The Life of an ATLAS Boy

From house to housing

"We have a nice set of cadets to choose from, but they all suck."
"How 'bout that one. The one in the red shirt. What's his name?"
"Are you crazy?!"
"I am"
"That's John Olsteen, 16"
"Bring him here."
"Yessir"
* * *
16 July 2054, 09:47:43

Being a teen is hard in this world. Especially when you're in a camp, an ATLAS Cadets Camp (or ACC for short) that is. Normally, considering my okay body type, I'm left alone to stay with my mum and older brother. I hate being the young one...
Anyways, before I start, I should introduce myself. I'm John Olsteen, 16 years of age. I live with my mother and my older brother Calem, who's 20 and greatly overpowers me. He's with ATLAS, and has been, ever since SENTINEL blew up our father's base. I miss him, and I feel like I'm next in line. Calem's seen a little action, and he uses a personal exo-suit with scars to tell the tale.
That's my home life in a box, and here comes the more... how should I put this?... more gruesome part of my life. Me and my father used to get along, and he trained me secretly on how to use a gun. It was a simple Atlas 45mm pistol, but it was worth the training. In this world, one is only allowed to carry a sidearm- for those of you who don't know what a sidearm is, it's basically a pistol- and the only ones allowed to carry rifles are the ATLAS soldiers themselves. And they aren't friendly. One time, a boy at my school was shot dead because he threatened to beat up one of the new guards, and he even tried to! However, there was a Senior Officer nearby, and all you could remember is the sound of BAL-27 fire rip through the silence of the classroom, the officer standing perfectly in his draw & fire position, acting like the recoil never affected him. If you removed his helmet, you'd probably see a straight face. That was the worst story that I really can remember...

But anyways, I'm just a normal guy, going to a normal school, living a normal life. My school is North Carolina District School, which translated means "the ghettoest school on earth". But I still like it. For a guy like me, I still don't have a girlfriend, and when you don't and you're a cadet, you're frowned upon. All the other ATLAS cadets have one, so why don't I? I guess my shoulders aren't bulky enough, or my arms aren't bulging with muscle. Or is it the fact that... well, never mind that thought.
At school, there's this girl, a beautiful girl unlike any other. I don't quite know her name, but I always smile at her when we walk by. Too bad that we don't have the same classes together... there's always semester two! I don't think I have any classes with her. I'm really not that type of guy that goes out to talk to a girl he doesn't know, only of they introduce themselves first. But still, what makes me so different?

The morning bell sounds, which indicates that students need to hurry to their classes. I walk the halls to go to the nearest stairwell, where Ripper- the school's main bully- is waiting for any kids that walk into his "domain".
"Where are you goin', shrimp?" he calls down to me.
"Really? Do we have to do it here, or can we take it outside?" I reply.
I guess I should tell you about Ripper. He's the at the highest grade level, so really my 5'4'' body looks small to his 6'10'' built body. His eyes are a deathly black, and rumors have it that he kills anyone, and their souls are reflected in his eyes. I call bullshit on that, but his eyes are black, and his teeth reflect his eyes, except with more yellow from the countless pieces of chew (chewing tobacco). His hair is a tangled red-blonde mess, and seems to bounce every time he walks. He always wears a pair of ripped jeans and an old bikers jacket.
As I back down the stairs, away from the thing that walks towards me, I draw my pistol, arms steady and aim precise. Ripper laughs, and pulls out an older pistol. Looks to be like Ghost Faction standard issue, or the MP-443 Grach with a suppressor. By now, I'm already down the steps, while Ripper is on the first landing. He one-handed draws his pistol and aims it at my head. "Before I pull the trigger," Ripper says, but isn't able to finish his sentence because I already dug two rounds into his shoulder, and perfect streams of black-looking blood ooze out of Ripper's imperfect body. "You..." Again, Ripper tries to talk and pulls the trigger, and the shots narrowly miss my feet. He reloads awkwardly, so I take the chance to run. The thing is, I don't know where to run to! I follow the halls, and find an open door, and dash into the room. I realize it's a closet, and I'm about to leave when Ripper's heavy footsteps interrupt my thoughts.
"You can't hide for long, shrimp!" Ripper yells as he walks by the closet. He stops and I hold my breath and clench my 45mm so hard, my knuckles are as white as the ATLAS logo itself. I'm dead, I think to myself as Ripper's stench of rotten cheese fills my nose. I'm never going to see the beautiful girl again! Soon, the bully grunts, and continues walking, his boots echoing the hall. When I think he's gone, I open the closet and look down the hall. Not there, I think. I can finally live to see the girl again! As I walk away from the direction Ripper went, I hear the sound of a gun being drawn, and I turn around to see Ripper, inches from my face.
"Goin' somewhere?" Ripper asks. "No one escapes me without getting ripped!" He spits on my shoe and pulls the barrel closer to my neck. "I can do this the easy way or the hard way," he says as he shoves me back, " the choice is yours."
As Ripper points his gun at head-level, voices behind him yell," Stop right there!" Ripper turns around, only to see a squad of ATLAS soldiers block the hall. "Put down your weapon!" the lead soldier yells.
"Make me," Ripper smirks as he walks towards them, more confident than ever.
"Halt, or we will open fire!" the officer yells again. Surprisingly, Ripper stops. I start to chuckle under my breath, only to stop when Ripper opens fire on one of the guards, who drops dead via a bullet wound to the head. Ripper continues to shoot at the guards, and I think I saw Calem firing at the monster, but I can't be sure. After the bully empties a mag, I go behind him and wrestle him to the ground, exactly like Colonel Fredric taught us. Ripper fell, and I put a few punches into him when his head met the floor. I continue to wail away at him when a strong hand comes and yanks me off of him.
The extra power from the exo-suit made me fly and land right on my back when I hit the ground. My vision is blurred, but I can make out the ATLAS soldier doing something to Ripper... is he beating him or putting him in cuffs? I'm really unsure, but when the soldier finishes off whatever he was doing to Ripper, he walks closer the my helpless body. Surely, the metal gloves or the steel boots of the soldier will crash down on me, definitely killing me in a few blows. I can see the arm go up, and I close my eyes, waiting for pain to shoot through my body, but surprisingly, nothing happens. Instead, the hand is outstretched as if to help me up. Willingly, I grab the hand, and I'm up on my feet.
"Took a beating, little brother?" the soldier says. He takes off his helmet, and I see Calem standing before me. "Don't worry, I still have those dicks in the Force," he tries to comfort me. I huff as if trying to catch my breath, and Calem smiles. "We better get home," he says as he puts his ATLAS Recon helmet back on and walks me to the door, BAL-27 in hand. as we walk, medics are rushing to the trashed Ripper, trying to find vitals.
"Did you kill him?" I ask.
"Nah. Needs garlic," Calem replies in an odd English accent. We laugh, for Ripper already stinks of garlic. I'm still holding my Atlas 45mm when a Head Guard approaches us.
"What's this?" he asks in a deep robotic tone. I'm guessing he's making reference to my pistol. Calem looks at me, nudges me, and I holster my 45mm. Dead silence comes over me, Calem and the Guard until the Guard says," Go ahead," in a more human tone. As Calem and I walk to the truck, Senior Officer Taylor Jean-Vien, a French girl from Canada, walks up to us, hands behind her back while being flanked by two ATLAS Assaults. "Johnathan Olsteen, a word." I look a Calem, and he nods. I walk forwards, and Taylor leads me to the ATLAS Mobile Center and opens the door. I walk inside while Taylor shuts the door. What she asks next of me catches me off guard.
"Do you want to become part of ATLAS?"