Chereads / Supernatural Skirmishes / Chapter 2 - Eres

Chapter 2 - Eres

Quinn wakes up and yawns as his eyes adjust to his newly arrived and unfamiliar room. "I don't know this roof." There are numerous cardboard boxes scattered around the room.

"Man, I don't remember much from last night. Did I stay up drinking? What time is it?" Quinn asked himself.

Quinn checks his phone. The time is 11:21 AM.

"I need more sleep so I can become more active... Good thing they come up with inventions like this!"

Quinn rushes to a fridge in his dorm, opening it to grab an energy drink to awaken.

"Hah! That hit the spot! Ah--"

His door suddenly swung open to reveal a petite woman that appeared to be in her teenage years. She was dressed in an oversized black hoodie, with long luscious black hair wolfcut, and eyes, with crimson highlights. "Hey hey! Is this Quinn's room?"

Both examine each other closely.

"EEK! PUT ON SOME CLOTHES YOU PRIMAL APE!" The woman shrieked, covering her eyes, leaving one open to see.

"Hey, that's your fault. You shouldn't barge into someone's room like that without knocking." Quinn protested, sipping his energy drink again.

"Ah-- Well-- Just get dressed and meet me outside your room!" She yelled, flustered, as she slammed the door shut.

"What an odd girl. But she has beautiful black hair, and her crimson-red eyes are pretty. Her silvery voice is rather soothing though." Quinn muttered under his breath.

Quinn finds some clothes to wear in his organized boxes and leaves the room to meet the woman.

"Alright thanks, you're covered. Let us start with introductions. I am Eres Ares. My agent's alias is Mars. It's a pleasure to meet you," introduced Eres.

"What a hassle of a name," Quinn joked.

"Hey! You are so annoying! First impressions are everything, you know!"

"Fine, my name is Quinn Umbre. My agent's alias is Luna. I'm a newbie here so treat me well."

"Yes, I have been assigned to show you around the area and be your mentor. But first, let us get some lunch, or breakfast in your case." Eres signaled Quinn to follow her to the cafeteria.

"What a hassle..." Quinn slumped over to follow Eres.

After they ate a quick meal, they explored the building thoroughly. Throughout the hours of walking around the building, they interacted, made jokes, and laughed. Eventually, they became friends on this tour. After the final section was explored, the tour ended.

"Now that concludes our visit, but I have another question. Why the name Luna?" Eres questioned.

"I look like a girl, which is very ironic, something that I find funny," Quinn answered.

"Very ironic, yet I see where you're coming from. But before you can have time for yourself, you have an entrance exam, to test your physical capabilities, intelligence, and all that."

"How bothersome. Can I at least get another energy drink?"

"I don't know, can you?"

"Kill yourself. You just want me to quit my addiction huh?"

"Very much yes."

Both Quinn and Eres smack heads and the force of the impact launched them both away.

"Look, if I don't have my energy drink, it'll hinder my performance. It's like fuel to me."

"Fine, but you can only have one for the duration of the entire exam."

Immediately, Quinn excitingly sprints over to a nearby vending machine and purchases an energy drink. The machine registers the purchase, but the drink gets stuck in the vending machine.

"NOOO! MY ENERGY DRINK!" Quinn angrily lands a swift but powerful sidekick and breaks the glass on the vending machine.

"Oops. I overdid it, but at least I got my drink." He takes a sip and sneakily snatches a few more for himself, and hides them in his hoodie.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" echoed Eres' angry voice.

"You're going to be late for the exam, idiot!"

Quinn carelessly finishes his energy drink and they both sprint to the location where the exam was being held.

The dome-shaped building where the entrance exams were being held looked very modern and futuristic, and its sheer size distorts your sense of spatial awareness. They enter the building and are presented with a selection of high-tech guns and a shooting range.

"There are many sections of this exam, but let us go over your shooting capability, and your way around guns." Eres said.

They both go to the gun selection for Quinn to choose a gun made by the most advanced companies in the world.

"Choose any gun here you'd like, snipers, pistols, SMGs, etc." Eres suggested.

Quinn observes the selection of guns that are presented and chooses a simple energy revolver, with a .45 energy intensity level.

"Hmm... Shouldn't you pick something more… Heavy duty perhaps?" Eres inquired.

"No, this should work just fine. So, what is the test?"

"Ah, first, we'll be testing your accuracy. You'll be put into a simulation, with varying types of situations to test how well you aim under pressure or under other conditions."

She leads Quinn into a huge room with obstacles and robots equipped with assault rifles.

"All you have to do is eliminate the robots by shooting their heads, specifically between their eyes," Eres instructed.

"You act like I don't know how to shoot a gun. Do you not know my credentials?" Quinn retorted.

"Nope! Why would that matter?"

Quinn looks around the room to see the furthest distance from the bots and signals Eres to follow him.

"This is far enough for me, I used to be a PMC marksman. Maybe now you'd know why that'd matter?" Quinn asks as he prepares to fire the revolver with a single hand.

"Yes, but no PMC marksman can shoot a revolver from this distance-"

A gunshot interrupts Eres's speaking. The bullet struck a robot's head, between the eyes. The bot that was targeted dropped its rifle and collapsed on the metal floor with a clunk.

"What were you saying?" Quinn snorted, with a smug look.

Before Eres could speak, Quinn swiftly fired two consecutive shots, followed by the sound of the remaining two robots collapsing onto the floor.

"What-How did you do that? That was more than 200 feet away!" Eres exclaimed, still dumbfounded by the skill that Quinn had just showcased.

"I told you I was a former PMC marksman."

"But that shouldn't be possible-You know what? Fine, let's move on to a more difficult test since you're so confident in that accuracy of yours."

Eres grabs Quinn by his arm and drags him into a firing range.

"Wait here, let me find a suitable target for you," Eres said, passive-aggressively.

She scans the floor and finally picks up some leftover food residue, probably left by the lazy security officer while on his lunch break.

"Here, shoot this," Said Eres, confidently, believing that Quinn wouldn't be able to.

"Hmmmm. This might be a bit of a challenge, but I'll accept."

Eres places the target on a ledge, and Quinn steadily backs away, while taking aim. After traveling about 30 feet away, Quinn fires a shot.

"Ah, I was a bit off. I guess I'm really rusty after spending all that time in that run-down apartment complex."

Eres says nothing as she examines the target. The bullet had indeed hit the crumb, but there was a tiny speck left.

"That's good enough, you moron!" Eres exclaimed angrily, jealous at Quinn's accuracy.