Clive and Camden were in a gunshop, a little out of the way place that offered a plethora of base models and customized them to best fit the user with custom grips and fittings. the caliber, capacity and brand carried. Clive walked up to the counter and pointed behind the counter. "let me take a look at this one"
Camden cut Clive off "Dont worry about those, We're getting custom work done here." Camden turned to the man behind the counter "Who's in" The man replied "You're in luck, The mechanic, Just flew in from the Russian exclusion zone not chernobl, the other one". Camden nodded in satisfaction "if it's him, suppression is a must." The man behind the counter opened a door and waved the two of them in.
Inside the room was a thin man with stern features, the room was dimly lit except for a well used and maintained workbench, the walls were filled with guns of different makes and models, relatively plain guns to outlandish and overly modified ones that only seemed to exist in order to meet some arbitrary set of requirements, several had parts of mismatched colors and makes. The man known as the Mechanic Spoke with a heavy accent "your request"
"Silencerco 9mm design modified to accommodate .45 ACP, USP magazines, and with custom grips " THe man spoke again "Compact, or full size" Camden answered right away "Compact with an optional extender to improve the efficiency of the supressor, and a detachable stock if possible"
"Holster pocket Yes or no" Camden replied with another "Of course" The heavy accent drilled Clive "is for you, yes, Trigger?" "3 ounce draw, binary" The mechanic seemed to weigh both Clive and Camdens various inputs for a moment "Ready in one week, you pay now" Camden Asked "how much" The man scrutinized camden "4000 US, need to rebuild whole gun, trigger difficult for pistols, will need to be modified, custom machining for many parts, will need someone to fetch others"
Having, Placed their order Clive and Camden left the shop while they were not a requirement all students were STRONGLY encouraged to acquire and train with them. There were other items a well including a handheld stun gun, bear spray, a set of lockpicks, a small suture kit, a hip flask (in a pinch high proof alcohols can serve as a painkiller, bloodthinner, or antiseptic) and a high-powered flashlight. Clive couldn't help asking his uncle“Is all this really necessary.” His uncle simply replied with a curt “yes, you’re already registered but you still need a tour of the school.”
The school wasn’t that large, but it contained a large number of facilities. Including but not limited to, a gun range, a martial arts studio, complete with sparing areas, a pool, a computer room, as well as several laboratories for use in forensics and chemistry as well as a few meeting places called war rooms they cam complete with big tables cork board and red string. The entire school was the passion project of several ex-detectives turned private after a dispute regarding one two many cold cases that had turned sour. It is both a place to teach and a filled-out wish list for mad dog detectives. The only way to get in was by referral, everyone there, be it teacher or student has a story. the school had the atmosphere of a tight knit community but one where everyone obeyed an unknown set of clear but unspoken boundaries.
“You’ll be on campus, it’s a requirement.” Camden spoke as he led Clive to the dorms. they reached the door of Clive's only for camden to almost get clocked in the face when the door suddenly swung outward. A Srong palm gripped the door as camden spoke in a stern, authoritative tone “Sirrus you need to be more careful, what if I was a piece of important evidence you would have destroyed a break in the case because of your impatience” Camden snapped as the boy slinked out of the room with a sheepish expression “geez, I’m sorry mister Questiones, ill try to slow down next time”
“you say that ever-“ Camden tried to continue his lecture, but Sirrus cut Camden off before he could finish berating him “hey who’s this” Camden replied sighing while pinching his forehead in frustration. “your new roommate, we’ll be bringing his things by a little bit later,” Camden then proceeded to strong-arm Clive out of the dorms apparently struggling to hold in his frustrations. It was the first time Clive has seen anything resembling panic from him. “oh thank god, that kid always gets my goat” Clive could only respond with an awkward “um-“ Camden spoke quickly ending the moment “Anyways we have one last stop then we can move you in.”.
Shortly after that Clive and Camden were in the car driving to their destination. "Clive I want to ask you again, are you absolutely certain about this, if you walk down this path you absolutely must see it through to the end and accept the answers you get no matter what they are." There was a brief moment before Clive could answer “I -" Clive paused for a moment before finding his resolve before answering firmly "any conclusion is better than what I have now, do you remember the creed of my father’s family, I- I owe it to them, I need to find out the truth, and to do what I can in their memory” Camden struck on the heart of the matter “honor the dead was it, so that’s your choice, but let me ask you, is it the dead you care about or yourself”
Clive couldn't help pausing again at first maybe that was the case but now it was different "would it be hypocritical to say both". Camden sighed at Clive's response "no, just human" Camden spoke again “Still you won't like the path this takes you down what happened was a tragedy, do you know what defines a tragedy, Clive?” He paused before continuing with a pained voice “its misery, plain and simple, misery for everyone involved. whatever is at the end of that road will be bittersweet at best So again, are you absolutely certain, no matter the cost” Clivr firmed his voice "whatever is at the end of the road is for me to find, whatever the toll is, I'll pay it" Clive just returned a steely gaze, he didn't plan on backing down from this. Camden took one look at Clive and sighed “fine, just let me minimize the damage when the time comes” The remainder of the ride was silent.
With the soft squealing of brakes, they arrived at their destination. a building simply named Clinic. Camden turned to Clive “This is the place, ill be leaving you to your interview" Clive stepped through the entrance and walked down the hall, the lighting was poor and there was only one door ahead. Clive would be lying if he said that he didn't find camdens warnings daunting, he was always honest with Clive, and was probably the only family member who still cared for him. Still everything Camden showed him hinted that the path he was taking would be a one way trip, there was no going back. Without a word Clive opened the door and crossed the threshold.
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The room was pitch black, Clive couldn’t see anything and then it happened, he was hit by something that could only be described as a wave. It wasn’t a simple feeling that comes from someone glaring at you from the back, it was an overwhelming sensation, like being stared down by an apex predator, your blood freezes, and your body screams while something with a grip like iron grabs at your heart. Still the gaze did not belong to the thing he feared most, it didn't have the same gravity nor the supernatural feeling of being watched by something unknowable. Still, it was a feeling that elicited something primal, it wasn’t a simple fight or flight response, no, this was something of a different magnitude entirely. Suddenly Clive could feel every fiber muscle and cell of his being, it was a kind of hypersensitivity that could only be achieved when straddling the line between life and death dancing on a knife's edge. So Clive moved, at least he thought he did. Everything seemed to stop but not quite, a feeling of motion faintly existed, it was a heavy sort of slowness like wading through a pool of thick oil or tar, it was a feeling like he had been stuck within a moment in time. Struggling to reach the next one.
The feeling seemed to drag on forever before Clive broke free of the ‘frame’ that he had been trapped in. Droplets of sweat that seemed to simply apear on his brow slid down, then there was a hot wet sensation on his back, like a line of molten iron had been dripped across his body.Then he heard a voice, even, measured, and Clinical “did you feel it, that sensation that comes when every ounce of your being is struggling for survival” all Clive could croak out was a dy "Yes". The man took on the tone of a professor lecturing his student "that is what we call the precipice, a cliff that overlooks life and death. It is a relic of prehistory, a time when man could only rely on his flesh to survive the harshness of the world.” He tapped the side of his head “It’s that reptilian part of our brains, the part that controls things like instinct, fear, and desperation. It is the part of the brain that desires to resist and escape the clutch of death the most” The man gave a sigh tinged with regret “time and prosperity has caused an atrophy of this sense, it is like a muscle that has gone unused our entire lives, the purpose of the clinic is the rehabilitation of that sense, that is my purpose of a doctor in the employ of Clinic”
Clive pointed at the wound on his back “doesn’t this violate your Hippocratic oath” The man responded to Clives quip with all the neccesay seriousness “Sometimes we must be cruel to be kind, a doctor who hesitates at the scalpel is unqualified in the eyes of Clinic”. Clive narrowed his eyes this wasn't an establishment based on the way the man spoke, he intuitively understood that this was some sort of organization “and what is clinic” “A contingency, and an effort to preserve the things most in danger of being lost, as people often try to seal away the most dangerous things, but sometimes those things are sorely needed”.
Following up Clive asked “why would clinic's goal be dangerous” The man launched into a rapid fire tirade “how long do you think the average person lived in the era of prehistory, and how long would their natural lifespan be, the denizens of the past needed to squeeze out everything in order to survive, what do you think the cost of that was”. the doctor spoke giving a short pause “we suspect it was probably the unnecessary lifespan,we aren’t entirely sure, but the change occurs at a cellular level and telomeres are heavily involved” The man paused before addressing Clive in a more direct tone “Clinic is looking to research this capability and its manifestations, some people can tap into it, some can’t, you appear to be one of the lucky, or perhaps, unlucky ones.
“There are also other questions we intend to answer when the body pushed past the limits constantly, what will change, how long can it last, what is the limit.” The man leaned against the wall and looked up wistfully“All we know is that as the need for those stressors decreased the human lifespan increased and that capability became dormant”Clive questioned the man with astern expression. “and what is the life expectancy of those with this capability activated to the extreme “ The man answered flatly“without our aid and using the best modern medical technology, 40 years would be an exceedingly generous estimate” Clive spoke with a questioning tone. “and with your aid" The man replied frankly “the mid 60’s, the clinic will provide you with the best in medical care free of charge, and you will be compensated for your efforts, we only ask for 2 hours of your time daily, the pay is, of course, a salary” Clive spoke in a detached tone “your interview process is quite unusual to say the least, It could be fatal to someone unprepared” it seemed as if the matter was of no concern to him, to which the man responded with a reassuring tone “I assure you it wouldn’t reach that point, I have very fine control”, these are the hands of a surgeon after all” the man kept the neutral tone until he changed the subject, speaking with a certain levity that redirected attention. “go to the back room and get patched up, if you are interested come back tomorrow, after sighing a confidentiality agreement of course” there was definitely a thinly veiled threat in those words but Clive trusted his uncle who referred him here.
Clive was still shaking from that moment before, and even now he still felt lingering traces of that sensation. it wasn't fear or excitement, but a purely physiological response to extreme strain, his whole body felt tired. He couldn't help but ask "why do I feel so tired" The man responded with a perfunctory tone. "The average human's reaction time is around 270 milliseconds" Clive asked bluntly "so?" The man kept to his matter of fact nonchalance"you reacted in 43, keep in mind that reaction speeds typically represent the absolute limit of the human body, without specialized training, it's nearly impossible to improve,and you overclocked your body by a factor of almost 7" Clive could only reply to that with a simple "oh" Everything start to finish had happened in a span of five minutes, it seemed overwhelming, the ambush and the sudden shift to what felt like a casual conversation, it was overwhelming and underwhelming all at once, still, he understood what this opportunity meant. maybe just maybe Clive felt like he had a chance. if he better understands that state, it would be an incredible asset to say the least. If he could somehow learn to enter that state at will, maybe he would be able to guard himself against whatever that thing watching him was planning. It felt like an opportunity, a thread however faint that he absolutely needed to grasp no matter the price. He introduced himself with no hesitation. “Clive Adkins, I look forward to working with you.” The man replied smoothly “Ah, we haven’t exchanged names, I’m Arden Parish, at your service”
A few stitches, a confidentiality agreement, and several shots later clive was outside of Clinic and into his uncles car. Camden probed Clive about his visit "so how was Arden" Clive had a brief thoughtful expression and tone before nonchalantly throwing in a curveball. "he seemed alright after he was done trying to stab me, is that how he always breaks the ice" Camden gave clive an awkward look and a a dry cough before speeking "well he always had a way of greeting people"the rest of the car ride back was relatively silent as well.