Dorian's Destiny: Altered by Amanda Long Page B

After making arrangements with the owner,
Thomas walked over.
    “Let's start off small, shall we?” Thomas
suggested, gesturing for Dorian to follow him.
    From the lobby, he led Dorian into a larger
room. Entering one of the many partitioned off booths, Thomas
emptied his hands and explained what they were there to do. “I
thought it might be fun to do some shooting. Have you ever used a
gun before?” Dorian shook his head. “I figured. You're a virgin to
a surplus of activities, aren't you? Exposing you to all the world
has to offer will be my pleasure,” Thomas declared, lightly patting
Dorian on the back while a devious grin graced his face. “Back to
shooting. On this counter,” he gestured, “is a gun for each of us
and ammunition. Don't worry,” he reassured him. “I will load both
guns. All you will need to do is aim and pull the trigger,
hopefully hitting one of the targets along the back wall.” He
finished by pointing to the black paper outlines of people.
    After loading each gun,
Thomas pulled out two sets of ear plugs from his pant pockets.
“Humans must protect their ears while shooting to prevent damage.
Of course, with our healing ability, that is not something we have
to worry about. However, since our hearing is far beyond that of
humans, the noise will still hurt. So use these.” He handed Dorian
a pair and inserting his own. “No need to cause ourselves
any unwanted pain.” Once protected from the noise, he instructed Dorian on
the proper way to hold, aim and fire his gun.
    “Now, go into the next booth and do exactly
what I showed you.” When Dorian complied, he called out, “Let the
best vamp win.”
    Squeezing the trigger, Dorian did his best
to aim for the center of the paper outline. Seventeen times he
repeated the process Thomas had shown him. Once both weapons were
empty, Thomas pushed a button sending the targets to them.
    Upon inspection of the target papers, he
congratulated Dorian. “Excellent job. You may have done better than
me, but it's hard to tell since we both have matching large, gaping
holes in the center of our paper men,” Thomas chuckled, sticking
his hand through the hole in the paper. “How about we make this
more interesting?” He asked while yanking and tossing both targets
aside.
    “How?”
    “You'll see,” Thomas hollered back, halfway
to the back of the range where the targets were located. After
positioning himself directly in Dorian's line of sight, he stripped
down to his underwear. “Ready! Shoot me!” He shouted, arms
outstretched and a crazy smile on his face.
    “What?” Dorian spat, not believing what he
had just been asked to do.
    “Shoot me!” Thomas yelled louder.
    “Are you insane?!” Dorian sputtered, still
shocked by the ridiculous request.
    Shrugging his shoulders, Thomas responded,
“Maybe. Just do it. Try not to hit me in the face or groin.”
    This is the dumbest,
insane thing I've ever been asked to do...but it is definitely more
interesting that shooting a piece of paper.
    Dorian repeated the steps he had apparently
mastered moments earlier, judging by Thomas' accolades. Aiming for
the exact middle of his chest, Dorian he hoped to miss the two 'off
limit' areas.
    “Fuck!” Thomas screamed as the bullet hit
his chest, causing him to stagger back a step. Looking down at his
bloodied chest, he stuck his finger inside the wound to dig out the
bullet before it healed. “Wouldn't it be a bitch if my finger
healed up inside me and I had to rip my own hand out of myself?” He
held the souvenir up to his face to admire it before tucking the
bullet into his pocket. “That was exhilarating. Do it again.”
Thomas held up his hand after the sixth bullet cratered his chest.
“That's enough,” he panted. “Now it's your turn.”
    “No.” Dorian shook his head adamantly.
    “Come on, don't be a pussy,” Thomas
jeered.
    “A what?” Dorian asked, not recognizing the
slang.
    “Never mind,” Thomas sighed, realizing how
unworldly