The kid they met at the farm led them down a path through the forest without a word. Being covered in bits of blood doesn't bode well for the people of this land, so he decided to whistle a tune to try and break the awkward silence. It didn't work, the moment he began she flinched reaching for the red thing on her back.
Alan Sighed "Sorry, just trying to break the ice, I guess," he said and Ruby also sighed
"I'm sorry... you just seem, a little... untrustworthy" she admitted looking back at Amin
Amin struggling to eat his berries, unhelpfully added. "were the good guys, we kill bandits" That didn't seem to help at all.
the walk devolved into another round of silence. they made it to the town. The two shock troopers admired the town. it was a medium-sized settlement, around it and seemingly cut off most of the island lay walls made from stone sitting at a comfortable height, judging from the bear they fought, it was a decent defence.
"Finally, I can stop carrying your fat ass!" Alan said, noting the stares of the guards at the gate they were approaching. the child seemed to want to say something but carried on.
As they approached, he looked at their gear They looked at the two with wary eyes.
They were wearing steel plate armour on their chests and had no helmets, in their hands, were rifles of design he had never seen before, having to double-take at the second guard's weapon.
One had a bullpup Battle rifle and the other had a long spear with a revolver mechanism at the end, just behind the spearhead.
The guard's grip on their weapons tightened as they realized Alan was staring at them and the one with the spear and Orangish hair began to ask
"Stop, Do you have any identification?" Alan put the bucket down and reached down into his shirt and revealed his dog tags. The Spearman walked closer looked at the tags and nodded "Good enough, Corporal huh?" The spearman smiled. "you from Atlas?" Alan contemplated for a second.
"uh... maybe," Alan replied and the spearman just shrugged and looked to his comrade then back to them he inspected Amin's injuries and nodded.
"Alright, you can pass," he said as he walked to the wall and opened the small gate, behind were more guards, looking ready for action. These were either under-equipped or had some odd choice of weapon. The spearman called out "Stand down boys, we got soldiers!" the guards eased at the words and began to disperse.
The three finally made it to town and walked into the walls.
They were greeted by a Man and woman with uniforms that indicated they were paramedics.
"Sit him down over there so we can examine him," said the Woman pointing to a mat near the rear of an ambulance.
"Ma'am," Alan said and he set him down on the mat on the ground and the paramedics began their work. Alan was about to walk away but was stopped by the other paramedic.
"do you need assistance too sir?" Alan shook his head and the paramedic went back to Amin.
Alan just stood there, Having nothing to do as Amin's fate was out of his hands for now. Alan brought out a cloth and began wiping his rifle. Cleaning it, so it wasn't covered in blood or dust, though the blood had dried, he'd need to put more effort into it. The kid that led them here seemed to find the courage and walked up to him then asked.
"you didn't say you were soldiers," she said after a moment.
"Well, you never asked" he answered, and they fell into silence again. She looked at his gun, her eyes glimmered for a second.
"I've never seen guns like these before, Are they new?", while she talked Alan pressed the mag release lever and Pulled the mag out, placing it in his belt pouch. He grabbed the charging handle and cleared the action, catching the bullet and putting it in his pocket. silver eyes following his actions.
"no, it's old, Comically so" He answered, and saw her start to drool at the gun, and Alan became slightly uncomfortable. "hey, you okay" he saw her realize she was staring and apologized.
"So you like guns?" Alan began and she smiled and her eyes glimmered even brighter as he continued. Alan grabbed another magazine; this one an orange plastic bakelite and rocked it into the rifle and racked his rifle, setting the selector up and covering the hole on the side, he moved his hand to the other side of his rifle and pressed a release button near the rear grip, and the stock folded to its left side.
the divot in the stock let it form perfectly despite the rail on the side.
"yes I love guns, weapons in general" she beamed and brought out the red boxy thing on her back. "They are like extensions of yourself, and you should take good care of them," she said, that last bit, Alan felt was Direct toward him.
she unfolded the red object and it took the form of a Massive scythe, then she stabbed it into the dirt, Alan's eyes grew considerably
"Woah, what is that?" Alan Said surprised, he'd seen people use farming equipment as weapons before, but this was a way different.
"Oh, this? this is Crescent Rose, A high-impact, customizable, Sniper rifle and Scythe" she explained with glee,
Alan smiled under his mask, "That's Awesome, I've never seen weapons like this before" Practicality be damned, that thing was awesome, as he admired the weapon. noting the size of the magazine, "what calibre is it?" he asked,
"oh nothing too crazy, it's in 12.7 by 100" She joked. Alan blanked at the anti-material-sized calibre.
"Christ, that's quite the calibre," Alan said, his attention was pulled away from her as a man walked up to them, his hair a spikey grey, his skin pale and eyes a distinct red. He wore a small cloak around his back.
"Hey stranger can you come with me, I have some questions," He said his voice cold, and his eyes held Alan in a suspicious light.
Alan shrugged, The girl next to him grew worried and the older man held his hand out in a calming gesture.
"you and I will talk later, Tai's worried sick" he pulled out A device similar to hers and it showed a message.
Alan realized he could somehow read the small text despite the distance, in many different text bubbles it Read; 'Scary men' 'blood' and 'need hospital' the last one being misspelled. The man put his device away walked away and Alan followed.
"your partner will be alright, we can go to the police station," the man said and Alan nodded in understanding. Feeling as if his people would be concerned if foreign soldiers appeared near his home.
honestly, it depended. His tribe would've scalped them, Comparing it to the villages that would question them and point them in the right direction.
As they walked, he took in the sight of the town. having lived in a spread-out village most of his life, or the fact a town this size with No soldiers on every street corner, No destroyed infrastructure, and People milling about without a worry. Seemed so calming. The man in front of him saw his demeanor change and sighed.
"Names Qrow" he began "Someone wants to meet you, Seems you caught his interest" Qrow Said after a second.
"I see," Alan walked along, barely paying attention to the man. Alan began to introduce himself. "Corporal Alan Lynx, 13th shock battalion, serial 38141 of the North American Tribal Union Expeditionary Regiment" Alan droned on and Qrow tried his best to remember all that.
"How about Alan for short Okay?" Qrow responded finally. Alan nodded and they finally made it to the Police station. it was a simple Grey and Blue Concrete box surrounded by a spiked fence. what appeared to be All Terrain Vehicles painted in similar colours were sat outside.
As they were about to enter, Alan saw the ambulance from the gate drive by, he surmised Amin was inside and kept walking, thanking Qrow as he held the door for him.
they continued their walk into the building itself and he looked around, A clean atmosphere, rows of chairs and a desk that held an old Policeman to the left side, Various doorways and a stairwell on the other side of the waiting room. The man nodded towards Qrow and then pointed to a door to the right.
"The rooms ready." The officer looked at the tattered Shock Trooper with narrowed eyes and suddenly asked. "Is Xiao Long's kid alright?" he seemed to calm down as The grey-haired man gave his response.
"yeah, the way the squirt worded it didn't help, with Tai almost going feral with worry you know?" As he finished Alan managed to trip on air and fell on one of the wooden chairs. The chair itself crumpled upon his contact.
"Damn it, I'm sorry." he let out a quick apology, picking himself off the ground and grabbing the shattered remains of the chair.
the trooper looked around and decided to put it onto another chair. the old officer waved him off while he said "Just get out of my hair and it will be forgiven." the officer raised one of his eyebrows while staring at Qrow.
"Yeah, yeah whatever," Qrow said then turned to Alan "Go to the room marked with- wait." Qrow looked back at the officer
"Room two" He answered the silent question.
"Room two, It should be just before the holding cells." Alan nodded and began Walking
He went through the doorway Qrow pointed out and proceeded down a white hallway.
He saw someone turn the corner, and immediately turn back upon seeing him.
"damn, I won't burn your wagons or some shit," he said under his breath, he made it to the end of the hallway and saw some signs with arrows pointing in different directions.
he saw Holding cells and interrogation rooms so he assumed he was going there. He looked to his right and saw some policemen and what appeared to be people like the guards staring at him from the end of the hallway.
Turning and walking down to his left, The Corporal ignored the stares of the group of four. upon reaching a split in the hallway he saw an overhanging sign saying interrogation rooms, he saw four doorways and a number two near the end.
walking to the door he opened it and stared at the metal table and three chairs, there was a camera mounted on the corner of the wall. Alan walked to the chair and sat down, He noticed a Giant Mirror. It was inset to the wall in front of him.
as he waited, Alan whistled a tune, his favourite song he learned from a prisoner of war. After a few minutes, Alan stopped whistling as he heard the door click open and he saw the red-eyed man enter.
"So you managed to break a chair and scare some young officers and huntsman shitless," Qrow said and Alan blankly stared at the man.
"Sorry?" Alan Responded after a second and Qrow let out a chuckle.
"That someone I mentioned earlier said he'd be here soon, so sit back and relax as I ask you some basic questions"
And so they went on, Qrow asked him where he was from and Alan shrugged. he then asked about his basic info, His age, height, skin colour, and eye colour; Qrow raised a confused eyebrow for reasons unknown to Alan, his hair colour. then if he had any identification. All Alan handed him was his dog tags and Qrow scrutinized them, noting down the third name and he typed into his foldable Pad thing.
"All alright, Before I leave, can I ask what you were doing in the woods?" he narrowed his Crimson eyes again and continued. "you were covered in blood that wasn't yours, Armed to the teeth, Uniformed and claiming your from a Tribe I've never heard of." Alan didn't know how to answer this question.
"stand by," Alan said quickly Collecting his thoughts as the situation finally dawned on him. He had not a clue as to how he ended up in an area of the world that wasn't either, Frozen, An irradiated wasteland, Ruined cities with wartorn landscapes, All consistently had a thick blanket of ash covering the sky since before he was born.
"To answer that... I honestly have no clue." He watched Qrow raise an eyebrow at him in confusion. Alan let out a sigh and looked into Qrow's eyes "Me and my Battalion were fighting through the Ruins of a City, We were the first sent in like... damn about a year ago now." Alan saw Qrow typing something, and paused, with genuine interest in what he was saying.
"Let's focus on what happened before you ended up here" Questioned Qrow.
"my squad was sent to clear an apartment and we made a good way through before..." his eyes widened as he seemed to comprehend A factor he remembers just simply Brushing off "I think I fucking Died!" he stood and held his head. "How- what- God fucking damn it!" Alan punched the table he was vaguely aware of a flash of red around his hands and saw he left a decent dent in the table, He then felt a hand touch his shoulder and he was slowly eased back into his chair.
"Easy there Corporal," He looked back to Qrow and he saw him pat him on the shoulder awkwardly. "Listen I don't know how To deal with this kind of thing, but let's focus for now." Qrow backed up to his chair grabbed his pad and began typing again.
Alan nodded his head and sat back down. Despite everything, The Battles he fought, the people he'd lost, The things he'd done. Alan felt tears well up at the edge of his eyes.
Qrow had seemed to finish what he was typing and looked to the corporal.
"Hey man, you gonna be All right?" Qrow asked concerned etched in his voice. Alan broke out of his thoughts and sighed. The Trooper Straightened his back and gave his answer.
"No" he then broke out into sudden laughter. this unnerved Qrow, The older man Sitting up and reaching for his weapon.
Alan's laugh devolved into an airy cackling and stopped only when The Corporal Broke out into a Coughing fit. Alan then let out a yell and stood while slamming both his fists into the table again, denting it once more. finally stopping he held his hands to his face. he sighed.
"in seriousness, I will probably be okay-" Alan noticed the fallen-over chair, suddenly aware of a gun Barrel held at his head, Reacting on instinct.
The corporal sent his right arm and hit the gun away, The gun went off and he sent his fist at Qrow's face. The Corporal's eyes narrowed as Qrow simply parried the punch with his free hand and stepped out of the way of a kick sent toward his side.
Despite the 60kg of gear He rolled backwards away from Qrow, they began to circle the table, not letting either of them get to the other side.
Alan pulled a knife from the bottom of his wrist, Then tossed it to his right hand and got into a Low stance. Alan's eyes flicked towards the door.
Qrow shifted his weapon to a sword and hit the table out of the way, The table landed on the door and Alan cursed under his breath as he saw the only way out blocked by the table.
"Stand down Corporal!" Qrow Ordered, Alan may have been thinking a million miles a second right now but he didn't comprehend Qrows words.
Alan simply readied himself and Charged.
Qrow Held his sword in front of him, as they were about to clash There was a Purple glow that surrounded both the men along with the strewn-about furniture.
Alan Being raised into the air suddenly in fact, didn't like this. Letting out a surprised gasp he began to curse. "Fuck you! Fuck you! What is This!?" Alan Snapped as he flailed about,
The Corporal watched the chairs and table be put back to their original place. Watching Qrow get set down near the two chairs facing away from the mirror. and Alan was still helplessly floating in the air.
"Alan Calm down, you Crazy bastard!" Qrow snapped back and Alan Still helplessly floating there, Hissed at him similar to a cat. Alan stopped everything upon doing that. All anger leaving him. The Corporal straightened himself out. took a deep breath, and finally calmed down.
They stared at each other in silence for a couple of seconds until both the Huntsman and Trooper heard a click.
Looking at the door it opened and it revealed a man in a black suit, Grey hair, a green scarf and a pair of tiny glasses, holding a mug, Alan noticed the old man's eyes held years of experience.
"Now that everyone has calmed down, May we speak?" Alan to show he has calmed down sheathed his knife.
Alan was promptly lowered to his chair, He looked to Qrow "Will you put a gun to my head again?" Qrow seemed frustrated and simply shook his head.
"Now that's been settled, I am Professor Ozpin." The man adjusted his glasses and sat down.
Alan sat in the chair and listened.
"my school teaches new generations to be Humanities Greatest Defenders, Guardians against the Creatures of Grimm" Alan assumed 'Grimm' to be that bear thing they ran into.
So the old man Talked about how he wanted him for a special position in his school. he told him about, how his school is structured in a way where teams of four students will go throughout the years, being taught how to survive in the wilderness, learning how to fight the Grimm.
Ozpin Told Alan his plan for a new semester. Alan was to lead Two of these teams as a squad. Ozpin was about to can this idea, as he needed someone with experience in this type of leadership, and no one came to mind. If Amin accepted, He would be Equivalent to an assistant squad lead.
When Ozpin finished his offer, he left Alan to think about it.
Personally, He didn't mind the offer, It got him to do something. Before joining the army, Alan was imprisoned semi-unfairly then when he was released he Wandered Aimlessly. his Tribe was attacked by the invading army and he was one of two survivors, Just him and his great-grandfather. Thinking about the Old man, brought a smile to his face.
'now that I think about it, the old man probably still kicking ass,' he began to think about his family, then about a girl he met in Amin's village. Snapping himself out of those thoughts he looked around the room, Ozpin had left and told him to wait here and think about the offer while the two men left to discuss things.
Alan had the feeling of being watched, Thinking it might have been the camera. Alan sat in silence for a good while, pondering.
when he decided that was enough staring at the wall Alan stood and made his way to the mirror. The Corporal Unclipped his helmet's strap and slid it off his head, then reclipped it to his Webbing.
The Corporal finished with that and started taking his mask off. he felt his greasy hair fall to his face as he looked at himself.
"Damn I look like shit," he said as he looked into his own eyes and inspected them. they were different, An Amber colour, Oval Shaped Pupils in a Solid black, he blinked as he saw them change shape to circles 'Can I stop being different?' When his anger flashed his thoughts stopped as he watched them narrow to slits.
The Corporal shook his head and inspected the rest of his face. his hair was getting long again, his eyes had bags under them and his skin was a little paler than before.
He noted his scar was the same at the very least, Receiving it before he wore his current helmet, it was a simple cut that began at his left eyebrow and ended at his cheek. Memories flashed. Alan's eyes grow distant.
The burning hulls of European and American tanks.
the Forest set ablaze by a crashed fighter jet.
thousands running and fighting through a forest.
A platoons worth of men, cut down by a Repurposed Quad mounted 23mm Self-propelled, Anti-air gun.
As a young Alan approached A trench line to take cover, the ground around him exploded, and a rock or other piece of debris caught him in his face.
Shaking his head Alan, Inhaled, held it for a second. Then released.
Alan hated having time alone like this, Every time he didn't have something to immediately distract him. He thought about past woes and locked up.
Deciding that inspecting himself again would fulfill that he looked at His face, It was smooth as ever. his hair was a barely noticeable dark brown reaching down just below his jaw, shining with built-up oils after not washing for almost a week now.
"I need a fucking Drink or a shower... Maybe both"
Interrogation observing room
Three figures were conversing about the topic. Ozpin seeing potential in the Trooper, Qrow wanted nothing to do with him, but the third felt it would do more harm if they did nothing. The topic then went on to how the two troopers ended up there.
"I swear every time you tell me something new about magic my liver wants to fail me" Qrow whined
"It's not too hard to comprehend," Ozpin added
"for you maybe" Qrow pulled a flask from a pocket in his shirt, "so you made up an entire job position just to keep him from, going off and doing harm?" he took a sip from the flask and tucked it back.
the two became silent when they saw the Corporal do something other than blankly stare at the wall, They watched him take off his helmet, and then his mask.
Ozpins eyes widened when he saw him without anything obscuring everything but his eyes.
"you said he was 21?" Ozpin asked
"He looks around that" Qrow replied
"Glynda, what do you say?" Ozpin questioned the woman in question
"I couldn't tell with just his eyes, but he looks a little younger than that." the woman in question gave her response
"I have a feeling, his report may not be so truthful" Ozpin looked to Qrow and asked, "Do you think you can get a DNA sample?"
Qrow raised his eyebrow "I can ask"
"Alright, let's finish this, I have some paperwork and a whole semester to plan." The three finished and walked to the door only to stop as they noticed Alan start making faces at the window.
"what is he doing?" Glynda asked, Qrow sighed and Ozpin gave a chuckle all tension surrounding the Soldier in the interrogation room seemed to melt.
"Does he know that is a one-way window?" Ozpin heard Qrow ask
They kept watching, as the Corporal smiled, a little life coming back to his feline-like eyes.
"no, I don't think so." Ozpin turned back to the door and opened it. Making his way to the interrogation room door. With a click the door opened and he saw the Corporal look back at him. Without missing a beat, The Corporal began talking.
"Sir, I've made my choice." Alan held his hair back and began sliding the single hole Mask back on his face.
"All alright then, Let's hear it," Ozpin asked as the corporal slid his mask back on.
"I Accept your offer," He said While sliding his visored helmet back onto his head, Ozpin smiled.
Hospital of Patch
The nurse Drew blood from a vein and Alan watched, His staring had the effect of unnerving the poor old lady.
She packed up the blood vial and swiftly walked away.
"All alright, you can sit in the waiting room to visit your partner," Qrow told the Soldier, and he fell into silence as Qrow walked away to parts unknown, leaving him to his own devices.
Alan walked to the waiting room and... well, waited. Alan looked at a watch on his wrist and sighed, '5:34 PM' he looked at the Clock on the wall and it showed 3:11 PM. The Corporal adjusted his watch and laid his back into the chair.
He began to think about his next course of action, He would be basically on his own for the next three months, and he was also told he would get Aura training from Qrow, Alan didn't really pay attention to whatever insane words they used. He needed something to do, or he genuinely thought he would go insane.
The Old headmaster had given him some of this place's Currency, some plastic cards. he counted them to around 3500 'Lien', this was to get him onto his feet, Qrow had told him an Inn nearby would let him stay for around 20 a night.
Alan wondered what his currency would be worth. Digging into his pockets he pulled out the coins. Silver pieces clinked around in the bag.
Letting out a sigh Alan put the silver back and his mind wandered, eyes growing distant, his Mood soured as Memories flashed again.
Burning houses, People armed with bolt action rifles defended themselves against an overwhelming force.
A boy wearing a scarf lay in the snow, holding his .303 rifle, he fired, watched a Burst of Blood hit the snow, racked the bolt, and fired again, once again the round struck true.
The bandits responded in kind. he caught a glimpse of the bandits, this one wore fur hats, their rifles newer, black polymer handguards.
he remembered what they were called. Jeagers or Rangers in another language
The boy cursed in anger. Bullets cracking all around him.
The boy got to his feet and ran further away from the bandit army.
arriving at a house, another boy with a semi-auto shotgun waited. They grabbed each other's hands and hugged each other.
"Goodbye brother," one said
"Goodbye as well," The other said
They separated and the one with a shotgun ran into the house used as a fortified position.
The first boy let down a scarf that blocked his face, revealing a younger Alan.
Alan ran in a different direction further into the woods and came across a group of people walking through the snow. He began to escort them through the forest.
The wind began to pick up, and A blizzard was beginning. Gunfire and screams echoed off the pines and cedar trees of the forest.
Alan watched an Elderly woman collapse and he ran to her to help her up and they began walking again.
as they neared a Bridge Alan saw other warriors from his tribe and he waved to them.
"Kalin?" one yelled to him. he shook his head and the Warrior began again "Alan, It's good to see you still kicking."
"You too, we managed to get most of them out," Alan responded, As he walked he noticed someone walk up to him; His grandfather
"Where are your brothers," Alan noticed his Grandfather's look turn to the others worry slowly crept into his eyes
"They didn't make it." Alan Sorrowfully responded. the old man nodded in understanding
"The others?" He asked again after a moment.
"Still fighting as you can hear." Alan was about to say something again but was cut off as he heard a whistling Then an ear-shattering boom
They looked across the bridge toward some more houses, one house in particular that was hit took their attention and took off towards the houses.
"Mortars, keep moving!" someone yelled and the people of his tribe continued past the burning buildings.
Alan and his Grandfather made it to where the mortar hit and the sight of what he saw stuck with him for years to come
"Um... hello?" Alan was shaken out of his thoughts and he saw silver eyes filled with worry.
"oh it's you," Alan said finally coming back from his thoughts. "I don't think I ever got your name" The girl seemingly Remembered that fact and began to introduce herself.
"My name is Ruby, Ruby Rose." She held out her hand Alan nodded and began to introduce himself.
"Alan," He said and shook her hand.
"I came by to see if you were still here, and I guess you were!" She beamed and Alan just nodded again, he saw her sit down across from him. "When I got here I tried speaking to you, but you just stared past me for a bit, Are you alright?"
Alan Sighed for what must have been the millionth time today and nodded
"Yeah, don't worry about me, I'm just worried about Amin." he half lied.
"Oh, yeah, is he alright too?" Alan shrugged
"I don't know, I just got here-" he looked at the clock and it read 7:37 "around four hours ago." Alan brought his hand to his eyes and rubbed them,
"ah, I wanted to ask if we could talk some more, I want to take a look at your weapons. and perhaps help you clean them?" Alan raised an eyebrow at this.
"Really?" he questioned "Weren't you afraid of me?"
"I was, but you seem cool, and I want to see how your guns function, They look so simple but cool-" She went on for a while and he listened. adding on with whatever he felt needed.
the conversation went from her talking about some robots. Alan was amazed at her descriptions.
then he talked about the closest thing they had, autonomous UGVs, armed with a heavy machine gun and grenade launchers.
She talked about some Airship and Alan was happy to listen on about the contraptions.
Ruby pulled up an Image and it was of an Atlesian Battleship, this one wore the name 'The Vanguard'
Alan loved what he was seeing, everything about this area of the world amazed him, Feeling a bit jealous. After all, they didn't have to contend with endless darkness, constant arctic conditions and a generation-spanning war.
They talked a bit more, and after a while, she seemed panicked
"Oh I have to go, it's getting late!"
Alan looked back at the clock and gawked. It read 10:30 they had been talking for three hours.
"Where are you staying, so we can talk again?"
"Alright, I'll be staying at the Sleepy Ursa Inn." She nodded at him and suddenly burst into rose petals and disappeared down the hallway.
"God damn it," He said after a minute, deciding not to dwell on what he just saw.
Around half an hour after she left A nurse walked in and said He could finally visit Amin but would have to leave within an hour.
thanking the nurse He led Alan to a room, he saw inside Amin hooked up to an IV and his arm was in a sling. Amin's gear was sat on a table on the other end of the room.
Alan Closed the door and walked up to Amin, The private's eyes Lit up upon seeing him. Alan took notice of said eyes, as they had changed and were much like his
"Corporal, Finally. I think I've gone insane!" Amin said and they began talking. Alan took a seat next to the bed
Alan had to explain the job offer and the fact they may not be on the Continent of America anymore.
"I figured that, I am just going to try not to think about it for now. Like you!" He said and they both fell into silence
Amin looked into Alan's eyes and suddenly grabbed his face and looked into his eyes "Bro your eyes are weird!"
Alan looked into Amin's eyes and narrowed his "Take a look at yourself." Amin's eyes were much like his but were a lighter blue.
"Sir, What the Hell happened to us?" Amin asked after a while.
"you think I have a Clue?" The Corporal Responded and Amin calmed himself.
"No, I was just hoping for something." Alan began to inspect the Private further. Amin had short black hair, a thin moustache and a little patch on his chin. Amin was a year older than him and stood around 5,10'.
Alan seemed to remember something "So, some old man offered us a job."
"and that would be?" The Private questioned.
"We gotta go to school," Alan joked and chuckled as Amin's dread grew
"What?"
"No, no we have to go to a school that trains kids to fight monsters," Alan began correcting "like that one we met in the Woods."
"He told me something about some shit and I didn't really pay attention" Alan saw Amin's face fall into a blank stare
"Well, we only got each other, so I might as well go wherever you go."
"hell yeah" The moment seemed to pass and the two fell into silence.
After a good bit passed Amin looked at his arm "The doctor said, it will take a week to heal, A few more before I can move it again Crazy right?"
"what do you mean A few weeks?" Alan finally said Dumbfounded
"I know, A wound like this would've taken me out of service" They talked some more, this time they talked about their fallen teammates
After a while, A nurse asked him to leave and let Amin rest. so he began his trek across town towards the Inn.
Alan also took most of his gear with him, leaving him with a pistol and his BDU.
carrying another trooper's worth of gear should have been backbreaking, but he felt alright, He was too tired to question it.
as he walked he was listening to the night ambience of the town, there was not a person in sight. other than some people he could see through the windows.
he heard distant howls and the pops of gunfire but was told that was normal by Qrow. He also told him if there was a siren he should panic
He looked at the street name, remembering being told it was a good six-minute walk away from here.
After totally not getting lost Alan saw the Inn, in the distance, he walked across the small two-lane road and as Alan approached the Inn, He saw two parts, A door to a bar and a door next to it with the words 'receptionist' he walked over to that.
Opening the door he heard A bell jingle above him as he entered the Reception, and saw a man reading a magazine look up and greet him.
"Good night isn't it?" Alan nodded at the man's greeting and walked up to the desk.
"How long am I able to stay here?" The trooper asked
"as long as you have the Lien, and aren't noisy, Basically as long as you want!" he pulled up a paper and waited for a response
"Alright, deal, I'll be staying here along with a friend eventually for a good bit." The man nodded and wrote something down and Alan put some of the plastic cards down.
"This'll get you, around a month," Alan nodded and was handed the paper, Alan signed it and was handed a key.
As Alan took the key, The receptionist eyed his dog tags and was suddenly asked "So you were the soldiers at the gate," Alan nodded "Man you gave some of us a fright, someone said there were injuries and a kid was missing from a field trip" Alan Scratched the back of his head and began
"yeah, me and my Teammate were lost while he was injured." Alan looked back at the door and wanted to finish this conversation. "the Ruby kid offered a shortcut through the forest,"
After they finished their conversation Alan walked out of the building towards the stairs, looking for a number. he got to 013 and he looked at his key and saw '013' printed on it.
Inserting the key he twisted the knob and the door opened.
Finally entering he took in the sights. Two beds, a bathroom to his immediate left and a television next to a table. A black box with a window sat at the end of the room next to a large window.
Alan walked to the table and sat all the gear on it, then walked to the bed nearest to the door and started taking all of his gear off, and just tossing it all on his bed.
he folded his cloak, unstrapped all of the other pieces of armour, and placed them haphazardly on the floor. helmet placed with more care.
Leaning his rifle on the wall taking off his boots, and finally his BDU,
"holy hell I smell" he finally said, standing there in his underwear, he admired his collection of random assorted 'bullshit'. Then turned to the bathroom and looked into it, seeing a showerhead above the bathtub.
He enjoyed a good shower, Reveling in the feeling of months of dirt and grime falling off of him. he finished and with a towel wrapped around his waist, The Corporal walked back to his bed.
he laid his back on the part of the bed not filled with his gear and instantly drifted to sleep.
All worries from his life slipped away as he slept, this was the first time he'd have a full night's rest since the day his tribe was wiped out, while getting much-needed rest, he dreamed about his family and their violent demise.
2098 Manitoba Ontario northern border
Alan watched, it was all he could do. His mother's mutilated corpse lay next to his two sisters. having been caught in the shrapnel of the mortar round. His grandfather grabbed his shoulder and shuffled him away. blocking the sight.
"Come on, let's move." his grandfather said. Alan Understood. They didn't have time to bury them, so they moved.
The death of his brothers, though sad he understood. All three of them were training to be warriors, they were expected to die at some point.
His eldest brother older than him by almost seven years most likely died a day ago, they were the early warning patrol and they did their job to the best of their ability.
his second eldest brother only older than him by two years, will most likely die holding off the Army that approached.
the army that approached, was different. Despite wearing less armour, they were better trained for forest combat.
they had artillery, and from what he heard from the forward patrol they had mechanized forces following behind these specially trained soldiers.
they held them back for years, but eventually, The invading army broke the once proud tribe that stood in their way.
Alan was snapped back into reality as he tripped over someone, when he got up he saw it was the old woman from before. She was lifeless.
"come on, there is nothing we can do" he was told
After that, They walked for days. losing many as they walked through the forest.
Constantly on the run, One by one dying from either the cold. or harassing patrols.
when there were few of their tribe left, They were attacked by a larger element. Losing everyone but a few warriors.
When they started to see signs of civilization, they were shot at immediately, Finally all that stood was him and his grandfather
his grandfather put a hand on his shoulder, "Put down your rifle."
they put down their rifles and raised their hands as a show of surrender and they were promptly arrested.
Alan thinks about the reason for their hostility, and he remembers. many years in the past, this area was united and they refused the unification. relations soured until undeclared conflict broke out.
as they were loaded into a truck. Alan's grandfather warned the soldiers, and they went pale with fear, and they radioed off to somewhere.
While they were driven off, Alan watched out the back as he saw trucks drive past them and to where he assumed the new front would be.
AN
here goes second Chapter.
