Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Alpha

Roark finally slowed to a stop. He'd sprinted the miles separating the town and his home, energy coursing through his spine. The small town hadn't been visible until about a mile away, only a blip with very faint smoke rising from it. He'd just arrived at the town gates, a wooden arch with an "A" in the center. Roark leaned against the inside of the arch, taking a few breaths. Alright... I'm here... The Corps shouldn't be too hard to find... He thought turning his head to look into town. He watched some of the people scurry around, doing some errands. Nothing seemed out of order...

... Though there was an air about. The townsfolk was walking quickly, staying in the shadows, quickly slipping into any alleys. Trudging down the middle of the street, Roark felt eyes staring at him from the shadows. He walked quickly, leaving the gate and entering the main plaza. The light shone harsher here, unlike the dark alleyway he'd just came through. There were people here too, but as before, they kept to the shadows around the edge of the plaza. Suddenly it struck him how unearthly silent it was. All of the people along the walls were completely silent. The center of the plaza was barren...

... Except there was a huge cluster of people in the center of the plaza, surrounding a tall wooden pole with a flag at the top. The flag depicted the letters CC, with a red lance piercing it. It was the Crisis Corps' emblem. The outermost layer of people were dressed in a dark crimson armor, but that was all he could tell at the distance he was at. Roark took a step out of the shadowy alleyway, only to feel a hand grab him and pull him right back. "Wha-..?"

"Quiet kid...!" A voice seethed. Looking down, Roark saw that he'd been grabbed by an elderly man. He wore dark round glasses, big enough to barely cover both eyes. He was hunched over slightly, his hand holding Roark shaking. "What do you think you're doing, walking right into the CC...!" His voice was extremely hoarse, and he seemed to be shaking slightly. "U-uh... Chill out old man, I'm not going anywhere." The old man seemed to sigh and released his grip, slumping back against the wall and sliding to the ground, sitting down with a grunt. "Ugh... Sorry kid, the Corps have occupied the town for a few days. Reinforcements arrived from the west last night." The man explained, sighing. That must have been who came through last night.

"Old man, what's that group of people in the square?" Roark asked.
"First of all, stop calling me old..! No respect..." He grumbled, turning his head and spitting on the ground. "As for who's there, you should be able to see from here." The man pointed to the flag. "The Corps have changed their tactics, it seems. They're collecting... People." He shrugged. "I don't know why. But if it were just those troops, maybe we could finish this... Unfortunately, it's their leader who presents the problem..." He suddenly looked up, leaning to the side to look at the other side of the square. "And speak of the devil, here he comes right now." Roark turned and peered across to the other side of the square. Another group of red was moving to the center, but there was a dark blotch in the lead. "That's the leader of the Corps in this place. Crisis Corps Private Wesley."

((Dun dun DUN. Finally got my a** off to here. Finally getting some action going on. Next time, we'll see who this "Wesley" character is.))