บท 17: Shooting range.
"Aliens," Captain Zimatin announced.
"A...alien? Are they real?" A student asked in surprise.
"You mean there are aliens in this country!" Ayaan asked in wonderment.
"Dad! Your son will be killed by Aliens!!" Abdul Rasheed cried out in horror.
"I can't believe I'm in a country where aliens attack people. Is this an apocalyptic world?" Richard asked.
"I want to return to my country!!!!" Jiya screamed and hugged herself. The thought of seeing a live alien one day sends a shiver down her spine.
Captain Zimatin looked at the students and shouted through the mic. "All of you calm down! There's nothing to be worried about or scared about. The Aliens have never been able to cross over thanks to General Vim and the proceeding Generals.
The General is bestowed respect and admiration. He is second only to the Monarch and the royal family. So when you see him, I would advise you, do not annoy him because even though he didn't touch you, it doesn't mean the teachers and students from Povich country will let you off. The rules of the school become meaningless when it involves General Vim.
Now, is his power and history enough for you to want to get his acknowledgement? Note that he only comes to Hassride once a month and only gives pointers to three students every time he is around.
There has never been a student who could attend his class thrice in a year because of how high the competition is. I wish you luck."
The students were in awe of how great the General was and forgot their fear of the Aliens. The ambitious girls were desperate to see the General and maybe, just maybe he would take a liking to them.
Vicky who was resting on a pole didn't hear a thing of what Captain Zimatin said. All she was thinking about was how her sister was doing and what the mystery surrounding them might be.
*******
Soon the military class started. Captain Zimatin divided the students into ten groups with ten members each, except for one that had nine members, that was because Simeon who would have filled the number was serving detention.
Captain Zimatin took ten students while the other captains took ten students each.
"Now, let's head over to the shooting range," Zimatin said.
On getting to the shooting range, he said. "for starters, each of you will choose a firearm you know you are good at, and if you haven't used a gun before, then try out all the guns and see which one you prefer, then we can proceed from there."
"Brother, do I have to use a gun too?" Jiya asked, a little flustered.
"You have no choice, sweetie," replied Abdul Rasheed.
Vicky, Jiya, Ameenah, Ayaan, Abdul Rashid, Junaid, Anthonio, Richard, Xiao Meng, and Marcelo were grouped together.
Among the ten of them, Vicky and Marcelo were the introverts who were standing on their own. The rest in twos and threes were looking at the guns wondering which one to pick.
"You don't know which gun suits you by just looking at it, You use it. Fire a bullet and see which one works fine for you.
The guns might be different from what you are used to, but I assure you, these ones are better. A precise aim, lightweight, loads a hundred bullets at once, and can go undetected by your country's scanner. Long and short-range shooting. All you need to do is pull or push the small button on the body and the shooting range will change accordingly." Captain Zimatin explained.
"Can go undetected?" Abdul Rashid asked.
"Loads a hundred bullets?" Richard asked.
"Yes, you can open the magazine and see, and as for going undetected, right there in your country's lift" he pointed to his right.
"There is a scanner used in your airport" he pointed to his left.
"This is a recently manufactured hand detector" he brought out a detecting device and continued."You can test them and see which one detects any of the guns on the table. There are other detecting devices from your country in that room" he pointed at his back. "If you are not satisfied, you can test them in that room"
"The bullets are so small. Can these peanuts cause damage to anything?" Anthonio picked up a tiny triangular bullet and pinched it with his index and thumb and raised it to his face level to inspect it.
"Those bullets you see do more damage than your country's bullet can." Zimatin picked up a random gun and fired at one of the human figures made of silicon for target shooting and the silicon human immediately scattered.
"Oh my God! Is that a bomb?!" Jiya exclaimed.
Zimatin smiled at her frightened face. "It's not a bomb, but a bullet. However, it has the effect of your country's bomb. But it doesn't have the aftermath of destruction or radiation." he explained.
"Then what would a bomb look like?" Ameenah asked.
"I guess it's like a missile, '' Xiao Meng jokes.
"Bingo!" Zimatin snapped his fingers at her correct answer.
"What?!!" The eight of them exclaimed.
Although Vicky and Marcelo were also surprised, they were silently going along with them and didn't contribute.
"Yes. We are constantly at war with the Aliens and ordinary bullets don't do any damage to them." Zimatin said.
"Are you fighting Aliens or monsters? The Aliens I see on Tv could be killed with ordinary bullets" Abdul Rashid argued.
"As you said, TV. Would you want to fight a real alien just for show?" Junaid asked and everyone laughed. Marcelo smiled, but Vicky remained stone-faced.
"I'd like to ask, how bad is your missile?" Antonio asked and everyone quieted down.
"Missile..." Captain Zimatin stared into space like he was reminiscing something painfully regrettable and said. "Our missile is being remodeled. The last one was a disaster. It could wipe out three countries at once" he smiled bitterly after saying that.
"Although, it could be good to wipe out the Aliens, however, not only the Aliens would suffer. Other unknown countries around the world will suffer. The place it was launched and the people who launched it would be destroyed. So it isn't the best solution that was why General Vim rejected it"
"Why can't it be made and taken to the Alien's lairs to destroy them once and for all?" Marcelo asked.
"It's a long story. It is a top-secret of the Povich country and cannot be told to anyone. Don't be too curious to ask anyone else about this, else you would get yourself and probably your family into trouble. That secret is linked with the royal family. That's all I can tell you" Zimatin warned.
All the students stared dazedly at him.
"Have you all chosen your guns? Let's start today's lesson then".
After choosing guns and shooting at the figures, their aims were terrible. No one could hit the target and Marcelo, who managed to hit the target, shot at its leg for the hundredth time.
"I never knew you kids were so terrible in the shooting." Zimatin shook his head, forgetting they weren't children from Povich country who had already started using guns at the age of eight.
"Reload your guns and start again" he ordered.
"Captain, is there no fake bullet? I want to use a fake bullet" Jiya said. Whenever she shot at the silicon human figure, it felt like she was shooting a human.
"There is nothing like a fake bullet in Povich country. Consider the figure as an enemy who wants to kill you and you have a gun in your hand. What would you do?"
"Shoot it," Jiya answered.
"Good, now do it!"
The ten of them continued shooting and reloading their guns without a proper aim.
Zimatin shook his head and stopped them. "Watch me" he stepped forward and took a gun from the table and shot the first bullet which shot through the center of the silicon human's brow. The silicon exploded and another one appeared and the exploded one disappeared. It looked like an illusion, but it wasn't.
"When you shoot, your hand should be straight and firm. You don't shake like a leaf. I know you guys are not used to guns, but you have to keep trying your best to gain perfection, but just relying on luck. Now, start!"
The ten of them went back to their spot and continued shooting, while captain Zimatin walked around them and adjusted their body parts that weren't In line with how they were supposed to be standing.
After so many attempts, Marcelo gave the first shot to silicon's chest, followed by Vicky, then Richard, and Ayaan. The rest were still battling until Captain Zimatin threatened to not allow them to leave unless they got a decent score.
Finally, all the students managed to hit a vital spot after five hours in the shooting range.
Captain Zimatin nodded at the slow progress and instructed them to head to the duel arena for the second part of the Military and war strategy class.
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