Thursday, April 20, 2006

Ch.2: Headquarters

Ch. 2 Headquarters Zeke rubbed his head to soothe the pain. That stupid bastard of an old man didn't have to hit me that hard, thought Zeke. For an older gentleman, Mitsurugi hit harder than hell. Just then, the nurse walked in. Zeke, still rubbing, looked up. She was really pretty. Zeke feigned rubbing the back of his head as his eyes dropped down to her legs. Mitsurugi only glared at him. "My ignorant client is ready to check out, Miss." he said harshly. The nurse smiled slightly and she quickly scanned the clipboard. She nodded and gestured them towards the desk. Commander swiftly got up and followed. Zeke jumped off the bed and shut the door. He was still in a hospital gown. He took it off and searched for some clothes. He found his bloody uniform in the bio-hazard bin. He looked around and then saw a plastic package on the counter. He opened it and found a replica of the old man's outfit. He started redressing himself tiredly. He threw the robe on top of the bin and imagined that the nurse undressed his fainted body. He smiled to himself as he laced up his black leather boots. He squeezed the tip of the boot. It was steel toe tipped. Zeke patted himself down and tugged at his collar. "Alright!" Zeke thought, "If I'm to start a new life, this is the way to start it." He opened the door and met with his new boss at the front counter. He looked around and there were people sitting on the waiting chairs. The one that stood out the most was a taller man. His hair was messy and it covered his face. However, Zeke could tell that the man was looking at Zeke's cloak pockets. Maybe he was poor, Zeke thought, as he looked at his pockets himself. Zeke watched behind him as his cloak flowed in a majestic way. Then something nudged his arm. He looked over and it was the clipboard being handed over to him by the nurse. She pointed to a line and tapped on it a few times. He grinned at her and signed his signature. It looked much neater than usual. He looked at the bottom where it usually said check-out parent/guardian and it was signed Mitsuguri. Zeke groaned as he eyed the neater signature. He handed the board back and her hand brushed up against his but he didn't say anything. She looked it over, went behind the desk, and waved to them. Sir nodded politely and left. Zeke stood there waving. "Boy!" called Misturugi from the exit door. Zeke blushed and then hurried out. They walked in the parking lot. Mitsurugi in front. "You better keep your eyes on your missions, boy. I doubt that you'll have any time for relations." Zeke grew angered. He was not a child and definitely would not be treated like one. "So you're, like, my father now?" Zeke retorted rudely. Before he realized what had happened, he was on the ground with a huge throbbing pain on his head. "What the hell, old man?" Zeke yelled. "That is Sir or Commander, boy. Nothing more. Nothing less." "Hell! If I'm gonna' work for you, you'd better stop hitting me!" Zeke spat. Mitsurugi's eyes were staring right through him. "Sir." Zeke said quietly. Commander smiled and led Zeke to a black car. It was sleek and it looked brand new. He looked at the hood and saw that it was a new type of Corvette. "Nice." breathed Zeke. Commander went for the back door and opened it wide for his new recruit. Zeke's brain started to ache. There goes the kid thing again. "Uh, I'll sit in the front, thanks." Zeke said as he strolled to the passenger side of the front seat. He grabbed the silver handle and the car locks shot down. He gloomily stared at the seat behind the glass. He dropped his grip and the locks were released. He sighed and walked to the old man. He grinned and watched as Zeke went in the back seat. He shut the door for Zeke and swiftly turned. He looked at the hospital with remorse. "He'll be back here soon." he thought, "I don't know why but I have a feeling about this place." He got in the driver seat and started the car. Zeke looked around. The soft seat lining was velvet and a deep red color. He again looked at his new clothes which were no different than the car in color. "Does ES2 have some sort of team color or something?" Zeke asked sarcastically. "If you haven't already guessed, it's black and red." he answered, "Black represents the impureness of souls and red..." He paused. "Is what we do to them." Zeke opened his cloak and found many pockets. He stared in amazment. "You haven't looked at your newbie equipment?" the old man asked while looking through the mirror. "No, I didn't even know." he said while he opened all the pockets. The top one had a medium sized switch blade. He flicked it open and a curved blade emerged from the metal binding. It had a ruby in the sides and it glimmered in the light. "Used for head to head combat. Also for when you run out of gun ammo." Zeke switched it closed and went for the next pocket. It was an odd looking device it was as flat as a CD and it had a red transparent circle on it. Many buttons glowed underneath the lens and there was a thin light on the edge of the object. "One of our newest creations. A flash light, self-destruct bomb, and a demon decipher ray." Zeke looked up. "Huh?" "Demons write in their own way. It's very hard, mostly impossible, to decipher by mind. Just flash the ray on it and it immediately translates it into English." "Where are we gonna find demon language on missions?" "Sickly as it sounds they use it everywhere. Little memos to themselves because they're sure that no one else can read them. Clues to where to find a nice human meal. Messages to fellow demons on where to meet to kill in a pack. Always written in human blood. That little device also can tell you whose blood and type. Very useful. Also can act as a phone." "Zeke placed it in his pants pocket. He went for the lower pocket on the right side and pulled out a little crystal necklace. It was on a black lace of string and dangling on the end was the glass-like tear drop shape. It was filled with a thick red liquid. Just looking at it made Zeke feel the most pleasurable emotions and remember the greatest of times. Love, joy and fullness. He remembered his first girlfriend from high school. Then, as soon as they came, they all went away. He felt starved for female interaction. He felt dry and full of pain. Looking at the charm made him want to thrash out on someone. Beat them until their face was bloody and they couldn't fight back anymore. He quickly put it in his pocket. "What was that?" "A sinister little necklace. It attracts demons and other monsters. A very simple way to tell whether one is pure or not. If you’re ever confused at who is who just flash that in front of them but be warned. A demon's reaction is immediate. They will attack you like you did something un-forgivable to them. On the other hand, a human might just look at it, think you’re insane, and wonder why you’re using it as a weapon." "Ah." Zeke said blandly. He grabbed in the last pocket and pulled out a metal flask. He shook it around and heard splashing of liquid. "And this?" he asked. "To drink, you ninny!" Zeke frowned and his eye twitched. How was he supposed to know? Everything else was all high tech and stuff. He put in back in his pocket and glared at his lap. "Ho, ho." Commander laughed, "Honestly, we have a special brew at the base. It'll keep you awake for long periods of time. If enough, it's possible to keep you up for days." "What's the need for that?" Zeke asked, suddenly feeling tired. "Some missions are very long and dangerous. One year, before we brewed our miracle liquid, we had a man sent to a rouge demon hide out. All his comrades that were sent along side him were captured or killed. He was alone and hiding. Hadn't slept for thirty-two hours. He hid behind a few storage boxes in the hide out and fell asleep. He never woke up. When one of our captured men called for back-up it was already too late." "These missions sound fun." Zeke laughed nervously. He looked over at the empty seat next to him. "This is a squad, right?" "Indeed." "Where are the other guys?" "Patiently, boy, we are heading to Headquarters as we speak." Commander chuckled at himself. Zeke glanced out the window and saw that is was all concrete. He looked behind him and there was no light. They were driving inside a very narrow and steep tunnel. "Hey! Ol- Sir! Stop! We're gonna' crash!" Zeke shouted. "Oh, dear! NO! What have I done?!?" Commander shouted loudly. Zeke frantically unbuckled himself and went for the door handle. He jerked it but it didn't budge. It was locked. He turned to face the old man but he saw that Sir Mitsurugi was smiling. Then he broke off laughing. "OH, ho, ho, ho! I didn't think that you'd actually fall for it!" Zeke clenched his teeth. Great swap. Traded a police commander for a crazy old man. Commander wiped his eyes. "Woo, but honestly, you mustn't fall for such trickery. Demons are quite the sly ones." "How the fuck was I supposed to know that you were joking? You're just a crazy deranged old fuck!" The man dropped the wheel and reached into the backseat like a father who was with his quarrelling children and delivered a great pound to Zeke's head. "Yowww! Why do you always have to hit me?" Zeke yelled. Just then the car was flooded with a brilliant and golden light. Zeke peered out the window and saw what looked like a city. He looked up at the sky but only saw a huge light source and a metallic ceiling. Then he looked at the sides and they were metallic as well. There was no grass. Just dirt and pavement. However, in the middle of all of this futuristic crap, was a huge tree. It towered over the city like a giant. He gaped at all of this with his mouth open. The car came to a halt and several men who looked like soldiers marched to the car and opened his and the old man's doors. Zeke slowly rose from the car and took in his surroundings. Standing up, Commander said, "Welcome, boy, to Headquarters."

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