The knives turned out to be plastic replicas, weighted correctly but not sharp enough to cause any real injuries. She showed us how to use them in close combat but also how to throw them at a target dummy which would light up with different colours: red for a skim, yellow for a hit in an outer limb, green for a lethal hit.
I watched as some of the time servers threw knives further along the room. Most of them were getting red or yellow lights which made me feel less worried about failure.
The first time I let the knife fly, I released it too late and it flew to the ground where it bounced. The knife arced upwards and back towards me, smacking the top of my boot with a thump.
"Aren't you glad we don't let you play with the sharp ones?" Laurie smiled and I couldn't help but agree on behalf of my pinky toe which was throbbing even through the tough boot.
I soon learnt the knack of throwing the knife straight at the target and started to get some hits. The other two weren't picking it up nearly as quickly and I felt a twinge of pride as I got my first green light on only my eighth throw.
Taylor pulled me into a hug and I smiled broadly.
I watched as he threw again and the target lit up yellow.
After I hit six green lights in a row, I got a big smile from Laurie which helped to sooth my hurt pride. The others got more hits in before long but could only manage reds and yellows.
"We can come back to this tomorrow, now I wanna show you the fun stuff," Laurie said. She led the way to the guns, which turned out to be replicas which fired lasers.
There were all types of guns from pistols to shotguns, rifles to revolvers. Laurie showed us how to load and fire each one in turn which took us the best part of two hours, as she wasn't satisfied until we could remember how to do everything without prompting.
We lined up before the targets and Laurie passed us each type of gun in turn so that we could get a feel for them.
I liked the power of the bigger guns but found it hard to hold my aim with them as I fired and the recoil got me every time. Taylor found it easier to absorb the impact, probably in part due to his bigger arms and shoulders.
The pump action shotgun was my favourite, it didn't matter if the aim was a little off or if the recoil was a bit much for me as it gave such a wide range of shot when fired. Plus I liked the sound it made.
Laurie, however, insisted that I got used to a pistol too, which she said was a much more practical weapon to rely on.
I grasped the semi-automatic pistol in my right hand, my index finger resting lightly against the trigger guard. I used my left hand to support the weapon and made sure my thumbs were clear of the hammer which would fly backwards as the gun was fired.
I removed the safety catch and took a deep breath as I steadied my aim at the target. I exhaled and squeezed the trigger. The target instantly lit up green. A huge smile split my face as I looked to Laurie for approval.
"Nice!" She moved forwards and slapped me a high five.
I watched as Taylor and Evander took aim, Evander managed a red hit but Taylor missed. He shot me a look as though daring me to laugh. I bit my lip to stop myself.
Each morning it was harder to get out of bed. I had thought I was fit before but we were working out at a whole other level. My muscles locked up overnight which wasn't helped by the fact that Taylor and I were still cramming ourselves into one small bed.
A hot shower each morning helped me to loosen up but it was followed by Laurie setting us increasingly difficult tasks. We worked alongside the lifers and time servers but never interacted with them directly. Laurie tried to keep us as far as possible from Dolly, the lifer who's name sounded like a twisted joke to me, and Grey, though I felt his eyes following me more often than I would have liked.
My aim with both knives and guns continued to improve and I took delight in my new found talents. I could reload and reassemble each of the guns without prompting too and Laurie showed us how to clean and sharpen our knives properly.
I wasn't making much progress with the hand to hand combat though. It seemed simple when Laurie showed me how to move and keep my temper in check but I just couldn't put it into practice. Every time I failed I could feel myself getting angry which made me more predictable, which annoyed me even more, which made me lose focus and fail miserably.
Taylor threw me to the mat every time I took him on and I had no chance of ever landing a hit on Laurie as far as I could see. I did better against Evander. He still wasn't friendly which helped as I didn't feel too bad about punching him.
"Just don't let anyone get near you," Laurie advised. "Take the shot, don't hesitate."
It was harder to avoid the lifers in the canteen. The Wardens kept an eye on us from their table at the far end of the room but they were more concerned with eating their own food, which was considerably nicer than ours.
We arrived late, I'd lost my temper during combat training and Laurie had taken pleasure in making me do a hundred push-ups. Taylor had loyally refused to leave me behind and was rewarded by joining me in my punishment.
My arms and shoulders burned with fatigue and my stomach grumbled hungrily.
The hall was laid out with rows of cafeteria tables and it w
as packed solid. Some of the convicts were loud and brash, shouting challenges and insults across the room to each other which occasionally deteriorated into scuffles. Others sat in silence, refusing conversation with anyone. A few groups had formed alliances, with the idea that they would stick together once the actual fighting began.
No one was interested in us. No one it seemed, except Grey.