(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

Chapter Twenty - Night in Oldbridge

EMMA

SINCE I AGREED to come, Miles brought me to his garage and picked a pulse rifle off the rack.

"Just in case, to make sure you're safe..." He handled the weapon skillfully, checking the chamber at the bottom of the handle and taking out the ammo inside.

The bullets looked larger and rounder than what I'd imagined, with a pointy tip in the middle, almost like an arrow.

"You'll be among us, and I won't let anything get close to you, but I'm not going to lie and say it's perfectly safe," he said. "So, I'm going to hand you this. If your life is in danger, you use it without hesitation."

He passed me the rifle gently, like it was a living being. I strained to hold it up. It weighed heavier than I anticipated, but it molded around my arms. Suddenly, I became aware that I had a powerful firearm on me. I couldn't mess around with this.

"You always treat a gun like it's loaded, even when it's not," Miles told me, raising a finger. "And when you walk around with it, hands and fingers away from the trigger. Never point it at someone or in something's direction in case of accidental firing."

I nodded at all that. The impossible to skip formalities. My parents had vaguely taught me about it years ago when they let me touch the pistol in our basement. But this rifle made our pistol look like a harmless toy. 

"Dad doesn't want us to shoot inside the house, so I'm not going to give you a test run." He turned to the target on the opposite wall. "But you can try to feel and get familiar with it, maybe even try to aim."

"Okay..."

I pressed the butt of the weapon against my shoulder, and Miles came to my side to adjust the hold, his hands lightly pressing onto mine. I could barely prevent my supporting arm from shaking, and I found it difficult to squint into the sight and steady my stance.

I prayed I wouldn't have to use it tonight.

We then went upstairs to Miles' room, and I called my Mom to tell her I'd be staying late. Luckily, she didn't look into it too far. She was more glad to see me go outside rather than lie in bed all day. Until it was time to leave for Oldbridge, Miles and I hung out. I had a hard time not to show my jitters.

"It'll be okay," Miles said, sitting next to me on his bed.

"Are you sure?" He probably knew better than I did, but it didn't change the fact that I was scared.

"It will," he assured. Hesitantly, he rose a hand and pushed a strand of my hair aside, almost like he was afraid of my reaction. I didn't move, but I couldn't stop staring at his face. "If you stick with me, I'll be able to protect you."

I gave a nerve-wracking laugh. "What if things go wrong because I'm there?"

"Emma, that wouldn't be your fault. We'll be an entire group for one or two Wanderers. They're usually loners, so we have the numbers."

"I wonder what it'll be like to see you in action."

His eyebrows shot up curiously. "Don't expect some superhero stunts. There's nothing glamorous about it."

"I know," I answered. "Still. It's impressive, what you guys do."

"It's our way to make the world a safer place."

Mr. Spencer called us down for a quick supper before leaving. It felt misplaced to eat at the same table as my Chemistry teacher. He served us each a generous plate of chicken, mashed potatoes and mixed greens in some savory white sauce.