[Week 6] [M] Jensen Gunnert <Chapter 0: Prologue>

**Behemoth** Thu Aug 02, 2012 3:39 am

Justice? The word seems inconsequential in a world caught in the vicelike grip of the Age of Pirates; the word had been sullied by corrupt officials, dastardly politicians and your run of the mill assholes. Justice, no longer meant what it once had; those who had once sough it, didn’t deserve it. Those who upheld it were just as corrupt as those whom they delivered it upon. Finally those who avoided its long reach were merely tempting fate, sooner or later they too, would feel the cold, steely gaze of justice.

In a sleepy haze, a young man not even twenty; emerged from his bed, his hair shot out in every direction; his blonde locks matted and greasy. Wandering from his pit-like room; that was on the border of being called squalor, he sleepily went towards the bathroom.

The old, ornate grandfather clock’s pendulum swung back and forth each time it reached its apex another second had gone by, it was now 08.55. The pendulum had swung a further two-hundred times by the time the flush of the toilet echoed out of the deserted floor. It was eerily quiet, not even the floorboards creaked. By the time the blonde-haired teen left the bathroom, he still hadn’t realized that there was no one else around. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes; they were usually brilliant blue, however they were red and bloodshot, most likely due to the obscene amount of alcohol he had consumed the night before, it explained the raging headache he had as well, why not? He was celebrating after all; he had passed the basic entrance exams into the Marine Naval Base.

‘DONG!’ the old clock rang out.

The teen spun his head around so fast it felt like his already pounding head almost flew from his shoulders.

‘DONG!’ the clock cried out once more, it was now 09.00 am.

His eyes widened, the haze that had ensnared him since he had woken up was blasted away with the second chime of the clock. The teen’s jaw dropped, “Oh shit … I’m late!” he shouted, not even trying to keep his voice to himself. He grabbed at the clothes he had fallen asleep in, tearing them from his body as he crashed into his room searching frantically for the uniform he was provided with. For once he was grateful for having an excellent memory, only he could ever find something in this cesspit of a room.

The marine uniform was pretty basic, when every recruit first enters the Marines; they are given the standard uniform, consisting of a white short-sleeved shirt emblazoned with the Marine emblem, a simplified seagull with "MARINE" underneath it, on the back; a blue neckerchief; dark blue trousers; and a baseball cap with "MARINE" across the front. The teen grabbed it and a pair of black military boots; he hurtled out of the window; he didn’t have any time to waste, he was already late.

He tore up the street leading away from the orphanage that had saved him from a life as a street urchin; his white boxers with red hearts were on display for all to see, not that it bothered him. He could see the Marine base just in front of him as he pulled the shirt over his head and stuck the cap on quickly after. Continuing his flat out sprint as he tried to pull on the blue trousers he was given, barely managing to keep his balance as he pulled his legs into the trousers one at a time. Letting out a sigh of relief as he buttoned them up, all that he had to do was tie his neckerchief and put on the boots, he considered slowing down to do both but a flash of genius stopped him from doing so. He flung the boots out in front of himself, he continued with his mad dash as he tied the neckerchief around his neck whilst elegantly slipping his size tens into the military boots. With moments to spare he arrived outside the naval base completely dressed. He stopped for a second as he quickly tied his shoes. Perfect … he thought.

Over the crowd he could hear the faint calling of his name, he rushed through pushing past other would be recruits. He stopped in front of his superior and saluted. “Where have you been?” the lieutenant said, spraying saliva all over the teens face.

Without missing a beat the young man answered, “The toilet, Sir. I must have eaten something weird last night; I was up half the night with extreme diarrhoea, Sir.” The lieutenant grimaced and nodded slowly, while motioning the teen to stand in line. After that they were led through the base; they were shown various rooms before they stopped outside the gym.

The doors opened and it hit them, the pungent odour of sweat seemed to permeate from every nook and cranny of the gym; the scent was so overpowering, first-time visitor’s eyes welled up with tears. All around the room there were marines practicing various fighting techniques, the sight made the young man’s heart pound with anticipation. He relished the thought of going toe-to-toe with anyone.

Grunts and groans reverberated in massive gymnasium, through the corner of his eye; the new recruit spotted someone passing out from a chokehold. The colour drained from the marine’s face, his mouth opened and then his body went limp. The recruit smiled thinking to himself, I’ve got to learn how to do that.

A recruit feeling far too self-assured climbed up onto the canvas and proclaimed that he would see any challenger; a smile crawled across the blonde teen’s face as he raised his hand and said, “Really? I’m quite good.” He said with a sinister tone, the other recruit looked on, almost relishing the fact that someone so weak looking had accepted his challenge.

“What’s your name kid; I wanna know who I can send your body to.”

“Jensen Gunnert.” He said smiling.

TWC: 1,000
Ready for Grading