CHAPTER 5: Home?
Jak led Ferin to a dormitory style room branching off from the main meeting room of the basement. There were 6 bunk beds arranged around the room. A couple of the beds had bags or boxes next to them and small tables littered with trinkets. "Go ahead and pick a bed that's free. There should be plenty to choose from. Most of the Underground members have their own places, but a few of us crash here." Ferin paced around, still clutching her knapsack. She stopped in front of a bed beneath a small, sliver of a window.
"I think I'll take this one."
"Alright, sounds good. You can leave your bag there if you'd like. I'll get you a table." Jak left the room for a minute, and returned with a small table identical to the others in the room. He brought it over to where Ferin was standing and placed it beside her new bed. Ferin sat down on the bed and tested it's firmness.
"Do you sleep here Jak?" She asked.
"Yeah, for the most part. My bed's over there." He pointed to a bed in the corner across the room. The table next to the bed was bare, but a large duffel bag was hidden under the bed. Ferin wondered what could be in such a large bag. Jak spoke and broke Ferin's train of thought. "Hey, you must be hungry considering how much bread you were trying to steal. How about we go get some grub?"
"Well, okay." Jak smiled at Ferin and led her out of the dorm.
"I'm gonna get this kid something to eat, Torn. We'll be back later." Jak said as they left. When the steel door closed behind them, Torn could hear Ferin scolding Jak about calling her a kid again. He just shook his head and sighed.
The two outlaws walked for a short while until they reached an old pub, one of the few in the city that would serve humans and half-breeds. Jak got a large beer for himself and let Ferin take her pick off the menu, which he soon regretted. She ordered fried chicken, potatoes, a heaping bowl of soup, and bread. When the food came, he swore he saw the half-breed drooling. She immediately started shoveling food into her mouth, stopping only to wash it down with an occasional gulp of water. Jak eyed her curiously as the amount of food on the platter quickly disappeared. "Easy tiger, take your time there. You don't want to get sick." He said.
"MMMMM!" Ferin replied though a mouthful of chicken.
"What's that?" Jak asked Ferin, jokingly.
"Oh, be quiet." She said after swallowing her food. The two chatted casually while Ferin finished the rest of her meal. Jak paid the bartender and they left the noisy pub. Outside it was beginning to get dark and the streets had mostly cleared. Only a few people were still seen here and there. Jak and Ferin kept fairly silent on their way back to the Underground hideout. When they entered the basement, Torn was no longer there. Instead, there was a large, muscular man sitting where he had been at the center table. Ferin immediately noticed something about the man – he was a half-breed!
"Hey Dozer, it's been a while!" Jak exclaimed, giving the man a high five.
"Jak! Good to see ya, man!" The man replied, grabbing Jak's hand and shaking it with tremendous force. "Oi, who's that behind you?"
"Oh, this is Ferin Maehar. She just joined the Underground today." Ferin waved shyly. Jak turned to Ferin. "I imagine you're pretty beat. Why don't you get some rest?"
"Alright." Ferin said, and went to the other room. She closed the curtain between the two rooms behind her and walked over to her bed. She then untied her scarlet cape from around her neck, and hung in on a nail sticking out of the wall. She reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of gray shorts and a matching tank top. Ferin slipped out of her tan shorts and navy blue tank top and pulled on the pajamas. She put her bag under the bed and crawled in between the covers. She stared up at the ceiling and tried to make out what Jak and Dozer were saying. Her eyes wandered over to the sliver of light coming from the curtain separating the two rooms. By the way the light flickered, she could tell one of the men was pacing in the meeting room. Suddenly she was able to make out Dozer's voice.
"I hope you're right Jak. You know if anything gets fucked up, Torn's going to put it on your shoulders."
"Believe me, we can pull it off. Don't sweat it, alright?" There was a silence and then Jak opened the curtain and came into the dormitory. Ferin ducked her head under the covers a bit. Jak walked across the room over to his bed and sat down. He began removing his shoulder pads and other armor and putting them on his table. Then he removed his goggles and scarf. He leaned over and took off his heavy boots and pushed them under the bed. Finally he pulled off his shirt, revealing a lean but muscular body. Jak then curled up beneath his own covers, and Ferin rolled over in her bed to turn away from him. As she began to get drowsy, Ferin thought that she might have finally found a place where she belonged. The half-breed closed and her eyes and drifted off to sleep.