Caelan knew Dusty was correct. He did need to learn how to shoot to protect himself. It was a hard pill to swallow. He had lasted this long with just his pocket knife. In fact, Caelan had lasted this long without as much as a scuffle with another human being. Everyone in town seemed to run in separate circles. He seemed to know when to go outside and stay inside. Caelan avoided the Vultures like the plague - pun intended - and they busied themselves with wreaking havoc on the other side of town.<br/><br/>He stared down at the gun where it sat heavy in his hand. He didn’t move a single muscle. Caelan had watched Dusty remove all of the bullets, but that didn’t mean it still didn’t feel like an active grenade.<br/><br/>“Yeah, well, the next time I need to shoot a can of chili in the grocery store, I’ll be prepared.” He didn’t hunt. He was fortunate enough not to have to hunt. Besides, there was nothing to hunt in the city, besides the other remaining humans and a bird or two. Rarely, Caelan saw deer that ventured into the quietness of the city, but they were easily spooked. He couldn’t stomach shooting Bambi, anyways.<br/><br/>Caelan was still distracted by the gun in his hand by the time Dusty reached his hand out. He swallowed and carefully handed it to him. He wiped his hands on his jeans, rubbing away the sweat and the nerves that came along with it. In truth, Caelan knew he was being ridiculous about all of this. There was no way he would be able to learn how to shoot without Dusty’s instruction and he didn’t want to waste his time.<br/><br/>He watched intently, blinking suddenly as Dusty pulled the trigger. To his amazement, the windshield remained intact and Dusty handed the gun back just as easily as he had taken it away.<br/><br/>“You said ninety-nine percent of your shots were hunting. How many people make up the one percent?” Caelan glanced at Dusty for a moment before turning his attention back to the gun. He sat straighter, lifting the gun as Dusty had, the barrel pointed towards the windshield. Caelan exhaled slowly, his finger slowly pulling until the trigger submitted beneath his finger. The gun clicked, just as it had with Dusty, and Caelan felt his shoulders relax. “I’d like to try.” He said, decidedly. “For real.”