Chapter Six

Rebirth The Beast

Dorothy glanced over her shoulder at the door, making sure it was closed. Thanks to Jack being gone, they were finally alone to talk, even if it was one-sided. In the middle of peeling an orange, she went on with her story of yesterday.

“I still don’t trust old Smiley,’’ she began, “but I think there’s a lot I can learn from him. I have a feeling he might be pretty high in rank,” she leaned in close to whisper, “maybe even an actual Capo,” she said with a grin while placing an orange slice between his lips. “Today he’s taking me to a shooting range, as long as I pay him of course. I only got a thousand dollars this time from last night but that’s okay, we’ve got about… six thousand between the both of us?” She sat there staring down at the incomplete orange in her hands. There was a piece missing which begged the question, was it still an orange? Lost in thought, Dorothy wondered if her friend was missing a piece of himself, just like the fruit she held. With the way he was, she most definitely felt as if a piece of her was missing. She began to envision what her future would be like from here on out. Like most kids, she’d go on to make new friends, struggling not to end up as a filthy teenager like Mable, then what, grow up to be like Sister Mary? Dorothy’s face twisted up at the very thought of being such a cold bitch. She simply couldn’t see why Cap admires her so much. More than likely because of Sister Mary’s figure, she figured, and Cap was a boy after all, even if he didn’t openly say he was interested in that kind of thing. Dorothy figured her friend simply refused to be anything like Jack, a perverted arrogant teenager. The girl slowly placed the orange down on the table side before wiping her hands on a napkin, she took Cap’s hand and pressed it to her left breast. Her heart began to race though the moment was bittersweet. She’d hoped this moment would’ve been under better circumstances. “There… now you can’t smoke again, okay?” She paused, waiting for a reply that never came. “Alright, I’ve decided. You’re coming with me. You’ve been in bed long enough,” Dorothy said with a grin. Getting him dressed, and ready for the day, she managed to get him out of the orphanage without a problem. Not sure if it was because Sister Mary didn’t care about Cap or because the woman trusted her. Given the fact he needed a haircut, she was sure she knew the answer. Walking towards the dead end of a paved road, there was a dirt road that led further out towards the woods where the bridge was. Just before the dirt road however, sat Smiley’s car with him leaning on the hood. He puffed his death stick, Dorothy noticed.

“Hey! Uh… Dot was it?” Smiley asked.

Dorothy frowned, and said;

“I never told you my name,” or at least her fake name, she thought.

“Yeah, word gets around,” he shrugged with a smirk.

“Mr. Ricci told you, didn’t he?” Dorothy asked.

“Maybe, anyway, who’s your friend, oohhh.” His smile widened with sudden realization.

“You can call him Capo,” Dorothy said.

“Ha, nice try kid. I’ll just call him… C.”

“Whatever, let’s get going,” Dorothy said.

“Ah…” He held up his palm, “pay up.”

“Oh, right.”

Dorothy reached into her pocket and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. Smiley took one look at it and started coughing uncontrollably for a moment.

“What the hell, where’d you get that kind of scratch?!”

“That’s none of your business, are you taking us or not?!” She asked.

Seeing the kind of money she was throwing out, Smiley wasted no time. With them in the backseat, he glanced at the two in his rear-view mirror.

“Must be nice having rich parents,” he said, trying to get an idea whose kids these were.

“We don’t have parents.”

“So I’m to believe an orphanage is giving out hundred-dollar allowances?” Smiley asked.

“You don’t need to believe anything. I just want you to teach me to shoot.”

“Whatever you say, boss lady.”

“Don’t call me lady.”

When they finally arrived at an outdoor target range, Dorothy could feel Cap flinching every time a gun was discharged. It was for his own good, she thought. The last thing she wanted was for Cap to be bedridden for the rest of his life. The same thing could be said about her fear of ghosts, she thought. But that was for another time.

“I’ll go first!”

She stepped up to the range while Smiley placed a box of 9mm rounds on the table in front of her.

“Be sure to squeeze the trigger, don’t pull it. Squeezing should be a slow, and steady process while pulling is more of a jerking feeling. You’ll hit your target if you slow down.” With a bang, she hit the paper target right in the middle. Using binoculars, Smiley said, “damn, dead center.”

“Really?!” Dorothy began tapping the trigger, letting fly rounds that didn’t connect.

“And now you’ve missed every shot,” He said, not even needing to look through the binoculars. “Take it easy, and focus like the first one.”

With adrenaline buzzing through her veins, she gripped the pistol in both hands. Taking a moment to relax, she squeezed the trigger, again and again until the gun clicked, signaling that it was empty. Gently placing it down, she looked towards Smiley for confirmation.

“Well, not the center but you did hit the target every time. Good job, kid.”

Her face lit up, before stepping over to her friend.

“Now it’s his turn.”

“You sure about that?” Smiley asked with a wide-eyed smirk.

“Positive, in fact,” she turned and pointed at a random man aiming a larger gun. “I want him to use that one.”

“A shotgun? Heh, maybe if he was a little bigger and stronger.”

“Hey, I paid you, so make it happen. Besides, Capo is stronger than he looks.”

“Alright, you’re the boss,” he sang as he stepped away. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Moments later he was back, immediately getting a frown from the girl when he came back with something small.

“I said, a shotgun.”

“And I said alright. It just has a smaller barrel. This thing has a lot of kick so you need to be standing just right to properly absorb the recoil.” He took a moment to aim down sight, showing the proper stance. “Got that?” He asked, expecting a sly remark from the tomboy.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Hm, that’s good.” Placing the shotgun down on the table, he stepped back. Watching the little girl get her mute friend into position, instructing him on how to hold it properly as if she had been an instructor for years. He couldn’t help but be impressed by how fast the girl learned. “You go to school?”

“Technically,” she answered while making small corrections to Cap’s stance.

“Technically?”

“The orphanage home schools us. I bet a real school has better teachers, however.”

“Hey, you take what you can get. I bet you at least got the highest grades, right?” He mused.

“No, I’m just second highest.”

“Damn, kid, that’s still better than most. I’d say you’re on the road to becoming a doctor but you’re going in the wrong direction with all this gun stuff. Ah, whatever, the other kid is probably just some kiss-ass teacher’s pet.”

“I think so, on some level, I suppose.” She stepped back, and to the side, using Smiley as her point of reference. “Okay, try to hit that paper target. Fire when,” Before she could finish he pulled the trigger, the kick causing him to slide back about an inch across the dirt, still firmly on his feet. Smiley didn’t see any real danger, after all, he made sure he loaded it with only one twelve-gauge round. Even if he missed, and went flying back on his ass, he wasn’t gonna accidentally misfire. However not only did the boy destroy the target but his body stayed firm like a statue.

“Holly crap!” Cap turned towards Dorothy, his face glowing with excitement. “This thing is awesome!”