Read Online The Dead Series (Book 4): Dead End by Jon Schafer - Free Book Online

want you to load your bullets into your rifle like we showed you.” Pointing to two men holding lever action rifles, he added, “And I showed you both how to load your weapons, so go ahead and do it.”
    Steve noticed that no one made a move to do as they were told . He was about to comment on this when Tick-Tock barked out, “Ready… load.” In a flurry of motion, the trainees inserted magazines and loose rounds into their rifles. When they were done, they stood waiting.
    Impressed at the discipline that Tick-Tock had instilled in these people in such a short time, Steve said, “Looks like you have everything well in hand.”
    “ Not even close,” his friend replied. “I can still use some help, since none of them have ever fired a gun before.”
    Without hesitation, Steve asked, “What do you want me to do?”
    Moving back over to the trainees, Tick-Tock said, “We’ve got plenty of targets, but I want to make sure they’re hitting – or at least hitting near – what they’re aiming at. With all the Zs down there, it will be like lining these guys up along the side of a boat and telling them to shoot over the side and hit the ocean.”
    “So what’s the plan?” Steve asked as he followed.
    They reached were Denise and Heather were standing as they waited on them, and after exchanging greetings, Tick-Tock said to Denise, “Steve’s going to help us by marking our targets, so give him the splat gun. That frees you up, so I want you helping me and Heather on the firing line in case anyone gets a jam or does something stupid.”
    Denise extracted a paintball gun from the pack at her feet and said to Steve, “We took the big feeder off the top, so you have to load it one shot at a time.”
    Hefting the weapon, Steve asked, “Why?”
    “So you can load different colors,” she explained. “We want to make sure they’re hitting what they’re aiming for, and we want to be able to tell different trainees to aim for different colors when we teach them snap shooting.”
    Turning to Tick-Tock, Steve asked, “Are you sure they’re ready for snap shooting?”
    “I’d rather teach them how to do everything right from the get go,” he answered. “I know it takes a lot of practice to be able to raise your rifle or pistol in a flash and snap off a shot that hits your target, but I want them to at least know the basics and how to do it safely.” In a lower voice, he added, “I doubt any of them will remember half of what I teach them, but I have to go through the motions. Maybe enough of what I tell them will sink in so they don’t accidentally shot each other or one of us.”
    Steve nodded and said, “You’re the instructor.”
    “Damn right I am,” he said with a smile before raising his voice and saying to the line of trainees, “Remember your sight picture and remember that the only person shooting will be the one Heather, Denise or myself is standing behind and telling to shoot.” Turning to Steve, he said, “I need about twenty targets spread out across the back of the house. Try to find the ones on the outer edge of the mob that aren’t moving around too much. I don’t want to make it too hard at first, and we’ll get to the part about how to hit a moving target later.”
    Steve complied, and within a few minutes twenty of the dead had splatters of red, green, and yellow paint marking their heads and chests. Tick-Tock moved behind the first person in line, a woman who looked extremely nervous but determined, and said, “Pick one target and tell me which one it is.”
    The woman looked for a moment before pointing directly out in front of her and saying, “The one with the red paint dripping down its neck. It’s got what’s left of a flannel shirt hanging off its back.”
    “Then raise your rifle, get your sight picture and squeeze the trigger like I taught you,” Tick-Tock told her. “I’m going to be right here, so don’t be afraid.”
    Hesitantly, the woman raised her .22 rifle