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Maddie shrugged again. “I'm not sure. I don't really know much about guns. It was small, though, like some type of handgun, I think.”
“Did you try a shotgun?”
Maddie shook her head. “No.”
“A shotgun would probably be a lot better for you.”
Maddie scooped up another bite of potatoes.
“Want to try?”
Maddie paused, the bite halfway to her mouth. “Try what?”
“Shooting a shotgun,” Saff answered, as if it was obvious. “I found one in the back. I’m pretty sure there’s a canyon farther up in the woods, too. So the sound wouldn’t attract anything here.”
Maddie thought about it. Shooting wasn’t something she’d considered, but it couldn’t hurt to have the skill. Especially if she did end up fully on her own at some point.
“Um, yeah, sure. Okay.”
***
Maddie ran her fingers over the cold metal as Saff adjusted the end of the gun against her shoulder.
Holding the shotgun had felt entirely foreign at first, but as Saff began going through the safety rules, things had slowly come back to her. And she began remembering what her dad had explained to her years before when he took her to try shooting.
“Keep it pointed down at the ground until you’re ready to aim,” Saff said, close behind her left ear. “And keep your index finger resting up on the side until you’re actually ready to shoot.”
Maddie lowered the gun to face the ground and moved her finger until it was pointing straight forward.
“Okay,” Saff said. “I put some tin cans in different areas in front of you. Now I'm gonna stand behind you and throw a rock into the leaves below the targets. So wherever you hear the noise, lift the gun and aim.”
Maddie hesitated. “Are you sure that's safe? I won’t accidentally—I don’t know—shoot you or something?”
“Yeah, just don't pull the trigger yet. Practice aiming for now.”
Maddie nodded, shifting her stance.
“Ready?” Saff asked.
“Mhm,” Maddie mumbled, adjusting the heavy metal in her hands.
“Okay, I'm gonna throw the first rock. So again, just lift the gun and aim at where you hear the noise. Then stop.”
Maddie waited, listening. Then she heard a small grunt from Saff behind her, and a few seconds later, a thud, followed by leaves rustling on the ground.
She turned her head toward the direction of the noise, then slowly lifted the gun, her sore arms straining under the weight. She aimed it in the direction of where she had heard the noise, then stopped.
“Not bad,” Saff said from behind her. “But you have the gun too high. If you're trying to shoot it at an actual person, it would probably go above their head. Try to keep it in line with your chest, so then you're shooting at someone about the same height as you.”
Maddie lowered the gun a few inches. “How's this?” she breathed.
“Better,” Saff answered. “But it's still a little high.”
Light footsteps plodded behind her. Then Saff spoke, this time much closer. “Can I show you?”
“Oh, yeah,” Maddie answered, lowering the gun.
“No.” Saff stopped her. “Keep it up like that. I'm just gonna adjust how high you're aiming.”