She cups my face, inspecting the bridge of my nose with a frown. “It’s swelling a little,” she murmurs.
Dad places a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll haveit checked.”
chapter 5
14 July 2037
Zloban (11 years old)
Dad put two guns in front of me. “What would be your pick if you had to kill someone in public?”
I picked the Platino Max. “I won’t have a second chance to shoot, and I can’t afford a misfire in public.”
This gun feels very stable in hand. I’ve never fired it before, but it seems like it wouldn’t lose control even with high recoil force. Dad told me once about its finality in a kill.
“What do you think? Can you fire it?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Try it.”
I check the chamber, slide the magazine into place, pull back the slide to load the round, then take my stance. My fingers adjust on the grip, my other hand steadying the recoil. I aim, exhale, and press the trigger.
The recoil pushes me back, but I keep myself grounded.
Dad pats my shoulder. “Well done.”
The door of the training room opens and Leo enters. It’s now our training time. Uncle Alessio’s house and Dad’s house are on two adjacent hills, joined by a bridge. We can meet anytime during the day. This whole area is tightly protected by security.
He greets Dad. “Good evening, Uncle.”
“Good evening, Leo.”
Leo takes the gun from me. “How’s its recoil?”
“About 450 newtons of force, around 3.5 kilograms of momentum.”
Leo takes his stance and fires.
I take the gun back from Leo and fire again. This time it doesn’t feel that high.
We fire in alternate rounds until the magazine empties. Now it’s time for our hand combat.
After training with Leo, I take a shower and join my family for dinner. I know this is my family. They are my people.
I sit beside Avira on my chair, directly in front of Mom.
Dad asks Avira, “So, you and Wen haven’t decided anything yet?”
She pouts. “Daddy, can’t we take a few more months to decide?”
Mom sighs. “You both got cleared from Base class months ago, and since then you’ve just been roaming aimlessly everywhere.”
Dad pats Avira’s head.
“It’s okay, wife. We built this school so our kids could have every opportunity and possibility for learning. Let her explore more. She’s still young.”
Our school was made by Dad and Uncle. It was their idea to establish a school with no rigid class rules, where anyone can learn anything up to the level of masters.
