Hey guys, now things will go a little bit faster and we are going to get deeper in the story. Enjoy this and comment to help me improve, thanks for reading :D
Chapter 2.- New Friends
I tried countless times to sleep, but my mind was busy thinking about what had been happening since my dad picked me up at the school that day. I stood up and opened my closet, there only was assassin's like clothing, I wasn't getting my life back for a while.
After leaving my room and roaming through the castle for a while I stood in somewhere that looked like a balcony, I found myself appreciating the night view.
My calm and serenity didn't last long enough, I heard metal sliding out of its cover and felt how a knife was placed in my back, it was so sharp that actually cut my cloth and touched my skin. I froze on place and started sweating.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
Said a female familiar voice in a cold hearted tone. The knife was removed from my back and I felt relax for a moment. It was Camila. She pulled my shoulder making me turn to face her and immediately proceed to punch me in the middle of my belly. I landed on my knees because of the pain, my mouth tasted like blood.
"I hope this is the last time you walk around at night without knowing how to defend yourself" she whispered in my right ear as I tried to recover for the punch. She started walking inside when I interrupted her with pain in my voice.
"Wa.. Wait, can I get inside the machine again?"
She was surprised for what I asked her and looked at me with a weird expression on her face.
"Why would you want to go back inside again?"
"I don't know... I just want to know what that's strange feeling was... I felt like if I was someone else, somewhere else" I said with a bit of confusion in my voice.
"You don't know how anything of this works, right?" She said with disappointment "Ok, come with"
Of course I didn't know shit about anything, I didn't have more than couple of days awake and it seemed like I had been living a lie my entire life.
I stood up as soon as the pain started to leave my body; we walked in the dark hallways for around half an hour, I didn't realize how far I got from my room. Eventually we reached the servers room.
She sat in the computer at the end of the hall next to the Animus I used the last time, I sat on it, she proceed to put an IV in my left arm, and I leaned down in the Animus.
"Since you got stuck in the last memory we tried..." She said drawing my attention "...We'll try to approach that memory syncing you with your ancestor in an early an less confusing period of his life"
I nodded.
"Ready?"
"Yes..." I replied closing my eyes, unsure of what awaits me inside the Animus. After I heard the key pressed by her my mind felt like it was falling in an infinite void, the environment around me started to shine in little crystal likes shapes, just like earlier.
I looked at my limbs and they started to glow as well, and a lot of memories hit my brain in a blink of an eye. Were the memories from a child, but weren't my memories, I started to get confused all over again.
"I set you when he was 9, in Santo Domingo, near the river on port Felipe."
I stood in a place watching my limbs and my surroundings and then, buildings and objects started to pop up out of the shinny crystals, then people started to appear next to me. I saw the world around me with amazement, everything looked so alive, everything looked so real...
This time, people seemed to be aware of my presence, after some seconds analyzing what was happening I realized I was in the skins of a kid... All the previews memories found an order in my head and it felt like I was living as my ancestor, it felts like I was my ancestor.
My senses finally awake and I started to look for something in the crowd, I didn't know what I was looking for but, naturally, I let my brain do the job, it seemed like he knew what he was doing. I spotted a little girl in the crowd, noble clothes, long gold hair, white skin, she was holding an umbrella with a hand, and an apple in the other hand, I didn't understand why, but I felt I haven't eaten in days, so following my instinct and my senses, I found myself running toward her, trying to be smooth among the crowd and silent like the wind so no one could notice.
As soon as I was close to her, I grabbed the apple with ease and I ran away.
The little girl screamed so hard I actually got disturbed by it, but my goal was clear, finding a spot to hide and eat the apple.
"Hey kid! Come back here!" Shout someone behind me, I didn't stop to look.
I was dodging every obstacle that faced my way, with natural and smooth movements. When I thought I lost them I started to slow down, and looked backwards... I got surprised how someone actually got to follow me, after all those evaded objects and taking advantage of my little height to sneak away... someone was able to actually follow me, it was disappointing.
I faced forward to find an escape way and saw a wall, with ease and mastery I was able to jump it with one hand, since the other one was busy grabbing the apple.
Amazing... I was able to do all that and I'm not even tired, I thought, this kid had like a six sense that allowed him, or in this case me, to find paths to its (my) destiny, also I had some strange feeling near some people, I didn't mind any of it since I was still focused in escaping.
I ran and changed my path several times to lose the one following me, and got stuck into a dead end, my only way out was climbing to the top of the building and continue my way trough out the roof tops. But after running for I while and tricking my way into there I thought to myself that I was actually alone and I took a sit in the ground. I looked at the apple thinking in anything that had happened. And then it happened.
"Hey you" said a girl drawing my attention. "You shouldn't take what belongs to others" It seemed like a 3 or 4 years older girl than me and the girl I stole the apple from.
I tried to sneak again, but she was already on me, I was almost peeing my pants.
She grabbed me from my arm and pulled me out the alley, and after walking into the main avenue a carriage parked next to us. A man with a suit got out of it; followed by the girl I stole the apple. The girl whispered something to the man that appeared to be her father, in a foreign language I couldn't identify, maybe French, maybe Italian, maybe Portuguese.
The girl that was grabbing my arm pulled me to the front.
"Don't you have something to say?" She asked me.
I looked at the apple and then to my feet, and extended my arm to give to apple to her.
"So…Sorry" I said in an almost mute whisper.
The little girl looked at me and then whispered something else to the man.
"If that is what you want, of course you can" said the man with a surprised expression all over his face.
He took the apple and then with a knife that came out of his wrist he cut the apple in half, and then returned it to her.
"Here, we can share this one, just try not to steal ever again" said the little girl.
I was in shock, I didn't know what to do in that situation, all this goodness after what I've done. I couldn't help but, I grabbed the half apple, after all, I was starving…
After we were done eating the apple she left with the others in the carriage, I was so confused. After some seconds I decided to follow them to know more about that little girl that was so kind and about the other girl that was able to track me. I didn't know how but I had something telling me where to go to follow them, I climbed to the top of the closest building and observed my surroundings.
I started running on top of the buildings and houses dodging obstacle and walls in a sort of free running, I found the carriage in no time and I didn't lost sight of it until it stopped.
I observed with my eyes wide open, as they got into a building that had people dressed in strange clothes with hoods covering their faces. The girl that shared the apple with me noticed my presence, along with the other girl, both looked surprised.
"Oh shit, what I'll do now…" I said to myself.
In that moment the world froze, just like the last time I was inside the Animus, but this time instead of everything becoming shinny crystals the world started to get wiped by an invisible wall that let a white shiny background.
"Memory completed at 100% synchronization, advancing to a more recent period" Said a robotic female voice. Apparently I was done... but I wanted to continue. I was expecting to awake, just like the last time, but instead of it the same process that happened when I started using the Animus this time repeated, buildings and the environment in general started to pop up from nowhere.
"1828, Santo Domingo, Haiti - The Brotherhood" Said a voice from above. Haiti? Santo Domingo was in Dominican Republic, I thought, but then I realized that the period was during the Haitian Invasion.
I appeared leaning against a railing in a balcony facing, in my left side, the Caribbean Sea, and in my right, a little jungle that disappear in the horizon. I felt older. A new set of memories invaded my mind, memories from the point I left when the memory was completed to the actual period.
"So, are you ready for the big day?" Said someone behind me breaking my concentration.
I turned backwards to find the girl that shared the apple with me. She looked different, a little bit higher, and older and her hair tied with a ponytail. I smiled.
"Jacqueline! What a surprise, I thought you were training with Madeleine" I awkwardly said "Yes... I'm ready... just… you know... nervous" I continued.
"And nervous why? Is not like you are graduating today, c'mon lets go, it's getting late" She said grabbing my arm and making me follow her. We walked for the hallways of a place that looked like a castle or a fortress, I started to recognize that place, it looked like the Dominican Assassins' HQ in the present, now some things started to make sense.
We reached a large room, 2 red and blue pennants with the assassin's logo in the middle of each where tied in the top of the room, in the middle a red carpet with gold sides, in each side of the carpet were standing hooded people, assassins, facing the middle of the room. Someone was standing at the end of the path that was left by the carpet, he looked in his old 40's or older. I stood next to Jacqueline and tried not to look nervous. We walked together until we stood in front of the man.
"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember..." said the man.
"Nothing is truth" Jacqueline and I said.
"Where other men are limited by morality or law, remember..." Continued the man.
"Everything is permitted" We answered.
"This is the creed we follow and live by..." he looked at Jacqueline and continued "Jacqueline Andreé Dubocq despite your young age you had demonstrated ability in the art of patient and stealth, are you concerned of what awaits you in the near future as an assassin?" He asked her.
"Yes I am master" she answered.
The man looked at me.
"Francisco Alberto Castello, even thought you are new to us, since your meeting with us two years ago you have demonstrated your loyalty as a friend and your ability as a runner and a survivor. Today you left your old life and reborn as one of us. Do you accept the charge that is put in your shoulders?" He said.
"Yes I do master" I answered, I started to sweat.
Someone came from his left bringing with him some clothes.
"Today you two become novices of this cause, living by the creed you recited and under the tenets that you will learn in your journey." He took the clothes and from inside them 2 swords and 2 vambrace.
He handed one sword to Jacqueline and the other one to me. Then handed the two vambraces to each of us, we wore it in our left arm.
"Receive the Hidden Blade, it is an assassin's best friend and a very versatile tool, use it wisely" He said as we twisted our wrist to let how a well crafted knife that had the assassins' logo on it, and a very beautiful design corresponding the epoch, extended in 3 different segments.
I looked at it amazed, I felt how my veins got filled with adrenaline and I noticed how Jacqueline's face recreated the same emotions I was feeling at the moment.
"As an assassin in the rank of novice you two receive a long sword, you will learn how to master it and will learn how to use it not as a tool, but an extension of your arm." He continued "Now show the brotherhood you have what it takes to live the life we have…" he said while he stepped aside showing us an exit that leaded to a piece of wood… he was expecting us to jump… to make a leap of faith.
Jacqueline stepped first and I followed her, she opens her arms and proceeds to jump. I stood in the edge and looked down… I was scared... but after all I've done I couldn't simply retract myself… I opened my arms and let my body fall. I felt the air rushing my face and my uncovered limbs; in mid air I did a move to let my body land with its back in a pile of hay. As I landed I stood up… the rush of adrenaline that I've been feeling disappeared as soon as I got out of the pile… I looked up and found everybody, now my brothers and sisters, staring at me and Jacqueline and clapping their hands as a signal of approval. I started to smile and looked to Jacqueline that was smiling to, this moment was perfect, I was part of something big… something important… and finally after so long.. I was part of a family again.
"End of simulation, memory completed at 100% synchronization, pulling out subject" Said the same female robotic voice as before.
But wait. Why was I getting out of the Animus? I opened my eyes after the void that came with the end of the simulation and I tried to stand up.
"Camila, why did you pull me out?" I said as I felt to the ground.
"Long exposures to the Animus can affect the subject leading it to a negative effect of the bleeding effect" She said helping me to stand up.
The bleeding effect? That shit again, according to Rafael and my father I'll be training using it. I didn't understand a single shit about it, and to be honest, I couldn't care more at that time.
I felt dizzy, I looked through the window to find out it was morning already, I may had expended 4 to 5 hours inside the Animus.
At that moment I started having visions of my ancestor walking in front of me, with several people next to him, more images started to appear in front of me as my conscience faded in darkness….
Later that day
I opened my eyes in shock; I looked to my surroundings scared awaiting the worst. But there wasn't more than my room. I checked the clock next to my bed.
"4:03 pm" I said to myself "What the hell just happened?" I continued while I took a sit in my bed.
I proceed to get out of my room and walked to a room not far from mine, something was telling me to go there, so I simply followed my instinct. After getting into that room I realized it was a sort of living room, it was full of people, including my father and Rafael, Camila wasn't there. They were playing domino.
"Dad" I said drawing everybody attention "I don't know, in a moment I was getting out of the Animus, and at other I was in my bed, can someone explain me what is happening to me"
My dad looked to Rafael and then went back to me again. Both of them had a smile in their faces. Seriously this was getting weird and weird… but at least I was going to get some of the answers I was waiting for since the first time I awake… but was I ready to get them?
This was a long one, wasn't it :P, next time 'The Bleeding Effect' don't lose it.
Thanks for all the support and hope you keep enjoying this fic.
Nice regards, CaribbeanAssassin out.