Day 2 of converting John into Commander Shepard. I seriously need to come up with a new name for this undertaking. Nevertheless, as soon as we woke up, we headed for my old neighborhood. On the way, we found a small food stand from which we "borrowed" a couple of nutri-bars. They were actually not that bad, mostly they tasted like the Nature Valley granola bars from back home-which is the past or is it past life? At any rate, we used John's omni-tool to find our way around the city, which is increasingly large. Skyscrapers almost literally scrape the sky, ranging from corporations to apartments to government buildings. What used to be the "Big Apple" still is, only now it's twice the size filled with advertisements announcing new vids, physical alterations, and news on the five-year-old Human Embassy on the Citadel. By looking at John's map, it turns out that my neighborhood used to be the Bronx, a poor, gang-ridden neighborhood from my past life. It wasn't all that different today. It was more organized, cleaner streets, friendly-looking people, but turn in an alley, and you'll lose more than your money.
"This is the place?" John asked as we entered New Bronx.
"Yep. I know it looks civilized, but trust me when I say you're no safer here than with those Cerberus people. Everyone knows where...where..." I drifted as we came across my home, which was on sale. I never asked my parents why I didnt' have more family because I was happy the way we were. It was what I wanted in my past life. A mom and a dad in a nice home living together a normal life. I had that here...then Cerberus came. I know I said before that I didn't care much for them, but I actually did. More than I realized I still don't understand if Cerberus went rogue or if the Alliance let them go about however they wish. I seriously wish it's the former.
"What's wrong?"
"This... This is where I used to live. Twelve years of my life were spent here...Fucking Cerberus."
We stood in silence for a while until I spoke up.
"Come on, let's get going. There's an alley around here that is supposedly the Templar's hideout. I doubt it though. It's probably just a diversion." Without another word, I started for the alley that was a block away. John seemed like he wanted to say something, but didn't. Probably wanted to comfort me or something. That is something I don't need.
I find myself thinking more and more of how I'm going to kill the Illusive Man or whoever is in charge. I never wanted to physically tear someone in half before, maybe beat them up a bit, but not shred them to pieces and feed them to varren. I've a feeling that thinking as such is not healthy.
We turn into the alley that was too dark, despite the fact that there was not a cloud in the sky that could obscure the sun. The alley suddenly came to a dead end.
"Are you sure this is the right-"
"Shh! You hear that?"
"Hear wha-"
"SHH!"
A noise was coming from one of the walls. It sounded distant, but you could still hear it. It was a beeping sound, then a low swish! Before we realized it, we had three pistols pointed at us.
Must it always be like this?
"They look young. Naive. Bet they don't have much though." said one of them.
"What do you want, kids?" said another that seemed to be leading this little group.
"We're looking for Templar Knights. I'm presuming we found some, right?" I said firmly.
"Ha! She's got balls. But why were you looking for us?" said a girl dressed like the others: dark t-shirt with a red cross in the front, white hoodie, and jeans. Her hair was short, REALLY short, its color a midnight black shade, unlike the other two that had dark brown hair.
Very 21st century fashion...
"We want to join you. And before you start bickering about us being weak and shit, we know what it takes. We just killed two guys yesterday with an omni-blade because they were about to shoot us. Now, I highly suggest you lower your guns. We don't mean trouble."
"My friend here is right. All we want is to join you. Being with you is probably better than living in the streets. At least here, we'll have things to do to keep us busy and on our toes. So, you gonna let us in? Or should we go to another gang? I bet there's a lot of them here." John added. The three looked at each other and the one that looked like the leader nodded, motioning them to holster their gun.
That went better than anticipated...
"I'm Jacqueline. Just call me Jack." the girl said.
Wait. Jack? THE Jack? Nah. It couldn't be...right?
"That's Zeek. He's our lieutenant." pointing at the one that seemed to be the leader."That's Nate." pointing at the other.
"I'm Selena. This is John."
"Before you actually get to join us, you need to pass our test." Zeek said, "You need to prove your skill and your ability to survive. Our boss will score you."
"Who is your boss?" John asked.
"You'll meet her later." Nate said.
'Her', huh...? Well, this is getting interesting...
"What's involved in this test?" John asked.
"You'll be tested to see how well you can use weapons, whichever you feel comfortable with. The survival part... Well, you'll see for yourselves in a bit." answered Nate.
Interesting, indeed... What is this, a Harrowing?...
"Ready when you are then." I said. Truth was, I was quite eager to get this over with.
"Come on in." Zeek said. The SWISH! sound had been a hidden door opening and the beeping the access terminal to open it. The definition of hideout was being well used, apparently. Truth be told, I was expecting a rugged place with crumbling walls and nothing but bats-do they still exist?- and knives as weapons. I was quite wrong.
The place had a medieval/modern look to it. When entering, an armory filled with a variety of pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and even snipers was on the left. A holographic shooting range at the right. Further down were rooms that I could only guess were storage or bedrooms. The walls, however, were what gave it a medieval feeling. Swords, shields, and armor hanged from the white walls. All the shields had a red cross on them- which I figured was probably from the Crusades era. Some looked battle-worn while others looked new or at least well cared for.
Zeek motioned us to enter the armory. "Alright. Grab a weapon." John chose an Avenger and I decided to be brave and chose a sniper rifle. "Now, head into the shooting range. Jack, you're up."
"Oh, for fucks sake. Why do I always have to teach the rookies?" Zeek sent her a glare that if looks could kill, she'd be nothing but a pile of ash.
Taking the hint, she accepted with an exasperated sigh. "Fuck, fine. Come on, you two." She led us to the shooting range, and a thought began to pop in my head. How did these people get all this tech and weapons? I mean, their a gang, they steal. But this was over the top. Assault rifles? Snipers? A freaking shooting range?
As if having read my thoughts, "This is a lot of tech for a regular gang." Wow, thanks John. Saved me the hassle to ask myself.
"Yeah, well, that's 'cuz this ain't a 'regular gang.' The boss used to be rich or something. Then, she lost everything and formed this gang. A while back, she raided another gangs' hideout. They had the stash of weapons which is now ours.
"We got the shooting range from some police warehouse we raided. Now, get your asses ready. You'll be doing target practice. Then, teach you a few things if you suck at it-which you probably do since you're just little shits still."
If I had a doubt this was the Jack before, it no longer existed. The majority of her sentences had at least one curse word. However, the fact that I had never held a gun in my life-or my past one-quickly erases that thought from my mind. I had a vague idea of how to use a gun, having seen too many action movies and video games before.
I positioned the butt of the sniper on my shoulder, looking down the scope. The sniper was surprisingly lighter than I had anticipated and felt comfortable around my hands. Turning to John, I saw him position himself with ease. In that moment, I was captivated by his expression. He was so focused at the task at hand, his eyes full of determination. The look he had could only be the famous Commander Shepard look. That look that revealed nothing but sheer determination and focus.
That, however, changed when he glances up at me and caught me staring. His expression changed so suddenly, without warning. It was now softer, warmer. His look was an open book ready to be read, relishing the ups and downs of it. He nodded at me, his Commander Shepard look taking over again. The change was, again, so sudden. I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I focused on the targets.
"Alright, you two. The targets will move around. You have to shoot at least five. Depending on where and how your target 'dies,' will gain you more points. These points will be counted and if you reach a certain number of points, you pass. Easy. Put on the show for the boss, won't you?" she said the last part pointing at a camera on the ceiling.
"I thought we were gonna meet your boss?"
"Not yet, cupcake. That'll be the in the next test."
She DID NOT just call me cupcake...
AN: Wow. That took a long time to write. The gang name came from playing too much Dragon Age during the past few days. Anyway, hope y'all are enjoying this. Please review, favorite, and/or follow. Or don't. I'd prefer of you did, though. Enough rambling. Onward to the next chapter!
**UPDATED 3/24/14 just a few typos...**