Nowhere to Run - A Tale of Junior Company [FF] - Updated 4th Dece Chapter 23 Posted

[rusticangelic]

I Present - Nowhere to Run – The Tale of Junior Company.

A Brief overview of the story

This fan fic follows the story of the children and teenagers of Junior Company, a centre where children are sent when they have lost one or both members of their family and their other members are unable to care for the child whilst they are fighting.

Here the children are schooled about the reality of the war surrounding them, giving them a little if somewhat programmed education and teaching them the essentials of combat. Junior Company is a glorified boot camp where the kids are put into groups and taught the importance of team work. Preparing them for when they reach an age where they will be sent to fight for the COG.

Nowhere to Run focuses on the shattered lives of the children as the Locust invade the centre forcing them to flee the only place they had ever felt safe. Their journey leads them in search of Jacinto, unaware of the COG’s plan to flood the city. Will this bunch of misfits ever make it to safety of the COG or are they destined to walk Sera as Stranded.

Prologue
Chapter One - Aidan
Chapter Two - Washington
Chapter Three - Eli
Chapter Four - Lem
Chapter Five - Angelo
Chapter Six - David
Chapter Seven - Caught in the Act
Chapter Eight - Unrest
Chapter Nine - Fear
Chapter Ten - Single Handed
Chapter Eleven - Retrieval
Chapter Twelve - Blood
Chapter Thirteen - Left Behind
Chapter Fourteen - Decisions
Chapter Fifteen - Stranded and Separated
Chapter Sixteen - Of Men and Boys
Chapter Seventeen - It's A Trap
Chapter Eighteen - Things That Go Bump
Chapter Nineteen - Bang Bang You're Dead
Chapter Twenty - The Cave
Chapter Twenty One - Fall Apart
Chapter Twenty Two - A Lesson in Gunfire
Chapter Twenty Three - An Offer

Prologue
One Month before the Sinking of Jacinto

“Here at Junior Company we treat our squads like family,” Lieutenant Brewer recited to the apprehensive father sitting in the plastic chair opposite his desk. Brewer adjusted himself in his own executive chair, yes it was years old and he had bartered his wedding ring for it, but it was definitely worth it. “You have to understand that we’ve had children as young as a year old recruited into Junior Company; we’ve had to educate them to become adults in a world where their own COG employed parents cannot.”

The father glanced down at his small son, sitting on the seat next to him quivering, he was a scrawny little thing anyway; wiry arms, an immense mop of thick black hair and stick like legs that looked like it would snap rather easily, rationing had taken an impact on him when he should have benefitted from essential vitamins at a young age. He hated to see his son look so malnourished.

“I have to reiterate to you Mr. Croker, Junior Company won’t see front line action, they are purely trained here on a protection or scavenging basis. The kids are all trained in weapon basics and are taught to hold their own, but the most action they have is night watch or general security. Our job is to train them ready for when they reach a suitable age for combatant purposes. We have many children here who have lost a mother or a father and their only remaining guardian is currently out fighting. We are the safest option for your child. Here he will get three decent meals, hot water for washing, good quality clothing and a safe family environment. He will grow to see his squad as a family unit. And you never know, perhaps the next time you see your child he’ll be out in the battlefield with you.”

“That’s the one place I would rather not see my son,” the father responded sharply, “Lieutenant you must understand I am doing this because I don’t have any other option. Since we lost his mother last week I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t leave my son on his own. I mean what kind of father would I be if I left a defenceless child to fend for himself. You are not the best option for my son, you are the only one.”

Brewer glanced down at the child, almost in disapproval, the boy was a runt, tiny in all possible ways. He had girls in the company bigger than this little thing, they were probably more competent as well. But the kid had potential, he was only twelve after all, he had plenty of growing to do. And besides he was being paid a hefty amount for the care of this little scrap.

“Your son will be looked after here at Junior Company, I can assure you that,”

The father slipped off his seat and knelt down beside his son, gently taking his hands and holding them tightly.

“David, you have to stay here for a while, daddy has to go back and fight,”

“But why,” the shaking little boy whimpered, “I want to go with you.”

“Sweetheart where I am going, you can’t follow,” he spoke softly to his son, “you will be looked after here, plenty of children for you to be with. You will be safe here.”

The boy’s chestnut brown eyes filled with tears as he gripped his father’s hands tighter, “Please daddy, I don’t want to go, I want to stay with you.”

Brewer pulled his eyes away from the scene, he had seen it so many times before, kids too scared to leave their parents to even understand that this was a safer option than leaving them on their own. If he had been more of a paternal man he probably would have knelt down and tried to reassure the boy, but there wasn’t much he could say to the boy that would calm him. The truth was this may be the last time the kid may ever see his father, this was effectively the last goodbye. Most of the kids never saw their parents again after being turned over to his care. How could you even begin trying to explain that to a small twelve year old boy who had only just lost his mother. Instead he did the only thing that was expected of him, he rose to his feet slowly made his way towards father and son.

“I’ll be waiting outside when you are ready,”

The father looked up at him, tears in his eyes and nodded, “Of course, I’m going to need a minute with him.”

Brewer gave him a slight nod and continued out the door towards the courtyard, taking a seat outside, it was too early to hear any kids playing; the innocent sounds of them laughing and squealing. He could see the sleeping quarters from his position, no movement just yet, but it was only a matter of time. Did they see him as a father figure, or just some wannabe injured ex-soldier who had nothing better to do in his life than boss kids around from a young age? He glanced down at his prosthetic hand, his life had been destroyed the day those Indies had taken half his squad down, now all he had was some plastic hand and an orphanage. It wasn’t as if he had any of his own children to pass his legacy down to, just some unwanted kids with issues.

“I think he’s ready,” the father’s broken voice sounded behind him in the doorway, breaking him from his train of thought, “I’ve left him in your office. I just can’t go back to him.”

Tears streaked his face, as he wiped his redden eyes, he glanced momentarily back down the corridor at the sounds of mournful crying. It broke his heart.

“Just promise me one thing,” he said, “that you look after my son.”

“Mr. Croker,” Brewer responded, “I’ll promise you that once we’re done with your son, he won’t need to be looked after.”

The father slowly made his way down the steps into the courtyard, he took one last stuttered breath and walked away from him towards the rest of his life. Brewer watched as he disappeared around the building, the slumped figure of a broken man. He had seen so many of them, that he had stopped hurting each time now. Instead he returned to his office to the wreak of a child weeping his eyes out. The little boy looked up at him pleadingly, running his sleeve against his snotty nose, tears staining his cheeks.

“Please Mr, I want to be with my daddy,” he sniffed

“Son this is going to be tough for you for a while, but it will get easier.” He said softly before reasserting himself, “We’re going to send you to have a medical check, once the physician has cleared you we’ll set you up with a squad. Welcome to the future kid.”

Appreciate comments and advice guys, I seem to be putting a lot of blood and sweat into this, so would love as much advice as possible.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Ah, you join us!

It seems like an interesting idea and, to me, it seemed well written. A good starting point for the story to come. Good job!

I will (Of course I would) voice a slight concern, the thought of Locust being utterly thrashed by Children does cause a slight "Oh dear" for me. Though perhaps that won't be the case.

[rusticangelic]

To be honest Jay, I haven't got to that part yet, but my plan is for the children to run rather than fight.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Ah right.

But yeah, twas a good start!

[Sgt. Grub k1ller]

Very interesting premiss Rusty, and I will wait patientaly to see where you go with it.

I couldn't find any mistakes, but thats not what I look for(thats SKORGE's job).

Hm, I'm not good with advise, probably because I'm not a great writer myself, but all I can say is keep at it. I stopped writing for a month and haven't been able to get back in it.

[AdamFenix]

This whole concept reminds me of that comic, Barren. The children in there at least had Delta squad to protect them... these kids aren't so lucky I guess. I'm curious where you'll go with this, so I'm going to keep posted with it. Great first write, keep up the good work!

[rusticangelic]

Thanks Grub, it's something I seem to be putting a lot of time into, my next few chapters concentrate on the main characters before going into the storyline.

I'm not going to rush this one.

Sorry Ninja Adam, thanks I'm really taking my time on this, have a lot invested in the idea

[AdamFenix]

Good! That's the point. Use a lot of effort and go at your own pace.

I dropped Tools of War for now because I don't have the time or the will to continue it at this rate.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Come to think of it, the Fanfic scene is a little quiet at the moment.

[Sgt. Grub k1ller]

Come to think of it, the Fanfic scene is a little quiet at the moment.

Pff, a little quiet? This is the first one in a month.

[rusticangelic]

indeed not much action apart from the RPG and your SK Collection thread

[Jay the Arbiter]

We're probably in a dead zone at the moment. Things may pick up later down the line.

[SKORGE]

Hmmm....

Reminds me of 'Children of Sera' ... a fiction that was based around teens, done by none other then Silent. Anyway, this is interesting, although I would like some more before I dwell too much into a small part. Know what I mean?

Sounds good so far, so please, new chapter... or next chapter?

May I ask, what of the other fiction?

[rusticangelic]

I decided to ditch the other fiction Skorgy, it was frustrating me so much, too many issues with it, so instead of starting a fresh I decided to opt for this one, its been something I've been working on since I started the other one, I felt I could work more with created characters.

Will get on and post the next chapter as soon as I've altered a few pieces, so I'm happy to reveal it to everyone.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Interesting idea and promising start. Can't really say much since we've haven't really been introduced to the main characters or the main plot. The one thing about doing a story about kids though, it's... tricky. Just trying to get their characters and personalities down can be tough to do over long stretches.

I find it useful to have a firm idea of their backgrounds in my head before I start writing, what happened in their past, can help define the kinds of personalities they have in the present. Although their backgrounds don't completely determine their personalities, it's a pretty good place to start.

So, will there be any combat involved? That could be tricky to handle too, I'm not sure about the idea of kids with guns, teens, well yeah, sure.

Anyways, good start and I guess see where it goes from here.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Wait, other fiction? Was this the one about Baird's children?

[rusticangelic]

well the group I focus on is led by an eighteen year old, he hasn't been called up to fight yet purely down to the fact that the COG don't know he exists - both parents killed he was dumped on the doorstep by a friend. The Lieutenant is the one who has been pushing him forward in weapon basics.
We then have the twins, who are sixteen, they were dumped on the doorstep by their father as he couldn't cope raising both children, they were brought up with the eighteen year old so they see themselves as family.
Then there are two fifteen year olds, who are relative new recruits - they joined the company five years ago.
And then of course we have David the twelve year old.

So they aren't all tiny kiddies, they are mostly teens.

I don't plan on having David handle a gun at all, he effectively needs protection from everything. He's a bit of a delicate thing.

Anyway I am working on my first proper chapter I read over it again last night and I wasn't happy with some bits, I failed big still with my last fic, I don't want to make the same mistakes this time.

EDIT: yes Jay, that one, lets just not go there...

[TheRealBigBoss]

Ohh yeah, that sounds good. Lots to draw on, and you could even use some of the younger children from time to time too.

I thought your last fic was pretty good. Lol, I remember Jonesy had a dislike for one or two of the characters though.

[rusticangelic]

One Month Before the Sinking of Jacinto
Chapter One - Aidan

A fresh breeze wafted through the window, someone had wedged the window pane partially open during the night letting the ragged curtain billow into the air before settling against the window sill. A scent of char grilled burning lifted lightly in the air; she had to stop linking the smell of burning to dead bodies, but it was too hard to keep any horrific image from her head.

Aidan stirred groggily before slowly opening one eye suspiciously to the surroundings around her. She cast her eyes upon the sleeping form of her twin brother in the neighbouring bunk; his hefty form slumped messily across his bed and his arms draped over his head as if in surrender. Every now and again he would let out a grumbled snore before turning over with a thump. His ruffled blond hair caked with grime, dirt and she dare not think what else from the previous day, he had obviously been too tired to shower before he was taken by the temptation of sleep. She turned over in her own bunk to face the wall, closing her eyes to allow her other senses to free themselves in the few minutes of silence she would allow herself, as the morning breeze drifted over her, sending tingles down her spine. She was rarely allowed to relax these days; taking in the simplicity of life amongst the world's other complexities, and now a chance to relax before life decided to take over. Just a few more minutes taking in precious little sleep before the Lieutenant barged his way into their morning once again.

She let out a sigh, apparently she was awake now, and her body was refusing to let her succumb to slumber any more, she yawned as she drew herself to a sitting position and gazed wearily around the room. Her group snored and dozed in various stages of sleep, all strewn across their own beds regardless of rank, gender or age.

She let her legs flop out of bed as she tested her feet on the ground and bundling her wash bag in her arms she slowly she padded barefoot towards the shower cubicles. She must have been one of few awake, and it made her wonder how early it was, she had never kept a watch, her entire life was dictated by the demands and orders of her superiors, why would she need a watch to tell her the time. She stood for a moment, looking around at the cubicles, picking one at random and sliding the temperamental lock on the door. Slowly she slipped her clothing off her body, letting it tumble to her feet whilst she examined her new wounds from the previous day. There was a new slash reaching from her belly to her outer thigh, it stung as she prodded it. She withdrew her fingers staring down at the slash, wondering how she was going to explain herself this time for these new wounds, one of the main problems with working with sharp weapons meant very little margin of error. Especially when you weren’t particularly any good with a knife. Luckily these wounds weren’t going to be as visible as most of her scars, this at least she could hide until it healed. She picked up her clothes and draped it over the cubicle door, opening her wash bag and turning on the shower.

Good Lord that was cold

She let in a breath to steady herself in the cold running water, letting it drench her completely, closing her eyes she ran a hand through her hair letting the golden strands splash against her neck. She picked up the soap and ran it over her body, gently running her hands over her new wounds. She paused as she heard footsteps coming into the shower room, letting the ice cold water tumble over her.

“Jeez Aidan, don’t you ever sleep,” a tired voice called into the room, she recognised it well.

“A lie in is overrated,” she responded, allowing herself to relax with present company, “Anyway I left you all sleeping Frost.”

“Light sleeper remember,” she heard her companion close the shower cubicle beside her and turning on the water, “Bloody Hell its cold today.”

“You get used to it,” she glanced down at the goose bumps on her arms, yeah right.

“Bollocks,”

Washington Frost had been with Aidan since day one, he was a few years older than her, not that it mattered these days, age was a figure not a defining factor. As far as he was concerned he and Aidan were one and the same, although he did have a soft spot for her, like a protective older brother, much to her own twin brother’s disgust. He had been one of many toddlers dumped on the doorstep of Junior Company, her included, parents unable to care for their children where their only option was to leave them to be killed by Locust or abandon them to the care of a complete stranger. Their childhood had become a glorified boot camp, the Lieutenant had gone on and on about how it was preparing them for the future, and when they reach the right age to fight as Gears they will be ready for it. Frost had embraced it, like most eager young impressionable boys, taking a stance to lead a group and encourage the children around him.

Aidan couldn’t stand the false hope.

Granted Aidan wasn’t bad with a weapon, but at sixteen she felt that she’d been dealt all the bad luck she could take, she didn’t want anyone else dishing more out. The Lieutenant had always told her that she was skilled, he had spent way too many hours teaching her how to fire a long shot; the best position to be where you could still be involved in the fight, but further enough away to keep safe. Her biggest problem was that she was clumsy, she had tried holding a Lancer but it had been way too heavy and it was almost the same height as her, she had even cut herself trying to handle the chainsaw. Thus the scars.

The only thing she was grateful for was not being part of the breeding farms, granted her father had had an influence in keeping her out of those places and making sure she was kept with her brother. There wasn’t much she was thankful to her father for, but that was another story.

She finished up in the shower, turning off the faucet and towel dried herself as quickly as possible.

“Eli on late shift?” Frost called from his own cubicle, she could hear the water splash off him and the smell of carbolic soap filled the air.

“He was on late watch yeah,” she responded as she pulled on fresh clothing. She unlocked her cubicle and perched herself on a stool to run a brush through her hair, whilst waiting for Frost to finish, “He volunteered though.”

“Yeah well Eli always was a workaholic,” Frost had never hidden his indifference for Eli, it was something Aidan found hard to understand, why someone got on so well with one twin and not at all with the other.

The water stopped and she could hear the towel rub against his skin, he left the cubicle with only a towel wrapped around his waist and a smirk on his face. He towered over her, all of his six plus foot, in comparison to her measly five. His gently tanned skin and smoothly round muscles, he was a man at eighteen, caught in a world where he was still partly a child. The younger kids frequently mistook him as one of the adults, shaking in their little boots whilst he was around. But to Aidan he was her best friend and the closest thing to family she was ever going to get.

Apart from her own twin of course.

“Please Frost,” she laughed, “you keep walking around like that and you’re going to give yourself a complex.”

“Walk around like what?” he asked innocently, “I’ve just had an ice shower, I’ve got an excuse. And besides I see no one else here except you.”

“You just like the idea of Co-ed shower rooms too much,” she slipped off the stool and walked in front of him to the sleeping quarters, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of even looking at his semi naked body for any longer. She opened the small drawer next to her bedside, averting her eyes whilst Frost dressed behind her, and bundled the wash bag inside. She had very few belongings, mostly second hand clothing from other children who had moved on to battle and left the establishment, the only thing she had ever kept close was a scrawled note that had been attached to her as a baby, the day her and her brother were found on the doorstep of the training base. It had outlined strict instructions to their care and wellbeing, and to be fair to Lieutenant Brewer he had pretty much kept his word to honour the instructions. Whoever their father had been he had left a hefty amount of money, granted all of it was useless these days.

She perched herself on the bed to strap her boots on, Washington was busy layering armour over his shoulders, strapping it tightly in place. She stifled a laugh as she turned away.

“Okay why are you laughing?” he questioned sceptically.

“Come on Frost,” she smirked, “Armour? You must be kidding me right.”

“Yeah well I gotta keep practicing, it won’t be long before they call me up to active service, I don’t want to be the only Gear out there who doesn’t know how to wear his armour correctly,”

She thumped to the floor and strode over to him, “trust me Frost, you’ve been in training for eighteen years, I doubt you will be useless.”

She carried on past him to the doorway, to be as far away as possible from him until she could regain her composure. As much as she wanted to avoid the inevitable it was only a matter of time before Frost was called up to service and it was something she knew would break her heart. She slouched against the wall outside to take in the fresh air, she wasn’t going to cry, she had done that so many times in the past and it had kind of lost its intentional meaning, she just hurt inside instead.

The sound of crunching gravel on heavy boots alerted her, she looked up to see the Lieutenant making his way towards her with a small kid following behind in his shadow.

“You’re up early,” he grunted, watching as she stood up straight and saluted him.

“Couldn’t sleep sir,” she responded.

“Can you wake the group, I have a new recruit,” he said it as an order, she let out a sigh and returned to the quarters to break the bad news to her unit.

Well here's the first chapter introducing us to Aidan (any resemblance to any of my other characters is purely co-incidental - just liked the name).
Not one hundred percent happy with this chapter, but oh well perhaps someone could help

[SKORGE]

Awesome!

Return of the twins, eh? Haha, well that's good. I guess we'll have to wait for another chapter to learn more about 'em... again. Not much that I spotted, if any at all. Though, it kind of feels empty if I don't poke at something. Don't hold it against me if I leave it as it is...

.... more chapters, now, now maaayne!

[AdamFenix]

Excellent chapter, Rust.

I like how you give the characters that whole UK accent thing...(it reminds me of how Karen makes Bernie talk, lol).

The descriptions in this update were very good and I like how you write your fictions. I find them to be very interesting because it's a perspective that isn't really explored all that often. Like Skorge said, I can't really find any errors in this one... because it's solid looking (but then again, if Skorge can't find typos, you're doing very well; the man is a typo-seeking machine. Though I mean this in the best respect, he manages to notice things nobody else does).

[EdieKaye]

Great job. I love this already. I can't wait to see what happens. I hope down the line we get to hear why Washington is indifferent to Eli. I can't wait to see how David fits in.

[Jay the Arbiter]

I like how you give the characters that whole UK accent thing...(it reminds me of how Karen makes Bernie talk, lol).

Isn't Bernie based off a New-Zealander though?

Anyway, yes, good chapter.

I used to have a friend called Aidan, he was pretty BA.

[TheRealBigBoss]

^ That's what I always assumed, she certainly talks a little like a Kiwi anyways. Although, Tai does sound kinda Samoan, so I guess it depends on exactly which one of the South Islands you came from. Maori and Samoan cultures do share some similarities anyways, so I guess the South Islander culture in the Gears universe is based on south pacific island culture in general, though not strictly tied to it in any way.

Yeah, but back to the fic, it seems like it's going good so far. Didn't really spot anything that needs attention so, just keep going.

[rusticangelic]

Chapter Two – Washington

The bed buckled under his over encumbered weight, he finished buckling up the boots as he attempted to stand up. He wished it wasn’t so damn heavy. He’d been doing this routine every day since the Lieutenant had given him the armour in readiness to be sent to war, it was just a matter of waiting for the call now. He stood stretching each arm out, bending each knee and taking steady steps. He only ever did this when the rest of his unit were sleeping, he didn’t want to make the situation any worse than it already was, he didn't want to leave his group, they were his family, leaving them would be the same as his own parents ditching him at the age of five. He just hated the fact that Aidan had to witness his dress-up attempts nearly every time. He knew it hurt her more than anyone.

He could hear her footsteps in the corridor, she was lighter on her feet than most of the kids in the group, but even heavy boots make a loud clunking noise with the lightest of steps. She paused for a moment, her eyes hiding behind a vast mop of blonde fringe, but he could tell she was looking at the armour again.

“Brewer wants the group awake, looks like he’s had another kid dumped on us,” she said huffily and turned from him.

He started to unbuckle the armour plating, “It’s always good to have new recruits.”

“You make it sound like we had a choice,” she snapped, she had always been touchy about new children coming into Junior Company, especially older ones, kids who had had a family before being sent away for their protection. Family was something she had always been vastly jealous of, granted she had grown up with her own twin brother and Frost, but this never seemed enough for Aidan; it was the fact that she had never had any parents to call her own that she hated.

“Just wake Eli, I’ll sort out the others,” he responded, trying his best not to rise to Aidan’s snipes, it was an argument that he knew was coming and was going to try his hardest to avoid it until she eventually snapped. He pulled the rest of his armour off before pushing it under the safety of his bunk, pulling on his normal boots and shirt, so his group were none the wiser of his actions. He cleared his throat before shouting at the top of his voice, “Attention Recruits Wake Up!! You are urgently requested in the courtyard!”

“Frost it’s like 6am!” a drowsy retort came from Angelo from his bunk, “come on, give a guy a break. Some of us were on late shifts.”

“Yeah, don’t really care,” Frost responded confidently, there was a reason why he was in charge of this group, Brewer had told him it would teach him how to be an efficient soldier, and it was something he took seriously, “No excuses, Lieutenant Brewer’s orders front and centre guys.”

It took a while but he managed to herd most of the lazier kids out of their bed and out into the courtyard. He glanced down the line, counting out the ones from his own group and took his place beside Aidan. Eli, considering he had only had a few hours sleep looked considerably awake for an early morning wake up, he nodded at Frost and turned to look at the Lieutenant. He didn't know why but for some reason everything about Eli rubbed him up the wrong way, the fact he was always out to please everyone. As if he had no problems in the world. He couldn’t understand why Eli’s twin sister was so damaged by their childhood and yet he wore it like never mattered. Okay granted Eli and Frost had clashed a few times over Aidan, but that was a completely different thing. Wasn’t it?

Lieutenant cleared his throat, silencing the children around him, the more alert of the group, stood to attention and watched him eagerly.

“Today we welcome David Croker to the confines of Junior Company,” he announced, “you will treat him like the brothers and sisters around you and you will help him become part of this family.”

Brewer turned to Frost marching over to him, “Frost, I want you to take care of Croker within your unit, you and the twins are by far the more experienced of the Company, he will be well suited with you.”

Aidan groaned next to him, he had to stop himself from smiling as Eli nudged her to silence her. They were the most predictive pair he had ever encountered, and he loved the way they always played it out. Aidan would give the kid the hardest time by dosing him down with sarcasm and Eli would calm him with his kindness. It often made Frost wonder what sort of kids they would have been if they had had a secure family to grow up with, who did they take after? He guessed he would never know.

Brewer chose to ignore the retorts of the twins, it was something he had taught himself to ignore, he had a soft spot for the three of them. They were after all his longest serving team, and the best chance that the little boy had at surviving.

“Frost gather your group and make introductions, get him a bunk sorted and get your group ready for the day’s training,” he said, “The rest of you, get yourselves cleaned and prepared for the day.”

He pushed the small boy in Frost’s direction and left them, marching quickly back to his office.

Frost looked down at the kid, he was tiny, granted most children at Junior Company had benefitted from good food and a protected life, but this little boy looked like he’d been chewing on nothing but dust most of his life. He smiled at him as best as he could without looking aggressive, then signalled for his group to gather around the child.

“Welcome to our unit kid,” he began, “I’m kinda the group leader...”

“Ego much,” Aidan snorted with a laugh, “Let me dust your boots for you. Oh worthy leader.”

“There are five of us in total, well six now including you,” he purposefully ignored her and the stifled giggles from the group, “I’m Washington Frost, then we have Angelo, Lem and our twins Elijah and Aidan.”

The boy cast his eyes across the group settling finally upon Aidan and offered a shaking little hand.

“David,” he said in a small mouse like voice, “Isn’t Aidan meant to be a boy’s name?”

“Bite me,” she snapped, ignoring his offer of friendship and strode away.

“You’ll have to ignore her,” Eli stepped in and shook the boy’s hand carefully, “she has issues. I’m Eli, please don’t ever call me Elijah.”

Frost left his group to see to the new recruit and made his way after Aidan, she had marched her way behind one of a teaching buildings and was busy hitting the wall with her fist in anger. He grabbed her hand before she could do anymore damage to herself.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” he demanded.

“What the hell’s wrong with me? What about you, all kiss ass and what not,” she snapped, wrestling her hand out of his and thrusting them in her pockets, “God he’s just a snotty little brat whose parents couldn’t look after him so they dump him here expecting us to accept him.”

“Which we will,” he asserted himself, “Aidan we’re the lucky ones here, we won’t ever remember our parents, so we won’t understand the pain of losing them. That kid back there has just lost both his, and he probably won’t ever see them again. So stop thinking you’ve had the raw end of the deal here and start acting like the sixteen year old experienced member of Junior Company.”

“He’s got enough of that from Eli surely that’s enough for him to handle,” she responded, “that’s about as experienced as he’s going to get from me.”

“Yeah, but we’ve all got some pretty good individual qualities that David can benefit from,”

“Why should he benefit, what is he ever going to give me that I’m going to benefit from in return?”

“You’re so selfish Aidan, when did that happen,”

“Since when have you been the boss of everyone?” she said, turning from him to walk away, then deciding against it and turned back towards him, fire flickered in her ice blue eyes, he sensed an argument oncoming, “I work twice as hard as you, always have always will. But you’re always the leader, go figure the injustice on that one.”

“This isn’t a game Aida, this is serious,” he turned to her, using her affectionate name, he knew she hated it especially when she wanted to argue with him, “At the end of the day Brewer wants someone who can lead the group, not someone who’s petulant at everyone.”

“Ooh look who swallowed a dictionary,”

“Precisely my point,” he calmed himself, “Look you are the best one out there, which is why you’re my perfect right hand gal. You are I, we’re a team.”

“We’re a team until you decide that this place isn’t good enough for you and you’re too much of an adult to stay here anymore. We’re a team until you say we aren’t,”

“That isn’t true, and you know it,” this had always been her issue, it’s just he was only hearing about it now, this was the first time she’d officially admitted it to him, “You and I, we aren’t just a group of kids dumped in an orphanage, we’re a team. We always will be.”

Before she could snap back he grabbed hold of her and held her tightly, pinning her arms to her side. She was scared of losing him, if she lost him she’d lose the remainder of her family, and he’d never intentionally want to do that to her. He felt her reluctantly relax in his hold.

“You may not be my blood sister, like Eli is to you, but you are my sister. And nothing will change that.”

Here's chapter two, and we introduce Washington.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Cool. I like the relationships building, and the personalities involved. Lol, Aidan seems like a whiny little b*tch, which is weird, since I guess that's how people see Kirsten.

But to me, Kirsten doesn't seem so bad since I know what makes her act the way she does, so maybe that's how Aidan is for you?

Anyways, keep going, it'll be interesting to see what happens once the main plot kicks in.

[rusticangelic]

Exactly, on the outside Aidan can be seen as whiny - quite similar to Kirsten I suppose. but she does soften.

The first few chapters introduce the main characters, then I will move on to the nitty gritty of the story telling.

[Jonesybites]

I dunno...I thought the idea of starting with the overall atmosphere of the facility and how the children are oriented to the program, in the Prologue, set the mood just right...kind of bringing us to a transition that anyone is seldom prepared to deal with, much less a child.

I only found one error, if it hasn't been pointed out earlier:

“Yeah well I gotta keep practising, it won’t be long before they call me up to active service, I don’t want to be the only Gear out there who doesn’t know how to wear his armour correctly,”

...should be practicing.

[rusticangelic]

ooh even I missed that, funny my spellcheck didn't pick that one out. Thanks Jonesy

[Jonesybites]

Lol...normally SKORGE beats me to the "corrections,"...and yea, the spellcheck is not always reliable.

[SKORGE]

s******ing

What is this supposed to be? Yeah I'm that dim...I apologize. Perhaps censor one letter, instead of most of it?

Well, that's about it.

Honestly though, I have to say Aidan annoys me to a certain extent. I'd say it's her attitude. One one hand she has had a rough life and I can understand why she acts the way she does, but on the other hand, she acts as if the whole world isn't suffering. Know what I mean?

Anyway, continue please. Oh and this part:

“Isn’t Aidan meant to be a boy’s name?”

I lol'd, that's what I was thinking at first.

[rusticangelic]

Damn i hate it when it censors something when the word isnt even meant to be a swear word, it just picks the other letters out, sorry Skorgy. I'll have to reword it.

Believe it or not Aidan can be a boy or girl name, but there is a purpose behind her name - so she doesn't get picked off and sent to any breeding programme. But Eli explains it in his chapter.

My favourite character so far is Lem, I'm in the process of introducing him in chapter 4.

[Jay the Arbiter]

I just think of my mate Aidan, he was pretty "safe" as we said back then.

So I'll call her Aida.

It was a good chapter. Aida is pretty mean spirited.

[EdieKaye]

Great chapter. This is coming along nicely. Looking forward to more.

I'm hoping you do something with this in the future.

“Why should he benefit, what is he ever going to give me that I’m going to benefit from in return?”

[rusticangelic]

LOL I have a feeling that Aidan will soften to David once he does something to benefit her, not that she's THAT selfish.

Hows it looking so far guys? Anything that needs improving, just let me know and I'll have a rewrite, really appreciate the response and advice.

[Jonesybites]

Honestly though, I have to say Aidan annoys me to a certain extent. I'd say it's her attitude. One one hand she has had a rough life and I can understand why she acts the way she does, but on the other hand, she acts as if the whole world isn't suffering. Know what I mean?

Lol, Aiden's going to be dodging tomatoes for a little while...

[Jay the Arbiter]

So far, I'd say it's going fine!

[rusticangelic]

It's been a while I thought it time to introduce you to Eli.

Chapter Three – Eli

The little boy flinched as Eli placed a hand on his back, he quickly withdrew it and smiled in surrender.

Note to self, do not touch.

“It’s okay kid, we don’t bite,”

“Well Aidan does but as long as you’ve had your shots, she’s harmless,” Angelo smirked, nudging Lem.

The boy looked at them, dark chocolate brown eyes now red raw from crying, assessing the group he had been given.

“How long have you all been here?” he sniffed.

“Well Aidan and I have been here a little over fifteen years, she could probably give you an exact time, it’s not like I’m counting months or anything. Frost is pretty much the same, he arrived a couple of months after us. Then we have Lem and Gelo who arrived here together after their town was taken over by locust about five years ago,”

“Where are your parents, haven’t they come back for you?”

“My folks were killed,” Lem stated matter of fact, for a fifteen year old he pretty much understood his own mortality and the fate of his family, he had stopped denying it the day he had to drag his friend from under the bodies of his own parents.

“Berserker wiped mine out, plus what was left of our town, Lem and I went in search of the only place we heard would give us a chance,” Angelo agreed turning to his friend and sending him a look of understanding.

“This is family now,” Eli smiled slowly making his way towards the sleeping quarters, “let’s get you a bunk sorted. Lem can you haggle a bunk from Mike’s unit, one of theirs left recently so I know they’ve got available bunks, we’ll just move it into our section, Gelo why don’t you give him a hand?”

The pair headed off to the neighbouring quarters, chattering between themselves as they went.

“Everyone hates me,” David squeaked, “They’re all talking about me.”

“We haven’t had anyone new here for a while, you have to understand your arrival hits a raw nerve for some.” Eli reassured, “Don’t worry, they’ll come round.”

“I didn’t ask to be here,” the boy plonked himself down on a random bunk and pulled his knees up to his chest, “I’d much rather be with my daddy.”

“I doubt that somehow,” Eli commented as he sat on his own bunk, “your dad’s a Gear, he’s going to be on the front line fighting locust, how is he ever going to protect you and himself if you’re with him.”

“He’ll find a way,” David retorted, letting the tears slide down his cheek again.

“Maybe he already tried, and this was the safest option,”

The sound of clunking and scraping came down the corridor along with the cursing and swearing of Lem and Angelo.

“Damn this is heavy,”
“Why the hell are you trying to carry it you loon,”
“It makes too much noise if I drag it, ouch pick it up Gelo that hurts my ears,”
“Sissy,”
“Put that down and say that to my face!”
“But you told me to pick the damn bed up!”

Eli let out a sigh and slowly plodded towards the door where the pair were now wrestling over the bed. Lem had grabbed hold of Angelo’s hair and yanked on it, whilst the Angelo was pulling Lem’s arm back.

“You fight like a girl Lem!” Angelo growled, “You been taking lessons from Aidan again?”

“Guys cut it out, we’ll help you now,” he called back to the boy, “Hey Dave, you wanna give us a hand before Gelo and Lem break something.”

David quietly tiptoed over to them and tried his best to pick up one side by Lem, the rest of the group lifted and they carried the bed into their sleeping quarters and plonked it down by the wall.

“There’s a cupboard spare, Mike said we could take it,” Angelo said as he headed back out of room.

Eli sat back on his bed to watch Lem pull some spare bed sheets from his own cupboard and handed it over to David.

“Here you can borrow these until we can sort some for you from the Lieutenant,” he smiled.

“Thank you,” David gave him a genuine smile, as he placed his small bag of belongings on his new bunk, setting himself down he pulled out a photo and looked intently at it before letting out a stuttered breath.

Eli laid his head on his pillow for a moment, closing his eyes to relax. He didn’t mind new people coming into Junior Company, it was all the pain the new kids felt each time that got to him. He remembered the distress Lem and Angelo had been in when they barely made it into the courtyard five years ago. They had been quarantined in the medical suite for a few months because they were riddled with diseases and the Lieutenant didn't want to risk passing anything infectious on to the other children.

What hurt Eli most was his sister’s reaction to new recruits, she was frosty to people outside her inner circle anyway, but new kids were treated like they were dirt. He knew why she was so cold, she was jealous of the life that child used to have, not that she understood what the kid had actually given up to come to this place. There was only one person who could calm his sister and unfortunately Eli hated the fact that it wasn’t him. Ever since they were little Aidan and Washington had been inseparable, he always knew the right things to say to her, whilst Eli always fell short, he had always thought he’d be the only one to understand his twin sister, instead he was the one to step back and let his team leader steal the spot light.

“Seriously guys, why haven’t you moved your asses to class,” Frost’s voice drew him to consciousness, he opened one eye to look at his team leader who was standing arms folded looking threatening.

“We’re on our way,” Eli murmured as he slipped himself off his bed, glancing over to the kid who was looking lost again, “we’re just letting Dave settle in.”

“Dave can settle in that’s fine, but I’m sure you guys have had enough time to settle in,” Frost was acting more and more like an adult these days, probably spurred on by his impending call to the front line. Eli hated him for even wanting to leave their little family group, knowing how much it was going to break his sister.

Lem groaned as he stomped down the corridor muttering to himself making it clear that class was the last thing he wanted. Angelo, who had managed to carry a small drawer unit to their sleeping quarters, took a breather before sending Frost a look of contempt and followed after him. Eli slowly plodded up to Frost.

“You coming as well or are you now exempt from educational duties?”

“No one is exempt, I’ll come in with David once he’s ready to face everyone,” Frost responded, not looking Eli in the eye and fixing his stare on the wall behind him.

Insolent asshole.

Eli let out a sigh and made his way down the poorly whitewashed corridor to the school room, where a vast group of children, regardless of age, sat on a mixture of chairs and on the floor. Usually the older kids managed to take priority over the seats so the little ones were left on the stone floor to scrawl on paper, fidgeting to find a comfortable seat and failing. The instructor perched herself on a desk talking to the children about biology, pictures of cells were scrawled across the blackboard in chalk, sometimes kids had to experience some normality in their life, even if it was boring class sessions. Eli took a seat beside Aidan, who was looking quite closed off considering she had only just flipped out not long ago.

Here we go again, an eternity of trying to bring Aidan back to the real world.

“Elijah?” The instructor asked, looking at him closely, she rose from the desk placing a protective hand over her bulging belly, it seemed the only women who ever came to Junior Company Compound were in various stages of pregnancy. As if encouraging any interested fertile girls of child bearing age that this was the way to support the war effort. Girls had even been herded off into rooms and told all about these ‘wonderful’ birthing centres where they were looked after day and night. Eli was just thankful that Lieutenant Brewer had kept Aidan out of any of these sessions, luckily with a name like Aidan and without seeing her, it would be easy to mistake her from the crowd of willing Mollies and Daisies.

“Yes Ma’am,” Eli responded looking the instructor in the eye, just because she was helping out with her part of the bigger picture there was no reason not to treat her like a person. After all it wasn’t her fault that human kind was basically going instinct.

He had to stop thinking like this, he was sixteen, why did he keep thinking such terrible and morbid things. Surely at this age he should be thinking about dating and flirting with girls, but if that happened surely the COG would probably encourage him to start breeding with them afterwards. But then this wasn’t a normal world.

Aidan poked him in the ribs, bringing him back to reality, realising that he’d drifted off whilst being berated by his teacher.

“Elijah is everything alright, you seem distant?” the instructor asked, a concerned look crossed her face.

“Sorry Ma’am, I had a late night last night, I’m not entirely awake,” he responded with a half hearted smile, glancing across at his sister who wasn’t buying any of his excuses, a smirk on her face in response.

“Well make sure you have an early one tonight,” the instructor tutted, “kids your age need plenty of sleep, you can make up for it when you’re a Gear.”

Thanks for reading

[SKORGE]

“It makes too much of noise if I drag it, ouch pick it up Gelo that hurts my ears,”

I say the sentence would sound better if you get rid of 'of' unless that's also the correct way of doing things... ya' know.... I'm Canadian, don't judge me!

That's about it. But awesome work, Rusty!

It was good to get a glimpse from Eli's perspective. So much more different then his sister's. I mean, he's kind of like the sane one, when you think about it, the one that's cool, calculated.

And nice work on the interaction between characters, their approach to many of the small things, such as working together to even carry a bed. The small argument shows that even in such a dire situation, they're still children, and so they have a need to be testy of one another.

What surprised me was the fact that you included the pregnant teacher. I guess I wasn't expecting anyone to be in the breeding farms and still apart of 'JC' or at least teaching them. But it makes total sense, nice!

[rusticangelic]

Thanks Skorgy I have altered - you know I've read that part over and over and completely missed 'of'.