Awakening
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Open your eyes, there's an Easter Egg or two in this chapter =3
Chapter 15: Awakening
The sun went down as I was getting ready for this… meeting of sorts. I changed into a black hooded sweater, black sweatpants, and black sneakers, complimented by my vintage sunglasses.
Well he did say to make doubly sure that I'm not followed. Who could possibly follow me if I blend in with the night?
I grabbed my keys and made my way over to the door to leave. I looked back over at Cole and he was still in his comatose state. Man I hope he's okay. I still don't feel right just leaving him and Kuo unattended. Anything could happen these days.
But like Paul said, they'll look after him. Paul usually isn't one to lie. With him, honesty is always the best policy. And I don't think he'd lie about something like this. Especially about being an Assassin.
And now I have the opportunity to delve deeper into this and possibly become one as well.
I made my back to Cole and kneeled next to him, watching him.
That's not creepy right?
You know, I've never seen Cole at peace. Even when those blast cores knocked him silly. I sometimes watched him when he was sleeping them off (still not creepy right?) and he never looked peaceful, where most people would. I didn't blame the guy. He had a lot much on his plate; the Beast, the plague, the militia, Bertrand, and not to mention he was dead center in a fierce love triangle. But now all of that's over and Cole can finally rest easy.
I wonder how long that will last; trouble always seems to find us no matter what we may do.
Cole let out a groan and shifted to lie on his side rather than on his back.
This is a good sign, he starting to come to. But I'm not going to jump to conclusions yet. He most likely still has a long way to go.
I got up and turned to walk to the door. When I was halfway there, Cole let out another small groan.
I turned back around and saw Cole had slight discomfort plastered on his face. I was about to make my way over to him when the power in the apartment had suddenly gone out. It went out for about five or ten seconds before coming back on.
When the lights came back on, Cole no longer seemed to be uncomfortable and had returned to lying on his back. Lightning from the outside had brightened up the room followed by some thunder rumbling loudly and violently. So violent I felt the room shake.
A storm is brewing.
~IF~AC~
My destination was fairly far from here, more than halfway across the city. I guess they really don't want to be found. Well I can't complain about it, I'm too excited to see what all of this is about anyway.
It began to rain a little but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I placed my hood on my head and kept moving. As I walked the streets, I noticed that there was an unusual amount of authorities. And that's especially unusual for New Marais. But what made things even more out of place is that these people didn't look like normal cops. These people were wearing gray ponchos with a red symmetrical cross on the front. Why does that look familiar…?
Wait, that's similar to the gesture Conney made at his swearing in! He must have something to do with this.
These people had the most stoic expression on their faces. A bird could fly by and crap on them and they probably wouldn't even budge. What's even scarier is that these people looked like they were ready to kill. They were equipped with swords, small knives, and pistols held at each side. They were all lined up straight all across the sidewalks, stopping when a street was met.
Really, really weird.
~IF~AC~
As I approached the Gas Works, there were more of these people patrolling the rooftops than on the streets.
Now I know why Paul told me to make doubly sure I wasn't followed. But the question still remains, who are these people? Are they Conney's lap dogs?
My paranoia began to rise as I continued to walk. I felt eyes on me and almost wanted to run, but running always seems to make situations like these worse. I still had a little bit to go until I reached my destination.
Turning around could raise suspicion, as it always seems to. Just keep walking, just keep looking straight ahead, and you should be fine. You're obviously being watched, but not followed. Don't run, don't try to hide. Act normal.
After several nerve wracking minutes, I finally arrived.
Wait this can't be right.
There's nothing here but a small shack and a dimly lit light post.
It's just a barren landscape with a lonely light post and a tiny, seemingly inhabitable shack… unless I'm missing something here. Or Paul has given into the prankster side that everyone seems to eventually fall into?
"Were you followed?" I heard a male voice call out.
"Wh-where…?"
"I'm here brother." A man in a white hooded sweater with traces of red stepped out from the shadows and into the light. I couldn't see his face because his hood covered it. I had noticed that his hood had some decoration on it; it was pointed at the center with an eagle imprinted on it.
"Who? Who are you? Is that you? Paul?" I asked
"My name is Jackson Night, mentor to the New Marais sector of the American Assassins. You are Zeke Jedediah Dunbar, correct?"
How does he know my middle name? "Yes, I am."
"Excellent. I have called you here because you harbor skills and knowledge that will prove helpful to our cause. You have the potential to join us."
"I'm flattered but… as secretive as everything has been lately, I doubt that you wanted to do this out in the open for the world to see."
"You are correct. It's time for your first test."
Oh great.
"A test of the senses. Having keen senses is key to seeing what the world truly is and to learn its secrets. You must open your eyes to find the secrets that lurk all around you. Awaken your senses and see the unseen." He spoke.
"Well, alright. I'll give this a shot." I responded. I wasn't exactly sure on how to do this.
I guess a good reasonable step would be to take off my sunglasses. But for some reason, whenever I took off my sunglasses, everything looked a little… odd. Everything was significantly darker. Even during the day, everything was darker. At night, it was just plain dark.
I removed my sunglasses expecting to see the usual pitch black. But I was met with an unexpected surprise. Not only did I the shack start glowing white in front of me, but Jackson was also glowing blue.
Well isn't that something?
Just to make sure I wasn't seeing things, I put my sunglasses back on. Everything was normal as it should be. When I lifted my sunglasses back up, Jackson was glowing blue and the shack was glowing white.
"Do you see it?" Jackson asked.
"Yeah I… I think I do."
"Excellent. With time and discipline, you will be able to control and master this ability, among other things. Now, let us go inside." Jackson said. He made his way over to the shack and opened the door. He walked inside and motioned for me to follow him. The door closed behind us.
"Now we climb down, our journey continues there."
Luckily there was a ladder conveniently placed so there was no worry of slipping and falling to my death. But Jackson on the other hand… just leaped off.
I guess that's one way to get around.
I safely climbed down the ladder and reached the bottom. Turns out there were a large pile of red flower petals at the bottom. I guess it would be large enough to safely break the fall of any poor soul who fell.
Jackson came out of the pile of flowers and shook off any lingering flower petals. He caught my bewildered expression.
"All in due time brother. Now come." He grabbed a lit torch and began to walk down a tunnel. I followed close behind him.
"We created this passageway to decrease the chances of being found. Given our current state, we can't afford to lose any more of us." He spoke solemnly.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I hate to say it, but we are slowly losing this war. The Templars are introducing new tactics and acting them out faster then we can even comprehend. And our numbers are dwindling. We've lose a majority of them because they get caught in death's inescapable grasp. When we send a few to infiltrate them, they were either too weak and were turned or they were too strong and unable to carry out the task. Our main enemy is Abstergo."
"Doesn't Abstergo manufacture pharmaceuticals?" I asked.
"Not everything is what they seem Zeke." He responded.
Isn't that the truth?
After walking in a comfortable silence we arrived at a steel door with a standard numeric keypad.
"Come here." Jackson instructed me. He placed the torch in a holder near the door.
I made my way over to the door.
"Watch closely." He pressed the numbers, in order, eight, four, one, two, three, six, finishing with eight.
A small beeping sound rang out, and then the rest of the keypad disappeared leaving behind the numbers pressed. Then the numbers faded away leaving a strange insignia on the door. The door slid down which lead to another ladder.
"Come on, up here." Jackson began to climb the ladder and I followed behind him. When he reached the top, he knocked on the roof. After a few seconds, a small section of it was opened up and a blinding light shone through. We climbed up to the top and pulled ourselves up (I needed a little help).
Damn it feels like I ran a marathon.
I took a glance at my surroundings. It was pretty mellow and comfortable in here but was still very high tech; surveillance and computers were everywhere and there were all sorts of gadgets and gizmos I've never seen before. On a desk was a series of golden glowing objects, along with the Apple of Eden Paul had shown me earlier.
"How are things? Anything happen?" Jackson asked as he removed his hood.
Well he's certainly a looker. Short black hair, clear complexion, well placed facial hair, and grey eyes that look like they could pierce the strongest steel.
If that doesn't scream Assassin, then I don't know what does.
"Nothing yet sir. They are just patrolling the city." A man spoke.
"I do not like this. They are up to something…"
"But on a more positive note, our allies in Rome have made amazing progress with Desmond Miles. His skills and abilities have developed greatly. The retention rate of the Animus is astounding. He is truly living up to his heritage."He said.
"Excellent. Well Zeke, you may have a look around and meet some of the people that are here. When you are done come meet me on the roof. We will begin your training there." Jackson said. He placed his hood back on his head. He then went up to a wall and pushed it in. The wall spun inwards and Jackson stepped through, the wall spinning shut behind him.
And all of this came from a little shack?!
I took Jackson's advice and took a look around. I greeted some people, all nice by the way, and I walked by numerous rooms full of weaponry, armor, paintings, and books. The last room was a candlelit room which had portraits of people arranged on a pyramid on the wall. Very few portraits were marked off with a big red X and some had some writing next to them. At the top of the pyramid was Michael Conney.
I knew it.
"He's their leader. His rise to power was a mistake on our part. If only we knew…" Paul spoke up from behind me. He walked into the room and stood beside me.
"He has to go down. He's been the one who's been slamming my buddy Cole, not Navarro. He saw him as a threat and wanted to put the world against him and eliminate him." I said. "And I can tell he won't stop until he's gone."
"For the time being, they are not aware that Cole is alive. We were able to capture the apple that allowed them to fulfill their goals. But they are hunting us down and it will be only a matter of time. We have to take out every single one of them, especially Conney. Their deaths can change the tides of this war and it will throw them into disorder, giving us time to recuperate and expand."
"And I'm ready to help you guys accomplish that."
"We know you are Zeke. You always have been. It's in your blood."
I nodded my head and placed my hood over my head. I left the room and made my way to the entrance that would lead me to the roof. I pushed the wall in and entered, letting the wall close behind me. I climbed up the ladder in front me. When I reached the top, I grabbed the hatch and pushed up. I was met with the cool breeze of the night.
All was quiet. Eerily quiet. Aside from the guards, very few people were on the streets. There was no music, no laughter, and no sounds of puking from an apparent alcohol overdose. This is a rare night. One for the history books even.
The party city called New Marais was deafly silent and lifeless.
Thought I could expand on Zeke's growing role as a modern day Assassin. Spices things up instead of just running through the sequences with Cole. Hope that's okay! =D
Please review =)
