I have also recently released a novelette titled The Sleeping Man that I think y'all will enjoy. You can get that here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IVI6DH2
Now, without further delay, here's the opening to Eugenic Reprisal.
Chapter I
Sensory deprivation, being
trapped in an infinite well of darkness and silence: it is the worst feeling in
the world, but even that is a fabrication of the mind and not actually a
feeling.
Jacob’s consciousness
floated in that darkness. He was completely alone, and he had no contact with
the outside world. Time was a novel concept that held no meaning in the
darkness.
Jacob had gone through
this before. When he joined the Reactionary Force and been chosen for more,
“they” had done things to him. He was thrust back into the first room he had
entered. The water was cold, and the darkness was total. He felt panic grip his
heart as he frantically searched for an exit, but all he found was unyielding
metal. His panic intensified as he took his last gulp of air before the room filled
up completely. His last thoughts were of Lisa. The darkness claimed him as his
air finally escaped lungs.
Jacob was back in the
room. He was still sitting in the chair, sweat beading along his brow. His
breathing was labored, but he was breathing. Relief washed over him, but he was
confused. He stared at his reflection, and it stared back at him. There was a
click.
“You felt fear,” a
gravelly voice stated. “You felt concern. You felt panic. You felt despair.”
“Now, you feel
confused,” the voice mused. “These are basic emotions, primal emotions. They
are useless.” The voice growled.
“Emotions are weakness.
Survival requires action. Action requires thought. Thought requires clarity. To
achieve clarity, you must cast off your weakness.”
“I don’t understand,”
Jacob said quizzically.
“Understanding is not
required at this juncture. You will be made to understand, but that will happen
later if you are deemed able.”
Jacob felt his resolve
harden. He set his jaw, sat up straight, and squared his shoulders.
“I am able,” Jacob
said. “I will not fail.”
“Your pride is a
weakness, and you will fail,” the voice said absently. “You have no choice in
the matter. We will break you, shatter your spirit. Your resolve will falter
and crumble. If we deem you able after all of this, we will rebuild you, make
you stronger. By the time we are finished, you will have no equal in the normal
world.”
Jacob stared at the
glass and narrowed his eyes.
“If I fail?” he asked.
“Failure?” the voice
responded. “You do not understand this basic point: failure is not available to
you. You either survive, or you die.”
Jacob opened his mouth,
but the voice spoke before he could.
“Enough words. You
passed the first test. Now, we begin the real program.”
Jacob was plunged into
darkness, and he lost consciousness.
His memory faded, and
he arrived back at his mind in the black nothing. Other memories were bright
flashes in the darkness, but each one was fleeting. Images of his parents, his
home in London, Heathrow on a busy morning, Lisa’s carefree smile; nothing
stayed long enough to study in any detail.
Jacob couldn’t remember
why he was in the darkness. Just out of reach, the answer eluded him, but he
knew it was important.
How could he forget? It
was extremely important that he remember.
What was his purpose?
“Your purpose,” the
gravelly voice from before started, “is to do your job.”
“I don’t understand,”
Jacob heard himself say.
“Understanding is not
required,” the voice explained. “In fact, the less you think about
understanding it, the better you will be able to complete your mission.”
Jacob frowned. Wasn’t
it important to think and understand?
“Quite the opposite,”
the voice responded. “If you concern yourself with understanding, you will miss
important details.”
“Doesn’t that imply
understanding?” Jacob asked quizzically.
“Understanding is a
hindrance. You understand how a fabricator works, and it is working properly.
Is there something wrong with it?”
“You just said that it
was working properly. Nothing is wrong with it.”
“Wrong,” the voice
stated dryly. “Because of your complacency that is bred by your so-called
understanding, you have failed to notice a small fluctuation in power. A
terrorist cell is now armed and in control of the reactor.”
“But that is so
unlikely as to never happen,” Jacob said.
“And that is why you
would fail,” the voice shot back. “Question everything. Take nothing at face
value. Never make assumptions. You no longer have the luxury.”
Jacob sighed.
“How will I know if I
have the complete picture?”
“When the remaining
questions are irrelevant,” the voice responded.
The conversation
continued, but the voices quickly faded into nothing.
Once more, Jacob
floated alone in the darkness, the only being in existence.
His thoughts turned to
what he needed to know. He was with someone else, a friend. They were more than
friends. No, theirs was something words could barely describe. Brotherhood.
“Lieutenant,” a voice
said from behind Jacob.
Jacob spun around and
snapped a salute.
“Captain.”
“At ease,” the man
said. “I’m retired, LT. No need for the ceremony.”
“If it’s all the same,
sir, you’ve earned the ceremony more than most.”
“Is that so?” the man
asked as he crossed his arms.
“Yes, sir. You served
with honor and distinction throughout your career in the RF. You quickly rose to
the rank of Captain where you remained, by choice, until you suffered severe
injuries in the line of duty and were given the option to muster out with full
benefits due the rank of Colonel, but you refused the promotion to remain at
the rank of Captain. Nobody living has given more,” Jacob finished.
The man scratched at
the stubble on his chin absent-mindedly with his left hand. He dropped it back
to his side.
“I supposed you’re
right, LT.”
“Please, sir, you can
simply call me Jacob.”
“In that case, Jacob,”
the man said as he stretched his left hand and reached out with his right, “call
me Mason.”
Chapter II
The memory of meeting
Mason moved away as quickly as it had arrived leaving Jacob alone once again.
His mind started to wander, and more glimpses of the past flew by him at ever
increasing speed.
Surrounded by a
cacophony of memories, Jacob found himself lost. He rode along a wave of
emotions that he had not felt since he completed his training. He truly felt
his love of Lisa for the first time in years, and like a door slamming shut,
his emotions were cut off as he reached the memories of his training. The
grueling regimen had broken his spirit, and he was less than a broken man.
They had rebuilt him,
gave him a purpose. His purpose in life was to complete his mission. That is
why he had been chosen for Halcyon.
“Ah, Mr. Brown,” Doctor
Jenkins started, “I’m glad to see that you and Mr. Smith have safely made it.”
Jacob nodded as he and
Mason sat down on the other side of the doctor’s desk.
“I know that you
haven’t been told all that much about the project that we’ve asked you to come
here for, and I’m really sorry about that,” Jenkins said. “I’m sure you can
understand the amount of secrecy we are working under right now. By no means is
this going to remain a top secret project forever, but we don’t want
information being released before we are ready to release it.”
“Understood, Doctor
Jenkins,” Jacob responded.
“That’s what I’m used
to, Doc,” Mason agreed.
“And we all appreciate
that, Mr. Smith,” Doctor Jenkins said as he nodded. “Now, I’m sure that you
have at least been told why you are here.”
They both nodded.
“Good. So,” he started
and let out a breath. “Where would be best for me to begin? Well, I guess that
the beginning would be the best.”
Pressing an icon on his
desktop, he turned his chair around and looked at the wall where an image
sprang to life. The image was that of a timeline with all of the major
occurrences in the past two hundred years notated.
“Obviously, this is
what our past looks like from the end of the 19th century on. The
major wars, the economic turmoil, everything,” Doctor Jenkins scratched his
chin as he continued.
“Time is something that
we have always considered to be moving in a singular direction. It can move at
different rates due to the theories of Einstein, but it always moves forward.
That being the case, the concept of a time machine capable of travel back in
time is a pipe dream. That is, of course, until a discovery we made last year.”
“Excuse me, Doc?” Mason
asked. “Are you saying that Einstein is wrong?”
Doctor Jenkins coughed.
“Not as such, no.”
“All of our
understanding of his theory says that it is impossible because of Causality.
The effect cannot precede the cause. This being the case, if you were to travel
back in time, you would be creating a paradox.”
“What are you getting
at, Doctor Jenkins?” Jacob leaned forward.
“Our mathematicians and
theoretical physicists have managed to find a loophole in Einstein’s theories.
We’re working on the very fringe of our understanding, but with some of the new
information discovered in the new collider we have at Einstein, we were able to
connect some dots.”
Mason scratched his
nose. “I don’t follow.”
“You’re familiar with
the concept of wormholes?” Doctor Jenkins tapped another icon, and the screen
switched to an image of a graphed wormhole solution.
“Well, I think so.”
Mason squinted at the image.
“Basically that you can
connect two points in space together at the same time, right, Doctor?”
“Correct, Mr. Brown,”
Doctor Jenkins replied. He tapped another icon. The graph was replaced with a
dense mass of math.
“What you are looking
at is a masterpiece.” Doctor Jenkins grinned.
“Pardon my bluntness,
but that’s just a bunch of letters and squiggly lines,” Mason said as his eyes
glazed over.
Doctor Jenkins frowned.
“While it may look like
that, Mr. Smith, I assure you it is more than that. Quite a lot more,
actually.”
“Put simply,” the
doctor began, “this is time-travel. Not just to the future, oh no, this beauty,
gentlemen, lets us go to any time anywhere.”
“Impossible,” Jacob
whispered.
“I second that,” Mason
said as he leaned back in his chair. “You said so yourself not five minutes
ago.”
“Ah, but that’s just
it,” Doctor Jenkins said. “When we activate Halcyon-“
“Activate what?” Mason
blinked.
“What? Oh. Right.”
Doctor Jenkins turned a tad red in the cheeks. “I’m getting way ahead of
myself.”
Jacob shifted in his
chair as he stared at the math in front of him. It very well could’ve been
written in old Gaelic for all he could tell.
“At its most basic
level,” Doctor Jenkins said as he switched the image again, “Halcyon will be a
gateway to unimaginable knowledge. Imagine going through that gate and seeing
the first humans walk across the savannahs of Africa, or perhaps you wish to
visit the fall of Rome or witness the depravity of Emperor Nero first hand. We
can do that with Halcyon.”
Mason worked his mouth
for a few seconds.
“No offense, Doc, but
this sounds like a bad series of movies,” he said after he had collected his
thoughts.
“Not to be rude,” Jacob
started, “but I have to agree with Mason on this.”
Doctor Jenkins looked
crestfallen.
Mason sighed and rubbed
his brow with his left hand.
“Ok, Doc, what do you
need us for?” Mason asked.
Doctor Jenkins cleared
his throat.
“Right, well,” he
stammered for a bit. “You and the Lieutenant are going to be the first to go
through.”
“That’s not all that-“Mason
stopped midsentence.
“Isn’t that putting the
cart before the horse, Doctor Jenkins?” Jacob asked. “You said this is all
cutting edge. Has any of this even been tested?”
“Ah not as such, Mr.
Brown,” Doctor Jenkins replied. “The first test will be taking place later this
month.”
He brought up a series
of pictures and blueprints.
“The primary facility
is a year or two away from being completed, but the tests we need to do first
don’t require that facility.”
“That’s great and all,
Doc, but what exactly do you want us to do?” Mason asked. “Need I remind you
that I am retired? I’m enjoying that retirement.”
Doctor Jenkins sighed
and brought out two large document envelopes. They were addressed one each to
Mason and Jacob.
“As of today, Captain,
you are reactivated and assigned to Halcyon. I am told that you can talk to the
higher ups, but please give this a chance. You are highly qualified and second
only to Mr. Brown according to our databases.”
Doctor Jenkins turned
to Jacob as Mason steamed beneath his eyebrows.
“As I alluded to when
addressing the Captain, Mr. Brown, you are our number one choice for this
project.”
“On what criteria did
this decision get based on?” Jacob asked as he looked over his paperwork.
“All of them, of
course,” Doctor Jenkins replied. “We put all of the available databases into
our algorithm. Your name and Mr. Smith’s were the ones that were chosen.”
“Rest assured, Doc,”
Mason began, “I am going to take this up with the brass.”
“That is your
prerogative,” Doctor Jenkins responded. “Please give us a chance, Mr. Smith.
This work is beyond groundbreaking.”
Mason mumbled something
under his breath as Jacob asked Doctor Jenkins another question.
The memory faded into
darkness, and Jacob thought about what Doctor Jenkins had said.
Ground breaking.
Chapter III
“Jacob,” Mason screamed
into the darkness. “Where are you?”
He turned all around,
but everything was black. It was all silent.
“Mason,” a female voice
said from behind.
Mason spun around, and
he was face-to-face with a beautiful redhead. She had a simple sundress on, and
her hair was cut chin lengthy and styled to frame her fair, freckled face.
“Uh, hi,” he felt
himself squeak.
The girl giggled.
“You’re cute,” she
stated.
Mason felt himself
blush.
“My parents said that
I’d find you here in the atrium.”
“Your parents?” Mason
asked.
"That’s what I
said,” she stated as she put her hands on her hips and frowned.
Mason blinked a few
times.
“You weren’t told about
me?” She pouted.
“I can’t say that I
was,” Mason said as he stared at the ground.
“Oh,” she said quietly.
"Well, that’s okay!”
She bounced closer and
curtsied in front of him.
“My name is Jessica
Graves. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mason.”
Mason managed a
sheepish grin.
“Hi, Jessica,” he said.
“You seem very
surprised,” Jessica said. “Were you not expecting me?”
“Expecting you? Uh,”
Mason shook his head “Can’t say that I was.”
“Silly,” Jessica
giggled. “I’m going to be your wife!”
“Wife?” Mason looked
startled.
His
mind raced, and he fainted.
When Mason woke up, he
was lying on a couch in a plushly decorated room. The couch was made of fine
velvet, and the carpet was a thick weave that was so soft you left footprints.
The walls were lightly stained walnut, and the paneling was broken up by
occasional paintings that had to have been from the Renaissance. In an alcove
behind him, there was a low bench in front of a statue of Mary and Joseph.
There was a knock on
the door.
“Mason? Are you ready?”
Mason looked up at the
sound of the deep voice. He blinked a few times to clear the last of the
cobwebs from his mind.
“Yeah, Dad,” Mason
called. “You can come on in. I was just taking a breather.”
The door cracked open,
and a balding head peered in. His father pushed the door open all the way and
walked in.
“Now isn’t the time to
be napping, my boy,” Mason’s dad said as he strode over to a coat rack. “Today
is your big day!”
Mason felt confusion as
he stood and walked over to his father.
“Yeah, I know,” he felt
himself say, but he couldn’t remember what was happening.
“You should see
Jessica,” his father said as he helped Mason into the hanging tuxedo jacket.
“She looks absolutely amazing. Your mother and I are so happy for you.”
Mason pulled the jacket
around him and stretched.
“You know,” his father
began, “I was only 18 when I married your mother as well.”
Mason felt realization
wash over him.
“How did you know you
were in love with Mom,” Mason asked.
His dad laughed.
“The moment I first
laid eyes on her,” he said. “Do you love Jessica, Mason?”
“Yes,” Mason responded.
“Well, at least, I think I do. I hope I do.”
“What has you thinking
like this,” his dad asked as he sat on the couch and motioned for Mason to join
him.
“It’s just been on my
mind all week, Dad.” Mason sat next to his father and sighed. “You found mom,
and it was the mutual love that you both felt that brought the two of you
together. Where does that leave Jessica and me?”
“Well,” his father
began before stopping again. He scratched the hollow of his right cheek in
thought.
“I supposed I can
understand your apprehension,” he finally answered. “This marriage between you
and Jessica is just the new shape of things. Even at that, it isn’t new in some
parts of the world.”
“It feels wrong,” Mason
muttered.
“Won’t argue with
that,” his father sighed. “But this is how it is now. Marriage is very much a
legal contract more than anything else. You didn’t have any say in it, but
Jessica didn’t either.”
Mason shook his head.
“I know, Mason, but
think of what all we are getting. Wealth is no longer a concern, but the Graves
family is very well known. There is much prestige in joining that family.”
“I guess,” Mason said
in defeat. “I just don’t want to hurt her.”
His dad stood up,
looked at him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“And
that is why you won’t,” his dad said with a smile.
“Smith!”
Mason shook his head in
shock, and he tried to gain focus on his surroundings.
He was in a large room
with subdued, grey walls. The floor was polished black. Around him in neat
ranks were other people standing rigid, face and eyes unmoving.
“Smith!”
“What,” he replied.
“What is not an
acceptable response, recruit,” said a main that appeared in front of Mason,
seemingly out of thin air. “Any response will either begin with sir, or it will
simply be sir.”
“Sir,” Mason responded.
“Good,” the man said.
He ran a skeletal looking left hand over his finely shaved scalp. It lingered
for a moment over a shiny metal plate that was over his left ear. “Now, no more
zoning out, ya hear?”
“Sir. Yes, sir,” the
assembled group responded.
“Alright. Now, that’s
the response I like to hear.” The man began pacing in front of the group. Every
other step, his right foot would loudly impact the floor. The impacts echoed
about the room.
“Welcome to the
Reactionary Forces, ladies and gentlemen. Each and every one of you has some
idyllic view of how you are going to make a difference. I, on the other hand,
have the view that you are only going to hurt the people standing around you if
you continue to subscribe to such foolish notions.”
The man stopped and
glared at the person next to Mason.
“Know the truth? We
don’t need you! Leave now! The crying shame of it all is that we have to let
you in.”
He sighed and began
pacing again.
“This world is very
different from the one not even a century past. For once, you are allowed to do
whatever you wish. Hell, even underwater basket weaving is now viable.”
He looked over the
crowd.
“Some of you will quit.
There is nothing wrong with that, but some of you will be too stubborn to quit.
The remainder of you will do what you deem to be your civic duty and muster out
before you even begin thinking about having a mid-life crisis.”
He looked right at
Mason.
“But those of you that
are too stubborn to quit will make a difference. Some will get wrapped up in a
very bad real estate deal, but all will never be forgotten.”
Looking at his left
hand, he opened and closed his fist a few times before continuing.
“I’m up here to level
with you. I shouldn’t be up here. I was one of the people that never should
have enlisted, but I had no choice back then. What you see before you is no dog
and pony show. This is the reality of the world. I was badly wounded in the field;
put a down payment on some property. One of the stubborn ones, though, wasn’t
going to let me quit. His stubbornness saved my life, but my ideals cost him
his. My best friend, my brother, took the shot that was meant for me. He
stepped in and gave me another chance by sacrificing his own.”
Mason blinked back
tears at the thought.
“I made that decision
that day to take his place. I became too stubborn to quit. I’ve added to my
down payment, but I will never stop.”
The man sighed and looked
at the ground for a bit before looking back up, a renewed fire in his eyes.
“People die. People get
hurt. It is our job to step in front of harm and take the shot meant for an
innocent. The world has come a long way in the last fifty years, but it is
still a deadly place. Welcome to your new life, recruits. Welcome to making a
difference. Fall out!”
Heels
clicked together, and salutes were given.
“Ah, Mr. Smith, good,”
a familiar voice said.
“General,” Mason said
as he shot up and saluted. His mind was fuzzy, but clarity quickly took over.
“At ease,” the man said
as he returned the salute. “It is a unique privilege I get when I see a person
twice for similar reasons such as this. Five years ago, I wouldn’t have picked
you for officer.”
“Nor I, sir,” Mason
said as he relaxed a little. “I must admit that your prosthetic choice was most
enlightening. Part of me wanted to quit on the spot.”
“But you didn’t,” the
general said as he started walking down the corridor. He motioned for Mason to
fall in step with him. “It takes a rare man to do that was far as I’m
concerned. You’ve seen more than your share of action, Mr. Smith. Sydney was
particularly hairy to my understanding.”
“Yes, sir, but my squad
did their job. The terrorists were thwarted,” Mason said.
“Indeed they were, and
you did it without your lieutenant, did his job even. That’s why you are here
today. It’s obvious you’re ready for the next step. Want a platoon?” the
general asked as he looked at Mason.
“If I am deemed
capable, sir.”
“You have the raw
aptitude,” he said. “These next few months will determine if that can be
honed.”
“It can, sir,” Mason
said with confidence.
“We’ll see in due time,
Mr. Smith. Don’t let me down now that you have me believing in you.”
“I’m
too stubborn for that, sir.”
“Dammit, Mason! Pay
attention to me,” Jessica screamed.
“What?” Mason shook his
head.
“It’s time!”
“Time for what?” Mason
blinked a few times.
Jessica slapped Mason
hard.
“Snap out of it! Get
the bag, and let’s go!”
“I, uh, right,” Mason
said. “The bag.”
He fumbled around the
apartment looking for the bag of clothes. The bag of clothes that had been kept
ready for two weeks for when it was time for the baby to arrive.
The baby.
“The baby’s here?”
“Not yet,” Jessica
growled. “She will be if you sit around much longer though.”
“Right,” Mason said as
he picked up the bag. “Lead the way.”
Jessica growled as she
walked out the door. Mason jogged to catch up to her. He was treated to the
same beautiful view he saw every morning.
His apartment door
faced east, so the entire walkway looked over the Atlantic. The skies were
crystal clear, and the water was calm. The Sun glistened off of nearby
buildings.
Mason followed Jessica
into one of the main lifts, and they were whisked away to the medical level of
their hab complex.
After about a minute of
travel, they exited the lift onto the medical level. They were so far down that
only artificial light cut through the darkness outside the windows.
“Ah, Mrs. Smith,” a
nurse said from behind the counter they walked up to. “It is a pleasure to see
you again.”
“It’s time, Marcy,”
Jessica said.
“So it is,” Marcy
exclaimed. She hit a few buttons and spoke into a microphone. “Chair to waiting
three.”
“Captain Smith,” a
voice said from behind Mason.
Mason spun around and
prepared to salute.
“Oh,” he said as he saw
the young doctor standing behind him. “Nice to see you again, Doctor Evans.”
“So today is the day,
huh?” Doctor Evans asked.
“Seems so,” Mason said
as he looked around for the wheelchair that should have already been there.
“Well, word of advice?
Don’t get too stressed.”
“Impossible, doc, but
I’ll see what I can do,” Mason said as he leaned to try and look around
corners.
“Ha. Well, just
remember that she is the one actually giving birth, and last I heard, she
doesn’t take orders from you.”
Mason sighed and nodded.
“Good,” Doctor Evans
said. “And remember, Captain Smith, it’s Adam,” Doctor Evans said as he clapped
Mason on the shoulder and walked away.
“Don’t forget about our
appointment next Tuesday,” he called as he rounded a nearby corner.
“Mason! What are you
doing,” Jessica yelled from her wheelchair as she was wheeled towards the
delivery ward.
“Wha-. Coming,” Mason
said as he trotted after her.
He smiled as he thought
about getting to meet his new baby girl.
“Not much longer,
Marlene,” he said as he caught up with his wife. “You doing okay?”
“Shut up and fall in
step, soldier,” Jessica growled. “Just be there and only speak if spoken to.
This isn’t exactly a pleasant feeling.”
Mason
sighed and shook his head. Same old Jessica, he thought.
“Captain Smith? Can you
hear me, Captain,” a nasally voice asked.
Mason’s mind was foggy.
He groaned.
“Doctor Evans,” the
voice called. “He’s coming around.”
Mason tried to move,
but he was immobilized from the neck down. He couldn’t remember what had
happened, and he certainly had no idea why he was here.
“Where,” he started,
but his mouth and throat were beyond parched. His voice was a mere croak.
“Shh,” a familiar voice
said. “You need to refrain from talking, Captain. You’ve been through a lot.
Nurse, can you get Captain Smith some water? Ice chips only.”
“Yes, Doctor,” the
nasally voice said.
Mason tried to open his
eyes, but he was unable to feel them to make them work. He started to panic.
The beeping of the heart monitor increased with his pulse.
“Calm down, Captain. Everything
is okay,” the familiar voice said. “You are okay. We have you immobilized for
your safety.”
The nurse returned to
the room, and Mason heard her place a cup on something near him.
“Open,” she said beside
him.
He opened his mouth and
felt cold pieces of ice drop into his mouth. He worked his mouth and tongue as
the ice melted. After a few more ice chips, he felt good enough to try talking.
“Where,” Mason started,
but he was cut off by his voice cracking. He cleared his throat to try again.
“Where am I?” he
managed after some effort.
“You are on medical
floor five, ICU ward three. We are in your hab complex,” the familiar voice
said. “It was pretty harrowing for a while there, Captain. We were afraid we
were going to lose you.”
“I’m – I can’t remember
anything,” Mason said. “I’m stuck in a fog. I can’t move or see.”
“That’s our doing,
Captain. I assure you, everything functions normally.”
“What happened,” Mason
asked.
“That’s a long story,
Captain Smith. We can save that for a little later. For now, let’s see about
bringing your mind and body back up to speed,” the voice said.
“Sounds good, uh –“
“Doctor Evans.”
“Doctor Evans,” Mason
echoed. “It’s good to hear your voice, doc.”
“It’s good to see you
awake, Captain.”
Mason grunted.
“Okay, Captain,” Doctor
Evans said. “We’re going to take the neural inhibitors offline. You’ll regain
your senses, and your mind will clear up. We’re going to leave the immobilizer
online for your safety. There will be some discomfort.
Mason grunted again.
“Okay, Nurse Ried, slowly
take them offline.”
Mason felt his mind
clear. He breathed a sigh of relief, but he inhaled quickly when he was hit by
the first wave of searing pain. His left side felt like it was on fire.
“It’s okay, Captain. It
will subside as your mind takes back over,” Doctor Evans said.
After a few minutes of
intense pain, it began to subside and become bearable.
“Only some discomfort,
doc? I don’t want to know what you consider actual pain,” Mason panted.
“No, you don’t” Adam
responded. “Can you remember anything now?”
Mason ran through his
mind a few times. He vaguely recalled kissing Jessica and Marlene as he rushed
out this morning. “I only remember this morning,” he said. “I can’t recall
anything else.”
Doctor Evans sighed
heavily.
“What you recall didn’t
happen this morning. I don’t know how best to say this.”
Mason heard the concern
in his voice.
“Just lay it on me,
doc.”
“It’s been two months,
Captain,” Doctor Evans said.
Two months.
“What happened? Where
is my girl? Where’s Jessica? Why isn’t she here?”
“Shh,” Doctor Evans
said. “They are both just fine. They’re in the apartment. When you started
waking up, we notified them. They should be here soon.”
“My eyes,” Mason said.
“Let me open my eyes. I want to be able to see when they get here.”
“Okay,” Doctor Evans
said. “Just be sure to stay calm.”
“Do it, doc. I’m tired
of the dark,” Mason said.
Mason felt an electric
buzz rush through his body, and his vision came to life. The light filtered
through his eyelids. He winced as he ran through lightly stretching his legs,
feet, arms, and hands. Something was wrong. He didn’t feel his left arm or leg.
He tried to move them, but there was nothing. Nothing.
Mason snapped his eyes
open and quickly looked to his left arm; at least, his arm should’ve been
there.
“No, Captain Smith, try
and relax a little,” Mason heard Doctor Evans say over the rapid beeping of the
heart monitor.
“Where’s my arm? Where’s
my leg? Where are they, doc?” Mason pleaded with ever growing concern.
“You sustained heavy
injuries on your mission,” Adam responded. “We were lucky to save you in time.
The majority of your company wasn’t so lucky.”
“I don’t understand,”
Mason whispered.
“I know,” Doctor Evans
started to say.
“Mason,” Jessica
screamed as she rushed into the room. “Oh my God. You’re awake. You’re okay,”
she said as she knelt by his side. Marlene ran up beside her and threw herself
on the bed.
“Daddy,” she screamed.
Mason couldn’t help but
smile.
“I’m alright, baby
girl,” he said. “Daddy is okay.”
“I’ll give you some
privacy,” Doctor Evans said. “Don’t worry though, Captain. We got the cores for
your cybernetic prosthetics installed while you were in a coma. We can begin
physical therapy as soon as you want,” he said.
“Thank you, Adam,”
Jessica said with tears in her eyes.
Doctor Evans smiled and
walked out of the room.
“We missed you, daddy,”
Marlene said.
“I know, little one,”
Mason said. “I’m here now. It’s all going to be okay.”
“Mason,” Jessica began.
“Mason, thank God
you’re okay,” an old voice said at the doorway.
“Mr. Graves,” Mason
said. “It’s good to hear your voice.”
“And yours, my boy,”
Mr. Graves said. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
“Do we have to do this
now, father?” Jessica asked. “He just woke up, and anyways, you know that I
don’t agree with it one bit.”
“What’s going on,
Mommy,” Marlene asked.
“It’s okay, baby,”
Jessica said. “It’s just grown up talk.”
“What’s the bad news,
Mr. Graves?” Mason asked cautiously.
Mr. Graves pulled a
large envelope out from an inner pocket.
“Mason,” Mr. Graves
started,” I’m afraid that the injuries you sustained include one that
constitutes breach of contract. I’m sorry, my boy, but your marriage to my
daughter is officially terminated,” Mr. Graves said as he laid the envelope in
front of Mason, turned around, then walked out the door.
“Is this,” Mason asked
as his eyes filled with tears.
“It is,” Jessica said
as she choked back a sob. “I don’t want to do it, but my father isn’t budging
on the matter. We don’t have a choice.”
“What did Granpa Graves
mean,” Marlene asked with a puzzled look on her face.
Jessica sobbed as she
hugged Marlene and Mason close.
“It means mommy and
daddy can’t be together anymore,” she managed to say.
Mason couldn’t find any
words. He simply cried and held the loves of his life, his whole world that was
shattering before his eyes, with his right arm.
The
world wasn’t fair.
Mason felt confusion.
It felt like he was speeding through his life, and none of it made sense. The
feeling of loss from his divorce cut through him.
It made the retirement
unbearable. He could still be active duty, but the powers that be, his mentor
and friend General Franks especially, had forced him onto reserve duty during
his physical therapy and recovery.
After the months on
reserve duty, General Franks convinced Mason to retire.
“You’ve earned it,” he
had said. “Take time for yourself, as much as you need.”
“Time,” Mason muttered
as he splashed water on his face. “This retirement is going to kill me.”
He finished shaving and
wiped his face off after washing it. Unceremoniously stuffing the hand towel
between the towel bar and wall, he stood up straight and looked at his chest.
There was a jagged scar starting just left of his left pectoral. He felt along
it with his right hand, slowly tracing each branch and ridge.
After everything had
been installed and verified to be successfully integrated, the doctors said
they could remove the scarring. Mason chose to keep the scars as a reminder, an
apparent one, of what he had gone through. It couldn’t match the emotional pain
he felt.
Sighing, Mason opened
the access panel for his left arm. Looking over the indicators, he decided
everything was okay and closed it back up. He flexed his hands as he held them
in front of his face.
“I’m a walking
dichotomy,” Mason said to the air. “Life and death in some kind of perverted
harmony.”
He sighed again and let
his arms fall to his sides. Shrugging into the shirt he had hanging over the
bar for the shower curtain, Mason walked through his small bedroom and into the
living space of his unit.
He flipped on the TV in
preparation for another day of nothing. Before he could get settled on his
couch, his communication panel started beeping.
Mason grumbled and
activated it as he sat down.
“Mason,” he said.
“Captain,” General
Franks said as his picture snapped to life. “I trust that retirement is working
for you.”
“Far from it, sir, but
I make do,” he said.
Frowning, the general
said, “Well, I think I can understand. You know this is for your own good.”
“Sir, you and I both
know the docs are full of it.”
“While I agree as a
brother-in-arms, even I must bow to their judgment,” General Franks said with a
sigh. “I know it’s been two-“
“Three.”
“That long already?
Okay, three years since New York. The doctors aren’t budging on their
assessment. The tests they do still say your psyche can’t handle the stress of
potential combat again. They want to keep you safe, Captain,” Franks sighed.
“Beg your pardon, sir,
but you know as well as I that this is worse than what I could face out there.”
“That’s why I’m contact
you today, Captain.” The general leaned forward. “I don’t have the power to reactivate
you, the rest of the brass would have to be onboard, but I can pull some
strings elsewhere.”
“You have my attention,
sir.”
“I’ve been contacted by
some scientists at Einstein. They’ve been working on some new stuff, as they
always are, and something has come across my desk that has caught my
attention.” The general scratched his chin. “They’re eventually going to be
needing personnel for what they plan, so I brokered a deal with the lead
researcher. They need two people for what they plan, so the deal is I get to
pick one. He picks the other.”
“Let me guess,” Mason
said.
“Yeah,” Franks
responded. “You’re my choice, Captain. Pack your bags. Transport leaves
tomorrow.”
“Sir,” Mason asked.
“What about the rest of command?”
“Well, Captain, you’re
technically still retired. They can’t do anything about it.”
“Thank you, sir,” Mason
said as he smiled for the first time in ages.
“It’s the least I can
do, Captain. The other candidate that was chosen is a hard one, as a heads up.
I’ll send you the dossier when you’re en route, but there isn’t much to it.
There are a lot of black lines.”
“SpecOps?”
“Looks like,” Franks
replied. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Captain. Your itinerary will be
transmitted shortly. Franks, out.”
The screen switched to
stand-by as the connection was terminated.
Mason leaned back and
intertwined his fingers behind his head.
“I finally have purpose
again,” he said as he smiled.
For the first time in
three years, his injuries and loss were the last things on his mind.
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