Authors Note: This is the revised/rewritten chapter(or Act) one of 'Encounters' but... it is only one of four parts.

I thank everyone who has read the original and for the reviews - they have helped me to recreate(but not change) the story's flow and information.
I have decided to add(and remove) bits and pieces but overall, like I said, the main idea hasn't changed.

I would advise all who have read the original to re-read each part as they come up.
Thank you for reading! :D ...and... Sorry for any inconveniences. (...not really XP)

And, if you would please, Review.
I'd love any feed back you might have!...and it will keep me motivated to keep on writing! ...just sayin'...

Disclaimer: I do not own the Gears of War series(or anything Twilight related). All recognizable characters are the property of Epic Games.
All unrecognizable characters are the property of me, myself, and I. (Do not steal. It is rude.)

Act I
Encounters, part I

Fear. An agitated feeling caused by the anticipation or realization of danger; uneasy feeling that something might happen contrary to ones hopes; a feeling of deep, reverential awe and dread...

Something I felt fourteen years ago when my home was attacked by the Locust Horde - our once fictional bogeymen. I looked to be in my late twenties at the time, when I was actually several years older. I lost my fiancé the day of the attack and was left alone, in the ruined city of Andius where I had once lived, to fend for myself.

I had only one motive then - to survive...

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At the time, I was hiding in a boarded up two-story apartment complex in the once bustling city of Ephyra, miles from my old home. For a year I had gone unnoticed here by Locust. I never once questioned how or why but I was certainly grateful; it wasn't until one morning, on my weekly routine food search, that I spotted them - a group of Wretches - feeding on fresh human corpses in the doorway of a market that I would usually check.

Gasping in surprise, I slipped behind the corner of the nearest building. I had no idea that there were other Stranded here. Being what I was, I thought I would have noticed the presence of five other humans.

But now that they had found evidence of humans here, the Locust would not rest until they searched every nook and cranny of this area. I would have to find a new place of residence and soon. I only had until nightfall and, the last I checked, it was going on six forty-five. Which meant I only had about an hour or so left of sunlight. I needed to get as far away from there as possible but...before moving, I made sure to do a quick inventory on my supplies.

The light brown satchel resting on my waist held several items: there were at least thirty extra shells for the loaded shotgun strapped to my back, two frag grenades, a mini first-aid kit, some extra bandages wraps and gauze pads, a canteen full of water, a pack of saltines - just in case - and a small set of toiletries(toothbrush, paste, soap, paper/tissue, comb). The last was probably a bit unnecessary but I hated being filthy(the heightened sense of smell, you know). Everything was there.

I closed my bag and peeked around the corner at the feasting Wretches. They were all still there. I sighed and examined the way I came...It was all clear, and that's the way I was going to have to go.

I slowly backed away from the feast, until I hit the corner, then I took off in a full blown run down the crossing street. The smell of many Locust filled my nose and, at the pace I was going, I couldn't get an exact fix on any of their positions. Figuring that I would have to eventually stop to get the accurate fix that I needed, I turned the nearest corner-down an alley-only to collide with another body. The impact knocked me and, whatever the person was carrying, to the ground. I swallowed hard as I heard the creature growl "Human" from the back of it's throat. I trembled as I looked upon the Drone towering before me.

He stared at me for the longest time, when I was sure that any other would have instantly killed me. I shuttered at the thought of becoming a Locust prisoner(if they even took them) or Wretch chow. I figured neither to be any good.

Then I noticed it - his eyes. They had glanced down at what he had dropped.

So, that was it! When our bodies collided, his Hammerburst had slipped from his hands and now it was very close to my feet. He was just as afraid of the shotgun on my back as I once was of him. I didn't know why he didn't have a back up and I sure as hell didn't care. It was his mistake and he was going to die because of it.

I let out a laugh for my cowardice and, for all the Drone knew, I was laughing at him.

Obviously angry with my 'mockery', the Drone growled and he lunged for his gun on the ground. I took my chance to strike and kicked the weapon far from his reach and then I booted him in the jaw so hard it broke.

He dropped on his hands and knees, clearly in pain, as I pulled the shotgun from my back. I took aim and fired, once, upon his head. Pieces of skull, skin, and brain scattered across both the ground and my legs as he fell limp.

I kicked myself up off the ground and attempted to shake his skull contents from my jeans. As the pieces fell, several Locust shouts came from somewhere outside the alley. I had obviously thought wrong when I thought the Drone was alone. "Shit." I growled as I continued down the alley in a sprint with my shot gun still in hand.

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My heart thudded violently against my chest and my legs felt like they would give way at any moment as I neared the city's center, if that was even where I was. Sadly, I didn't truly know where I was. As I slowed to a walking pace, I knew that I had to find a safe place to rest or I would end up collapsing from exhaustion in no time flat. There was good news too - I had lost scent of the Locust a good while back and I didn't smell any near by, which brought me hope - even though I was miles away from my (once) safe haven.

I would still have to stop though, so I found a short and narrow alley way near the end of the road. It was placed in between a busted up 'Mom and Pop' store and an extremely ruined bakery. A rusty old dumpster sat against the broken bakery wall. I wobbled around the front of the dumpster to it's side where I sat. With my back against the broken wall and my legs stretched out in front of me, I sighed as I rested my tired eyes.

"Just for a little bit..." I assured myself before dozing off to sleep, still covered in bite-sized bits of my earlier victim.