Six Steel

Chapter 2: A Purpose

Parker checked his Liquid one last time before holstering it and leaving his room. His dad was getting ready for work while he finished a cup of coffee. His mom was sitting at the counter, reading the paper and sipping a mug of tea.

Parker waved to his parents, "I'm heading out with the boys."

His mother looked up from the paper and scanned her son's attire, repeating the requirements he had to follow, "Be safe, be back before dark, and only use your Liquid to protect yourself."

Parker nodded, "Of course," rolling his eyes as he said it. He had his mother's commands memorized by now, and it felt unnecessary for her to repeat them every time he left the house.

Joshua pointed to Parker's gun, "How are you enjoying the Squirt Gun?"

Parker smiled, "It's fun! It's weird knowing the bullets are just water."

His dad smiled back, "Eventually, I'll help you save up for a Shadow or a Frostbite, and then you'll really learn how diverse those things can be."

With that, Joshua put on his hat and walked out the door.

From beyond the front door, Parker heard a group of boys say, "Hello, Mr. Sticks. PARKER! Hurry it up."

Parker quickly put his boots and hat on and walked out the front door, saying, "Jeez, you all could handle a little more patience now, couldn't you."

It had been a few days since that day Alice had snapped at all the boys, so they had fallen back into their regular routine. Today, that routine meant going down to The Place. They tried to come up with a better name, but before anything else could work, The Place had already stuck. The Place, if you were wondering, was located on the back of an old wall that stretched for miles. The boys would have target practice there and hone their shooting skills. Danger was a constant concern for the habitants of Alten, so teenage boys having and/or shooting pistols was not out of the ordinary since everyone needed to be able to defend themselves at a moment's notice.

Max shoved Parker playfully, "I learned a new trick with my Norman. I can't wait to show you."

Parker laughed, "Max, you're already a good shot. You don't need to make us feel completely left behind."

Max had dark red hair that seemed to always be in a mess. No matter how much he claimed he showered. He also had white boots and a white hat that matched the cleanliness of his hair. The rest of the group regularly teased him for not cleaning his stuff, but Max would smile and tell them it was because of how much he practiced and he had no time to clean. At this moment, he's about fifteen years old.

Max grinned, "Aw, come on, I'm not better than you and James yet."

Carter heard this and interjected, "Hey, what about me?"

Carter was nineteen, making him the oldest out of the group, but he didn't mind. He found it challenging to keep up mentally with those the same age as him, so he opted for these guys. He was also the kind of friend who listened to everyone else's problems, which he always did a great job at, and everyone in the group admired him, even if he was the last one to catch on to things.

James took this opportunity to explain to Carter, "You know that Mag's are barely even pistols. The magma sloshes everywhere, so you could hit a target even if the shot lands thirty feet behind it."

James was the second oldest of the group at eighteen years old and also the smartest. Parker and Max had even started a competition to see who would be the first to beat James in a game. They would explain the game to him right before they started playing, but no matter how much Max and Parker prepared, James won every time. At times, they would consider it a victory if James' hand floated to his earlobe in thought because that meant they stumped him enough to reconsider his next move.