(i chose Jack Cooper as the name, yes he was in Titanfall 2, but NO he is not Jack Cooper. i just like the equipment of Titanfall 2.)
You know what they say when you mess with the gods, you have no idea where you might end up.
That's how our dear Jack Cooper found himself, thrown into the lands between with nothing more than his weapons and dignity.
A world full of magic, and might. Now you might be saying well how did this happen? Good question.
his helmet was still on his head, his pistol on his waistband, and his dagger on his leg.
the ground underneath him was painted red with a mysterious substance that his helmet couldn't identify.
the only thing he knew was that it was an infectious material, and upon looking further up he could see why.
the whole place was... destroyed. Dogs were as tall as buildings, and not in a good way. there appeared to be soldiers who fought with them, but even upon dying, they seemed to get back up and fight again.
in the distance, he could see dragons (much to his surprise as this was entirely new to him). and further than that appeared to be a castle of sorts.
but the only thing that got his attention was the fact that there was the sound of children, multiple at that.
jack head tilted as soon as he found the direction of the crying and made his way there. mainly because from what he's seen this place is not suitable for children.
...
five red-headed girls stood inside the church, abandoned with no idea what was going on. the eldest being 14 and the youngest 9. While the eldest was trying to console the youngest to keep her calm, one of the girls was hugging their knees in the corner. the last one was looking around the church (which wasn't run down yet) wondering who and why they were there.
the door opened to the church and a man came in. The eldest of the girls stood in front of her sisters as if to protect her, but due to her malnourishment, she didn't look even remotely threatening.
"I mean you no harm. see," the man said as he held up his hands, trying to seem not threatening.
the youngest sniffed as she wiped her snot from her nose. The man's helmet collapsed revealing his face. it was a bit scarred with one right above his eyebrow, and a small one by his lip, but there was a... warmth in his eyes, that not many in the lands between had shown.
"Are you gorls hungry?" the man asked as he pulled out these... wrapped food products from his bag.
....
jack wasn't exactly... good with children by any chance, but he was able to console kids. now because of that, he was taking care of the girls for about a week.
jack had gone out and was able to capture some birds (that were not corrupted by the scarlet rot) and was able to cook them for the girls. he always made sure to let them eat first.
and he always ate the bare minimum just to make sure that these girls wouldn't go hungry. it wasn't anything new to him as he had gone days without eating on Typhon.
the eldest, (Mary he learned) was still wary of him, which he thought was a very good thing. rather she is cautious than let her guard down.
the second Maureen was an energetic little girl, she was always bouncy and always asked him questions about his gear, and he would answer if only to state her curiosity. it was better to keep her entertained than her run off outside.
now the third... Amy was shy. She would always hide behind Mary and look at him with a nervous expression. it was like she was a scared puppy testing the waters inside a new house.
now the fourth... Millicent... she was sick. even an idiot could tell (unless they were braindead). mary wouldn't let him get anywhere near her, even going as far as grabbing a 2 by 4 from one of the broken benches they used for fire.
the youngest polyanna (Anna for short) was the crybaby, but she was the one who trusted him the most, her innocent curiosity made something in his cold heart churn. it was like he was staring at his daughter before... that incident.
she clung to him whenever he was nearby and... he didn't mind it. it was like the gods had given him a second chance to raise his daughter since his daughter was killed in a terrorist attack.
except he knew that wasn't true, since these girls were not his daughters, his fatherly instincts wouldn't let him abandon them for anything, even if he had to give his life for it.
...
"stick very close to me, we are going to leave this place and head to a safe area," Jack said as he held Anna's hand.
"and how do you know it's safe," Mary said as she gave an adorable scowl.
"I paid a merchant a lot of... runes I believe they are called for some valuable information," Jack said as he took the girls on a detour to avoid the majority of the people.
Millicent held his other hand as she looked at the monsters in the distance. when she grabbed his hand, he flinched as he felt something invading his body, but due to his already sturdy body, (and armor) the thing died almost instantly. he wasn't immune, but he was able to resist the rot, better than most.
"alright gorls lets go," jack said.
(end of chapter)