Apocalypse Aftermath

by David Rogers

  “Okay, you hit three out of twelve.” Austin said when he rejoined her. “Which isn’t bad for a first timer. I think you’re flinching in anticipation of the gun going off. I’ll help you with it before we’re done. Just try to take your time aiming. You want to breathe in, then out, then squeeze the trigger back slowly. Don’t hold your breath, but fire before you breathe in again. The idea is to hold the weapon steady while you aim and fire. If you’re moving it around, you’re probably going to miss.”

  Jessica nodded, and he patted her lightly on the shoulder. “Alright.”

  She waited while he and Lori spoke to each of the others, then Lori called for another round of shooting at one of the other bull’s-eyes. Jessica tried to keep the pistol steady like Austin had said, but she knew she was still not shooting very well. The target didn’t seem that far away until she aimed at it, and then it was suddenly quite small and hard to line up.

  She managed to shoot her way into her third and final magazine this time before Lori called cease fire. This time she ejected the magazine before putting the pistol down, and was done reloading by the time Austin came back from checking the targets.

  “Better, eight out of twenty with one in the center ring. Remember to keep your aim steady. The gun’s going to move when you shoot, so just aim and fire. Let it move, don’t move it. Got it?”

  “I’ll try.”

  “You’re getting the hang of it.” he assured her, then moved off to the next station. She eyed her target as the others on the line talked with Austin or Lori. The little circles Austin had made were scattered around the bull’s-eye she had been aiming at. A look at some of the other targets on the range showed her how far she had to go before she was going to be reasonably competent; some of the targets had a lot of tight clusters of marker circles that covered the target.

  “Alright, let’s go again.” Lori called. “Range is hot. Fire when ready.”

  Jessica’s wrists were starting to really feel the recoil by the time she finished firing off the third round of shooting, but this time she thought she was definitely improving. Austin agreed when he got done checking and told her how she’d done.

  “Twelve for twenty-four, with three in the center. We’ll try a primary/secondary sequence for the next one, and I’ll stay with you, okay?”

  “What?”

  He grinned. “I’ll explain when I get back. The others are about as good as they’re going to get today, so I can leave them alone without being accused of shirking my responsibilities.” Jessica waited while he updated the other shooters, then had a quick word with Lori before coming back over to her.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Jessica told him.

  “It’s simple.” he said. “The reason you carry more than one weapon is because one is your primary, and the other is your secondary. Follow?”

  “Okaaay.” she said, drawing the word out a little uncertainly.

  “The secondary is your backup. It’s for when you’re empty or if something happens to your primary. For when you need a gun without delay. If you can’t take the time to reload or to fix what’s wrong, you switch to your secondary and keep firing.”

  “Oh.” Jessica said, feeling a little stupid. “That makes sense.”

  “We’re going to finish up with some more instruction on how to deal with weapon malfunctions, but trust me, inexperienced shooters are going to make mistakes and forget things when they shoot for real. If you have to shoot when it counts, I don’t want you to panic. Just remember you’ve got the secondary. That’s what we’re going to practice now. And I’ll help you with your aim.”

  “Got it.”

  “Now, I know this might sound like a line, but I’m going to stand behind you. Don’t worry, I’m a professional.”

  Jessica couldn’t help chuckling, but she nodded. “I trust you.”

  She could hear the grin in his voice as he spoke again. “Good. Now, load both weapons, and safe and holster them.”

  “Uh . . . Lori said—” she began, but Austin broke in.

  “It’s okay if I’m here, but otherwise you’re correct. Go ahead, it’s fine.”

  Jessica slid a loaded magazine into the Taurus, dropped the slide and double checked that she’d put the safety on before putting the pistol into the holster on her side. She put one of the nine millimeter magazines into the Shield, but Austin reached over her shoulder and stopped her when she started to pull the slide back. “No, leave it empty. Unless you’re going to carry it live, and I don’t think that’s what you’ve generally been doing.”

  “No.” Jessica confirmed. She knew the safety was just that, but she still didn’t like the idea of carrying a pistol around that was so close to being ready to going off. Especially not two of them.

  “Safe and holster.”

  She put the Shield into the holster at the back of her belt then looked over her shoulder at him. And up, where his face was. He was standing pretty close, but far enough behind her that she’d have to step back to come into contact with him.

  “Ready?” he asked her.

  “I guess.”

  “Range is hot. Fire when ready.” Lori shouted.

  Austin leaned down and spoke right into her ear as gunshots started going off. “Draw and fire the Taurus until it’s empty. Then drop the slide and holster it, and draw the Shield and resume firing. Take your time about it. Safety stays on until you’ve got the gun out in front of you, and finger always off the trigger until you’re aiming and ready to fire.”

  Jessica nodded and faced forward. She drew the silver pistol and lined it up on the last bull’s-eye before touching the safety. She got the first round off smoothly enough, but flinched as she fired the next two, sending them wild. Austin’s hands reached past her and cupped around her wrists, hovering just out of contact with her skin.

  “Let the gun move, just aim and fire.” he said loudly.

  She lined up again, then felt her wrists bump into him just before she fired.

  “See, you’re anticipating. Let the gun handle the recoil.” On her next try she still moved, but this time it was almost as she fired. “Little better. Don’t let my hands touch you until you’ve fired.”

  Jessica drew a breath and let it out, then aimed and squeezed the trigger. The gun kicked and her wrists hit his hands. “Good, good.” he said. “Again.” She fired twice more, managing to earn another pair of approving comments from him. She squeezed the trigger again, but the gun clicked without going off.

  “Empty, you’re empty.” Austin said. “Switch, switch.”

  Jessica started to holster the Taurus, then remembered the slide and fumbled for the control. She finally got it and felt the slide snap forward on the empty chamber. Her thumb rolled the safety on, and she jammed the pistol into the holster. Reaching around behind her, she found the Shield and pulled it out.

  She brought it around and up in front of her, and began to raise it into a firing position before she remembered the slide. Her fingers slipped as she tried to grasp it the first time, then she got a grip and racked it back. It felt like she’d taken a long time as she finally got the gun up and aimed as she felt for the safety and clicked it off.

  The dots on the sights of the Shield were green, not white, but they were arranged the same as on the Taurus. She got them lined up, then squeezed the trigger back. When the nine millimeter went off, it was quieter and less punishing as it kicked against her hands. She was able to bring it back into line without as much effort, and she fired again. And she was managing to keep herself from anticipating the recoil, which she could feel was letting her aim more effectively.

  When the Shield clicked empty, she started to turn, but Austin’s voice was in her ear again. “Reload it, reload it before you holster.”

  She picked up the other nine millimeter magazine, then realized she hadn’t taken the empty one out yet. As she started to put the fresh magazine down, Austin stopped her. “If that happens, just drop the empty out. Just d
rop it out. Use the magazine release.”

  Jessica thumbed the proper control and watched the spent magazine fall to the ground. Now she could load the full one in, then she hit the slide release, safed it, and reached back to put it in the holster. She almost forgot the Taurus was empty as she pulled it back out, but caught herself before she tried to aim. She got the ‘primary’ loaded, and raised it back into position to resume firing.

  She was part way through emptying the Shield again when she heard Lori calling cease fire. She put the safety on and laid the pistol down on the table in front of her.

  “Good job.” Austin said, stepping up beside her.

  “You sure coach?”

  He grinned at her. “I’ll go find out then.” He looked down the line to make sure no one had a weapon in hand, then walked down range to the targets. Jessica started reloading her magazines. There wasn’t much forty-five ammunition left. She blinked at that. She’d only ever fired at all Saturday night, and even then only a few times. Now she’d almost gone through sixty rounds, plus some of the nine millimeter as well.

  “Unbelievable.” she told herself as she finished putting bullets into the magazines. Austin came back half a minute later with a big smile. “What?” she asked him.

  “Eighteen for twenty-three, nine in the black with two pretty close to center.”

  Jessica’s mouth dropped. “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. You’re getting the hang of it.”

  “Yeah, I’m ready for anything.”

  He smiled, but his face took on a more serious edge after a moment. “I know you don’t like this, but I also know you know you need it. This is so you have a chance to keep your head on straight if you have to shoot for real. If that ever happens, I want you just remember to relax. You’re going to want to panic. You’re going to want to hurry. Your pulse and heart and breathing are all going to be racing a thousand miles a minute, but it’s important to just take it easy and focus on your basics. Draw, slide, safety, aim, squeeze.”

  “Sounds easy when you say it like that.”

  “It’s hard as hell.” he said with utter seriousness. “Trust me, I know. The first time it’ll be horrible.”

  “The first time was horrible.”

  “I know.”

  “Now how did you know I’d already had a first time?”

  He gave her a look. “I checked that pistol and reloaded it before I gave it back to you at Dennis’ house. Three rounds were missing from the magazine. You fired it didn’t you?”

  “Yes.” Jessica said, feeling foolish when she remembered how he’d taken the gun when she’d been at the end of her rope dealing with the pain in her knee.

  “So, the next couple of times you have to use it will still be bad.” he continued calmly. “But they’ll get easier and you’ll be better. After about half a dozen you’ll start to take it in stride.”

  “Let’s hope I don’t get that much practice.”

  “You and me both.” he agreed. “So, any questions?”

  “Why did you have me put the Taurus away empty, but made me reload the Shield before I put it back.”

  “Ah. Because the Shield is your secondary.”

  Jessica stared at him uncomprehendingly, and he shook his head after a moment. “Sorry, I forgot. I got ahead of myself.”

  “So . . .” she asked.

  “So, here’s the deal. The secondary is your backup, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Your backup is for when you need a gun and your primary isn’t working. Doesn’t matter why, but you need a gun and your primary can’t shoot. When that happens, your reflex is to go for the secondary. If at all possible, you never finish using your secondary and put it away unless it’s ready to fire. You get it?”

  Jessica considered for a moment. “Because . . . I need it to work when I need it?”

  “Exactly.”

  “And I thought guns were easy.”

  “Hah!” he laughed. “Now, if something happens to your Taurus, if you think you’ve got the moment, go ahead and put it in the holster so you don’t lose it. But don’t be afraid to just drop it right out of your hand if you need to get at the Shield fast.”

  “You carry four guns?” Jessica asked him, even more amazed than she’d been before they came out to the range.

  “Yup.”

  “You like being prepared.”

  “That’s my job.”

  “One more question.” Jessica said, then gestured at the Shield. “How am I supposed to keep track of the different magazines so I don’t mix them up.”

  “Normally you’d keep them in different pockets or pouches, but in this instance you’ve only got the one extra for the Shield. And it just so happens there’s a little holder on the side of your holster that carries that extra mag.”

  Jessica felt behind her on the holster. After a moment she thought she felt something that felt like a loop of leather, but she shrugged and pulled the holster off her belt anyway. When she had it where she could see it, she nodded. “Ah.”

  “I’d suggest you always dump your empty magazines into your front pockets, probably your left one, so you don’t mix up empties with ready mags. Keep your Taurus mags in your back pocket, and the Shield mag on the holster, and you’re golden.”

  “Famous last words.”

  “I’m a professional.” he grinned.

  “So you keep telling me.”

  Before he could respond the radio hanging in front of his shoulder suddenly crackled with a breathless voice. “Uh, problem at the front gate. Hello? We’ve got a problem out front.”

  Austin spun toward the front of the grounds and shaded his eyes with one hand while he reached for the radio with his other. “This is Carter, report.” he said as he stood gazing in the direction of the gate.

  “There’s a truck at the gate, and some guy is honking the horn and flashing his lights pretty urgently.”

  “Reload everything and get back into the building.” Austin told Jessica. “Lori, practice is over!” he shouted at her before breaking into a run. Jessica blinked as she watched him stretch his legs out and really get going.

  She looked around quickly, but other than the Eagle people, the grounds in what she thought of as the ‘back yard’ were clear. She stuffed bullets into the magazines as rapidly as she could, then loaded both pistols and got them into their holsters before tucking the magazines away.

  “Candice.”

  “I’m here.”

  Jessica turned and gestured to the girl. “Come on. We’re going inside.” She stuffed the boxes of bullets that weren’t empty into her purse, then picked up her cane and started limping toward the building. She saw Austin near the gate, then it opened and a vehicle drove in. It was a civilian vehicle, and from what she could see it wasn’t being driven by someone in a black jumpsuit. Austin ran after it, but he was just running; he didn’t have a weapon in his hands that she could see.

  She quickened her pace as much as she could, both curious and afraid of what might be happening. By the time she made it to the front of the main building, she saw an older pickup truck was under the drive-through awning, its tailgate down to reveal a figure in the back; someone who was laying flat in the truck bed. Austin was stepping up into the back of the truck.

  A couple of people emerged from the building, talking with Austin loudly enough for her to hear their voices though she couldn’t quite make out the words. One of them ran around to the driver’s side of the truck and opened the door. Jessica blinked as she saw Austin fighting with whoever was in the back of the truck.

  “No, he’s not fighting.” she realized a moment later.

  “What’s Austin doing?” Candice asked in a tense voice.

  “CPR.” Jessica answered as she watched Austin lean down and blow air into the person’s mouth.

  “What’s that?”

  “He’s trying to keep that person from dying.” Jessica answered, not seeing any way around answering the question. An
d, for that matter, not seeing much of a point. It wasn’t like Candice wasn’t already dealing with death. With zombies wandering around eating people, prevaricating over someone who was in the process of dying seemed stupid.

  As she drew closer, the voices began to resolve into actual words rather than just sound. And she could recognize people. Austin was large and easily identified, but she soon marked the others as Tyler Morris – standing near the lobby doors – and Dennis, who was leaning into the truck’s cab over the driver.

  “—chance I can hold him together.” Dennis was saying. “I need the bag I packed from the infirmary.”

  “Dennis . . .”

  “I don’t want to hear it Tyler.” the doctor snapped back. “Go get the damn bag.”

  “I’m not comfortable leaving you alone out here.”

  “Carter is here.”

  “Carter is busy.”

  Austin looked up as he finished a breath for the person in the back of the truck. “Billy, the black bag in the infirmary. Go get it and get back out here. Run.” he shouted past Jessica. She managed to glance behind her without overbalancing as she limped and saw the rest of the firing range group catching up with her. One of the men broke into a run, sprinting for the lobby.

  “You other men, help cover the area.” Tyler called. He indicated the drive-through with a sweep of his hand. “Stand ready in case there are problems.”

  Lori jogged past Jessica and heaved herself up into the truck with Austin. Edging past him, she bent over the unconscious man and did the next breath when Austin paused chest compressions, then put her fingers on the victim’s neck. “Austin, I don’t feel a pulse.” she said calmly.

  “Let the doc decide that.” Austin said as he kept going. “Breathe for him.”

  Lori shook her head, but she fell into the sequence with him, bending to breathe into the man’s lungs on cue. Jessica guided Candice past the others who were fanning out around the truck uncertainly. She positioned herself inside the open lobby doors, behind and to the side of where Tyler stood, and watched to see what was happening. She didn’t understand Tyler’s concern; the truck only had two people in it. One was unconscious and possibly already dead, and the other looked to be badly hurt. Both were covered in blood.