Chapter 7: Sour Sixteenth
Like the talk with Wilson, the rest of the day had become somewhat awkward.
Instead of sleeping through his classes, Hank's conversation with the principal remained in his mind. Over the course of the day, he began to weigh the benefits of what he was being offered against its drawbacks. The Advanced Training Program seemed like a godsend, yet at the same time there was an unshakable sensation of foreboding that lingered in the back of his head.
The way Wilson had overreacted when Hank gave his response was definitely not natural.
On his way home, Hank's eyes were trained on the ground near his feet, working out his previous thoughts. A certain job opportunity, huh? The AAHW were a humanitarian organization, right? They were the good guys.
The only people who were likely to ever help him, in fact.
Whenever people asked what he wanted to do for a living, he gave them the truthful answer in the hopes that someone would be supportive of his choice. But instead of uplifting him with words of encouragement or inspiring him to greater deeds, every single person he told this to would always either stare quizzically or scoff at the idea in response. They all shared the same verdict: that his dreams would equate to nothing but wasted potential.
They implied - no, insinuated - that he was ultimately striving for nothing.
Narrowing his eyes, he viciously kicked a pebble down the road.
Stupid bastards, they don't know what they're talking about. Who gave them the right to judge?
The sidewalk changed to the familiar theme that Hank associated with the orphanage, and he picked his eyes off the ground to gaze at the building. After climbing up the stairs, he opened the entrance with his keys and braced for an influx of idiocy from the other orphans, or maybe Julia.
To his surprise, silence was his welcome.
He walked in, his footsteps sounded unusually loud, floorboards creaking as he cautiously tread forth. But… that can't be possible, right? It sounded far too quiet for an orphanage with at least a dozen kids.
Unease sitting heavy in his throat, Hank's eyes darted left and right, watching for any signs of movement. Jebus, it sounded as if the place was abandoned. Was he so early that nobody else had come back from school yet?
Maybe it had to do with the offer Principal Wilson made. Maybe the AAHW had bought out the orphanage or something. Hank felt a twinge of regret and fear; this was all his fault, wasn't it?
But wait... there, in the room behind him. Some shuffling. The shades were pulled down, so it was too dark to see anything, but Hank could discern the vague outlines of some people, hiding.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down the side of his face as he backed away with utmost caution; when his back hit the wall, he almost yelped in shock. His hand darted out and searched for the light switch. When he found it, he flicked it upwards and braced himself, expecting the worst.
There was a loud pop of confetti and the loud honk of a party horn. After the confetti had settled down, some of which had landed on Hank, the teen apprehensively opened one eye.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HANK!"
The figures, who Hank now identified as the other orphans and the caretakers, blew party favors and swarmed from their hiding places. Evan and Anne pressed the shutters on their cameras to catch Hank's surprised expression. Hank took a step back, lifting his eyebrows half in confusion, half in shock. When he saw the chocolate cake in Julia's hands, a grin formed on his lips.
Goddamnit, he had forgotten again.
It was his 16th birthday.
Julia walked up to him with the cake still in her hands. The sense of anxiousness was clear.
"… Do you like it?"
Hank looked behind her and saw the others watching him nervously. They all perceived Hank Shawnson as a spiteful, hateful sociopath, so there was a good chance that he would reject their offering.
Hank smirked. They were trying too hard, and it would be a sin to say no.
"Yeah. I like it." he replied with a rare, honest grin.
She beamed at his approval and the children cheered with glee. The party had officially begun, and kids began running around the place, happily chattering due to the special occasion.
Julia had left the room, instructing him to stay put. Hank's impatience, however, got the better of him. After a good ten minutes of waiting, he began following Julia's footsteps; however, he noticed a group of teenagers nearby who were sitting around and drinking some soda. They were not jocks; in fact, Hank noticed how they nervously eyed each other, as if they were somehow suspicious.
'Perhaps they aren't as insipid as the dumbasses at school?'
Hank appreciated their reservedness. Maybe they were kindred souls. For the first time, he wondered if he could join in on the conversation; besides, it was his birthday, and making some friends would shut Julia up about "reaching out," and "socializing."
Hank walked over to the pack of boys calmly with his hands in his pockets. When he had finally confronted them, they stared at him, shocked that Hank would actually bother starting a conversation.
"Hi." Hank expressionlessly greeted.
The four young men looked at each other, then back to Hank. One of them gained the courage to say something back.
"Hey, you must be the birthday boy. Congrats." he replied, sticking his hand out.
Hank looked down at the outstretched gesture. At first, the teen thought he had made the wrong move, but before he could pull back, Hank shook with him.
"Thanks."
The young man grinned, now feeling a bit more confident. "Yeah. If you're wondering, I'm Matthew, that's James, Alex, and Thomas."
Hank nodded. "Nice meeting you."
Matthew turned to his group of friends, initiating another conversation. "So did you hear about that new movie coming out? Imperious?"
"Aww dude, the trailer for the movie looks sick!" Alex replied.
"Right?! Just hope we can sneak out and watch it. It's rated R, apparently." Matthew grinned.
"More importantly though... I heard there's nudity in it, right?" Tommy asked, a tinge of excitement in his voice.
"Jebus Tommy, YES. There's a… 'steamy' scene halfway through. At least, that's what I heard from school." James replied.
"Hot stuff." Alex winked.
Eventually, Hank got tired of the main subject, and decided to skip to a topic that he knew he would enjoy the most. The only problem was: he wasn't entirely sure whether or not the others would share the same interest.
"Tommy, calm down. It's just a small part of the movie, so-"
"You kidding?! Did you see the leading actress on the poster? HOT MAMA!" Tommy murmured. The others grew nervous as they saw drool coming out of their friend's mouth as his hands began to squeeze at the air. "I'd pay my life's savings just to get a few second's worth of me-time with those boo-!"
"Hey, uh…"
The boys stopped their own talk and turned to Hank.
Hank scratched the back of his head. "… do you guys, by any chance, like any firearms in particular?"
The four of them stared. Although it had only been a few seconds, Hank already felt like he screwed up. He thought that he might as well leave, until James picked his idea back up.
"... You mean guns?"
"Yeah."
"What kind of question is that?!" Tommy burst out enthusiastically, dashing Hank's hopes.
Tommy finished his sentence with a vicious grin.
"Who the hell DOESN'T like guns?!"
Hank stood there, undeniably surprised. "I... uh... Really?"
"You kidding me? I'd have a whole armory if I could." Matthew agreed, "Why, you wouldn't?"
Hank felt himself get slightly carried away. "Er, no! In fact, heh, I probably know more about them than you do."
Matthew crossed his arms, "Really? You wanna put money where your mouth is?"
"You'd lose, Matty. Dude, I've heard about Hank. He's a freaking genius, slept through literally all of Ms. Lyn's physics classes and still aced every test!" Alex warned.
"Ms. Lyn and guns are two different things, Alex. Guns are my ace in the hole. James, let's play some trivia." Matthew fished out a small pocketbook from his back pocket and tossed it into James' waiting hands. "Let's go small, three bucks if you win."
"Deal."
James turned to Hank first. "When was the AK-47 taken into service in the Soviet Union armed forces?"
"'49. Of course."
"Yep." James said with a nod. He turned towards Matthew.
"What did the Mujaheddin call the 5.45x39mm round during the Soviet war in Afghanistan?"
"Easy! They called 'em Poison bullets, 'cause every round contaminated the entry wound."
"That's right." James nodded, then turning back to Hank.
"When was the M16 modified for burst fire?"
Hank quickly ran through the magazines by memory. M16… ah yes, he remembers.
"'83."
"Yep. The 7.62x25mm Tokarev round is a modification of which previously-existing round?"
"7.63x25mm Mauser." Matthew replied almost instantly.
".30-06 round in metric terms?"
"7.62x63mm." Hank answered with the same stupefying speed. The others were left baffled; this was the first time anyone had gone this far with Matthew.
"What ammunition is outlawed for use in warfare?"
Matthew turned to Hank, holding an intense, serious stare with him. "Hollow-Point."
"Yep. What's the-?"
"Hey, James." Matthew interrupted, "Can we quit with the low-level stuff? I'm about to fall asleep and by the looks of it, Hank is too."
James sighed. "You were always one who wanted to take challenges. Alright, sudden-death: What is the German version of the M4 and significant change? Whoever gives the best answer wins."
James turned to Hank first. The M4? There wasn't much on his magazines on that…
Recalling as many facts as possible, he spoke.
"It was called the... M416, modified with a… short-stroke gas piston system from a different family of rifles."
"You remember which one?" James asked.
"... No." Hank answered with hesitation.
"Alright." James said with a nod. "Your turn Matt. Say something that hasn't already been said."
Matthew faced Hank, adding to the intensity of the atmosphere. "The M416," he began, holding his stare, "was also known as the HK416. As for that short-stroke gas piston system, that came from the G36 family."
Hank made a small gulp in awe. Not even he knew that; could it have possibly been due to the outdatedness of his magazines?
"That's correct." James said, nodding towards Matthew. He turned to Hank. "Sorry dude. Matt wins by sudden-death."
Hank sighed. Just as he was about to pull out three dollars, Matthew raised his hand.
"Nah, keep it. You know your shit pretty well. I probably wouldn't have held out long if we went into 1990's gear." Matthew complimented.
Hank quirked his eyebrows in surprise, then pocketed his wallet again. "Ah, well… thanks."
"Ugh, what're you acting so modest for?! You went farther than anyone in Matt's little gun trivia game!" Thomas shouted, grabbing the back of Hank's neck with his arm in a playful manner. "Tell you what. Matt's pretty damn crazy about this sorta thing too. Day in and day out, he blabbers on and on about clip sizes and all that crazy shit-!"
"They're not called 'clips,' for the last goddamn time! Magazines! Mags! Jebus, get your vocab together man, that's like me calling those girls on those magazines of yours 'prostitutes!'"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever tickles your bum, your highness," Thomas murmured. "Point is, Matt's dad owns a gun shop, and someday he's planning to take over. Make a simple living, you know? How 'bout you and him run that shit together someday? You got the brains, Matt's got the products. Win-win, right Matt?"
"Well, that's not for a fapper like you to decide," Matt retorted, "but yeah. You don't have to though. I mean, for someone with brains like yours, you'd probably want to work on more important things-"
"I'd like that." Hank said in a quiet voice, catching everyone by surprise. His small yet genuine smile only added to this shock. "... I'd like that a lot."
Tommy grinned. "Then it's settled, eh?! Now all you gotta do Hank, is get rid of that shy Japanese schoolgirl attitude of yours and you'd be set! We can't have cuties like you selling shotguns now, can we?"
"Yeah, if you keep up your 'Japanese Schoolgirl' act, you'd better watch your ass! Tommy might end up hitting on ya!" James quipped with a smirk.
"Oooh, Buurn…" Alex whispered.
Tommy let go of Hank and pointing at James. "Shut it, James! You're just jealous of my superior intellect."
"Yeah. With an IQ rivaling the number of clothed girls in your magazines, I'm pretty damn envious."
They all laughed while Tommy flushed red in indignance. But their laughter was contagious, and he soon found himself joining in on their merriment.
Hank was the first to quiet down. Maybe making some friends actually wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.
Maybe, just maybe…
Julia ran back downstairs, holding something behind her back. When she saw Hank laughing with the group of teens instead of skulking in a corner, she smiled.
There was hope.
Julia continued her route to him and interrupted his turn at the conversation, feigning normalcy in her state of joy. "There you are, Hank! I'm so sorry it took so long! I forgot where I put your gift!"
Hank looked at her, confused. "A gift?"
Julia nodded. Then, she showed him what she hid behind her back. His eyes widened.
Black combat boots.
"Tadaa! It looks pretty cool, and I thought you'll love it!" she told him.
Hank examined the footwear from every angle he could. He was speechless; it was made of real leather. Hank could only imagine the price tag.
The teen shook his head. "Julia…where did you get the money to pay for this? And for the cake?"
"Evan and Anne worked a few extra shifts at some jobs. Plus, that's not all!" Julia explained.
Hank ears perked up. "It's not?"
Julia shook her head. "Nope! Check what's inside the left one!"
Hank glanced at her, then back at his gift. He stuck his hand inside the left boot and felt something that was shaped like a flat book. Letting curiosity get to him, he pulled it out, and once he saw it, his jaw dropped. The other four teens he just befriended gasped.
It was a brand new firearms manual, fresh off the presses. The most recent edition.
"No way…" Hank whispered to himself.
Julia heard his stunned comment and beamed. "I knew you'd love it!"
Hank felt some confusion run around in his head. "Wait a minute…why did you get me something like this?" he questioned.
Julia rolled her eyes. "Hank. Like I said before, I'm not that stupid. I already know about your secret stash inside of your pillowcase."
Hank felt his face flush. Looks like he underestimated her a bit too much, and now she fooled him in front of his new friends, who were snickering at his astonishment. The room felt a bit more uncomfortable now, but Hank knew he had to say at least something back.
"So…um…you're okay with that?"
"Sure, why not, silly? It's better than some of the other things I saw in certain people's mattresses." she answered, stealing a look at Thomas who shrank behind his group of friends. Looks like Julia found his secret stash too.
...And they certainly weren't on guns.
Julia heard some of the other kids behind her start fighting for cake. She turned around, only to be stopped by Hank's voice.
"Julia."
Julia faced Hank again. He smiled.
"Thank you."
A warm, triumphant feeling had grown in her chest. Julia nodded, returning back his friendly expression. "You're welcome. Just make sure you don't show those to the little kids though, okay? They're not cheap."
"I'm not stupid either, Julia."
Satisfied, Julia went to settle the dispute the other younger orphans were having. Thomas reinitiated a conversation.
"Speaking of which Hank, you think you could show us some of those mags you've been hiding all this time?"
Hank looked at the rest of the group nervously, seeing the same curiosity in the others' eyes. "I don't know…"
"Aw, come on, bro! We promise we won't do anything to them!" Alex edged on.
"Yeah! Just a quick peek! Pretty please?" James begged.
Hank saw the desperation in their eyes and sighed. "Fine. But if I find out one of you guys mess up even a single page, it's castration. Got it?"
"Don't worry. I'll be the one to make sure these idiots don't do anything stupid." Matthew reassured, patting Thomas's head.
Nodding, but still full of doubt, Hank ran upstairs to his room to get his beloved treasures for outside eyes to see.
The phone suddenly rang.
"I'll get it!" Julia yelled out to the other caretakers whom were busy with their own labors. She dodged all the frantic kids running at her with ease, already experienced in the field of taking care of little children.
Julia pulled the phone out from its base. "Hello?"
"May I please speak to the parent or guardian of Hank Shawnson?" a voice on the other end asked.
"Yes, that's me. How may I help you?" Julia responded.
A few moments of silence took place from then. When Julia finally confirmed what she had just heard next, her grin melted away. In fact, she had dropped the phone (which caught the attention of quite a number of kids along with her co-workers), and made a quick jog to where Hank was a few minutes ago, only to see that he wasn't there. God…Hank would never be at the same spot whenever she really wanted to see him.
Not wanting to waste any more time and in desperation to tell the news she just received, she immediately threw questions at Hank's new "friends".
"Where's Hank?" she asked a bit too fast to Alex.
Alex furrowed his brows in confusion, not understanding the words that came out in a jumble from Julia's mouth. "W-what? Huh?"
"Where's Hank!?" Julia repeated in a more demanding tone.
Alex took a step back, shocked to see Julia in such a state of distress. Julia knew she wasn't acting like herself as well, but this was an exception.
She had to talk to Hank now.
Before Julia could ask anymore questions, she heard footsteps going down the stairs and stopping at the doorway of the dining room where everyone was. Sure enough, when Julia turned around, she saw Hank holding his magazines in his hands.
Hank immediately caught on to Julia's strange change in behavior just by one look at her face. "What's the matter?"
Julia made a large gulp, hearable to not only the group of teens nearby her but also to Hank as well. The room grew tenser.
"Hank…The Sheriff, he… he just called in..." she began.
Hank's eyes widened. Did that disgrace of a politician tell on him for cursing out loud at his face?
Hank sighed. Might as well apologize now before his birthday was ruined.
"Julia…I-"
"No Hank," Julia cut off. "You have to listen to me first."
Hank shut his mouth. Something told him that his last suspicion was wrong. Julia would never stop him in mid-sentence like that.
When Julia saw she got his attention, she shook her head.
"Hank…The Sheriff called…and…and he came up with some news...BIG news…"
Hank narrowed his eyes. "What news?"
"Well, it's… oh Jebus, how do I put this…?"
Hank was starting to grow more and more impatient with every passing second. "Just spit it out already!"
Julia bit her lip, forcing herself to speak. "…The Sheriff…he said that they found him…somebody you have to go see."
"Who!?" Hank almost hollered.
"YOUR FATHER!" Julia snapped.
A long pause.
Julia had screamed at the top of her lungs and everybody had heard her, even the younger orphans. The music ground to a halt as everyone turned silent. Hank felt twenty pairs of eyes turn towards him, anticipating his reaction.
He was paralyzed. His magazines fluttered to the floor as he stepped over them to Julia, not caring in the least about the booklets that had meant so much to him in the past.
"Is this…is this some kind of sick, fucked up joke?" Hank questioned, his voice barely a whisper.
Julia stared at her feet. Hank began shivering in nervous excitement.
"Oh my God…"
Hank lept into action, bursting through the door on his way out. His shoes hammered on the sidewalk as he barreled down the street. Julia quickly reacted to Hank's movements, but wasn't fast enough to catch him.
"Hank, wait!" she desperately yelled as she stumbled after him. Hank heard her futile efforts to give chase, and forced his legs to move faster. He couldn't stop.
There was no way in Hell he would.
A/N: Seven is done. I'm glad I got to update this so soon, because my own suspense to type this up was killing me also! At least we're getting closer to the good parts: parts that I'm sure you'll never forget.
Yes, this was very short compared to the previous chapters only because I wanted to stop here and it seemed pointless to carry on a setting for another 500 words. Don't worry: like I said above, the next chapter will make up for everything!
Reviewers' Credit:
DodgeStreaker:
LOL, thanks! Actually, making Hank's birthday September 22nd was actually something I was thinking of for a while ever since I was in the middle of Final Salvation. I thought it was pretty creative, and realized; "Fuck it, let's see how this plays out!"
I think the answer to your question on whether or not Hank will meet his father is pretty obvious now. Definitely didn't happen here, but I suppose all of us know where this will go to next.
Thanks for the review, and I hope you keep up your own good work too on "Madness Combat: Horrors"!
Kagami:
Thanks for still being a loyal supporter bro! I can never forget you in the Credits because of all the inspiration you gave me to write! As for your question before, just don't worry. Post your OC description in a review, and I have everything under control. You will notice though that your OC description will not come up in the review column, but that's only because I blocked that specific review so nobody else could see it and have the plot spoiled!
Just post your review and I'll take care of everything else. Sorry I confused you in the last chapter; being an author does make you over-explain some stuff sometimes…
Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!
P.S. I responded to your review by writing a review of my own in the review section right above yours, so you could just go see it there to read what I simply mean.
Sacrom574: I'm glad the last chapter satisfied you and I hope all the same with this one. The first section was meant to serve as a small plot diversion to Darren Wimbleton (who I'm sure we can all tell has some kind of connection to Hank). It was only placed there to sorta give the reader a heads-up that something big is going to happen.
More or less, this wasn't my best chapter either, but I suppose it will be made up in future excerpts.
Keep up the good work on your Madness Combat fic (Madness Combat: Second Nature) too bro!
DJ Anderson-Madness For Life: Thanks again for the high compliments! I'm glad that my edits to your Madness Combat story: "Black Fire Rain" helped you out! It benefits the both of us since it makes your story look better and the Madness Combat community will be able to understand it more easily. Nevertheless, you have an interesting plot too, so don't stop writing!
P.S., Hank says; "Thanks" for your acknowledgment!
P.S.S. I'm working on your Chapter 3 right now, so don't worry, I'll be done with it soon enough as long as life stops being a bitch.
Okay, so that's all the credits. I'm proud to say that Madness Combat is starting to become a bit more popular around this site thanks to the Revolution, but of course, we're just getting started!
I should upload this by now since it's so late at night, so thank you all for reading and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter of Hank's Legacy!
~Spirit9871
