Prologue 1.0
The deep fog of the forest had settled down. A lone white jeep sat on the road as a large carcass lay in the middle of the quiet paved street. A young man in his early twenties gazed out as the gruesome site caught his attention.
"Man, what a mess." he whispered as he began to approach the still body. His eyes never darting away from the crow infested corpse. The sight was fairly sickening in the stomach. He should be able to hold his own breakfast though. After all, in the academy, he did have the "pleasure" of getting to watch an autopsy being performed in a field trip.
Needless to say, he went vegetarian for a while after that.
"GET!" he barked as he waved his arms at the black servants of mother nature. Their loud shrieks caused his ears to ache. Quickly, they flapped their wings and left their meal. He bent down towards the victim. His Nike's gently brushed its head. Small bits of gravel clung to its skull. The red liquid pooled around the deceased; it reminded him vaguely of the Carrie scene when the preps came out and covered her with hog blood.
He could see the flies have already begun their work. They apparently have started laying eggs in the eye sockets where the library opticals were squished like grapes in a winery.
Poached eggs were not the best breakfast choice after all.
His blue outfit clung to his body as he moved in to get a closer look.
His eyes widened as a small scruff sound could be heard in the distance. He twisted his view to see two people on the side. One had his hands raised like some mummy in a B-Movie while the other just stood there looking at him. Just. staring at him as if the rest of the world meant nothing to the guy.
The young man slowly rose up from the dead body. Leon placed his hands on his hips and sighed.
The air was getting warmer; the fog slowly began to lift.
"Poor deer." he muttered as he turned his attention to the forest ranger and the driver.
"I swear I'm not drunk! It just jumped right in front of me!" the man whined. His greasy hair was pasted over his forehead as his beady eyes enlarged to the size of kiwis while watching the dirt colored officer slammed his iron gaze at his beer-bellied gut.
"Shut up. if you can't walk in a straight line or hold your arms straight in front of you; chances are you probably couldn't have the coordination to slam on the brakes."
Leon merely rolled his eyes. "What a good way to ruin a morning jog." Taking a moment to stretch his calves again, he continued on his usual morning route in the Glendale Wildlife National Park. His tank top felt cool against his skin as the sweat began to hit the wind again. A pair of shades was wrapped around his face while a heart meter was strapped to his arm.
He felt sorry for the man. It could be worse though. His father would've probably have the guy cuffed, stuck his baton at his throat and force the guy to apologize to the fallen creature. He himself was not too fond of being struck by a car.
His hand gently rose to the scalp behind his right ear, touching the old stitch scars. Even though he couldn't remember how it happened; it happened. He lost probably four years of his life from it too. He shook his head. He didn't want to think of depressing stuff now. He should just enjoy his run while he still can.
Running five miles a day wasn't too bad. Except for waking up at the butt crack of dawn, it was fairly enjoyable. His white Sony radio was turned off. He was sick of the media talking nothing but the cannibal murders going around the forest area in Raccoon. He should listen. After all, a cop, even a soon-to-be one, had to be familiar with a case from bottom up. But the cannibal story was everywhere; from every headline to every reporter's lips. It was voted by TIME as the biggest news-story since the OJ Simpson trial. The city is under a curfew for the time being. Stores were closing as early as six just so they can get to their loved ones before the blanket of darkness hit.
There was a real fascination with the case though. The problem is that it also leads to a slight elevation in the imagination. Many people were declared missing. Most victims lived in the country or the outskirts of the suburban areas. He remembered waiting at the gas station once and saw something in the Enquirer about a farmer who said he knows who the killers were. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~
"TWAS Aliens!" exclaimed Peter Faust of Raccoon City, Ohio. After five long weeks, since the first cannibal report, the police were at last able to find a witness to the recent disappearances and murders. Faust, 32, was in his barn when he claimed to have heard a scream coming from his home.
EQ: So tell me Mr. Faust, what did you do after you heard the scream?
PF: I recognized it the second I heard that. It was the Misses. When I got in there; that was when I saw it. A genuine martian.
EQ: Could you elaborate for our readers out there?
PF: Well let me remind you they aren't green like them movies portray them. They look white. They smelled funny too. but what do you expect. Martians don't take baths. This here didn't have any hair either. I do remember seeing its eyes. White as a newborn lamb's coat. Shoot, to be honest, the alien looked a little like my neighbor Tommy Tucker. Course Tommy eats like a horse and this one apparently was skinnier than a string bean.
EQ: What did you do when you met this extraterrestrial? Did you attempt any communication whatsoever?
PF: Oh HELL no. I ran down and grabbed my baby from the rack and shot the thing right between the eyes dead as a doornail.
EQ: I see. so if you managed to kill this thing, where is the body?
PF: Well... you see these men in a black van.
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Leon's thoughts cut off as he slowed his jog to a walk. He could see the Academy's brass gates up ahead. The guard was shuffling through his paper as Leon began to dig through his wallet for his ID. The old man turned his attention towards him.
"Don't even bother, besides, you look nothing like your picture with all that hair gone at the time," he smiled.
Leon quickly shoved the leather money holder in his back pocket.
"Isn't my fault that they shave the newbies on the first day." He remembered that night well. He was really exhausted from the trip and an hour of poker with Scott, Steve, and Alias. He crashed on his sofa and by the time he was awake enough, his seniors already pinned his arms and legs with the razor buzzing halfway down his scalp. It didn't really piss him off considering it was a small little joke for all the new guys. The fact that Steve cheated in their game made him a little more sore than his balding experience.
He reached up and touched his tresses. It took about a year, but they were finally thick and delicately danced around his eyes when he became a sophomore.
The old man gave a weak smile as he held the picture up to Leon's features. Besides the hair, the boy actually looked younger due to the amount of physical fitness he endured here. "Has it really been three years?"
He nodded as he reached for the ID card. "Fraid so. guess that means you won't be catching my morning runs anymore."
"Pshaw. there will be others. You're just one of the crazier ones who will do this every morning for the rest of your life. Jesus, you're training to be a cop, not a marine. Being a cop is nothing like on television where every time you see a suspect, you'll be chasing them from rooftop to rooftop. Ninety percent of the time, you'll be filling out reports. Your physical fitness tests are long past over. All you are doing is wasting away your knees."
"Hey, I can't help it if I enjoy running! I can do it all day if I want." he grinned as he faced him while walking backwards. His smile revealed his pearly teeth as he waved and turned to head back to the dormitory where he could take a shower before graduation practices.
Prologue 1.1
"What was that?" Claire mumbled out loud. Her jittery small hand, grasped the Dilbert-themed coffee cup. She brought the river of caffeine to her lips and took a big sip out of the mug. She was probably imagining things. That's what four six hours of constant studying over a dead language's literature will do to a person. It was probably just some librarian putting up some books. Maybe it was a bird? After all, the roof had small places where a bird may make a nest outside. The windows weren't exactly that thick. However, she felt. watched, not just today but all month long.
It was strange. In her dorm, she has been feeling very uncomfortable, especially in front of the mirror. Her instincts have never lied to her before but they are going off like crazy for far too long. It was worse in public places though. She made sure that her study area was directly beneath a security camera.
The lights blinked. Was it midnight already? Usually the librarians would do this to remind the students of the time. It also showed that she has been in here too long. She needed to get home before her roommate Eliza became worried. With the recent surge of kidnappings, murders and supposed cannibalism going on right now; midnight went from daily night riding period to stay in either your dorm or someplace public.
She began to gather her heavy textbooks. She licked her chapped, seashell lips as she placed each one of the expensive reading material into her large black backpack. Grabbing a crimson sweater, she slipped it over her long chocolate strands. She than picked up a large combat knife off the table and slipped it in her pocket. Let's see some crazy drunk try to rape her now!
The beautiful blade was almost half a foot long and at least an inch in width. Best of all, it was conceivable and had an ease of access to it from her pocket. The problem was that it smelled pretty bad. Despite it being clean and shiny, the only use she had with it prior hand was to scale the assorted blue gill and bass she would catch from fishing at a small lake in Huntington. After a while, no matter how much soap she used, she could never get the scent off. But looks didn't matter. It was still sharp enough to shave a piece of thread into several layers.
Standing up to her full five foot six figure, she paced herself through the narrow corridors of the various histories of China, Spain and Rome. The library was the idea definition of "Renaissance." The place was filled with statues of half nude women with stone scarves that danced around their bodies as well as various murals of famous events. One that often caught her eye was the "Washington Crosses the Deleware" copy. It was so close to the original that ironically, when the water pipes busted four years ago; the water seemed to soak in and gave it that aged look that the original carried.
Claire shook her head. Has she spent far too long in this building to become. a bookworm? Claire briefly allowed a small chuckle to escape her lips from the though of her brother seeing her like this. Ever since he was kicked out, Chris had been tearing his hair right and left to keep her in college. She's offered several times to "take a couple of years off" but he still gave her the same pipe-in-ass lecture about the importance of getting a college education. Their last conversation disturbed her though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
The tall muscular veteran drummed his fingers against the old cedar table. His body hunched on the edge of the bed. Clair walked by the room as he fingers rhythmically tapped the wooden furniture faster and faster. She knew that was a bad sign.
"Tuition went up again. didn't it?" she spoke, making her way towards him. She awaited a furious burst of anger to seize his body. She puffed up her chest picturing him tossing furniture about or going off to take his pistol and just randomly fire it in the woods. Chris did neither. He did do the worst of the two.
He stayed silent.
The clock's ticking filled the quiet room for ten minutes. Chris dropped the paper carelessly before his head sank between his knees.
"They laid me off today. Apparently there was an executive shakeup and the new guy decided to cut back. My route was declared to have far too little cargo. I'm unemployed until they reroute it to more popular areas."
Chris laid his head on his sister's lap. Claire just sat there staring at the dresser in front of her. She was the one who usually allowed her emotions to pour out for him. Claire didn't even look down as she placed a hand on his cheek, and brushed her hand on his stubble face.
He hasn't been shaving.
She moved it up a little to find the soft indentures under his eyes.
He hasn't been getting enough rest.
She touched a small tear that had rolled on the side.
Oh Chris. you're not a failure.
"I'm sorry, Claire." he whispered.
She always wondered when all this pressure would shatter his heroic armor shell. He tried so hard to make things work out. He almost lost her to a foster home when they threatened to take her away after Mom and Dad died from a car wreck.
Long story; most of it was legalistic hell anyways.
After all, he was in the Air Force back then.
You can't exactly raise a sibling hundreds of miles away. or thousands of feet above.
His plans were that after his time was up, he was going to become a commercial pilot at an airport so that he could support her.
Plans never work out the way they were meant to.
Something happened. what he never told her always stating it was "none of her business." Whatever it was, it was bad enough to get him kicked out leaving a permanent mark stating, "Dishonorably discharged." He never could get into any work after that. At first it was just temp stuff. now he's a full time UPS man. If she weren't eighteen, they would've probably taken her away in a heartbeat.
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That was the last time she saw him. He was depressed, broke, and with out a job. He told her that he decided to go to Raccoon to see if he could find work with Umbrella. The weirdness didn't stop there.
When she went to the office of admission to ask for an extension on the bill. it was all paid off. Not just that semesters bill. all $52,354 for the past loans and future payments were taken care of as well. The mortgage, electric, water. even the piling credit card debts were as if they never existed. At first she thought it was some hacker who managed to get into their account.
She later learned that each check was made under a Swiss Bank account.
Where could all that money come from? Where has Chris disappeared?
It hit her. Logically "no money= Chris" or "money = no Chris." Her hand slowly grasped her mouth. She pulled in a heavy breath. She shouldn't be thinking of such things. Chris wanted her to do nothing but go to college and dammit, that's what she's going to do. Sure hundreds of thousands of dollars suddenly appearing and clearing all the bills out was a little on the strange side but perhaps she should consider it a blessing from God? After all he's done for them. it's the least the guy from above could do.
Claire walked towards the elevator. The building's design was simply amazing; world-renowned architect, George Trevor who also designed the Ashford Mansion, Lord Benjamin's Chateau in London, designed it as well as various other buildings. He even finds time to design the common places as well. Raccoon City is full of them considering it was his birthplace. He filled the place with small quirks that just bring a smile to anyone's face. The elevator buttons didn't have simple up and down keys. One had a feather and the other a small flame. She found out that it was to symbolize heaven and hell. Pity that the buttons will have to be altered to normal ones soon after a lawsuit from an atheist was filed last year. Sad to see a little creativity disappears from this bureaucratic world.
The door slowly opened. A clammy feeling filled her stomach as she stepped in. Inside was a young woman in her mid twenties. Her stunning blood red hair was neatly tied in a bun with small strands carefully drawn on each cheek. The eyes were a dark emerald green. her skin was a ghost white.
She was the type who you could see, never meet or know their name and recognize in a flash. That was the sad part.
Everywhere she's gone, since Chris' disappearance; this woman was here watching.
"Second floor, child," the woman quietly spoke. For looking so young, her language was quite formal. Not to mention the way she dressed. It was white business attire with a female scarf as a necktie and a button down vest underneath. While she did look rather beautiful in it, she looked more like a student than a possible professor.
Claire yawned loudly, patting her open mouth gently. With the sound of a beep; the young girl started walking out the door and into the street. Tugging the hood strings, she made her march towards the dormitory buildings.
Prologue 1.3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Dear, I think you missed the exit two miles back," spoke Kathy as she daintily cupped her hands on her legs. Her light brown hair was combed from side to side as the window brushed it back.
Kenneth grumbled as a white Porsche slicked by their Oldsmobile and sandwiched between the truck ahead and the front of their car.
"Damn teenagers. if I had car like that, you wouldn't catch me banging it like some monster truck rally."
Kathy groaned and placed her slim hand over her face right before her husband sends the middle finger faster than a cash register making a sale. She sighed. He was a cop after all. Of course he was going to notice every thing wrong with everyone else's driving. Pity he is becoming over stressed since he is off duty and can't do a thing about it but complain.
"LEARN HOW TO DRIVE! *BEEP BEEP*" he shouted as his large hand banged on the horn. His face was strong and fairly chiseled considering he was in his late forties. His body was barreled while his toned forearms rested against the wheel. Kathy turned towards Cameron who was curled in a fetal position sleeping like a newborn baby. Than again, with his hair all shaved off to the stubbles, he really did look like an adult baby as well as a mirror- like image of his father when he was younger. Leon took after most of his grandfather's looks. It was fairly obvious since he was the only one with bright blue eyes and everyone else had brown. She reached over and stroked her son's neck as he begins to give off a toothy grin.
". not another round, Megan.." He smiled.
"Megan?" Kathy's eyes widen.
"MEGAN!!" screamed Ken as he slammed the car in the middle of the highway and sent his son rolling to the floor. "WHO THE HELL IS MEGAN!?! DON'T TELL ME YOU WERE OUT HAVING SEX AGAIN!!"
Cameron climbed back into the seat, this time sitting up. "Dad, I'm 27 years old. I think I should have a sex life by now. Besides, there is no way I'm going to Kuwait and only to die a virgin," he spoke, as the car started moving once more.
"You're not going to die a virgin," Ken grumbled.
"Of course not, I lost that a long time ago with Jessica."
Ken's left eye twitched. God he wished Cameron would be a little private with some aspects of his life.
"You're not going to die, period." His tone was a bit more fatherly but the gruff cords still shown through. "Chances of you not coming back are slim to none. Only about 180 people actually died in the Gulf. and most of those were from accidents." Ken hated Cameron's "death talks". They were morbid and unnecessary. He really didn't feel like going through the redundant Kuwait lectures with him again. "Cameron, can you reach underneath my seat and get the map. I think if I take the next exit, I should be fine, but, I'm not sure."
"Sure thing," he spoke as Ken smiled at his, subject-change, victory. Cameron unfolded the large map and began to trace the route with his pointer. "Geez Dad, you could've been up there by now if you hadn't missed the Lloyd Expressway Exit. here it is. yeah, if you do take that next exit, you can circle back to the Academy," Cameron mumbled as he folded the map and stuffed it in the white mesh pocket.
Kathy reached down for a newspaper. She was bored when they reached the diner there and picked it up. She tilted down towards her brown leather purse to produce a pair of reading glasses from the handbag. "Mercy of Jesus."
"What is it, Mom?" Cameron spoke as he leaned his head forward.
"Do you remember that cannibal case from CNN? Apparently the murderers have struck again; this time two children who were walking to school. They were apparently bitten but the oddest thing was that they did not die from their wounds. they only received some scratches and a bite mark a piece. instead, they were both found with gun shot wounds to the head."
As the car approached the stoplight, Ken slipped his foot from the gas to the break. "That is strange. From what I've read; all those who were attacked either disappeared or were chewed beyond recognition. I never heard of gunshot wounds in any of the stories. Did they trace the bullet print to any particular weapon?"
"They are still working on that. The bullets used apparently came from handguns. Also, the prints from each bullet are different. This means that there was more than one shooter. I don't like this, Ken. How many murders came from that city? 10? 20?"
"I think the body count has reached 14 dead and 22 missing, Mom."
"Ken, I don't want Leon to go working in that city. You said the position in Mercury is still unfilled."
"Look, if the boy wants to go to the Raccoon City Police Department, let him. He's obviously earned it. Plus, Raccoon has Umbrella currently operating there. The salaries are supposed to be extremely high for an incoming rookie. even more for long timers. That boy will have his damn tuition loans paid off in no time. if he doesn't find a woman and waste a good amount like that one girl. anyways. now if you watch the news more, you will notice NOT ONE officer has died from the case. They are not going to send Leon on those types of missions for at least a year. They only need more policemen to help calm the city down. After that, they will probably lay people off when the case is closed. If Leon happens to find himself out of a job, I'll just contact Mercury and he can work with me. Either way, Leon is going to be fine. Besides, top honor graduates pretty much can choose where they want to go. The worst he can do; is get shot on the first day," he spoke as he gestured his finger as a pistol and pointed it to his chest.
Ken turned towards his wife. Her eyes welled up a bit. Apparently after twenty-eight years of marriage, she still isn't use to his humor. He reached over and rubbed her shoulder. Then again, it could be empty-nest syndrome. She was like this before. When Leon first left for college and Cameron attending boot camp; Kathy did nothing but cleaned the house and read the bible. He got her an orange tabby cat to hopefully help her ease that motherly instinct she had. Unfortunately, Garfield, as she later came to name it, became fairly overweight with her constant feeding to the point where it would do nothing but sit all day. Even walking to the water dish was exhausting for the poor feline. Then Cameron moved back in after completing his training and managed to cure her of her small depression.
*now he's moving back out. what the hell are you going to do now.* Ken thought to himself.
"I wonder if its menopause?" he mumbled as his hand systematically turns the right turning signal on. Hr reached over towards the rear-view mirror and aimed it at his elder son. He was back to dreaming of god knows what. It felt strange having him back there after all this time. Then again, he's always away on base.
Ken's eyes turned towards the sign.
"Ohio Academy of Law Enforcement. Honey, could you wake up Cameron and tell him we are here?" he spoke as his eyes searched for a parking spot.
Kathy twisted towards the sleeping GI. His body slumped with his mouth slightly opened.
"Cameron?" she whispered.
"Phff, no wonder he's worried about getting killed in battle. You could probably shoot his big toe off and he still won't wake up."
Kathy frowned. "You hush up. Wake up, baby," she murmured switching from her firm to sweet voice as she gently rubbed his kneecap.
Cameron twitched his nose as his hand flung to the seat belt and released its grasp. His black button down was already wrinkled from his nap. His large hand grabbed his chin and started to pop the bones in his neck.
Ken walked out of his door. He reached in the back for a lint brush as he began to sweep off some of the Pringle chips off of the cotton black cloth. Making his way around the front of the car, he reached over and opened the door.
Cameron stood there and slipped his hands in his grey trousers. It amazes him sometimes. He knew Dad could be an asshole when he's handing out tickets or busting under drinkers at frats but not once. at least in front of him. has he ever displayed his Mr. Hyde side to Mom. Who can't? She's your grade-A all American Bible-totter. She's probably the only one who he actually tries avoid any cussing around; except in church. Usually he's either doing taxes or half a sleep during the Preacher's sermons.
Kathy took a moment to gaze in the reflection of the mirror. Her hands worked vigorously as she tucked in any flaws in her hair and began to reapply a new layer of rose-colored lipstick. Straightening her pink skirt, she smiled as her husband placed a muscular arm around her shoulder, walking over the asphalt parking lot and towards the grey marble steps towards the dormitories.
Prologue 1.4
Leon's fingers grasped the brass buttons on his uniforms. He only had about four more hours before the ceremony starts and they still haven't arrived yet.
"Must've missed the exit again." he spoke as he pulled his white rope around his arm.
"I don't blame him. shit, god knows how many times I've missed it and was late coming back," spoke his roommate as he buffed the shine in his shoes.
"Rob, this is my Dad. he's the type who memorizes roads just to see where he can ticket the most people."
"People age, he's just becoming another donut gut and soon will probably switch to parking meters just so he can tub the blubber." The black polish matched his dark hair. While Leon remained the class clown; Rob was the loner who sits by himself in the lunch room and doesn't say a word unless you talk to him. Great guy though.
Leon walked over towards his dresser. His hands began to search for a pair of black socks. "I'm more worried about his health than how much his stomach expands. He doesn't run like he use to; every time I see him, he's always yelling or stuffing food like--I don't know. Biggie McFries-while-shoveling-a-gallon- of-milkshakes-down-his-throat.FUCK" Leon smashed the drawer shut, resting his palms against the wood and leaning his head against the edge.
Rob watched his grip on the grain turn his fingers purple. He raises an eyebrow. "You are such a hypocrite."
Leon jerked his head. "What do you mean? I'm not a hypocrite!"
Rob laughed quietly. "Well think about it. you just got pissed off that he's always pissed off. And don't let me even NAME your usual diet plan. I'll give you a hint. they are fried. and at one point of their life, they clucked and laid eggs. God Leon, loosen up, its Graduation day. Not that 'time of the month'."
Leon sat on his bed. "I know. you know me. I'm never like this. maybe sometimes I wish I was. people would listen to me more. just. I just don't want to lose my Dad this early in my life."
Rob walked over, reached out and pulled the roll of socks he was hunting for earlier. "Listen, if your old man, is that damned about being a cop; chances are that he's going to have the yearly physical. all of the MPDs are suppose to take it. Correct? Now. in order to pass, he has to get ready for it. If he's served a long time, chances are, he's not stupid to exercise at the last minute... and will probably be eating better and visiting the gym more."
Rob handed him the pair and placed a hand on his shoulder.
That was one main reason why he enjoyed rooming with Rob. The guy has a way of making sense of things, insulting you, and actually makes you feel good about it. "I guess.thanks."
"No problem. sadly, despite fitting in my uniform. I have a feeling that we'll all end up in his position."
"Fat and irritable?" Leon spoke, dropping his voice a few notes lower.
"Yep. I can picture it now. scratching our exposed bellies as they pop out of our belts with one hand and filling out reports with the other."
"I don't really want to envision that. maybe I'll get lucky and get diabetes so I can't eat stuff with too much sugar." The thought of him winding up as overweight by the end of his career was not too appealing. "You maybe in luck though. I heard Umbrella could get really picky if their security gets a little gut. Sure you can live off salad for the rest of your life?"
Rob nodded. "I can live with being a night security guard at their upcoming Utah plant. Shit, I would live off croutons just to keep a job there. With the money I start off of; I can easily pay for a new house and make a few down payments on a car after about a year."
Leon smiled. "I heard. Too bad their health plan sucks. Plus it sounds like boring work. The most exciting thing there will probably be is skinned cats and cancer lab rats. Otherwise I would join you in a heartbeat."
A small buzzer rang in the one room dormitory. Leon paced himself over towards a small intercom and began to hold down the old fashion button.
"Cadet Kennedy speaking," his voice shifted to a more commanding tone. You never know if it's the Instructor deciding to play a surprise visit.
"Leon, we're down here. Could you let us in?"
"Oh.sure. hold on." he stuttered as his finger released the button while the other dove for his cover on the desk. "They're here," he turned towards Rob as he exited through the door. Leon walked quickly as he shot down the hallway.
It wasn't anything fancy. Plain white walls surrounded his silhouette with aged tiles under his shiny black soles. The clicking noise of each heel was unavoidable. It echoed as he passed other cadets all strung around the sides, greeting fellow family members or idle chitchat about memories past. His friends waved as he smiled while keeping his hat tucked under his arm. He made a turn around the study lounge and began to place his hat on. Tucking any lose strands of hair, he made his way in through the exit. He suddenly stopped at the top of the stairway and began to search for his family. The blue tint of his gaze caught sight of the familiar dress uniform of the Mercury Police Department next to the fountain. "Hey! Over here!" Leon shouted as he descended down the path.
Prologue 1.5
The middle-aged woman made her way towards him. Leon smiled; he leaned down to her petite height so she could hug her youngest of the family. Mr. Kennedy followed, carrying her white knitted shawl. Cameron coolly strolled behind with his hands in his pocket.
"I still can't believe this day actually has come," she smiled.
"I'll say. no more paying ten thousand dollars a year so you learn to fire a damn peashooter." smirked Cameron.
"Yeah, tell me about it. once you get used to a Desert Eagle. its hard to get use to something with weaker recoil." Ken began to smirk with Leon's words. Leon's eye caught his father's as he turned the other cheek. His father rarely ever smiled like that. Something was up. He then remembered Cameron emailing him about his graduation gift.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
LEON! You should see your present for when you get out of the academy. Prepare the lotion and the tissues. I swear you are going to be jacking off to it every night as soon as it touches your fingers.
Cameron Chocobo_Cloud666@hotmail.com
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"God, he makes it sound like its going to be some centerfold from a porn magazine." Leon thought awkwardly.
"I'm starving. Leon, you know anywhere we can eat at before the ceremony starts?" His hand massaged his belly as he smacked his lips at the end of the sentence.
"There's a steakhouse about ten minutes here. We can walk and should be back in time."
"Mmmm, that's what I'm talking about. A BIG three inch steak in A-1 sauce."
"DAD!" Leon frowned.
"Son, it's a good day to celebrate. I'm sure indulging for one day, isn't going to kill me. I'll drink a slim fast for dinner, and all will be well." There was merriment in his voice.
"Alright, I guess, one day won't hurt. At least eat a salad with your meal." Ken let out a thunderous chuckle as he put his arm around him while the family began the trek to the restaurant.
The walk was fairly long. However, the warm sun and the gentle breeze from the east made the hike quite pleasant. Apparently other families had the same idea. The steak house received most of its customers from the academy after all. The business became so dependant on cadets and instructors that the owner hired extra workers to take their weapons and covers and place them in little cubby holes till their meal was over. Leon himself rarely used them since cadets usually weren't allowed carry firearms around. But he was on the rifle team, and they usually stopped by here after practice. It was a good place to enjoy a little liquor and hang out without the worry of some surprise inspection. The place was also fairly cheap as well. Four dollars for all you can eat as well as surprisingly hearty servings of meat for less than five. The family owned business was used to the herds of cadets that came everyday. Today was especially busy though. Waiters and waitresses all decked out in black aprons, clean white shirts and little red bows hurried past each other while balancing three or four plates of food.
A cute blond haired woman in her early twenties walked up to them. Her hips swung side to side as her Barbie smile appeared to be molded on her face.
"Hello, welcome to Alexia's Home-style Steakhouse and Buffet. will this all be on the same check?" Her heavily mascara eyes blinked.
"One check. hmmm, booth. four party. smoking section." spoke Ken as he was gazing at the various photos of the academy that were blown up and framed on the sides.
"Alright, firearms and hats please!" There was a disturbing small chime in her voice as Leon pulled the cover from his arm and handed it over. The girl looked over Ken and held her hand out. Ken dug from under his uniform jacket and produced a Browning Hi Power 9mm. It wasn't exactly a standard weapon for the MPD but he felt partial to the silver colored weapon.
"Hold on," spoke Cameron as he dug into his pockets and produced a small black handgun.
"Ohhhhh, it's so adorable," she smiled as she rumbled her bosom a bit. I haven't seen a gun that tiny.
"It's a Jennings J22. I agree, it is a cute gun," smiled Cameron. "It's light so it's easy to carry around with." His hand moved over towards her as he started to name off the features of each part. He then took a moment to check out a few of her own features above her sixteen inch barrel.
Ken turned towards his wife and gently nudged her shoulder. She sighed as she began to dig in her purse. Her hand pulled out an HK MK23 SOCOM. "You know, most wives receive flowers on their anniversary."
"Come on Mom, the only people who actually carry those things are Navy Seals or high risk police officers. It's a really nice weapon," spoke Leon as the waitress handed them a number for their cubby hole.
"I don t see why all of you get so giddy in the sight of that thing. Its big, heavy and I can t put as much make up in my purse as I use to. But enough of that, may we please be seated? I believe that s all of it unless Ken is hiding a rocket launcher under his coat sleeve."
"Why of course. This way." She guided them through the busy red carpet walkway. Each table had an oak tint with a small table tent decorated with advertisement. They finally reached their black-colored seats. Leon and Cameron on one side, Kathy and Ken on the other. Handing them the laminated menus, the waitress waited patiently for them to order.
"Hmp, never seen a menu with the Nutritional Labels among the sides."
"Dad, those are for the cadets in the weight loss training program. It's so that they know how much they intake and what foods are best for them."
"What would you all like to drink?" She chimed as she prepared her sheet.
"I'll take a Sprite."
"Same here."
"Yeah."
"Diet please," squeaked Kathy.
"Alright, three Sprites and a Diet. I'll have your drinks ready in a bit."
Cameron turned from side to side. "Hey Leon, could you let me out. I need to go and take a leak."
"Well, I might as well join you, I got to go myself. Hey Dad, if the waitress comes back before I do, could you get me the honey ham platter with green beans and mash potatoes?"
"Sure, son."
"Oh yeah, and get me the Lasagna with corn and sweet rolls," spoke Cameron as the two siblings headed for the men's room.
The lavatory was empty. A giant mirror was propped against the wall surrounded by peach tile and white wall paper. The two did their business and walked over towards the sink.
"You excited?" Cameron mumbled out of nowhere. Leon s hand approached the soap dispenser and giving it a squeeze.
"About what? Getting out of here? Seeing you guys?"
Cameron nodded his head. "About everything."
Leon was dumbfounded by his brother's question. He turned towards the mirror and noticed he was looking at him with a bit of sadness in his face. Not the indifferent face that was often shown in his eyes or the cool whatever-arms crossed appearance. It felt strange. At that moment, he actually looks like he cared about him. He needed to know some idea at what Cameron was talking about. "Is this the brotherly talk that you were talking about in the email?"
A muffled laugh escaped his lips. "Yes, but I wasn't planning on having it in a steakhouse porcelain palace. I figured since we were both here, away from Mom and Dad, that we might as well have it."
Leon faced himself in the mirror once more. "I guess. It'll feel strange not having to beg Mom or Dad for money."
"Pffhh, I'm five years older than you and I still beg Mom and Dad for money. Then again they consider you the good son and I'm just the one who's shitting around. But, it's true though. Planning on staying at the house and commute back and forth? The drive is only about twenty minutes through the desert."
He shook his head. "Nope, one of my friends, DJ Baker, is also going to work there. Since he already lives there, I m just going to stay at his place until I make enough to make a few down payments on a place of my own. What about you? You seem too thrilled at the though of going to a third world country to make democracy prevail once again."
"I am, but, it's the chance you are going to die thing that bothers me. I haven't really done much with my life 'cept shitting around. The most I've done was get a high school degree and joined the Army because I needed something to do besides flipping hamburgers. If I had a chance to do it all over."
His gaze turned towards the light. The warm yellow color shimmered in his chestnut brown eyes.
"I probably would've winded up the same way due to my laziness. Right now, there is a chance I'll come back in a body bag with only my right hand in tact. You'll probably end up as a chief at the rate you are going."
Leon put his hand on his face and narrow his eyes. "Why do you always have to be like this, Cameron? You have enough talent to make it out there, and you still compare yourself as 'white trash'," Leon thought to himself as he cued to listen to the last of his pessimistic brother's advice.
".Get a wife, get laid, pop some kids, and just remember,"
Leon turned from side to side. "Don't shit off?"
"Exactly."
A glare of distaste quietly slipped on Leon's face."That's it. Time to brush up on changing the subject before he gets into his 'nobody will care when I'm gone' speech."
Leon shifted into a smile and relaxed from his stiff position. "So what do you think of that cute waitress?"
"I give her a 9.8... Nice rack, her butt looks squeezable soft. I think I should ask her number when it comes time for the bill."
Leon's smile widened. He knew his brother's weaknesses like a poker player exposing his hand to everyone. Women ranked above anything else. If he was attracted, the woman would have to pull a firearm to his head and fire before he would look away from their 'boots'. God he loved sibling rivalry. Even at this age, it was still fun.
"You should," the almost-cop quickly replied as he crossed his arms and flashed a cool smirk.
"So was there anyone bangable at the Academy?"
Leon flinched as awkwardness took over his body once more.
Cameron grinned. He knew the little shit's weaknesses like a poacher going to a zoo to hunt. Women ranked above anything else. If he hears the word along with anything erotic, the woman would have to pull a pistol to his head, fill it with lead, before he would slide back into reality from flustering. God he loved fucking with his mind. Even at this age, he never grew tired of it.
"No. There were females, but only instructors, besides, most seemed a little butch."
"I can always hook you up with someone. Maybe that waitress has a sister?"
"I don t know, she's cute, but not my type. Besides why would you want to help me find someone? It's not like I need assistance in the field."
Cameron reached over, hugged him, and ruffled his hair. "I don't care if you are another Backstreet Boy clone, I'm your brother. If the chick is to ever become my sister-in-law, I should get some say in the matter." His fist grinded into his scalp, but eased up a bit as they heard the door open.
An elderly gentleman suddenly walked in. His brown eyes widened as he began to sink back outside. "I'll leave you two alone. Could you keep whatever you were doing inside a stall next time and not out here," mumbling as he ran back to the dining area.
The two looked each other in the eye silently before Cameron spoke out.
"Did he just think we were gay?" He garbled as he let go of his brother while maintaining a dumbfounded look.
"Well considering you are in the Army and I go to an all male academy, what would you conclude?"
"Good point."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
"Dammit, where are those two?"
"Oh dear, let them take their time. After all, you tend to be in there for hours especially when the Sunday paper comes," Kathy spoke. Her hands gently sliced the baked salmon that was lightly hinted with lemon.
Ken began to stab at his hunk of beef. "Well if they don t hurry up, their food is going to get cold."
All of a sudden, a drop of the tender juices from his food dripped from his fork and on his coat. He turned towards Cameron's plate and noticed a small napkin underneath. He gently grabbed it and noticed a small phone number and lipstick kiss on it.
"Kellie Frost?" He mumbled as he read the name before quickly placing it back when his view of his sons came about. He turned towards them as they descended down in their seats. "I've seen a herd of sorority girls do their business AND manage to powder their noses in less time."
"Oh dad, we were only gone for about ten minutes." Cameron reached over for the napkin. He looked at it. His eyes sheepishly closed as his cheeks flushed before carefully folding it and slipping it in his wallet.
Prologue 1.6
Claire coolly exited the classroom. Her body was worn down a bit from the long lecture. Two hands gently tapped on her shoulder. Claire sucked in a quick breath as a blast of tight curls tickled her cheek.
"Hey Claire, I'll call you tonight about the Oedipus essay okay?"
"Sure thing, Tirina!"
"Great. See ya later girl-FRIEND!"
The dark African smiled as she turned towards a small vender selling chili cheese dogs.
Claire's eyes felt extremely tired that evening. Good thing she didn't have class tomorrow. She needed plenty of rest. Leaving the Fine Arts Building, Claire strolled over towards the crosswalk. Her slim pointer pressed the button. She took a small sigh as she patiently waited for the color of the light to change to red. She tapped her foot as the electronic device seemed to take its sweet time.
Claire slowly turned to her left as a small group of people gathered by her, waiting for the color to change as well. Red began to fill her vision again. However, it wasn't the light she was hoping for.
"That woman again," Claire thought frustratingly with herself. The same hair that matched the hue of the traffic signal smiled wickedly at her. The two didn't even exchange words.
Claire closed her eyes. "It's just a coincidence. This is a very popular light and probably the fastest way to cross the busy street. If she was a professor, and class ends. of course she would be out here. She sticks out. There are probably many people out there that you see a lot but they blend in too well for you to notice. There is only one way to find out."
Reaching deep into her bag, she quickly produced a small compact. She rarely wears makeup but she always found it useful sometimes. Holding the device in front of her face, she began to dab her nose with the soft cloth inside; at the same time, she used her other hand to carefully adjust it so she could see what the mysterious stalker was up to.
It was fairly obvious that unless she was a lesbian, she had no plans on raping her. Her dormitory had nothing of value inside nor did she carry anything worth stealing. Even with the bills all paid up, she doesn't have enough money with her to buy a newspaper.
But whatever the reason was; it didn't matter. She almost dropped the accessory right as shock kicked in. The wind somehow picked up a bit; as if an angel came in and lifted the material herself. Under her coat was an object that remained strapped onto her vest.
Silvery in color; deadly in nature.
She wasn't stupid. Not even the ROTC instructors here carried handguns. Was she going to use it to kill her?
"I am NOT going to wait around to find out." She dashed across the crosswalk; dodging cars left and right like some squirrel seeking suicidal road kill status. Sound of horns blasted from all around. Taunts and insults roared from the driving rage madness. Claire halted as a car came close to smacking her into the thigh. Instinctively she puts her hand just as the white truck screeched to a stop and bounced up and down. Hesitating a bit, she continued till she was on the other side. Out of breath, she coughed violently; spitting the flood of saliva in her mouth.
She turned back. Apparently the woman wants to play Frogger with her as well. For someone who's not dressed for the part, she apparently has the speed of a fox. Her body nimbly guided through the traffic like some bat using its radar senses. In a quarter, of the time, that it took Claire; she was almost to the other side and hot on the biker's trail.
Claire ran down the sidewalk. She dropped her book bag to lose any heavy loads that may slow her down. Her eye caught hold of an Emergency phone. The phones were placed all over campus and that if it was taken off its ringer, police would come in a heartbeat. "YES!"
Her lungs felt like someone shoved weights down them. The fact that she hadn't had lunch or something to drink made it worse. She felt her body pleading for any source of energy. She took a quick look again. The red- head doesn't even look like a hair was even out of place. She's coming at her faster than ever while wearing one-inch pumps! That was when she saw it.
The world slowed down. Minutes became seconds; seconds into nanoseconds. A small black SUV began to slow down next to her. Claire's eyes widened as if in slow motion, a man pulled out what looked like submachine gun. Claire stupidly stopped like some deer in the grasp of headlights.
She heard the trigger and felt the bullet make contact right in the middle of her chest area. The red liquid squirted all around as she fell to the ground, still staring at the sky. The woman walked up towards her. She touched her wound.
The woman smiled as she got up and left. Claire shuddered, feeling the life drain out of her. Suddenly, she heard it. Her blue eyes rolled over to the side as a cop car began to pull up. The man's blond hair was neatly combed back while a pair of black shades covered his gaze.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Claire: WAIT A MINUTE!! I CAN'T DIE THIS EARLY! I'm one of the main characters!
Leon: WEEEEEE! More screen time for me!!
Claire: Shut up, you dork. At least I didn't get my head shaved on the first day school!
Leon: Well, no one said you died. Well maybe you did, I think a shot in the center of the chest is pretty serious. I think that would be cool if you were a ghost. Like that one movie. you know, the one with Brandon Lee and the black bird.
Claire: I don't think the writer likes me. You get free food at a Steakhouse with some Britney Spear's clone as your waitress and I get stuck studying hours and hours on a Theater test. You think I'll get cut some slack?
Leon: No clue, I guess we'll find out in part two of the Prologue of. ummm. does this story even have a title?
Claire: The author is too stupid to think of one
Leon: Now, now Claire. be nice. I'm sure the readers out there could help her out.
The deep fog of the forest had settled down. A lone white jeep sat on the road as a large carcass lay in the middle of the quiet paved street. A young man in his early twenties gazed out as the gruesome site caught his attention.
"Man, what a mess." he whispered as he began to approach the still body. His eyes never darting away from the crow infested corpse. The sight was fairly sickening in the stomach. He should be able to hold his own breakfast though. After all, in the academy, he did have the "pleasure" of getting to watch an autopsy being performed in a field trip.
Needless to say, he went vegetarian for a while after that.
"GET!" he barked as he waved his arms at the black servants of mother nature. Their loud shrieks caused his ears to ache. Quickly, they flapped their wings and left their meal. He bent down towards the victim. His Nike's gently brushed its head. Small bits of gravel clung to its skull. The red liquid pooled around the deceased; it reminded him vaguely of the Carrie scene when the preps came out and covered her with hog blood.
He could see the flies have already begun their work. They apparently have started laying eggs in the eye sockets where the library opticals were squished like grapes in a winery.
Poached eggs were not the best breakfast choice after all.
His blue outfit clung to his body as he moved in to get a closer look.
His eyes widened as a small scruff sound could be heard in the distance. He twisted his view to see two people on the side. One had his hands raised like some mummy in a B-Movie while the other just stood there looking at him. Just. staring at him as if the rest of the world meant nothing to the guy.
The young man slowly rose up from the dead body. Leon placed his hands on his hips and sighed.
The air was getting warmer; the fog slowly began to lift.
"Poor deer." he muttered as he turned his attention to the forest ranger and the driver.
"I swear I'm not drunk! It just jumped right in front of me!" the man whined. His greasy hair was pasted over his forehead as his beady eyes enlarged to the size of kiwis while watching the dirt colored officer slammed his iron gaze at his beer-bellied gut.
"Shut up. if you can't walk in a straight line or hold your arms straight in front of you; chances are you probably couldn't have the coordination to slam on the brakes."
Leon merely rolled his eyes. "What a good way to ruin a morning jog." Taking a moment to stretch his calves again, he continued on his usual morning route in the Glendale Wildlife National Park. His tank top felt cool against his skin as the sweat began to hit the wind again. A pair of shades was wrapped around his face while a heart meter was strapped to his arm.
He felt sorry for the man. It could be worse though. His father would've probably have the guy cuffed, stuck his baton at his throat and force the guy to apologize to the fallen creature. He himself was not too fond of being struck by a car.
His hand gently rose to the scalp behind his right ear, touching the old stitch scars. Even though he couldn't remember how it happened; it happened. He lost probably four years of his life from it too. He shook his head. He didn't want to think of depressing stuff now. He should just enjoy his run while he still can.
Running five miles a day wasn't too bad. Except for waking up at the butt crack of dawn, it was fairly enjoyable. His white Sony radio was turned off. He was sick of the media talking nothing but the cannibal murders going around the forest area in Raccoon. He should listen. After all, a cop, even a soon-to-be one, had to be familiar with a case from bottom up. But the cannibal story was everywhere; from every headline to every reporter's lips. It was voted by TIME as the biggest news-story since the OJ Simpson trial. The city is under a curfew for the time being. Stores were closing as early as six just so they can get to their loved ones before the blanket of darkness hit.
There was a real fascination with the case though. The problem is that it also leads to a slight elevation in the imagination. Many people were declared missing. Most victims lived in the country or the outskirts of the suburban areas. He remembered waiting at the gas station once and saw something in the Enquirer about a farmer who said he knows who the killers were. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~
"TWAS Aliens!" exclaimed Peter Faust of Raccoon City, Ohio. After five long weeks, since the first cannibal report, the police were at last able to find a witness to the recent disappearances and murders. Faust, 32, was in his barn when he claimed to have heard a scream coming from his home.
EQ: So tell me Mr. Faust, what did you do after you heard the scream?
PF: I recognized it the second I heard that. It was the Misses. When I got in there; that was when I saw it. A genuine martian.
EQ: Could you elaborate for our readers out there?
PF: Well let me remind you they aren't green like them movies portray them. They look white. They smelled funny too. but what do you expect. Martians don't take baths. This here didn't have any hair either. I do remember seeing its eyes. White as a newborn lamb's coat. Shoot, to be honest, the alien looked a little like my neighbor Tommy Tucker. Course Tommy eats like a horse and this one apparently was skinnier than a string bean.
EQ: What did you do when you met this extraterrestrial? Did you attempt any communication whatsoever?
PF: Oh HELL no. I ran down and grabbed my baby from the rack and shot the thing right between the eyes dead as a doornail.
EQ: I see. so if you managed to kill this thing, where is the body?
PF: Well... you see these men in a black van.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Leon's thoughts cut off as he slowed his jog to a walk. He could see the Academy's brass gates up ahead. The guard was shuffling through his paper as Leon began to dig through his wallet for his ID. The old man turned his attention towards him.
"Don't even bother, besides, you look nothing like your picture with all that hair gone at the time," he smiled.
Leon quickly shoved the leather money holder in his back pocket.
"Isn't my fault that they shave the newbies on the first day." He remembered that night well. He was really exhausted from the trip and an hour of poker with Scott, Steve, and Alias. He crashed on his sofa and by the time he was awake enough, his seniors already pinned his arms and legs with the razor buzzing halfway down his scalp. It didn't really piss him off considering it was a small little joke for all the new guys. The fact that Steve cheated in their game made him a little more sore than his balding experience.
He reached up and touched his tresses. It took about a year, but they were finally thick and delicately danced around his eyes when he became a sophomore.
The old man gave a weak smile as he held the picture up to Leon's features. Besides the hair, the boy actually looked younger due to the amount of physical fitness he endured here. "Has it really been three years?"
He nodded as he reached for the ID card. "Fraid so. guess that means you won't be catching my morning runs anymore."
"Pshaw. there will be others. You're just one of the crazier ones who will do this every morning for the rest of your life. Jesus, you're training to be a cop, not a marine. Being a cop is nothing like on television where every time you see a suspect, you'll be chasing them from rooftop to rooftop. Ninety percent of the time, you'll be filling out reports. Your physical fitness tests are long past over. All you are doing is wasting away your knees."
"Hey, I can't help it if I enjoy running! I can do it all day if I want." he grinned as he faced him while walking backwards. His smile revealed his pearly teeth as he waved and turned to head back to the dormitory where he could take a shower before graduation practices.
Prologue 1.1
"What was that?" Claire mumbled out loud. Her jittery small hand, grasped the Dilbert-themed coffee cup. She brought the river of caffeine to her lips and took a big sip out of the mug. She was probably imagining things. That's what four six hours of constant studying over a dead language's literature will do to a person. It was probably just some librarian putting up some books. Maybe it was a bird? After all, the roof had small places where a bird may make a nest outside. The windows weren't exactly that thick. However, she felt. watched, not just today but all month long.
It was strange. In her dorm, she has been feeling very uncomfortable, especially in front of the mirror. Her instincts have never lied to her before but they are going off like crazy for far too long. It was worse in public places though. She made sure that her study area was directly beneath a security camera.
The lights blinked. Was it midnight already? Usually the librarians would do this to remind the students of the time. It also showed that she has been in here too long. She needed to get home before her roommate Eliza became worried. With the recent surge of kidnappings, murders and supposed cannibalism going on right now; midnight went from daily night riding period to stay in either your dorm or someplace public.
She began to gather her heavy textbooks. She licked her chapped, seashell lips as she placed each one of the expensive reading material into her large black backpack. Grabbing a crimson sweater, she slipped it over her long chocolate strands. She than picked up a large combat knife off the table and slipped it in her pocket. Let's see some crazy drunk try to rape her now!
The beautiful blade was almost half a foot long and at least an inch in width. Best of all, it was conceivable and had an ease of access to it from her pocket. The problem was that it smelled pretty bad. Despite it being clean and shiny, the only use she had with it prior hand was to scale the assorted blue gill and bass she would catch from fishing at a small lake in Huntington. After a while, no matter how much soap she used, she could never get the scent off. But looks didn't matter. It was still sharp enough to shave a piece of thread into several layers.
Standing up to her full five foot six figure, she paced herself through the narrow corridors of the various histories of China, Spain and Rome. The library was the idea definition of "Renaissance." The place was filled with statues of half nude women with stone scarves that danced around their bodies as well as various murals of famous events. One that often caught her eye was the "Washington Crosses the Deleware" copy. It was so close to the original that ironically, when the water pipes busted four years ago; the water seemed to soak in and gave it that aged look that the original carried.
Claire shook her head. Has she spent far too long in this building to become. a bookworm? Claire briefly allowed a small chuckle to escape her lips from the though of her brother seeing her like this. Ever since he was kicked out, Chris had been tearing his hair right and left to keep her in college. She's offered several times to "take a couple of years off" but he still gave her the same pipe-in-ass lecture about the importance of getting a college education. Their last conversation disturbed her though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
The tall muscular veteran drummed his fingers against the old cedar table. His body hunched on the edge of the bed. Clair walked by the room as he fingers rhythmically tapped the wooden furniture faster and faster. She knew that was a bad sign.
"Tuition went up again. didn't it?" she spoke, making her way towards him. She awaited a furious burst of anger to seize his body. She puffed up her chest picturing him tossing furniture about or going off to take his pistol and just randomly fire it in the woods. Chris did neither. He did do the worst of the two.
He stayed silent.
The clock's ticking filled the quiet room for ten minutes. Chris dropped the paper carelessly before his head sank between his knees.
"They laid me off today. Apparently there was an executive shakeup and the new guy decided to cut back. My route was declared to have far too little cargo. I'm unemployed until they reroute it to more popular areas."
Chris laid his head on his sister's lap. Claire just sat there staring at the dresser in front of her. She was the one who usually allowed her emotions to pour out for him. Claire didn't even look down as she placed a hand on his cheek, and brushed her hand on his stubble face.
He hasn't been shaving.
She moved it up a little to find the soft indentures under his eyes.
He hasn't been getting enough rest.
She touched a small tear that had rolled on the side.
Oh Chris. you're not a failure.
"I'm sorry, Claire." he whispered.
She always wondered when all this pressure would shatter his heroic armor shell. He tried so hard to make things work out. He almost lost her to a foster home when they threatened to take her away after Mom and Dad died from a car wreck.
Long story; most of it was legalistic hell anyways.
After all, he was in the Air Force back then.
You can't exactly raise a sibling hundreds of miles away. or thousands of feet above.
His plans were that after his time was up, he was going to become a commercial pilot at an airport so that he could support her.
Plans never work out the way they were meant to.
Something happened. what he never told her always stating it was "none of her business." Whatever it was, it was bad enough to get him kicked out leaving a permanent mark stating, "Dishonorably discharged." He never could get into any work after that. At first it was just temp stuff. now he's a full time UPS man. If she weren't eighteen, they would've probably taken her away in a heartbeat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
That was the last time she saw him. He was depressed, broke, and with out a job. He told her that he decided to go to Raccoon to see if he could find work with Umbrella. The weirdness didn't stop there.
When she went to the office of admission to ask for an extension on the bill. it was all paid off. Not just that semesters bill. all $52,354 for the past loans and future payments were taken care of as well. The mortgage, electric, water. even the piling credit card debts were as if they never existed. At first she thought it was some hacker who managed to get into their account.
She later learned that each check was made under a Swiss Bank account.
Where could all that money come from? Where has Chris disappeared?
It hit her. Logically "no money= Chris" or "money = no Chris." Her hand slowly grasped her mouth. She pulled in a heavy breath. She shouldn't be thinking of such things. Chris wanted her to do nothing but go to college and dammit, that's what she's going to do. Sure hundreds of thousands of dollars suddenly appearing and clearing all the bills out was a little on the strange side but perhaps she should consider it a blessing from God? After all he's done for them. it's the least the guy from above could do.
Claire walked towards the elevator. The building's design was simply amazing; world-renowned architect, George Trevor who also designed the Ashford Mansion, Lord Benjamin's Chateau in London, designed it as well as various other buildings. He even finds time to design the common places as well. Raccoon City is full of them considering it was his birthplace. He filled the place with small quirks that just bring a smile to anyone's face. The elevator buttons didn't have simple up and down keys. One had a feather and the other a small flame. She found out that it was to symbolize heaven and hell. Pity that the buttons will have to be altered to normal ones soon after a lawsuit from an atheist was filed last year. Sad to see a little creativity disappears from this bureaucratic world.
The door slowly opened. A clammy feeling filled her stomach as she stepped in. Inside was a young woman in her mid twenties. Her stunning blood red hair was neatly tied in a bun with small strands carefully drawn on each cheek. The eyes were a dark emerald green. her skin was a ghost white.
She was the type who you could see, never meet or know their name and recognize in a flash. That was the sad part.
Everywhere she's gone, since Chris' disappearance; this woman was here watching.
"Second floor, child," the woman quietly spoke. For looking so young, her language was quite formal. Not to mention the way she dressed. It was white business attire with a female scarf as a necktie and a button down vest underneath. While she did look rather beautiful in it, she looked more like a student than a possible professor.
Claire yawned loudly, patting her open mouth gently. With the sound of a beep; the young girl started walking out the door and into the street. Tugging the hood strings, she made her march towards the dormitory buildings.
Prologue 1.3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Dear, I think you missed the exit two miles back," spoke Kathy as she daintily cupped her hands on her legs. Her light brown hair was combed from side to side as the window brushed it back.
Kenneth grumbled as a white Porsche slicked by their Oldsmobile and sandwiched between the truck ahead and the front of their car.
"Damn teenagers. if I had car like that, you wouldn't catch me banging it like some monster truck rally."
Kathy groaned and placed her slim hand over her face right before her husband sends the middle finger faster than a cash register making a sale. She sighed. He was a cop after all. Of course he was going to notice every thing wrong with everyone else's driving. Pity he is becoming over stressed since he is off duty and can't do a thing about it but complain.
"LEARN HOW TO DRIVE! *BEEP BEEP*" he shouted as his large hand banged on the horn. His face was strong and fairly chiseled considering he was in his late forties. His body was barreled while his toned forearms rested against the wheel. Kathy turned towards Cameron who was curled in a fetal position sleeping like a newborn baby. Than again, with his hair all shaved off to the stubbles, he really did look like an adult baby as well as a mirror- like image of his father when he was younger. Leon took after most of his grandfather's looks. It was fairly obvious since he was the only one with bright blue eyes and everyone else had brown. She reached over and stroked her son's neck as he begins to give off a toothy grin.
". not another round, Megan.." He smiled.
"Megan?" Kathy's eyes widen.
"MEGAN!!" screamed Ken as he slammed the car in the middle of the highway and sent his son rolling to the floor. "WHO THE HELL IS MEGAN!?! DON'T TELL ME YOU WERE OUT HAVING SEX AGAIN!!"
Cameron climbed back into the seat, this time sitting up. "Dad, I'm 27 years old. I think I should have a sex life by now. Besides, there is no way I'm going to Kuwait and only to die a virgin," he spoke, as the car started moving once more.
"You're not going to die a virgin," Ken grumbled.
"Of course not, I lost that a long time ago with Jessica."
Ken's left eye twitched. God he wished Cameron would be a little private with some aspects of his life.
"You're not going to die, period." His tone was a bit more fatherly but the gruff cords still shown through. "Chances of you not coming back are slim to none. Only about 180 people actually died in the Gulf. and most of those were from accidents." Ken hated Cameron's "death talks". They were morbid and unnecessary. He really didn't feel like going through the redundant Kuwait lectures with him again. "Cameron, can you reach underneath my seat and get the map. I think if I take the next exit, I should be fine, but, I'm not sure."
"Sure thing," he spoke as Ken smiled at his, subject-change, victory. Cameron unfolded the large map and began to trace the route with his pointer. "Geez Dad, you could've been up there by now if you hadn't missed the Lloyd Expressway Exit. here it is. yeah, if you do take that next exit, you can circle back to the Academy," Cameron mumbled as he folded the map and stuffed it in the white mesh pocket.
Kathy reached down for a newspaper. She was bored when they reached the diner there and picked it up. She tilted down towards her brown leather purse to produce a pair of reading glasses from the handbag. "Mercy of Jesus."
"What is it, Mom?" Cameron spoke as he leaned his head forward.
"Do you remember that cannibal case from CNN? Apparently the murderers have struck again; this time two children who were walking to school. They were apparently bitten but the oddest thing was that they did not die from their wounds. they only received some scratches and a bite mark a piece. instead, they were both found with gun shot wounds to the head."
As the car approached the stoplight, Ken slipped his foot from the gas to the break. "That is strange. From what I've read; all those who were attacked either disappeared or were chewed beyond recognition. I never heard of gunshot wounds in any of the stories. Did they trace the bullet print to any particular weapon?"
"They are still working on that. The bullets used apparently came from handguns. Also, the prints from each bullet are different. This means that there was more than one shooter. I don't like this, Ken. How many murders came from that city? 10? 20?"
"I think the body count has reached 14 dead and 22 missing, Mom."
"Ken, I don't want Leon to go working in that city. You said the position in Mercury is still unfilled."
"Look, if the boy wants to go to the Raccoon City Police Department, let him. He's obviously earned it. Plus, Raccoon has Umbrella currently operating there. The salaries are supposed to be extremely high for an incoming rookie. even more for long timers. That boy will have his damn tuition loans paid off in no time. if he doesn't find a woman and waste a good amount like that one girl. anyways. now if you watch the news more, you will notice NOT ONE officer has died from the case. They are not going to send Leon on those types of missions for at least a year. They only need more policemen to help calm the city down. After that, they will probably lay people off when the case is closed. If Leon happens to find himself out of a job, I'll just contact Mercury and he can work with me. Either way, Leon is going to be fine. Besides, top honor graduates pretty much can choose where they want to go. The worst he can do; is get shot on the first day," he spoke as he gestured his finger as a pistol and pointed it to his chest.
Ken turned towards his wife. Her eyes welled up a bit. Apparently after twenty-eight years of marriage, she still isn't use to his humor. He reached over and rubbed her shoulder. Then again, it could be empty-nest syndrome. She was like this before. When Leon first left for college and Cameron attending boot camp; Kathy did nothing but cleaned the house and read the bible. He got her an orange tabby cat to hopefully help her ease that motherly instinct she had. Unfortunately, Garfield, as she later came to name it, became fairly overweight with her constant feeding to the point where it would do nothing but sit all day. Even walking to the water dish was exhausting for the poor feline. Then Cameron moved back in after completing his training and managed to cure her of her small depression.
*now he's moving back out. what the hell are you going to do now.* Ken thought to himself.
"I wonder if its menopause?" he mumbled as his hand systematically turns the right turning signal on. Hr reached over towards the rear-view mirror and aimed it at his elder son. He was back to dreaming of god knows what. It felt strange having him back there after all this time. Then again, he's always away on base.
Ken's eyes turned towards the sign.
"Ohio Academy of Law Enforcement. Honey, could you wake up Cameron and tell him we are here?" he spoke as his eyes searched for a parking spot.
Kathy twisted towards the sleeping GI. His body slumped with his mouth slightly opened.
"Cameron?" she whispered.
"Phff, no wonder he's worried about getting killed in battle. You could probably shoot his big toe off and he still won't wake up."
Kathy frowned. "You hush up. Wake up, baby," she murmured switching from her firm to sweet voice as she gently rubbed his kneecap.
Cameron twitched his nose as his hand flung to the seat belt and released its grasp. His black button down was already wrinkled from his nap. His large hand grabbed his chin and started to pop the bones in his neck.
Ken walked out of his door. He reached in the back for a lint brush as he began to sweep off some of the Pringle chips off of the cotton black cloth. Making his way around the front of the car, he reached over and opened the door.
Cameron stood there and slipped his hands in his grey trousers. It amazes him sometimes. He knew Dad could be an asshole when he's handing out tickets or busting under drinkers at frats but not once. at least in front of him. has he ever displayed his Mr. Hyde side to Mom. Who can't? She's your grade-A all American Bible-totter. She's probably the only one who he actually tries avoid any cussing around; except in church. Usually he's either doing taxes or half a sleep during the Preacher's sermons.
Kathy took a moment to gaze in the reflection of the mirror. Her hands worked vigorously as she tucked in any flaws in her hair and began to reapply a new layer of rose-colored lipstick. Straightening her pink skirt, she smiled as her husband placed a muscular arm around her shoulder, walking over the asphalt parking lot and towards the grey marble steps towards the dormitories.
Prologue 1.4
Leon's fingers grasped the brass buttons on his uniforms. He only had about four more hours before the ceremony starts and they still haven't arrived yet.
"Must've missed the exit again." he spoke as he pulled his white rope around his arm.
"I don't blame him. shit, god knows how many times I've missed it and was late coming back," spoke his roommate as he buffed the shine in his shoes.
"Rob, this is my Dad. he's the type who memorizes roads just to see where he can ticket the most people."
"People age, he's just becoming another donut gut and soon will probably switch to parking meters just so he can tub the blubber." The black polish matched his dark hair. While Leon remained the class clown; Rob was the loner who sits by himself in the lunch room and doesn't say a word unless you talk to him. Great guy though.
Leon walked over towards his dresser. His hands began to search for a pair of black socks. "I'm more worried about his health than how much his stomach expands. He doesn't run like he use to; every time I see him, he's always yelling or stuffing food like--I don't know. Biggie McFries-while-shoveling-a-gallon- of-milkshakes-down-his-throat.FUCK" Leon smashed the drawer shut, resting his palms against the wood and leaning his head against the edge.
Rob watched his grip on the grain turn his fingers purple. He raises an eyebrow. "You are such a hypocrite."
Leon jerked his head. "What do you mean? I'm not a hypocrite!"
Rob laughed quietly. "Well think about it. you just got pissed off that he's always pissed off. And don't let me even NAME your usual diet plan. I'll give you a hint. they are fried. and at one point of their life, they clucked and laid eggs. God Leon, loosen up, its Graduation day. Not that 'time of the month'."
Leon sat on his bed. "I know. you know me. I'm never like this. maybe sometimes I wish I was. people would listen to me more. just. I just don't want to lose my Dad this early in my life."
Rob walked over, reached out and pulled the roll of socks he was hunting for earlier. "Listen, if your old man, is that damned about being a cop; chances are that he's going to have the yearly physical. all of the MPDs are suppose to take it. Correct? Now. in order to pass, he has to get ready for it. If he's served a long time, chances are, he's not stupid to exercise at the last minute... and will probably be eating better and visiting the gym more."
Rob handed him the pair and placed a hand on his shoulder.
That was one main reason why he enjoyed rooming with Rob. The guy has a way of making sense of things, insulting you, and actually makes you feel good about it. "I guess.thanks."
"No problem. sadly, despite fitting in my uniform. I have a feeling that we'll all end up in his position."
"Fat and irritable?" Leon spoke, dropping his voice a few notes lower.
"Yep. I can picture it now. scratching our exposed bellies as they pop out of our belts with one hand and filling out reports with the other."
"I don't really want to envision that. maybe I'll get lucky and get diabetes so I can't eat stuff with too much sugar." The thought of him winding up as overweight by the end of his career was not too appealing. "You maybe in luck though. I heard Umbrella could get really picky if their security gets a little gut. Sure you can live off salad for the rest of your life?"
Rob nodded. "I can live with being a night security guard at their upcoming Utah plant. Shit, I would live off croutons just to keep a job there. With the money I start off of; I can easily pay for a new house and make a few down payments on a car after about a year."
Leon smiled. "I heard. Too bad their health plan sucks. Plus it sounds like boring work. The most exciting thing there will probably be is skinned cats and cancer lab rats. Otherwise I would join you in a heartbeat."
A small buzzer rang in the one room dormitory. Leon paced himself over towards a small intercom and began to hold down the old fashion button.
"Cadet Kennedy speaking," his voice shifted to a more commanding tone. You never know if it's the Instructor deciding to play a surprise visit.
"Leon, we're down here. Could you let us in?"
"Oh.sure. hold on." he stuttered as his finger released the button while the other dove for his cover on the desk. "They're here," he turned towards Rob as he exited through the door. Leon walked quickly as he shot down the hallway.
It wasn't anything fancy. Plain white walls surrounded his silhouette with aged tiles under his shiny black soles. The clicking noise of each heel was unavoidable. It echoed as he passed other cadets all strung around the sides, greeting fellow family members or idle chitchat about memories past. His friends waved as he smiled while keeping his hat tucked under his arm. He made a turn around the study lounge and began to place his hat on. Tucking any lose strands of hair, he made his way in through the exit. He suddenly stopped at the top of the stairway and began to search for his family. The blue tint of his gaze caught sight of the familiar dress uniform of the Mercury Police Department next to the fountain. "Hey! Over here!" Leon shouted as he descended down the path.
Prologue 1.5
The middle-aged woman made her way towards him. Leon smiled; he leaned down to her petite height so she could hug her youngest of the family. Mr. Kennedy followed, carrying her white knitted shawl. Cameron coolly strolled behind with his hands in his pocket.
"I still can't believe this day actually has come," she smiled.
"I'll say. no more paying ten thousand dollars a year so you learn to fire a damn peashooter." smirked Cameron.
"Yeah, tell me about it. once you get used to a Desert Eagle. its hard to get use to something with weaker recoil." Ken began to smirk with Leon's words. Leon's eye caught his father's as he turned the other cheek. His father rarely ever smiled like that. Something was up. He then remembered Cameron emailing him about his graduation gift.
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LEON! You should see your present for when you get out of the academy. Prepare the lotion and the tissues. I swear you are going to be jacking off to it every night as soon as it touches your fingers.
Cameron Chocobo_Cloud666@hotmail.com
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"God, he makes it sound like its going to be some centerfold from a porn magazine." Leon thought awkwardly.
"I'm starving. Leon, you know anywhere we can eat at before the ceremony starts?" His hand massaged his belly as he smacked his lips at the end of the sentence.
"There's a steakhouse about ten minutes here. We can walk and should be back in time."
"Mmmm, that's what I'm talking about. A BIG three inch steak in A-1 sauce."
"DAD!" Leon frowned.
"Son, it's a good day to celebrate. I'm sure indulging for one day, isn't going to kill me. I'll drink a slim fast for dinner, and all will be well." There was merriment in his voice.
"Alright, I guess, one day won't hurt. At least eat a salad with your meal." Ken let out a thunderous chuckle as he put his arm around him while the family began the trek to the restaurant.
The walk was fairly long. However, the warm sun and the gentle breeze from the east made the hike quite pleasant. Apparently other families had the same idea. The steak house received most of its customers from the academy after all. The business became so dependant on cadets and instructors that the owner hired extra workers to take their weapons and covers and place them in little cubby holes till their meal was over. Leon himself rarely used them since cadets usually weren't allowed carry firearms around. But he was on the rifle team, and they usually stopped by here after practice. It was a good place to enjoy a little liquor and hang out without the worry of some surprise inspection. The place was also fairly cheap as well. Four dollars for all you can eat as well as surprisingly hearty servings of meat for less than five. The family owned business was used to the herds of cadets that came everyday. Today was especially busy though. Waiters and waitresses all decked out in black aprons, clean white shirts and little red bows hurried past each other while balancing three or four plates of food.
A cute blond haired woman in her early twenties walked up to them. Her hips swung side to side as her Barbie smile appeared to be molded on her face.
"Hello, welcome to Alexia's Home-style Steakhouse and Buffet. will this all be on the same check?" Her heavily mascara eyes blinked.
"One check. hmmm, booth. four party. smoking section." spoke Ken as he was gazing at the various photos of the academy that were blown up and framed on the sides.
"Alright, firearms and hats please!" There was a disturbing small chime in her voice as Leon pulled the cover from his arm and handed it over. The girl looked over Ken and held her hand out. Ken dug from under his uniform jacket and produced a Browning Hi Power 9mm. It wasn't exactly a standard weapon for the MPD but he felt partial to the silver colored weapon.
"Hold on," spoke Cameron as he dug into his pockets and produced a small black handgun.
"Ohhhhh, it's so adorable," she smiled as she rumbled her bosom a bit. I haven't seen a gun that tiny.
"It's a Jennings J22. I agree, it is a cute gun," smiled Cameron. "It's light so it's easy to carry around with." His hand moved over towards her as he started to name off the features of each part. He then took a moment to check out a few of her own features above her sixteen inch barrel.
Ken turned towards his wife and gently nudged her shoulder. She sighed as she began to dig in her purse. Her hand pulled out an HK MK23 SOCOM. "You know, most wives receive flowers on their anniversary."
"Come on Mom, the only people who actually carry those things are Navy Seals or high risk police officers. It's a really nice weapon," spoke Leon as the waitress handed them a number for their cubby hole.
"I don t see why all of you get so giddy in the sight of that thing. Its big, heavy and I can t put as much make up in my purse as I use to. But enough of that, may we please be seated? I believe that s all of it unless Ken is hiding a rocket launcher under his coat sleeve."
"Why of course. This way." She guided them through the busy red carpet walkway. Each table had an oak tint with a small table tent decorated with advertisement. They finally reached their black-colored seats. Leon and Cameron on one side, Kathy and Ken on the other. Handing them the laminated menus, the waitress waited patiently for them to order.
"Hmp, never seen a menu with the Nutritional Labels among the sides."
"Dad, those are for the cadets in the weight loss training program. It's so that they know how much they intake and what foods are best for them."
"What would you all like to drink?" She chimed as she prepared her sheet.
"I'll take a Sprite."
"Same here."
"Yeah."
"Diet please," squeaked Kathy.
"Alright, three Sprites and a Diet. I'll have your drinks ready in a bit."
Cameron turned from side to side. "Hey Leon, could you let me out. I need to go and take a leak."
"Well, I might as well join you, I got to go myself. Hey Dad, if the waitress comes back before I do, could you get me the honey ham platter with green beans and mash potatoes?"
"Sure, son."
"Oh yeah, and get me the Lasagna with corn and sweet rolls," spoke Cameron as the two siblings headed for the men's room.
The lavatory was empty. A giant mirror was propped against the wall surrounded by peach tile and white wall paper. The two did their business and walked over towards the sink.
"You excited?" Cameron mumbled out of nowhere. Leon s hand approached the soap dispenser and giving it a squeeze.
"About what? Getting out of here? Seeing you guys?"
Cameron nodded his head. "About everything."
Leon was dumbfounded by his brother's question. He turned towards the mirror and noticed he was looking at him with a bit of sadness in his face. Not the indifferent face that was often shown in his eyes or the cool whatever-arms crossed appearance. It felt strange. At that moment, he actually looks like he cared about him. He needed to know some idea at what Cameron was talking about. "Is this the brotherly talk that you were talking about in the email?"
A muffled laugh escaped his lips. "Yes, but I wasn't planning on having it in a steakhouse porcelain palace. I figured since we were both here, away from Mom and Dad, that we might as well have it."
Leon faced himself in the mirror once more. "I guess. It'll feel strange not having to beg Mom or Dad for money."
"Pffhh, I'm five years older than you and I still beg Mom and Dad for money. Then again they consider you the good son and I'm just the one who's shitting around. But, it's true though. Planning on staying at the house and commute back and forth? The drive is only about twenty minutes through the desert."
He shook his head. "Nope, one of my friends, DJ Baker, is also going to work there. Since he already lives there, I m just going to stay at his place until I make enough to make a few down payments on a place of my own. What about you? You seem too thrilled at the though of going to a third world country to make democracy prevail once again."
"I am, but, it's the chance you are going to die thing that bothers me. I haven't really done much with my life 'cept shitting around. The most I've done was get a high school degree and joined the Army because I needed something to do besides flipping hamburgers. If I had a chance to do it all over."
His gaze turned towards the light. The warm yellow color shimmered in his chestnut brown eyes.
"I probably would've winded up the same way due to my laziness. Right now, there is a chance I'll come back in a body bag with only my right hand in tact. You'll probably end up as a chief at the rate you are going."
Leon put his hand on his face and narrow his eyes. "Why do you always have to be like this, Cameron? You have enough talent to make it out there, and you still compare yourself as 'white trash'," Leon thought to himself as he cued to listen to the last of his pessimistic brother's advice.
".Get a wife, get laid, pop some kids, and just remember,"
Leon turned from side to side. "Don't shit off?"
"Exactly."
A glare of distaste quietly slipped on Leon's face."That's it. Time to brush up on changing the subject before he gets into his 'nobody will care when I'm gone' speech."
Leon shifted into a smile and relaxed from his stiff position. "So what do you think of that cute waitress?"
"I give her a 9.8... Nice rack, her butt looks squeezable soft. I think I should ask her number when it comes time for the bill."
Leon's smile widened. He knew his brother's weaknesses like a poker player exposing his hand to everyone. Women ranked above anything else. If he was attracted, the woman would have to pull a firearm to his head and fire before he would look away from their 'boots'. God he loved sibling rivalry. Even at this age, it was still fun.
"You should," the almost-cop quickly replied as he crossed his arms and flashed a cool smirk.
"So was there anyone bangable at the Academy?"
Leon flinched as awkwardness took over his body once more.
Cameron grinned. He knew the little shit's weaknesses like a poacher going to a zoo to hunt. Women ranked above anything else. If he hears the word along with anything erotic, the woman would have to pull a pistol to his head, fill it with lead, before he would slide back into reality from flustering. God he loved fucking with his mind. Even at this age, he never grew tired of it.
"No. There were females, but only instructors, besides, most seemed a little butch."
"I can always hook you up with someone. Maybe that waitress has a sister?"
"I don t know, she's cute, but not my type. Besides why would you want to help me find someone? It's not like I need assistance in the field."
Cameron reached over, hugged him, and ruffled his hair. "I don't care if you are another Backstreet Boy clone, I'm your brother. If the chick is to ever become my sister-in-law, I should get some say in the matter." His fist grinded into his scalp, but eased up a bit as they heard the door open.
An elderly gentleman suddenly walked in. His brown eyes widened as he began to sink back outside. "I'll leave you two alone. Could you keep whatever you were doing inside a stall next time and not out here," mumbling as he ran back to the dining area.
The two looked each other in the eye silently before Cameron spoke out.
"Did he just think we were gay?" He garbled as he let go of his brother while maintaining a dumbfounded look.
"Well considering you are in the Army and I go to an all male academy, what would you conclude?"
"Good point."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
"Dammit, where are those two?"
"Oh dear, let them take their time. After all, you tend to be in there for hours especially when the Sunday paper comes," Kathy spoke. Her hands gently sliced the baked salmon that was lightly hinted with lemon.
Ken began to stab at his hunk of beef. "Well if they don t hurry up, their food is going to get cold."
All of a sudden, a drop of the tender juices from his food dripped from his fork and on his coat. He turned towards Cameron's plate and noticed a small napkin underneath. He gently grabbed it and noticed a small phone number and lipstick kiss on it.
"Kellie Frost?" He mumbled as he read the name before quickly placing it back when his view of his sons came about. He turned towards them as they descended down in their seats. "I've seen a herd of sorority girls do their business AND manage to powder their noses in less time."
"Oh dad, we were only gone for about ten minutes." Cameron reached over for the napkin. He looked at it. His eyes sheepishly closed as his cheeks flushed before carefully folding it and slipping it in his wallet.
Prologue 1.6
Claire coolly exited the classroom. Her body was worn down a bit from the long lecture. Two hands gently tapped on her shoulder. Claire sucked in a quick breath as a blast of tight curls tickled her cheek.
"Hey Claire, I'll call you tonight about the Oedipus essay okay?"
"Sure thing, Tirina!"
"Great. See ya later girl-FRIEND!"
The dark African smiled as she turned towards a small vender selling chili cheese dogs.
Claire's eyes felt extremely tired that evening. Good thing she didn't have class tomorrow. She needed plenty of rest. Leaving the Fine Arts Building, Claire strolled over towards the crosswalk. Her slim pointer pressed the button. She took a small sigh as she patiently waited for the color of the light to change to red. She tapped her foot as the electronic device seemed to take its sweet time.
Claire slowly turned to her left as a small group of people gathered by her, waiting for the color to change as well. Red began to fill her vision again. However, it wasn't the light she was hoping for.
"That woman again," Claire thought frustratingly with herself. The same hair that matched the hue of the traffic signal smiled wickedly at her. The two didn't even exchange words.
Claire closed her eyes. "It's just a coincidence. This is a very popular light and probably the fastest way to cross the busy street. If she was a professor, and class ends. of course she would be out here. She sticks out. There are probably many people out there that you see a lot but they blend in too well for you to notice. There is only one way to find out."
Reaching deep into her bag, she quickly produced a small compact. She rarely wears makeup but she always found it useful sometimes. Holding the device in front of her face, she began to dab her nose with the soft cloth inside; at the same time, she used her other hand to carefully adjust it so she could see what the mysterious stalker was up to.
It was fairly obvious that unless she was a lesbian, she had no plans on raping her. Her dormitory had nothing of value inside nor did she carry anything worth stealing. Even with the bills all paid up, she doesn't have enough money with her to buy a newspaper.
But whatever the reason was; it didn't matter. She almost dropped the accessory right as shock kicked in. The wind somehow picked up a bit; as if an angel came in and lifted the material herself. Under her coat was an object that remained strapped onto her vest.
Silvery in color; deadly in nature.
She wasn't stupid. Not even the ROTC instructors here carried handguns. Was she going to use it to kill her?
"I am NOT going to wait around to find out." She dashed across the crosswalk; dodging cars left and right like some squirrel seeking suicidal road kill status. Sound of horns blasted from all around. Taunts and insults roared from the driving rage madness. Claire halted as a car came close to smacking her into the thigh. Instinctively she puts her hand just as the white truck screeched to a stop and bounced up and down. Hesitating a bit, she continued till she was on the other side. Out of breath, she coughed violently; spitting the flood of saliva in her mouth.
She turned back. Apparently the woman wants to play Frogger with her as well. For someone who's not dressed for the part, she apparently has the speed of a fox. Her body nimbly guided through the traffic like some bat using its radar senses. In a quarter, of the time, that it took Claire; she was almost to the other side and hot on the biker's trail.
Claire ran down the sidewalk. She dropped her book bag to lose any heavy loads that may slow her down. Her eye caught hold of an Emergency phone. The phones were placed all over campus and that if it was taken off its ringer, police would come in a heartbeat. "YES!"
Her lungs felt like someone shoved weights down them. The fact that she hadn't had lunch or something to drink made it worse. She felt her body pleading for any source of energy. She took a quick look again. The red- head doesn't even look like a hair was even out of place. She's coming at her faster than ever while wearing one-inch pumps! That was when she saw it.
The world slowed down. Minutes became seconds; seconds into nanoseconds. A small black SUV began to slow down next to her. Claire's eyes widened as if in slow motion, a man pulled out what looked like submachine gun. Claire stupidly stopped like some deer in the grasp of headlights.
She heard the trigger and felt the bullet make contact right in the middle of her chest area. The red liquid squirted all around as she fell to the ground, still staring at the sky. The woman walked up towards her. She touched her wound.
The woman smiled as she got up and left. Claire shuddered, feeling the life drain out of her. Suddenly, she heard it. Her blue eyes rolled over to the side as a cop car began to pull up. The man's blond hair was neatly combed back while a pair of black shades covered his gaze.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Claire: WAIT A MINUTE!! I CAN'T DIE THIS EARLY! I'm one of the main characters!
Leon: WEEEEEE! More screen time for me!!
Claire: Shut up, you dork. At least I didn't get my head shaved on the first day school!
Leon: Well, no one said you died. Well maybe you did, I think a shot in the center of the chest is pretty serious. I think that would be cool if you were a ghost. Like that one movie. you know, the one with Brandon Lee and the black bird.
Claire: I don't think the writer likes me. You get free food at a Steakhouse with some Britney Spear's clone as your waitress and I get stuck studying hours and hours on a Theater test. You think I'll get cut some slack?
Leon: No clue, I guess we'll find out in part two of the Prologue of. ummm. does this story even have a title?
Claire: The author is too stupid to think of one
Leon: Now, now Claire. be nice. I'm sure the readers out there could help her out.