BXBX NOVEL Chapter 7: Lucky?
"Nice shot!" Charles said, looking stunned.
Stefan\'s mouth was gaped. In the split second before Henry\'s bullet punctured the uniformed man\'s head, he had seen the muzzle of the gun pointed at him and his heart had leaped into his throat. He was surprised by the accuracy of Henry\'s shooting but even more than that, he was grateful.
"Lucky shot," Tony said with a grunt. It was the only explanation that made sense as to how Henry, who injured himself just last week was suddenly a whizz with the gun.
Stefan looked out the window on the door and his expression hardened behind his mask,
"We\'ve got company," he said.
Henry\'s gunshot had called attention of the uniformed man\'s fellows and they were already stirring.
"Take cover!" Charles yelled and the next second, shots were fired.
The door\'s window shattered. Bullets struck and stuck into wooden surfaces which they dented and ricocheted against the metal ones.
Henry ducked. He saw his victim\'s second gun but decided not to pick it up. His \'good luck\' would be far more believable if he used one gun than if he were to shoot two simultaneously. Instead of taking the gun, he searched the dead body for something he knew it would have.
"Nice!" Henry let out when he pulled out a small ammo box holding 20 bullets that he quickly stashed away.
He also found a wad of cash and tucked that away as well.
Calmly, Henry took a few breaths. He looked over at the body of the man he just killed and looted and really, he felt no remorse. This was not the first time he had taken a life and he was sure it wouldn\'t be the last.
\'It would have been him or me. I\'ll choose me every time,\' Henry thought solemnly.
"Let\'s go!" Tony yelled out suddenly as he ran forward and kicked the damaged door open. He had timed it just right for when one of the two enemies shooting at them stopped to reload and he wasted no time filling him with bullets.
Henry stood up then. He shot once at the second enemy;
*bang*
A headshot that killed him instantly.
[Kill-Reward: 10 Exp]
Tony frowned. Once was lucky but twice?
The four —Henry, Tony, Charles, and Stefan—, moved then.
There were more enemies beyond the next door and standing around would do them no good. The passengers cowered in their seats, shaking with their heads bowed. The eyes of the Dionisio boys were keen enough to spot valuables but now was not the time to collect.
"More are coming," Charles said as other uniformed men rallied in droves beyond the next passenger car door, "The space here is too narrow and we\'ll get in each other\'s way."
"You\'re right," Tony said, "Henry and I will head for the roof."
"We will?" Henry asked, looking surprised.
"Come on," Tony said pulling him once to make sure he came with him.
The two heaved themselves up the passenger car until they were standing on its roof. It wasn\'t a stable footing. Apart from the fact that the roof curved slightly, the train also shook as it chugged along on the rail tracks. What was negligent while standing in the train car was made worse thanks to the rushing air and open space.
"Come on, let\'s go!" Tony yelled out over the wind.
"Where?" Henry asked.
"Where else? First class. Angus and the others probably need us. Also we need to get away before…"
Tony paused and frowned. Two passenger cars away, three uniformed men had heaved themselves onto the roof and charged forward. They didn\'t seem too bothered by the shaking train or the wind.
And why would they be?
They were opposing wind flow and were fairly muscled men with strong centers of gravity that gave them stability that Henry lacked in this weak teenage body of his.
"God damn it!" Tony yelled and raised his gun to fire two shots.
They both missed.
The train\'s shake threw off his aim.
Henry pointed his gun as well but he didn\'t shoot indiscriminately.
He took a second to aim…
That was a mistake.
The uniformed man he was pointing his gun at was not as cautious and fired an almost wayward shot that still struck Henry\'s body.
[You lost 2 Hit Points]
[Hit Points: 8/10]
"Ah!"
Henry called out as the bullet pierced his left shoulder but years of experience with a gun spurred him on and he fired his shot anyway.
The bullet was not deathly accurate but fortunately, with a metal *pang*, it struck the uniformed man\'s gun and sent it flying out of his hand.
"Argh!"
The uniformed man yelled at the pain of his gun forcefully wrenched from his grasps. His face became colored with rage as he leaped and slammed his body into Henry\'s.
Henry, sluggish from the blood loss from his shoulder wound could not avoid getting body slammed onto the train car\'s roof but by some luck, he managed to keep a hold of his gun which was fortunate since the uniformed man produced a dagger next.
As his assailant brought the dagger down for a deadly stab, Henry, driven mostly by reflexes, slammed the butt of his gun against the man\'s temple.
"Ngh," the man groaned, feeling dazed.
Henry took his chance. He sunk his knee into the man\'s side while heaving him off his body and off the train car roof entirely.
"Ahh—" the man started to yell but stopped suddenly as his head slammed against a rock and split open.
[Kill-Reward: 10 Exp]
Henry hardly cared for the notification. He remembered there had been three charging at him and Tony and in the few seconds he had spent getting body-slammed and shot, Tony had shot one man in the leg and was in a tussle with the second.
The man who Tony had shot in the leg hobbled over, wincing but ever determined. He raised his gun, and readied himself to fire.
Henry steadied himself as well and to further ascertain a successful shot and reduce how long he took to prepare to fire, he brought to mind the fact that his [Marksmanship] skill afforded him a +5% accuracy.
For someone like him who was already so good with the gun, five percent was enough.
[Activating Marksmanship Lv. 1 Active effect: +5% accuracy]
Even with the increased accuracy, Henry still fired twice.
"Ack!" The uniformed man groaned as he was inflicted with two fatal wounds. His body went weak, he fell to his knees, keeled over the side, and died.
[Kill Reward: 10 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
*[Make use of your {Marksmanship Lv. 1] skill\'s Active effect to earn Skill Exp and level up your skill!]
That was another notification Henry hardly paid attention to because right then, Tony gained the upper hand in his tussle, pressed the muzzle of his gun directly against his opponent\'s neck and fired.
It was a bloody shot but it certainly got the job done.
"You alright?" Tony asked with an eye on Henry\'s shoulder wound.
"I\'ll live," Henry answered. He pulled out the ammo box he had stolen from his first kill and replaced the five bullets he had shot so far so he had a full cartridge again.
Tony reloaded as well and then they continued their journey across the train roof until they came upon a dire scene.
"It\'s Triss and Dana," Tony said gravely.
The two ladies were side by side. Their masks and hats discarded in the fights they had had. There were a few bodies around them but three healthy men still faced them, guns raised.
Four more were joining the fray and climbing up to the roof. Henry and Tony could not let that happen.
Tony killed one with a barrage of bullets and within that time frame, Henry fired thrice. And he killed three.
With the uniformed men\'s attention not on him and his added accuracy bonus, there was no way he could miss.
[Kill-Reward: 10 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 10 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 10 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
[Level Up!]
[You are now Level 2]