The Mage

“Fire again. Your aim was off by 3 inches.”

The gun lodged between Jürgen’s fingers was heavy and awkward, every shot causing it to dig into the tender flesh of his hands. Several yards away, a black cutout was erected, marked with white rings.

Early that morning, Jonathan had awoken him, ushering him into a shooting range. All around him flurries of English words were thrown, falling meaninglessly on his foreign ears. But the gun that had been thrust into his hands spoke its message clear.

Jonathan tapped him on the shoulder, pointing at the target and then drawing a ring around his chest- center mass. Jürgen nodded, squeezing an eye shut as he brought his trembling wrists up.

Bang! Jürgen flinched at the noise.

The man that hovered over him cast a dismissive glare. “You missed. Go back to the dorm and try again tomorrow. You won’t be getting fed until you can make a killing shot.”

----

“I'm sorry, Jürgen,” Jonathan murmured, nervously twisting his fingers, “Once you get the hang of it, they'll be nicer to you. I promise.”

Jürgen rested his head on his knees. His stomach was painfully empty, the smell of food only making him ache. He barely even understood why he had been withheld food.

A screech cut through the air, making Jonathan crawl in front of Jürgen. The doors swung open, a dark skinned girl dangling between the burly arms of two men. She screamed and writhed in their grip, kicking her legs in a miserable attempt to escape.

“Don't bite me!” a man barked, slinging her to the ground.

She quickly recovered from the fall, only to have the door shut in her face. She slammed her fists on the door, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. “Let me out! I wanna go home!”

Jonathan held out a reluctant hand. “My name is Jonathan, and that’s Jürgen. I guess we're going to be roommates now.”

“What's going on?” she hissed, withdrawing from his palm, “Where's my family?”

Jonathan avoided her gaze, staring down at the floor. “We're your family now. What's your name?”

Her bright blue eyes seemed to widen, her newly-shaven head caked in blood and sweat. Slowly, she met Jonathan’s hand with nervous fingers. “It's Morena. Morena Guerra.”

----

Bang!

“Again.”

Jürgen knew that English word well now. It had been screeched at him for almost an hour.

The image in front of him was blurry, no doubt made worse by the throbbing headache induced by hunger. At that distance, he could barely discern the details of the target. Clenching his teeth, he squeezed the trigger. The bullet clipped on the target’s shoulder area, plastic splintering on the floor. At his side, Morena and Jonathan grimaced.

Jürgen’s heart pounded painfully, tension mounting in his chest and stomach. He was sure what was happening, but it was about to happen.

“Can't you shoot straight, brat?”

The man’s hand clapped his cheek and ear, making him stagger.

It was like a flip had switched inside Jürgen.

Energy burned in his eyes as a clap of thunder sounded from outside, Jürgen’s muscles contracting and expanding all at once. Pure silver magic dribbled down his nose, grazing his chin.

Just as soon as it happened, it was over.

Ears ringing, Jürgen collapsed in a heap, twitching and gasping. He felt Jonathan grasping his arm, brushing the hair off his face.

A mass of adults gathered around him, whispering and muttering. A man bent down to inspect him, a sinister grin on his lips.

“We've struck gold. This kid's a hybrid mage.”

Author's Note- :^D