Intro Arc- Part One- "Just Try"
Hello I'm Chase Gray, A twenty year old College freshman, major in Creative Writing, I'm Nonsexual, and Nonreligious. ( other random questions I will answer later ). But for right now, it's winter break, I'm back in my hometown, and all I want to do is sleep. Unfortunately for me, my alarm clock is at the moment blasting pop music, the one type of music that gets on my nerves. So I unwillingly removed myself from my Oooooo so comfy bed to silence the she-demon known as Miley Cyrus. Now standing on the other side of of the room looking back to my bed, thinking of going back a blissful sleep, when I remembered I was meeting up with and all my closest friends at the park later today. The thought alone brought a grin on my face. Now with some newly found vigor I started my morning route.
Turning on my iPod to my rock and metal play list, as I walk through my parents house. Cooking some breakfast for myself, taking note of how quiet it is for 9:30 in the morning. Has I'm cooking my eggs I turned on a small radio in the kitchen and listen to the news hoping to hear a weather report, but what I got was a story on a increase in gang violence in the area. I turned of the radio when I finished eating, then continued with getting ready.
Walking in to the bathroom I looked at into my dark blue eyes in search of something but found nothing, I then turned my gaze to my dark brown ( almost black with a few gray strands ) hair and how long it's got as of late, the bangs reaching my nose and in the back reaching to the bottom of my neck. Looking and at my average face and the first thing you're going to notice is the inch and a half long beard " damn thing grows too fast for its own good " I said to nobody in particular, as I reach for a trimmer and a razer blade.
Now clean shaven, I straighten up my back and raise to my full 5' 8 height. With a sigh I started removing clothes to take a shower. Now I'm not going to talk about my shower ( we all have taken them.... Probably) but I will say that my physical body is in the best condition that it can be in without a six pack ( why that is I'll say in a little bit ), and I'll leave it at that. Stepping out of the bathroom with a towel around my waist, I make my way back to my room.
Walking in and closing the door behind me I started to dress myself. Walking back out wearing black cargo pants, a dark gray t-shirt with a white frost design around the collar, a black zip up hoodie, and gray tennis shoes. With cellphone and iPod in hand I walked over to a living room grabbing my keys and wallet, about to walk out the front door when I seen a my folding knife on the mantel, I then remembered the gang violence, grabbing it thinking, better safe that sorry.
Walking over to my car ( a 77 Maverick ) but seen a note on the windshield that reads - Chase remember me, your father, and Lexi ( sister) are going to the mall for some Christmas shopping, and your brothers are at your grandparents house. So if you're going to be out late with your friends tonight, just TRY and call me to let us know. Mom- " we'll see " I said as I drove off to the park.
Arriving at the park about half an hour later I didn't have to wait long in the cold, for running my way is my best friend Chris, brown hair, brown eyes, wearing light brown pants, a blue hoodie ( can't see his shirt ), and brown tennis shoes. I can't help but smile at the 5' 9 muscle tank running at me, I walked over too a wide grass area ( for safety) before he got to me. Bending my legs and rising my hands up, I waited for him.... Did I forget to say that Chris and I had taken Taekwondo together ( both of us earning black belts ), and about five years ago we quit to develop our own way of fighting. He learned some Karate, boxing, along with a TON of physical training making himself a walking, talking, tank. Meanwhile I trained in Judo ( grapples, joint locks, mainly nonlethal ), and Muay Thai ( imagine boxing with the use of your fists, elbows, knees, shins, can be very lethal ). I built myself up with speed training, and studied the human body, analyzing its weak points. I'v even mentally prepared myself for both physical and emotional trauma ( I'm calm and I ignore pain ). Now every few months Chris and I meet up and have a little sparing match... which is about too start.
Now Chris is right in front of me, pulling back one of his fist then sending it forward, but I duck below him and try to kick his legs out from under him. But he jumped over me, landing with a roll then quickly propping himself up into a fighting stance. We lunge at each other with few punches, we try our best too the other, sending fist flying at each other only to be blocked, parried, or dodged. The stalemate is broken when I grabbed Chris' right fist with my left hand, then pulled him in closer, with my right hand I punched him in the stomach knocking air out of his lungs. Next while still grasping his hand I put right arm under his left, then pushing his hand behind his back. Now with me behind him I kick the back of his leg, then I push my wight on him, forcing him to the ground. The fight is over with me on top of Chris' back holding him down in a joint lock. " You surrender Chris " It had taken him a few seconds to regain his breath, and a few more when he struggled, but redundantly relaxed, with a sigh he said " Yea ". With that I released him and got off him. He stood up a second later.
" Dammit Chase must you use those fucking joint locks " He said has he rolled his left shoulder a few times.
" Yes Chris I need too use them against you " I said, but he gives me a skeptical look. " Hey you try fighting someone that's stronger than yourself and get your ass kicked a few times, then you want to fight a bit unfair ".
He thinks about it for moment " Ok but was punching the wind out of me truly necessary ".
I look him strait in his eyes and with a grin I said " Not at all ".
Chris was about too reply but got interrupted by someone whistling, we turn to see our friends Bredean and Cody. " You two are still doing that sparing thing, I thought y'all stop that 'bout a year ago " Cody said. Cody is six feet tall, blue eyes, brown hair and is probably the most southern out of the group. He is wearing blue jeans, a green t-shirt, a pair of hiking boots and a camo jacket. He lives out in the boonies with is dad and hunts a lot, I'v gone with a few times has well.
" I come back from basics and the first thing I see you two doing, is fight, * sigh * I should of known " Bredean said. He is 5' 7, green eyes, light brown hair ( even when most of it is shaved off ). He is wearing light brown pants, red t-shirt, his combat boots, and a dark blue hoodie. He is also carrying his acoustic guitar. Bredean has spent the past few months at the National Guard basics.
" Sorry 'bout that but its slowly becoming a tradition " I said has I scratch the back of my head. I then held out my fist to Chris." Isn't it Chris "
He then bumped my fist with his own. " I think it already is ".
" So now we just got to wait on the girls " Cody says.
I take a look around and see two figures walking over the hill. " Yes but not for long it seems "
Walking towards us are Lynn and Elissia. Lynn is 5' 6, brown hair that goes down to her shoulders with a blond streak in her bangs, blue eyes. She is wearing blue jeans, a white and blue long sleeve shirt, highlighter blue track shoes, and a white jacket. Elissia is 5' 5, black hair that goes about halfway down her neck, green eyes with some blue near her pupils. Shes wearing dark brown pants, black long sleeve shirt, blue tennis shoes, and a blue jacket with a black strap going down her left shoulder too her hip.
Has they got closer I had seen that Lynn was shivering. " Cold " I asked her. She answered with the chattering of her teeth. Lynn is a track star, the college that shes attending is giving twenty-thousand dollars a year... To run. She also graduated third in our class.
" I told her that she should wear something a bit warmer but Noooo she likes the blue and white she said, this are nice colors she said, * sigh* now look at her " Elissia says. Elissia is a black belt in Taekwondo like me and Chris. She graduated fifth in class.
I look back from Elissia to Lynn and with a shrug I unzip my hoodie and wrap it put it on Lynn. " Chase you don't have to give me your hoodie, I have my own and its freezing out here " she told me has i finish. " But it is warm ".
" Did you forget already, I love the cold and even if I didn't, I'd still give you it " I replied then smiled " Its important to me that everyone here is safe and happy " then I thought, especially you Lynn, I turned away from her has I felt a blush come to my face. I hear a " Thank you " has I try to hide from my embarrassment, but failed miserably when I remembered that I turned and faced Chris, Bredean and Cody, who now, have a smug grins.
" Now that's cute, your definitely trying too get some points, aren't you Chase " Chris says has he puts his arm over my shoulder. Getting me to blush more.
" Yea, we are all friends here, and yet here you are trying to impress the girls " Bredean says putting his arm on my other shoulder. Damn them I know what they are doing, assholes are trying too embarrass me.
If they think that this will flip me out they are sadly mista- " You still having trouble losing your V-card aren't yea Chase " Cody states walking in front of me.
Everything goes quiet for a moment, has everybody looks at me, the girls blushing a little, while the guys are smiling away. I take a deep breath, the moment I exhale I elbowed Chris and Bredean in the stomach, then I kicked Cody in his. " Low blow guys " I said has the three of them fall down on the ground, the only thing I hear from them are grunts and Cody saying " Worth it ".
" Was that really necessary Chase " Elissia asked me has she goes over and pokes Bredean in the side.
" No but I thought about kicking them in the dick " I replied has I step over Cody, and walked over too a near by bench and set down " So now that we are all here, what are we going to do now ".
" What about Sean, Adam, and Kara " Chris asks as he and the others start to get up off the ground. " Weren't they going to be here as well".
" Sean has work in an hour and doesn't get off tell seven " I reply.
" And you know Kara and Adam, if they 'ant fight they be kiss'n " Cody said as he gets on his feet again, he then turned to face me. " Dammit Chase you hit like a pickup truck ". All of us can't help but chuckle at that statement
" Seriously what are we going to do " I ask has I look at my Ipod for the time. " Its only a little past twelve ".
" How about a movie? " Bredean suggest.
" I didn't know we were going on a six way date, with only two girls " Elissia retorts.
" Bowling? " Lynn asks. We stopped and stared at her for a few seconds before we continued our brainstorming.
" How 'bout we go shooting? " Cody inputs.
" Sounds good to me " Chris answers, " But where are we going, only of us have a license and a few of us own a gun ".
Chris does make a good point, Breaden the only one with a license because the military, but only Cody, Chris, and myself own a gun. " That only means we can't enter a gun-range, we can still go to ether my family's property or going out to boonies with Cody " I said.
" I'm not going out in the boonies again " Lynn said.
" It wasn't that bad " Cody said.
" There was a pack of coyotes " Chris retorts.
" Only five" Breaden said.
" And a mountain lion " Elissia said.
And with that we are of on a tangent. I sit there listening for a few minutes arguing about the camping trip about a year ago, the one involving some alcohol, a shotgun, a few coyotes bites, and inappropriate conversations (aww good times), but now not the time. " OK stop this is getting us no where " I intervened. " Lets just go to my family's place and shoot of a couple dozen rounds, then have a nice cookout by a fire, sound good to everyone". After a moment or two they all agreed. " Good now fine out who is riding with who, all y'all know the drill". Now everybody is pulling out a coin of some type (the way me and my friends choose something is by random, and coins are easy to carry around). " Heads come with me, tails figure your shit out among yourselves, now... Flip ". With money flying through the air, to be grabbed by there tosser. Now lets see what we got. Coming with me are Lynn and Chris " OK you two lets head out ".
The car ride was mainly story's of college life and weird encounters, like during one of Lynn's class somebody putting a tarantula on her head or a stranger asked me to play a game of medication roulette ( randomly taking muscle relaxer or a anxiety medication ).I take a quick glance to my left and see the river, thinking of how peaceful this area is. Until Chris asked " Hey Chase have you finished your personal fighting style yet ".
" The E.C.C. is not complete, and most likely take me a few more months to find the imperfections " I told him.
" E.C.C. what that? " asked Lynn.
"E.C.C. stands for Extreme Close Combat. Its where I get so close to my opponent that it becomes impossible for them to dodge me. It works when I switch from a defensive style to a speed aggression, completely bypassing their defense and stopping their attack, for a few moments for me to strike a major weak point, but the problem is that I need time to analyze how they fight or if I miss I'm wide-open for a counter." I explain "But possible the best part is that its incredibly deadly if I have a knife or a short sword of some kind".
Lynn went quiet after I finish for a few seconds, probably trying to find a less violent topic. "So...How are your books coming along" I can practically hear her voice asking me to change subjects.
I chuckle to myself quietly before answering. "My arctic survival is almost ready to be published, I'm currently writing a high school romance with a slice-of-life feel to it, and I finished a children's book involving a lion and his cubs".
"I don't see how you can keep track with all those stories and have ideas for more" Chris said.
"How I do it is that I don't write more than one story of the same genre at the same time, nor do I write multiple different series at the same time" I told him as I pull up in a driveway "we're here".
The area is apart of my family's privet property, about nine acres in total. On the property is a one-story house next to it is a garage that's a little bit bigger than the house, behind them is a grill and a bonfire, and next to that is a open firing range. After we parked coming in behind us is Cody ( not like that ) and the rest of the gang. "You lot can start heading around back while I go grab the guns" I told them.
I walk into the garage seeing a four-wheeler, motorboat, a Humvee ( that's new ), five gun-safes in different colors ( in-order; Black, Blueish-gray, White, Green, and Red ) , and a few ammo cabinets ( A jackpot for any Apocalypse ). I walk over to my safe ( the Blueish-gray one ), and start putting in the combination ( 45-32-49 ) but has I pulled on the lever opening it, Cody walks in whistling "Hot damn that's a nice Humvee" he proclaims.
"Hello Cody come to help me out with the guns" I asked.
"Yea, I figured that after a few months your family may of left ya' a new gun, and I want ta see what it is" He told me has he scratches the back of is head.
A new gun? "Well lets see if you're right" I said as I open the safe all the way and froze in my tracks when I seen a piece of art.
"Chase don't just stand their lets see it" Cody demands. I look to him then back in the safe a has I pull out a thirty pound sniper-rifle. "Oh FUCK is that a Barrett 50 cal" Cody practically yells, a few seconds later Chris and Breaden bashes through the door.
"Holy fucking shit Chase, your family is awesome" Chris whispers, while Breaden stands there with is mouth wide open. I look down at gun and find a note on the scope, that readied "Hey Chase its Pawpaw when your reading this your more than likely with your friends, and are probably going to mess around with your guns, so for a few weeks you can use my BIG BOY gun, on one condition, Don't let your friends shoot it at first, I don't think they have the BALLS". I can't help but laugh at that. I look back into my safe and see my M4 carbine, a M14, Colt 1911, a 44 magnum, a Glock 9mm, and lastly a Springfield sniper-rifle.
"Chase why your family gave you an assault rifle I'll never know" Cody said while looking over my shoulder.
I set down the Barrett on a near by table so I can gather some other supplies. After a few minutes a heap of ammo , human shaped targets, some holsters, and a few sets of hearing protection. " OK " I said looking over to the guys, who are holding the guns they are going to shoot. Chris is holding the M14 and the magnum, Breaden has the Glock and Springfield, and Cody who has the M4 and Colt. "You know I'm going to take the M4 and the Colt away from you" I told Cody.
"I know and I want that 50 cal" Cody answer "So when your done, we'll switch".
" Fair enough "
I grabbed BIG BOY with three mags to it, along with three hearing protection and a few targets. When I got outside the girls are waiting in a couple of chairs that surround the fire pit, shivering slightly. "Sorry girls I'll start the fire pit right now". They both gave me a glare saying you-could-hurry. I placed my stuff down, and given the girls their hearing protection, then begone searching.
A minutes later I came back with a few logs, a small container and a box of matches. Setting down the logs, pouring a liquid on to them, then striking a match. "Chase that better not be-" Elissia started has I dropped the match in the pit, catching fire instantly "Gasoline". I grin at her as she sighs in slight frustration. "What ever, it works I guess". Me and the girls then walk over to the guys, who placed two tables and a few targets down range, all at different distances (closes being at ten meters and the furthest at about five-hundred meters).
"Nice work fellas, before we start anyone want to give a challenge" I asked.
Breaden steps up "yea I want to shoot against you, and Cody in a Gun Game". Our version of Gun Game is race of speed, precision, and accuracy. We start off with a hand gun, then rifle, and finishing with a sniper rifle. The contestant has to load each gun when time begins, fire shoots a set amount of rounds in to a target (the further the target, the better), then move on to the next gun.
"I'm game" Cody answers.
"Sure, challenger chooses what guns" I said.
"Ok first is Glock or the Colt, next is M14, last is the 50 cal" Breaden answered.
"How many rounds for each" Cody asked
"Six for pistols, ten for the M14, and one for the 50" Breaden replied.
" Challenger also the first one to start" I said as I walked over to the table with the mags and removed the bullets for each until the necessary amount was left. "Start when your ready, the time will begin when you pick up the gun".
"I'll time you three" Lynn volunteered.
Breaden now stands in front of the Glock looking at ten meter target, he takes a deep breath and quickly picks up the gun, loading it and takes aim. He shoots off the six rounds in to the one target, then moves on to the next gun, loads it and fires the ten rounds into a forty meter, then moves to the sniper, loads and fires kicking up some dirt at a hundred meters target. He sighs as he putts down the 50.
"One minute and fifty three seconds" Lynn announces. Chris and Elissia walks down range replacing the targets. When they returned Cody walks up to the table and starts with the Glock hitting the twenty meter twice and the ten meter four times, with the rifle he hits two different forty meter targets with five rounds going in both, and with the 50 he goes to a kneeling position and hits the two-hundred meter target.
"Two minutes and thirty three seconds" Lynn says. Chris and Elissia repeats he process of replacing targets.
When the return I'm standing in front of the table, both of my hands are hovering over the Colt and the magazine. I take a deep breath, and my mind starts working in overdrive, trying to slowdown the world around me, I exhale and pick up the Colt. Swiftly slamming the magazine, chambering the bullet, and taking aim. I shoot three rounds into the ten meter target, two in the twenty meter, and one at the thirty. Now I move to the M14, load it as I take a kneeling position. I fire six rounds into a forty meter, and four into a fifty meter. When I grabbed the 50 cal, I dropped to the ground and rolled over to my back has I load the magazine and chamber the round, rolling over again on to my stomach and prop myself up on my elbows has I aim through the scope. I take aim at the three hundred target and fire, hitting it below its center.
"Two minutes and ten seconds " Lynn says.
"Not my best but it will do" I whisper to myself.
"Ok lets review the results" Chris yells out. We all gather round the table waiting for Chris "Breaden, you had the fastest time, but you missed about half of your rounds, also you only hit two targets".
Chris looks over to Cody "You had the slowest time, but hitting all five of your targets without miss a shot, and having the best precision".
Now Chris looks at me "Chase you're in the middle with your time, you hit six targets without missing a shot, and all of your shots are killshots".
Me, Breaden, and Cody look to each other and nod in approval.
"Ok that's out of the way now lets start shooting for fun" Elissia says with heavy enthusiasm and tosses her hands in the air. We laugh at her antics and walk to the range.
A few hours later we finished shooting and are currently lounging around the fire pit, making small talk and over all enjoying each others company. I look up and see the sky has been flooded with stars along with the gentle light from the moon, has the sun retreats behind a mountain. I change my gaze to my friends and remember everything they have done for me in the past, relaxation takes hold of me has I breathe in the cold and moist river air. Has I exhale I say "Nothing I wouldn't do for them".
Then a slight pain in my chest forces me to turn away from them. Now I'm starring into the darkened forest, the pain has become increasingly worse, I place my hand over my heart and clinch my shirt, breathing harder. I stare intensely at the unforgiving and cold woods in front of me, and I feel the warmth of both the fire and my friends behind me. I harden my glare and without fear or uncertainty I say "Nothing".
