Surviving the Apocalypse with my Multiplier System-Chapter 288: Team Sparrow
"Listen up! I’m going to split you into groups!" yelled Instructor J.
The moment he walked in, everyone quickly stood and lined up. Julian followed the crowd, curious about the sudden announcement. Typically, they wouldn’t be called in to train until later in the day.
"You’re in luck. Today, some of you will get to go on your first mission. If you perform well, you might get lucky enough to get picked up as a permanent member," he laughed.
The next few minutes, he spent calling out names and assigning them to team names.
"And finally, Julian. You’ll be assigned to team Sparrow. They’re heading out on a mission today, so I’ll show you where to go."
Julian nodded his head. He was finally being let out of this cage, and could hopefully use this opportunity to find a way to Damien.
"Good. I’ll be back later for training. Julian, follow me."
Julian followed Instructor J out of the barracks. They walked down the familiar hallway that led to the training room, but instead of walking all the way down, they took a turn into a new hallway.
"I vouched for you to go on Team Sparrow. Don’t let the name fool you; it’s one of our best field teams. They don’t normally take fresh recruits, but I told them you were competent, so don’t make me look bad."
Julian nodded his head but remained quiet. Being sent out on a mission wasn’t exactly where he wanted to go, but there were no other options.
Maybe if I prove my worth, I’ll be able to catch a higher-up’s attention...
"Oh, and let me give you a heads up since you’re new. The leader of Team Sparrow is... different. I don’t recommend you get on his bad side."
Julian lifted his brow. "Interesting how?"
Instructor J waved his hand. "You’ll see. Just do what you’re told and you’ll be fine."
Something told Julian that there was more to it, but he would just have to find out for himself. They continued through the maze of hallways until they reached a large room on the ground floor.
The room looked like a large lounge room with rows of couches, armchairs,s and even TV’s. There were about twenty men sitting around.
"Yo. J, is this the new dweeb you mentioned?" asked a man who was sitting in the middle of the room."
Instructor J pushed Julian forward. "Hey, Collin. Yeah, this is him."
He then turned to face Julian.
"This is Collin. He’s second in command of Team Sparrow. Follow his instructions, and you’ll be rewarded."
"Ha," laughed Collin. "More like follow instructions and you’ll stay alive. I don’t recommend trying anything funny."
The rest of the men in the room laughed. Each one of them was sizing up Julian in their own way.
"Well, welcome to the team, newbie. Try to keep up," said Collin with more of a teasing smile than a friendly one.
The next moment, a door on the other side swung open. The room immediately turned silent, and those who were sitting down quickly stood up.
Julian watched a very tall and lanky man, who was covered head to toe in tattoos, walk over. There was something very unnerving about the way the man scanned the room. It was as if his eyes could see everything all at once.
"Hello, J."
His words slipped through his teeth like a snake. Though he was talking to Instructor J, his eyes were glued to Julian.
"Looks like you really did bring me a decent one. Good work."
His words were positive, but Julian’s stomach couldn’t help but twist into a knot. Everything was telling him to get away from this man, and his instincts haven’t failed him yet.
"Yeah, he’s one of the best from the new recruits. He seems eager to climb the ladder, too," answered J.
The man took a step forward and extended his hand towards Julian. "Welcome to the team. My name is Twiggy, and I’m the leader of Team Sparrow."
Despite really not wanting to, Julian lifted his hand to accept the handshake. "Thank you for having me on the team."
Seeing that everything was in order, Instructor J quickly said his goodbyes and scurried out of the room.
With him gone, the room felt even more suffocating. Twiggy’s smile widened and everyone in the room visibly stiffened.
"Listen up, everyone. I just got orders from above, they want us to seize even more supplies than our last run. That means we’re going to be hitting up multiple places."
He walked over to the large leather couch at the center of the room and climbed on top, sitting down on the backrest. "Be ready to be out for a few days. We’re going further out of the city this time."
"Are there no more places to raid in the city? Why are we heading out so far?" asked Collin. He was the only one in the room brave enough to speak up.
"No, I’m sure there are plenty of rat nests left in the city. But small holes like that won’t get us much. We need to find the larger, more established bases if we want to reap a big haul," Twiggy explained. "People too. The boss wants more recruits. Soon we’ll take over the entire region!"
Julian fought hard to hold back from changing his expression. This wasn’t the Damian he once knew. This Damian was maniacal, just like his father once was.
"WHY ARE YOU ALL STANDING AROUND?!"
Twiggy’s sudden scream caused the others to break out into a sweat. Collin, followed by the other men quickly shot up and scrambled, getting ready to leave.
Julian remained standing in place, watching the chaos in front of him.
"Newbie. What’s your name?" Twiggy asked, his snake eyes glued to Julian.
"Julian...sir."
"Very well, Julian. I want you to remember one thing," he smiled. "I don’t like those who don’t listen. I don’t like them so much that I take it upon myself to get rid of them. Do you understand?"
