had always stayed vague about it. All he said was t
hat I needed to be stronger, quicker, and better at handling guns. Personally, I was amazed I had improved at all!
‘Can we go to Santa’s pub?’ Kim asked the men.
Dominic and Blake looked at each other. They seemed to be communicating telepathically.
‘Ameerah is not ready to be outside without me. You can hang out together, but at our house, with one of us present,’ Blake said, gesturing towards Dominic.
Predictable. He never let me out of his sight. Kim seemed just as annoyed at this decision.
‘I’m field approved! I can watch over her!’ she protested.
‘Not yet,’ Dominic countered with a tone that didn’t allow any further protest.
Kim reached over and squeezed my forearm in support. She winked at me, a conspiratorial wink that told me to just be patient.
Kim and I called each other at night. Our trainers demanded our undivided attention during the day, but once we had retreated to our bedrooms, we could speak on the phone in low voices. Whenever she could, Kim would come over. We liked each other’s company and escaping our responsibilities and trainers. Our trainers had intended for her to encourage me to invest myself more in my training, but they had not taken into account that we both craved an escape from this world and spent our time drinking, watching tv shows and talking.
Blake was never far and I sometimes wondered if he was eavesdropping on our conversations. But if he did, he wouldn’t find out anything useful. We had no desire to talk about the dark and grim things our trainers seemed to be so interested in.
Kim was a happy person and found positive sides to every situation. The first time I noticed this about her was when I claimed there was nothing fun to do here. She pointed out one could indulge in alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs without any lasting damage. All it did was give you a buzz and after a good night’s sleep it disappeared again. Blake had said only alcohol could affect us, but it had turned out to be a lie to keep me away from drugs. Not that I was into drugs, but who knew, after a few years here, I might have to take more drastic measures to survive the emotional turmoil.
For her the biggest advantage of being here on Idolon was not having to eat and that she could have everything materialistic her heart desired without paying for it. When she was a human she had lived in L.A. and had barely had enough money to survive. She was putting herself through school by waitressing in several restaurants and selling clothes she designed herself. After dying from smoke inhalation, she landed here and understood quickly she could learn from this world and bring her knowledge back to her human life once she had finished her term. In contrast to me, she was eager to progress and had been field approved early on, much to Dominic’s delight.
Even though we were not allowed out together, she would bring me clothes and we would pretend to have fashion shows in my room. I laughed a lot with her and I felt much better since I had become friends with her.
* * *
At the end of yet another training day, Blake asked me to sit with him. He had pulled the chalkboard out and looked more on edge than usual.
‘Dominic and I need to hunt a creature tonight that is a lot worse than molochs. So I’m taking the opportunity to teach you about vampires.’
I shuddered to think what could be worse than the monstrosities that had nearly killed me several times already. The times we had encountered molochs I still felt unprepared and Blake often ended up saving my life.
‘Vampires have the same roots as molochs but evolved separately and are much closer in appearance to humans than molochs. Like molochs, they can move between this world and the human one.’
‘How can these demons move between the worlds when we can’t?’
‘The separation between Idolon and the human world only applies to us. They on the other hand are not restricted. The more we kill here, the less damage they can do to humans on the other side.’ Blake explained.
‘Why would they come here to Idolon if they’re hunted here?’
‘Molochs are not intelligent enough and they most likely don’t know there are different worlds. Vampires are so powerful they don’t care. They enjoy killing ghosts and humans, they see it as a game.’
‘How do they travel between the worlds?’
‘They have portals. And no, we cannot use them or even see them,’ Blake said, anticipating my next question. He then started sketching on the board. ‘The fingers of vampires are longer and they have sharp nails. They have longer canine teeth and their skin is white. They also inject their victims with poison. While molochs’ venom only makes you slow, vampire venom triggers an allergic reaction in ghosts, suffocating them so it is imperative that you don’t get bitten.’
He paused and emphasized, ‘If you ever come across one, do not fight it. Do everything possible to escape, got it?’
Blake stared intensely into my eyes.
‘Why can’t I fight them?’
Blake inhaled and pumped up his chest. ‘Because molochs are primitive and easily killed if you know how. Vampires are intelligent and hundreds of times more deadly. You stand no chance against a vampire.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘I don’t even have a chance against a moloch-’
‘Exactly!’ Blake raised his voice. ‘You have a very slim chance of defeating a moloch right now, and a vampire is so fast you won’t even see him coming.’
‘What about you? Aren’t you hunting one with Dominic tonight?’
He crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Yes, but Dom and I are advanced trainers and we know how to kill one. You’re not even field approved. I hope for your sake you won’t have to face one for a long time, but unfortunately, they exist… Kim will come over later and you two will stay here while Dom and I take care of that vampire.’
‘You’re leaving me alone?’ I was surprised at my own words. Was I so dependent on him?
‘I’m not keen on leaving you, but this vampire can’t wait. You won’t leave the house so nothing should happen to you.’
Blake came towards me and laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it lightly as if to reassure me. ‘I need to prepare. Kim should be here in an hour.’
He walked towards the training section of the living room and started moving guns and ammunition around.
The thought of vampires scared me, but we had never encountered one and I had been here for months now. To me it was like worrying about being eaten by a shark when I never left the boat. It was just another threat. Another being trying to kill me. What else was new? There was nothing I could do anyway. I couldn’t hide in the house for the next sixty-seven years; at some point I was bound to run into one, and hopefully by then I would be a seasoned fighter.
Within twenty minutes Kim knocked at the door. She was accompanied by Dominic. Blake and Dominic confined themselves to the back of the living room, talking in low voices and manipulating weapons. Kim and I mixed ourselves some drinks in the kitchen and then retreated into my bedroom.
I was applying a deep green nail polish to Kim’s nails when Blake knocked at my open door. He had changed into dark combat gear. There were handguns strapped to both his thighs, the tip of a machine gun was poking behind his back on his right side, and two blades were strapped on the front of his chest.
‘We’re going now. We should be back within three hours. Ameerah you listen to Kim. And Kim, don’t take her outside.’ Blake had a stern look on his face.
I heard heavy footsteps down the stairs and the door close. A rumbling of a car was audible and then it was dead quiet.
‘So,’ Kim said taking a big gulp from her gin and tonic, ‘Should we do masks tonight?’
I nodded in agreement, ‘And then we have to catch up on all the latest Cosmo quizzes.’ My free hand pointed towards the bedside table where a pile of magazines took up all the space.
Kim had her fingers sprawled out and waved them in the air to let the nail polish dry. I walked over the to the bedside table and threw all the magazines onto the bed.
‘How’s traini
ng with Blake going?’ Kim asked while blowing on her nails.
‘He’s so hard on me. I always feel out of depth,’ I sighed deeply.
‘He just wants you to progress. Don’t worry, once you’re approved it will be a lot better.’
‘I don’t know if I’ll ever be approved. I don’t feel strong enough to face molochs alone and I can never keep up with Blake.’
Kim tilted her head. ‘That comes with time. Just keep pushing. Have your eyes set on the prize and keep going.’
My thoughts immediately went to my family in France. That was my ultimate goal. I didn’t care about some approval or killing demons. All I wanted was to go back to my family and forget this whole nightmare.
My emotions unexpectedly overwhelmed me and I couldn’t keep the tears in. I missed them so much.
‘Oh honey, I’m sorry!’ Kim threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly.
The tears kept coming and I let myself sob in Kim’s arms. She caressed my hair and back. How I hated being here. How I missed my innocent human life, my family, my Bruce, school, friends…
‘You will see them again,’ Kim whispered and swayed me gently. ‘If it’s that painful to you, you should say something to Blake. When are you meeting your master?’
‘I don’t know… Blake mentioned him in the beginning but didn’t say when I would meet him. All he said was that he would be a spiritual guide to me.’ I stuttered.
Kim’s eyes opened wide. ‘A master is much more than that honey! Your master can make you feel so protected and loved, it’s crazy the connection you can have! It’s like a super-parent that knows exactly how you feel and what to say to make you feel better and motivate you!’
I dried my tears and grabbed a tissue from the wardrobe to blow my nose.
‘Since your master isn’t coming by tonight, we’re going to go to the next best thing. Come on, get yourself ready!’ Kim jumped off the bed and smiled at me.
‘What are we doing?’
