Gears of War: Refuge

Gears of War: Refuge is a fan fiction created by 144-Patient Appelant. It takes place five years after the events of Gears of War 2 and may deviate from established canon in certain points. As my first fanfiction article on this site and about GOW, please do your best to bare with me. Thank You.
== Prelude ==
It's been five years since Jacinto was sunk, five years since so many lives were lost, and five years since Jack Mars has been seperated from his father. It's also been five years since the Locust Hollows were flooded. Many people thought that would have ended the war, but they were wrong....everyone was wrong. The Locust seemed to emerge from nowhere and slaughtered whole Stranded camps, refugee convoys, and COG bases. Since then, the small remainder of Humanity has tried to regroup and continue the war. With the discovery of the last Locust haven near the Gredes Spire, the COG has made many unsucessful assaults. Five years later, the COG and the rest of Humanity has been forced into a defensive position, holding off wave after wave of enemies. Stranded have become increasingly desperate and more begin to join the COG. After losing the last of his possessions are lost in a Locust raid on a Stranded Camp he occupies, Jack decides to migrate to the closest COG city, Refuge, to join the military in hopes that his adoptive father and his granddaughter can live more comfortably.
== Refuge ==
The air is malodorous and cold. As the Stranded migrate up the long road, the freezing wind numbs their faces and hands. Jack Mars walks with a large bag on his back, which does not belong to him. Close behind Jack is an old man and his adoptive father, Samuel Moss, and his granddaughter, Melinda Moss. Melinda holds Samuel's frail arm gently as she helps him walk up the long trail. "Oh, why couldn't those COG boys give us a lift on one of those big rigs. I'm sure they have enough of 'em," says Samuel. "They can't risk drawing too much attention from Locust, Grandpa," replies Melinda. "Hm, you believe that if you want to but I know that they just don't care about us," growls Jack. Melinda looks down, hoping that Jack is wrong. "I reckon you might be right about that," replies Samuel. Just then, Samuel trips as his old shoes give out. 
As Jack and Melinda crouch to help Samuel up, a clicking noise is heard right behind Jack's left ear. "Give up the bags and I won't have to lay you out right here," hisses a Stranded thug. Melinda, Samuel, and a few other Stranded watch in horror as Jack stands slowly with his hands up. He begins to let the bag slide off of his shoulders creepily. "Hurry up! I have an appointment in town," barks the thug. As the bag's strap slides over Jak's forearm, he quickly turns and hits the hood in the face with the bag, grabs his arm, and bends it backward, causing the Stranded to drop the gun. Jak then kicks the wouldbe mugger to the ground. As the Stranded mugger pulls out a knife and tries to get back to his feet, he realizes that Jack is standing over him, aiming the gun in his face. "A Boltok...Nice. I don't know how you got your hands on one of these but I think I'll keep it for the time being," snickers Jack. 
The Stranded gets up, gives off a quick snarl, and continues his march to Refuge as do Jack and his companions. "Ha ha! I almost forgot you could fight so good Jack," yelps Samuel. "Jack, are you crazy! You were almost killed! I would've prefered you just give him the bag," barks Melinda. "I couldn't do that, it's not my bag," says Jak. "Way to stick up for ma property sonny," says Samuel. They continue marching on, probably for another hour until they see it, Refuge, or atleast the wall surrounding it. Through the fog, the sight of a great metal barrier surpasses Jack's vision. "Alright, we're almost there," mumbles Jack. Slightly nervous of the price he'll have to pay for his companion's freedom. "Jack," says Melinda slowly as she walks to his side. Jack can see the worry in her face.
"Don't worry Mel, everythings gonna be fine," says Jak with a grin. He turns his head, hiding the nervous look on his face. A liitle later, exhausted and hungry, they finally reach the wall of Refuge. They approach a massive steel door which slowly begins to open. On both sides of the door are rigs with COG soldiers looking down and Centaurs with soldiers standing nearby. "Here comes some fresh meat," says one of the soldiers as Jack and other male Stranded pass through the gate. "Ha, your tellin' me," says another as Melinda walks by. She gives him the middle finger before disappearing behind the closing gate. "Well, let's get you two settled," says Jack. "You know, it'll be your home too Jack," says Samuel. Jack gives a slight grin and they walk to their new home. As they settle in for the night, Jack cannot undo a knot in his stomach. He tries to get a good night's sleep, knowing that it may be his last.
== Fresh Meat ==
The glimmer of the sun coming through the window awakens Jack. The sun creeps over the horizon and spills into his bedroom, it's light creeping up the walls. He wipes his eyes, vision still blurred, and slowly raises the blanket off of his body. He looks down at the splintered, wooden floor and hangs his dead in his hands. "Oh man," mumbles Jack as thoughts of what the COG will be like. He finally gets out of bed and walks into the bathroom. Flicking on the light, he looks at himself in the smudged mirror. "Damn, did someone else just move out of here," says Jack staring into the mirror over the dirty sink. He splashes water on his face, brushes his teeth, and quickly goes back to his room to get dressed. He doesn't want to say goodbye, so he plans to leave before Samuel and Melinda awaken. Fully dressed, wearing the same thing he wore yesterday, Jack grabs his bag and creeps out of the front door. Before closing the door, Jack gives out a faint "I'm sorry," and hangs his head. Leaving the apartment, Jack sees a large, burly man in a COG uniform followed by two fully armored soldiers. 
The man looks then looks down at a paper in his hand. "You...Jack Mars," says the man as he quickly skims the paper. "Yeah," replies Jack. "Good, your late," says the man excitedly. "What? I'm late already," asks Jack in shock. "Of course, what you thought you were shippin' out at noon," laughs the man. The COG soldiers take Jack to a large truck, the COG insignia painted on the side with a matted, black paint. "Get ready for bootcamp, Meat," says the man. "Oh yeah, I'm Sergeant West. Nice to meet you," says the man with a grin.The truck ride is rough as stones and pot holes line the streets. "Alright Meat, the COG is in need of immediate troops so bootcamp won't be too long. All you need to know are the basics and that's what we intend to teach you," says Sergeant West. "No problem," replies Jack. "Excuse me?! From now on every sentence you say better end with 'Sir'. You understand," shouts West. "Uh, yes...sir," says Jack startledly. The two soldiers look at eachother, drinning behind their helmets. As a new guy, Jack expects to catch some heat but he's prepared for it. 
Jack's time in bootcamp was tougher than he thought it would be. The exercises were fairly easy for him but the people around him made thing difficult. Six weeks of cocky recruits and asshole drill instructors became tedious. Though, when he completed bootcamp, he was better for it. Straight out of bootcamp, Jack was shipped out to the Lorenis Plateau, a small plateau where a COG base was located, Lorenis Base. Jack enjoyed the ride on the Raven. The view of the horizon, the coll wind, and the close-flying birds made him almost forget that this was serious business. He was assigned to Zeta Squad and was to be part of a scouting mission. The Raven landed at the base and flung dust into the sky. He jumped from the Raven and walked over to the main building where is squad commander was supposed to be found. 
Walking proudly, he immediately attracted the attention of a few other Gears. Entering the building, he looked to his left and saw a thin man feeding bullets to the clip of his pistol. Just then, he felt a large hand fall on his shoulder, nearly causing him to lose his balance. "There you are, Meat," says an all too familiar voice. Jack quickly turns and realizes that he's staring directly into the face of Sergeant Jon West. "You've got to be kidding," Jack mumbles to himself as West gives a big grin. "I was wonderin' when you'd get here. I've been waitin' for ya. So, you came all this way to see me, Meat? says West sarcastically. "What, no sir I was looking for the leader of Zeta Team," replies Jack. West bursts into quick laughter and says "Isn't that somethin'. You're lookin' for the leader of Zeta Team and it just so happens...I'm the leader of Zeta Team." West continues his laughter as Jack's heart sinks and he curses on the inside.