The Mortal Strain

[xDarkPisces]

Rex slept, and the presence inside him stirred.

"We are shadows of the past and present. The Future is too blinding with uncertainty, and casts no shadow. We are what has been, and even as your mind rejects us, we become more permanently lodged herein. Be patient, be aware... Awaken!" The hissing voices were soothing, comforting, melodic until that last word. At that, they were silent, and Rex slowly opened his eyes.

His body didn't respond right away to his commands for it to move. A single word floated through the hazy breezes of his fading subconscious, "Oursssss..." He was able to move now, and sat up slowly, noting a distinct ache in the back of his head. He looked around a strange room, noticing instantly that it was neither the meditation room nor the decrepit old fallen out classroom. He was lying in a rather comfortable bed, which was clothed in a black bedspread. 'Appropriate,' he though as he rose to his feet.

Rex brushed himself off out of reflex, as there was no actual dirt anywhere on his body, and cleared his throat, with some difficulty as there seemed to be a rather stubborn bit of phlegm to dislodge. Finally, he spoke softly, "What's this all about..? Where are the others, and why am I here?" He asked these questions aloud to the empty room before shaking his head, turning to the door, and heading downstairs to find the others.  

[Kerrigan_dragon]

Angie jumped a little at Haze's voice, then sighed as she saw it was him. She was a little jumpy from her dream, still. "Morning Haze." She glanced down at her sandals. "I woke up with them on, I can't take them off, and the voice in my head said he hoped they'd help me out. So, to answer your question, I honestly have no sodding idea, and this is really starting to freak me out." She stopped talking when she heard Roland walk up, and she looked over at him. "Oh, hi there. Morning, how are you?"  

[Red Glacier]

"Well it should be fine then Angie, I wouldn't stress it too much" he looked over at Roland "Hey buddy? good sleep?" he waited for a reply then looked at the folder "I got an announcement to make at the breakfast table once Rex joins us, Why don't we head over there now and wait for him?" he leads them down the hall then down the stairs "Hope you all are hungry" he said leading them across the lobby into a cafeteria area that had menus where you order your food like in restaurant, but the food was actually good quality.

"You all go ahead and look at the menu I already ate" he said reading the folder some more

(Hey Pisces ^^; I returned Rex to his room on the last page <:3 If you just want to say he woke up there magically and came down to meet us it will be cool :3)  

[Roland Karloseth]

Roland crossed his arms across his chest and frowned "Doing alright, I suppose. Though I'm not proud to say I literally had a conversation with myself, this voice in my head thing doesn't freak me out as much as it was earlier. I trust everyone else is well?" He asked as he sat down to browse over the menu.  

[xDarkPisces]

After a brief search through various rooms on the ground floor, Rex found himself in the dining hall with the others. Still a bit bewildered by the previous afternoon's occurrences, he sat silently and carefully at the table and picked up a menu.

The extravagance of the place was once again made apparent by the impressive selection of breakfast items. Indecision clouded his choice as he scanned the menu from top to bottom and back up again. Finally, still saying nothing, he selected a Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries and herb-seasoned sausage.

At last he spoke up, addressing the group as a whole. "G'morning, everyone."  

[Kerrigan_dragon]

Angie picked up a menu and scanned the items for a moment before replying to Roland, without looking up. "Eh, I'm doing alright. At least the voice in your head isn't' giving you shoes you can't take off." She lifted her leg to show him her golden sandals and she wiggled her toes a bit. She was still preoccupied with the menu, debating between eggs benedict and french toast, so she didn't see it when the wings on her sandals flapped a few times happily, then settled down. Rex had walked in at some point, but she didn't notice, finally choosing to have eggs benedict with hashbrowns, until he spoke. Angie looked up at him in surprise. "Oh hello... Rex, was it? Nice to see you again."  

[Red Glacier]

"I'm doing fine, glad to see everyone is here. I hope you all are ready for some action. It turns out we got an assignment from the bossmen" he opens up the folder and pictures are there of a town.

he waited til they were served and started their meals

"This place is somewhere in Europe, they've been having troubles with mass disappearances which never got into Star Atter grade area til just recently when the entire population was mysteriously taken away by hostile means. blood, barricaded buildings and houses are all thats left. They're sending us in to investigate and if possible solve the problem. I know we aren't exactly battle ready yet but we're gonna have to make do. Any questions?"  

[Roland Karloseth]

"Good grief, we're being sent out already? Interesting... I suppose I'm ready to go then. I'll just need a few various weapons... A sniper rifle would be a good idea..." Roland trailed off, lost in thought.  

[Red Glacier]

"Thats what I said too Rol. But yeah we have a weapon shop here if you want to go by there. Just remember to carry more ammo than weapons"  

[xDarkPisces]

Rex started. "An assignment? But... Well, I supose the gunslinger is fine, but Angie and I... I'll speak for myself when I say that I'm no where near ready for combat with my abilities... In fact, I've barely even begun to understand them. There's a presence in my head I've never felt before. I don't know how to utilize it... how to tap into its energy. I'm of no use on any battlefield." These word the words from his mouth, but his mind was busy ticking away, excited to a bursting point at the idea of putting himself to the test. Wasn't that every human being's ultimate goal? To have their will put to the test. Maybe not directly, but somewhere, deep within the tangled mess of alterior motives and lies they told themselves so they could sleep at night, somewhere it was there. Waiting to be released. Beneath his insecurity, Rex was ready to release it. Ready to test himself against Gods knew what...  

[Red Glacier]

"Well Rex, there is nothing that can be done. We're leaving at 11 AM and thats it. Roland and I will try to pick up slack if we encounter anything, just get prepared to fight and hope we don't. I have my own weapons stash but the weapons are so big your hands wouldn't fit around them" he laughed "But yeah get that 50K dollars and get a good weapon or two and ammo if needed"  

[Roland Karloseth]

Roland leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest, and nodded. "Agreed. I think it would be best to arm them, and make sure they know some basic fighting techniques. But whatever floats your boat, I suppose... I'd imagine that they're capable of surviving though." He said, and flashed a reassuring grin.  

[Kerrigan_dragon]

Angie smiled thinly at Roland and Haze. "I've never used a weapon more than beating off a guy with a lead pipe once. I'm not ready for this either, but I suppose as we have no choice in the matter..." She sighed. Why did she get the distinct feeling that X's hate of her had something to do with this? "I wouldn't know the difference between a good and bad weapon if it danced naked in front of me, so it woul dbe nice if I could have some help," she said softly as she began to eat.  

[Red Glacier]

"I'll get you suited up Angie, we'll try you out a few guns and then a few melee weapons and see what you're comfy with." he looks at everyone as they finished their food "Lets get moving to the shop, shall we?"

he shows them up and to the lobby where he stands "hmm, its been a while let me think..................ah" he starts down the lobby and went up a 3rd flight of stairs in the very back. as they get up there are 2 shops, the one on the left having guns and ammo then the one on the right having melee weapons. On the right of the shops there was a room with dummies and a gun range

The man at the gun shop points up at Haze, he had a beard with vest on and a long sleeve shirt with work jeans

Al: "Haze, your auto shotgun clips were refilled a month ago, you were suppose to pick them up"

Haze: "Sorry Al, I forgot. i've been on hospital duty the whole time"

Al: "Holding off old women from entering rooms with with women in labor?"

Haze: he just stared at Al and shook his head "........you can just shut up" he said quietly and Al laughed then he began laughing as well "But anyway, we need to get these three some weapons buddy"

Al: "Well we recently got a shipment of some MK36s and a few SR25s"

Haze: "I don't think they have any idea what you are talking about."

Al: "Well, an SR25 is a full auto capable sniper rifle that looks like that" he points at the gun

http://www.gunsworkshop.net/AIRSOFT/SR25MARCH.jpg

Al: "another sniper of that caliber is the M14, a classic"

http://fragcdo.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/gp-ebr-m14kit.jpg

Haze: "Pistol"

Al: "What?"

Haze: "We should try pistols first, eh?"

Al: 'Oh, right" he leans over a glass case and points at a few pistols "These are the newest ones, the desert eagles i know are too big for them to hold, unlike you haze who throws around a car sized sword"

Haze: "shut up"

Al points the pistols that had their clips beside them

"Pocket pistol for an assassin 365$"
http://antiquepisols.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/sterling_arms_pocket_pistols_3_.jpg

"Glock for the urban gunner.......400$"
http://www.silvertownmusic.com/guns.jpg

"and a magnum for the rich man with no time for bull crap........600$"
http://world.guns.ru/handguns/amt_automag_iv.jpg

Al: "They're high prices but we do free repairs on the weapons bought from this place so you'll always have a gun ready  

[xDarkPisces]

Rex regarded the weapons dealer with caution, sensing he wasn't the type to be fully trusted, if he was to be trusted at all. Rex felt a familiar chill of uncertainty dance down his spine as he gazed around the room at the vast assortment of melee, energy, and projectile weapons. As a child he had been exposed to the corruption of the inner city, and therefore its tools of chaos. In fact, Rex had even handled a few of the weapons he now saw on the walls around him. The priest had... 'No...' Rex had learned to be proficient with a knife over time. In fact, he usually kept a blade hidden on him for a rainy day. The day prior, at the bar, he'd neglected to equip it. Cursing his lack of forethought, Rex focused on a wall in the melee shop where several glimmering blades were hung by their hilts.

His fingers traced gently along the razor edge of a rather wicked looking knife of about ten inches. The blade swooped outward from the hilt with a graceful curve, which ended in a double-toothed point at the tip. The top three or so inches of the blade's back edge were sharpened in a tapered edge for piercing purposes, and the entire length of the blade was punctuated by air-release dimples, which would allow for quick withdrawal from a target. The side of the blade was etched with an ornate bit of Celtic knot work, giving the weapon a ceremonial feel. Adding to this effect, the hilt of the knife was covered in a rich, dark leather, which was cool and firm to the touch.

The weapon mesmerized Rex to such a point that he stared at it for several minutes while the guns dealer went over the details of his newest and best. Suddenly, coming to his senses, he seized the knife from the wall and showed it to the melee weapons shopkeeper. His voice was excited. "Do you have another one to match this? And how much for the two together?" His mind was set.