23Thanks for checking this out :). I'm loving the game so much right now, and Aiden is so great. I know it's only been a week since the game came out, but there aren't enough Aiden fics! I had to change that...
Some exposition right now. There will be more exciting events and fluff going on later for sure.
Also, I guess I should say I don't own anything aside from my character Ripley, and the story doesn't quite follow game continuity. Plot is not based on any actual events and any relation is a pure coincidence! :)Enjoy!
-Blink
I try not to remember. It's easy when there's no one around to remind you…but then you wonder why it's so quiet.
I don't need much. I have a lot of money, I live in a small apartment in a neighborhood where you wouldn't want your kids to grow up in. Still, everyone usually minds their own business. I'm not afraid for my safety. People can break in and steal my stuff. I don't have many things. A $30 piece of lingerie might be the big ticket item in here. No one knows how much money I have. No one knows that my bank account has more than this entire neighborhood will probably make in their lifetime.
My next door neighbor is a nice woman who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd. She's also my landlord, Loretta. I've seen her deal drugs right in front of me before. I never bring it up to her. I always pay her on time and usually the first one to do so. In turn, she bakes me pie. One time she mistakenly gave me weed brownies and I had no idea until it was too late. I ate the whole pan and I don't even remember it.
I love Chicago. I wasn't born here, but I would say it's my home.
…
My landord's kid, Gerald, is probably my best friend. He's 12, but he's a mute so he doesn't talk about shit I don't care about. Gunshot has him deaf in one ear. I don't know why he doesn't talk, but he's great company to sit outside with. I bought him a Nintendo DS after his dad died. It's old technology, but I have to feign being poor. Loretta was so happy she cried. She said she'd never be able to afford it. Gerald loves it and we sit outside together in the quiet and we take turns playing it.
Everyone has a smartphone nowadays. The only way I can get away with how nice mine is, is to make people think someone else is paying for it… which is actually entirely true.
"Just thought you'd want to get together for a memorial or something" I heard on my other line. Jordi Chin. He used to be an associate of my father… before he… "Heeellloooooo?"
"Oh, right… that's coming up" I replied.
"You're a horrible daughter,"
"Yeah good thing I'm not really a daughter anymore! What did you have in mind?" Jordi and I are always insulting each other. Always have. I met him when I was only 8, and apparently I had a sharp tongue and could keep up with him even then. He's been like family to me for over 15 years. Even though my father is gone, Jordi is still in my life.
"Go visit him. But we should do something special for the 5-year. How about… uhhh. Ohh wait-wait. I have the best way to honor him," He said.
"You probably just came up with the worst idea. Where should we meet?" I smirked.
…
I slowly walked up to a part of a abandoned train yard. No sign of Jordi.
"OH shit!" I heard him yell in the distance.
Quickening my pace, I headed for behind a train leading into a tunnel. Not worried about him, I know he's fine. Just curious. He was hiding behind a cart, peaking over.
I gave his direction an odd look, "You see a squirrel or something?"
"Nooo I almost – almost- ruined our special tribute," He said, relaxing.
"Tribute? Whooaaa, Jordi, we're at an abandoned train yard. Do I really want to know what you had in mind?" I asked putting my hands out.
"Relax, look" Jordi pulled out an IED from a duffle bag.
I smiled wide, "Clever," I knew exactly what he wanted to do with these. My father was like MacGuyver, if anyone remembers who he is. Dad was a demolitions expert in the military and after his service, he would make explosives for fun… and for when him and Jordi had matters to attend to.
Why was it clever that he brought us here? Well, as legendary as I will always think my dad was, he died in a train "accident", or whatever you want to call it. Not this one in particular, but we'd have people after us if we blew up functional train carts. Even Jordi knows that.
Holding the IED's, I began to feel like a little kid. "Let's put like 4 inside one cart and see it POP!"
"Alright, set them all up. You can throw a few after, but we have about 6 minutes before the cops show up so we have to be long gone in 3."
I chuckled, "Wow, old man. Live a little"
"Handling explosives isn't hip enough for you?"
"Saying 'hip' nullifies this whole argument," I set up the last IED on the inside of a cart. "Alright, Jordi, let's do it!"
We stood back pretty far. We weren't worried about the explosion itself, just the debris that's about to come from that train. Jordi handed me his phone, "Would you care to do the honors, M'lady?"
I eagerly grabbed the phone from him and had some other impact grenade to throw after the initial "fireworks" if you will.
And with a tap on the screen, the explosion went off, completely tearing the cart apart. I placed the IED's in a line, so it was almost a domino affect. Jordi knew how to honor the 5-year anniversary of my dad's death, and he sure as hell knew how to make me feel better. The past five years, my life has felt like it was on pause. I had no direction and not a single care in the world. But detonating those IED's temporarily felt like I hit the "play" button to my life. So lame to think of it that way, but feelings don't make sense.
I threw a couple extra grenades to the carts that I feel weren't destroyed enough. We were both lost in our own thoughts about my dad, that we didn't notice when time was up. As the smoke was blowing over, we heard sirens in the distance.
"You happy?" Jordi asked. I smiled. The adrenaline… it was what I needed. He grabbed his duffle bag, and we ran away from the direction of the sirens and started running into the forest, that also went slightly uphill. There was a parkway about a mile ahead that we could escape to, as long as we kept running.
…
We were standing in front of his grave.
Roy Parker
February 11, 1962 - October 3, 2008
The last two numbers became more and more blurred over time. I knew what it said. But for some reason, not being able to see it anymore made me forget how much time has gone by…. And how much time I've wasted doing nothing with my life. I know my father would love me, but he'd be so disappointed in who I became.
"Thanks, Jordi" It was the first thing either one of us said.
"For?"
"Don't make me get emotional on you," I replied. He knew what I was thanking him for….For being so loyal to my dad, for treating me so well since I was an annoying brat, and for just being here. Yeah, he knew all right. He just wants to start trouble.
He rested his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it a bit. "I'm going to head out. You going to stay?"
I just nodded. Soon I was left to be alone with my dad. I tried not to remember…. I tried not to remember him dying.
….
I lost track of time and it was dark when I was on my way home. I accidentally started crying so my eyes were red and puffy. Basically, I was in exactly the correct situation to get mugged or stabbed.
I dialed Jordi, "Are you near Midway and 8th right now?" I asked him.
"Not even close, but I can be in 10 minutes. Are you okay? You're not home yet?" He replied quickly.
"N-no I was just wondering. I'll be fine. Have a nice night, Jordi" I hung up. I don't really know why I called. I'm not in any danger. I guess I was just vulnerable.
"Hey girl, what you doing by yourself out here?" I heard someone asked. I rolled my eyes. I knnewww I was going to get mugged or stabbed. Or worse. Oh God.
I turned to the source of the voice to see it coming from across the street. But it wasn't directed at me. It was directed at another girl.
"Good, thanks for asking" She responded, being polite, but continued to walk quickly"
"Hey slow down, I just want to talk," The guy kept bugging her.
"No thank you, I'd really just like to keep walking" She responded.
"I can walk with you" He insisted. He reached out to grab her and then she shrieked.
"I said no thank you!"
"Bitch, don't you have manners?!" He pushed her down.
"Hey!" I finally spoke up. Normally I would mind my own business, but my emotions were getting the best of me this evening, "She wants you to leave her alone, in case you couldn't tell by her lack of interest in you"
"This doesn't concern you… unless you want it to," He said with a disgusting smirk at the end.
"Ew," I said under my breath.
He started to walk toward me all kindly and I saw the other girl run off. She's not getting help. Thanks for nothing.
"Look, guy, I really don't need this right now" I said after a sign. I stood my ground as he walked right up to me.
"Then maybe you should've minded your own business," He grabbed me around my neck and I elbowed his stomach. He collapsed on the ground for a second, but then pulled out a gun. I held my arms up, as he stood up slowly, holding his stomach. He began to chuckle under his breath but before he could pull the trigger, someone tackled him to the ground and disarmed him, then hit the poor bastard in the head with the butt of the gun, knocking him out. Normally, I might be in awe, but I knew exactly who it was.
"I had that…" I said under my breath.
He stood up and fixed his hat before picking up the creep's gun off the ground. He handed it over to me, "I know, but I couldn't take that chance. Jordi would kill me,"
I frowned and didn't grab the gun from him. He was humoring me. He knew I wouldn't have had that. "Did he call you to follow me home?" I asked, still not grabbing the gun.
"What?"
"Either he did, or you willingly decided to protect me out of all the citizens of Chicago. And we know how unlikely that is," I said.
He stayed silent for a few moments as he lowered his arm, giving up on the chances of me taking the gun from him. I knew the answer, but it still felt like I didn't want to hear it, "He knew you'd be there all night. I only showed up an hour ago," He finally said.
I nodded and looked down.
I saw him start to walk away. I wanted to thank him anyway, but for some reason I just wanted to cry again. Crying in public was so unlike me. I saw him come back in my peripherals. He just walked away to move the unconscious guy off the street and onto the sidewalk. I made eye contact with him when I looked up.
He started to walk in the direction I was heading to, "Come on, I'll walk you the rest of the way"
I was too surprised at his offer to start walking right away, but soon caught up enough to where I was next to him, but could only see his back, "You don't have to… There are plenty of girls out there getting creeped on,"
"Yeah, well, right now there's you", He didn't turn to look at me.
"I should tell Jordi to mind his own business. Sorry he made you come all the way out here,"
"I owed him a favor,"
I increased my pace and walked in front of him, stopping him, "But you don't owe one to me. You can go," I wasn't angry, I just felt bad that he felt he needed to do something for me.
"We're almost there, it's fine" He insisted and tried to walk past me.
I grabbed his arm to make him stop, "What was the favor? What did he ask?"
"He just wanted to make sure you get home safe. I think you're overreacting." He pulled his arm away, giving me an odd look.
I blinked a few times before holding my head, "I'm… sorry," I sighed, "Today has been an emotional roller coaster for me. And then you show up, who I haven't seen in almost a year and… sorry…" I just wanted to go home at this point.
He continued walking and I followed in silence. 10 minutes later, we got to the front of my apartment and he even walked me to the steps. I walked up my stoop and leaned my head against the banister. I turned my head to see he was about to walk away, "Aiden…" I mumbled quietly, unsure if I wanted him to hear me.
He stopped to look at me. I got really shy all of a sudden. Last time I saw him was a year ago, and it wasn't exactly on good terms. The time before that... well... It was a year before that and we haven't been friendly to each other ever since. We used to get along... He probably just wanted to get the hell out of there and not have to see my face for another year…. or three... or five.
"I'm really sorry to hear about your niece…" It's almost been a year since she died. I knew how much he loved her. We haven't seen each other since she passed, and I didn't want him to think I was being insensitive by bringing her up. He already hated me as it is.
He did a quick smile and he nodded lightly a few times, "Goodnight, Ripley", and he walked off.
Wooo~~ Hope you enjoy the beginning! Like I said, exposition, but there will be more exciting events and drama and fluff later for sure. Ripley is generally just a depressed character for now because she has no direction in life after her father passed. More will be explained later! I'd love to hear what you think and what you do/don't like!
Thanks again for reading!
