Queen of The Dome (QOTD)

“If you are here, you have already taken the gun safety course, but I will go over the rules one more time. Rule number one: do not aim at anything that you do not wish to shoot at! Rubber bullets can be just as dangerous as real ones and relying on the safety is not good enough.” Finch explained as he walked behind the line of inmates. “Rule number two: one shot at a time! These are not automatic weapons so don’t treat them like they are. You shoot, you step back, and wait to check your target. Rule number three: do not rest your finger on the trigger! You’d be surprised at how easy it is for your hand to slip. Rule number four: keep your hands away from the barrel if you want to keep your fingers! That sounds like common sense, but considering you’re all here, it’s evidently not that common.”

Cade wasn’t Finch’s biggest fan. He hadn’t done anything to him specifically but his attitude often rubbed Cade the wrong way. It wasn’t as if Hewn was a ray of sunshine but Cade would’ve preferred for him to supervise the drill.

Devin’s absence didn’t help much either. By now, he would’ve made a funny comment or crack about Finch, lightening the air, but he had to sit this one out.

“Last but not least, rule number five: this is not a game, this is a drill. You will be assessed on this course so if you like, don’t take it seriously, but I can assure you that there will be a desk job calling your name at the end of your training.”

Cade had never shot a gun before, never even held one. Despite growing up in a house full of them, he’d never understood the appeal. He could understand that they were useful at times but they weren’t a commodity to him like they were to his father.

He stood, feet shoulder-width apart, and eyed his target. Even though the figure was made out of cardboard, shooting at something that represented a person didn’t sit right with him but he reminded himself that it was just a drill.

“These are already loaded so the rules apply the second it touches your hand,” Finch projected as three enforcers moved along the line, handing a pistol to each inmate.

Cade weighed the gun in his hand as the others fiddled with theirs, laughing and messing around quietly. It was heavier than he expected.

“Okay, shut up! Team A! Take your position!”

Cade moved his right foot back and his left a little forward.

“Aim!”

He narrowed his eyes on the target and lifted his gun with both hands, arms extended. They hadn’t been told what to aim for, but they were supposed to try and make it a kill shot.

“Fire!”

Four shots went off relatively close to each other. Not Cade’s though. He waited an extra second. He needed to be precise.

BANG! Cade flinched at the pushback of the small weapon. Lowering the pistol, he stepped back and assessed his shot. Headshot.

Despite his feeling towards guns in general, he allowed himself a small bit of pride over his accuracy. Sure, the target was ten meters away, at most, but it was his first attempt.

“Interesting choice, Alden.” Cade didn’t know what Finch meant until he looked at the others’ targets. Everyone else had aimed for the chest, some slightly off. Cade nodded his thanks to him.

Finch’s thoughtful expression changed to a more threatening one. “But when I say fire, you fire, outsider!” he hissed quietly.

Okay, then.

“Sir, yes, sir,” Cade blurted sarcastically before he could stop himself. He didn’t know where that came from but Finch was really starting to aggravate him.

Finch’s eyes narrowed and his head tilted up at Cade. He looked like was about to say something before he stopped himself, offering Cade a smirk instead.

“Team B!” Finch yelled in his face.

Cade thought it might have been an attempt to startle him, to make him flinch. He did neither. He made his way back to the sidelines. As he waited for his group’s next turn, he let his mind drift back to home. Being around all these weapons reminded him of how he’d landed himself in the Dome in the first place. He briefly thought of how Cassian might have fared in the program. Cassian was smart. Not necessarily in the conventional sense but he was calculated. Cade thought that he would’ve excelled in an environment like this. That didn’t mean that Cade would’ve changed anything if he could go back in time.

Cassian was actually guilty, he wouldn’t have made it into the program like Cade did…

BANG!

Despite the bullet having already embedded itself in the wooden wall behind him, Cade still ducked. What the hell?

He brought his arms down and looked back toward the line-up. Crew stood at his post, facing him, a cruel smirk dancing across his lips.

‘Oops,’ he mouthed.

Cade’s lips were parted in shock. Any lower and Crew would’ve shot him right in the face. Cade whipped his head toward Finch hoping to see the same look of outrage that he’d given him. He shouldn’t have been surprised by what he saw.

Finch stood, his side facing Cade with the same smirk on his face as he looked out into the distance. He wasn’t looking at Cade but he wasn’t trying to hide his amusement either. He didn’t even call Crew out. Regardless of the rage brewing in Cade, he knew that he would achieve nothing by making his disapproval known. So he did what he’d always done when something irked him. Nothing. That didn’t stop his gaze from assessing Finch with new eyes though. What is his problem?