Life and Times of a Keyboard Warrior

Concord

31
2nd of March
Kennedy

"Markus Kennedy, innit?" Jeremy Ozenkafen growls at me from the darkness. "That was quite a flight you made down that mountain son, I'll never forget that one."

"Jeremy, it is you. I recognized the gun, it's really good at catching the light." I say back.

"So I've been told." He chuckles back. "What're you doing in this pit, don't you got a place to stay round here?"

"Oh that..." I start. "Well, I kinda got into an argument and bolted, then the storm kicked up."

"That's no good, son." Jeremy grumbles. He sounds like he's thinking hard. "I got a heavy rain jacket here if you want to make a run for it, it's a bit too small to cover me completely but you should be just fine."

"Oh, that's alright. Thanks for the offer though." I reply quickly. I'd hate to just take his jacket and run, that'd be a horrible thing for me to do considering he helped me find Yuki. A small rivulet of water works its way along the cave floor towards me, so I shift to get out of the way.

"How's that little girl doing? She recovered yet?" Jeremy asks me, trying to make conversation.

"Oh Yuki, she's more or less back to her old self. Thanks a lot for helping us find her." I reply. Jeremy mumbles something about the right thing to do.
There's a harsh crack from somewhere above us. Must be lightning or something.

"It was no problem, I'm always glad to help out." He states.

"So, what are you doing out here with such a big gun?" I ask him, running through most of the possible answers in my head.

"Oh, I'm just doing some voluntary remedial rifle training." I hear him say. Well, I wasn't expecting that answer. "I'm a Special Forces sniper, most commonly deployed in hostage negotiations cause I'm the top sniper in the force."

"Umm, why do you need remedial training if you're the best in the force?" I ask him. Special Forces sniper, wow...

"Last time i was deployed, I had to take the shot through one of the hostage's shoulders. The operation was successful, both the deployment one and the one in hospital, but the hostage I shot is threatening legal action. That's also why I'm out in the wild country like this." He explains. I feel really sorry for him.

"My father is an ex-SAS soldier, he taught me all this stuff about hand to hand combat and guns and survival tips and stuff. He said I could even go head to head with anyone I want and I'd win, which might be just fatherly pride but still..." I reply with my own analogy. I hear him shift his weight. Suddenly he throws his rifle at me, the massive Anti-Material weapon clattering down heavily on my lap.

"Might need your help with this one, lad. When your lady friend dropped it and ran after you, all this dirt got clogged into the mechanisms. I'm more of an urban environment soldier, so maybe your dad taught you something about cleaning foreign matter from gun parts." He explains, and as I look closer with the little light I've got, I can indeed see that the slide, magazine, ejection slot and even the heavy scope are all gummed up with soil.

"With the right equipment I could make this gun as good as factory new, but I was really only taught how to clean dry sand and soil, but this is damp and clumpy. I was sick then and we haven't gotten around to learning how to clean the other things." I explain to Jeremy, who grunts in reply. "I can always give it a shot though, I have a small cleaning kit my dad made for me back at the house..."

"I'd much appreciate that, my boy." He says back. I turn my attention back to the rifle. It's not like any one I've ever seen, but I've not seen very many weapons this size. I can't find any markings at all in this light. The sight looks familiar, with all this different reticules and sight parts. I twiddle a knob on the side and the world grows harshly through the scope. I put it back to the way it was.

"I think the rain's letting up, lad. Wanna go see if we can make a run for it yet?" I hear Jeremy rumble.

"Sounds like a plan to me." I agree, standing up. I sling the useless rifle over my shoulder, once again surprised by how light it is. We walk to the mouth of the cave. The rain has definitely let up, now a constant drizzle instead of the sheeting torrent from before.

We dash out quickly, becoming soaked nearly instantly. A flash of lightning arcs through across the leaden sky, splitting the world in half. The strike cleaves into the water out at sea, it's awesome energy dissipating harmlessly. The thunder hits mere moments after with the force of a cannon's report.

"That light on the hill, that's your house lad?" I hear Jeremy yell at me over the wind and rain's howls. I bellow a yes in reply, and we forge on ahead. The elements fight us, almost trying to force us back to the cave, but after five more minutes running in the rain, the stairs leading to the house come into view.

"We gotta go slow lad, don't take the stairs running!" Jeremy warns me. There's a heavy stream of water cascading down the stairs, ending in a huge puddle at the bottom that keeps growing as we watch it.

"We can skirt the edge of the pool, then take the stairs slowly." I tell him, and the plan works. As long as we grip the side rails and move our feet one at a time, we make good progress up the staircase.

I make it to the top first. The porch is deserted, and the lights are on in the window. I help Jeremy up the last part, and after he regains his composure, we move towards the door. I'm about to open it when a dark shape materializes behind it, and it shunts open harshly.

"I don't give a shit Heath, I'm going to look for him!" Daria is yelling over he shoulder in front of me. She turns around, and is speechless to see me and Jeremy standing there, soaking wet and out of breath. She gulps, looking up at me.

"Markus..." She whispers, reaching out slowly to touch me, to see if I'm really there. She grips my arm, sniffs and drops her gaze. We stand that way for 10 seconds. The only sound now is the rain around us.