CHAPTER 5: Splintered Dreams

　　Brian escorted me out of the room and led me down a bright lit hallway. He started texting on his digital device. He muttered to me from a side glance, that he was letting the others know where he was taking me. The last thing he, nor I wanted, was a bunch of science and medical personnel running around looking for me and thinking I was trying to escape. If what Brian said was true, it seemed like Scalpel would happily put a bullet through my brain in order to protect the asset that was lodged inside me.

　　If what Brian said was also true in regard to how much they were paying me, I was happy to keep going along with all this and see how it panned back out. A new opportunity in life as it were. Having disposable income isn`t a bad thing, especially when there is a lot of it. I also could help but become more intrigued regarding this entire neurochip technology. The more Brian told me about it, the more intrigued I became.

　　We finally arrived at the cafeteria area and I immediately noticed that it wasn`t quite what I had expected when the word, cafeteria, was used. It actually was more of a snack booth with tables and chairs. The kind of selection you`d see when walking through an airport where everything was pre-packaged and nothing you`d actually eat on a regular day. "What the fuck is this?" I asked Brian who lifted his attention away from his digital device. The device was buzzing with activity so frequently that I could easily hear it. The whole thing practically sounded like a swarm of bees, with more notifications and messages coming in as I asked.

　　"What the fuck is what?" Brian asked with a distorted face of confusion as he looked at the plastic container I held in my hands.

　　"You know exactly what I mean." I started talking with the plastic container filled with cold pasta, black olives and what appeared to be small, chopped pieces of red bell pepper. "Where are the burgers? The fries? Chicken sandwiches? Pizza? You know! The good stuff, not all this bullshit." I turned slightly and lifted my hands out towards the cooler filled with all the crap that there was to pick from. "What the fuck is even that?" I motioned to another plastic container still on the cooler shelf.

　　"That would be a piece of quiche B2" Brian said to me as he batted his eyes in response. As if the answer was clearly obvious.

　　"Isn`t that a type of disease you get& you know& down there?" I pointed towards Brian`s crotch as he rolled his eyes in disdain at my terrible humor.

　　"Quiche& is an egg-based tart normally associated with French cuisine."

　　"You mean to fucking tell me that the French surrendering in every major war in history wasn`t bad enough, that they then had to create this worthless piece of shit?"

　　Brian looked as if he wished to have the body of a comic book character that could then send me soaring through layers of wall and plaster as he beat the ever-living shit out of me. "You know& there can be accidents which potentially happen, while I reprogram your neurochip&"

　　"But then, we`d never have any fun now would we sweetheart." I slapped Brian`s ass with one serious atta-boy which sent him soaring upward in shocked surprise as he had taken his attention off me for a split second, but a split second was all I needed.

　　He quickly chastised me as I reached over and grabbed some pita bread, hummus and a container with had pieces of cheese along with some green grapes. "For fuck`s sake B2 you had better quit that shit out. Last time you did that Director Larsen required me to lead the human resources briefings for the whole organization. Sad part is& that wasn`t the first time either."

　　"Don`t get your panties in a twist okay! Chill, it was just an attaboy and be glad that I am level 1, remember?"

　　He pointed his finger at me as he was now blazing red in anger as he breathed heavily. I thought it was god damn hilarious and my open laughter regarding it all, certainly did not help him calm down. "And don`t say that shit either. At least not out here in public. Seriously. Every time I have to give those fucking HR briefings, it takes two weeks away from my life as I have to coordinate everyone so they can remotely tune in to them. I am not happy B2, not happy at all." He practically couldn`t contain his anger and then reached around and started rubbing his ass cheek. "Bloody hell!"

　　We sat down at a small table, and I was at least happy to see a large clear window. The view allowed me to peer over to a small wooded area. A small creek had carved its way through the tree`s. The scene left me with a beautiful view of the grounds the building was built on. I must have been staring out at the beautiful scenery too long, because out of nowhere Brian`s hand waved in front of my face.

　　"Earth to B2& hello?" He asked.

　　"What?" I shook my head and leaned it back out of a reaction.

　　"You okay there super sport?" He inquired.

　　I realized my mouth had been open throughout whatever trance I had been in. I didn`t know how long I had dazed out of reality, but I reacted defensively towards his question. "Yeah? Why?"

　　"Because you finished your food almost 20 minutes ago and have just been staring out the window without saying a word. Hell your breathing was so shallow, that even I was afraid you had just stopped doing it all together."

　　"Oh&" I didn`t know what to say, but tried my best to play it off. "Nah, I`m good man, you know& just looking outside and enjoying a part of life that I have been missing out on over the past year."

　　Brian nodded his head and gave me a look that he was empathetic towards my situation and remembered that my whole transition back into reality was going to be one that wouldn`t just happen overnight. I will certainly admit that it is somewhat of an out of body experience when you wake up and have no memory of what happened or who you are practically, but everyone else looks at you and just expects you to know things.

　　I glanced over at Brian who kept widening his eyes and shaking his head as his fingers went tapping away on the screen as if he was putting out multiple fires all at once within the world of corporate bullshit. "So, what happens next?" I asked him.

　　"We`re going to let you take it easy for the rest of the day. You`ll spend the night here in the medical bay, but if everything goes well we`re going to move you up to your temporary living quarters upstairs. There is still a few medical tests we can run and readings we want to gather while you sleep tonight. Nothing to invasive though." Brian replied.

　　"Gotcha."

　　The rounds cracked by my right side, and I darted behind the massive pine tree directly to my left. Chunks of the tree`s bark were ripped off as rounds narrowed in on my location. There was a dense fog which rolled through the area and was roughly three feet in height as it blanketed the earth. The mist aided me as I darted forward and worked to reach the next massive tree that could shield me.

　　I made it within five feet of my new wooden shield, but the dense fog had concealed an exposed tree root. My foot caught on it at the worst possible time and launched me straight forward and into the dirt. Shrubberies greeted me upon my arrival, and I immediately spun around and faced behind me with my back resting against the damp earth.

　　A few new shots cracked overhead but swept over the area in an arch. My pursuer had lost sight of me. I could hear footsteps approaching and aimed my rifle over to the left. The red dot on my rifle sight covered the side of the last tree I had been at, the same side of the tree where it had previously been pelted with rounds.

　　A beam of light sprang to life and peered out and in my general direction at first. The light then streaked over the fog and drifted off further towards my left side. It was only a few more seconds before my pursuer came into view as he appeared around the same edge of the tree my red dot was fixed on. The flashlight on the end of his FN FAL rifle continued to pierce out into the thicket of the woods in search of my location.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

　　His black leather gloves were covered with enough precipitation from the mist that a small shimmer was coming off them. His face was covered with a black ski mask and his breath touched the cool air with its own vapored cloud as he exhaled. He was wearing an older all-weather military jacket. The camo pattern looked like that of the German military`s forest design. His lower torso disappeared underneath the fog which wrapped around him, and I was relieved to think how it was now my current ally.

　　My red dot centered directly on his head and the pad of my finger smoothly pulled backwards on my rifle trigger. The fog glowed for a brief second as the muzzle flash illuminated it. The round streaked through the mist and ripped straight through my targets neck. The projectile tore off a chunk of his throat and a mist cloud of pink and red sprang around him. My guess was that my round caught him right as he started to exhale, his lungs finishing their effort only to launch his red essence into the air around him.

　　His body hunched over and began to fall to the earth. His rifle muzzle immediately dropped downward towards the ground as he squeezed back on his trigger. The round pounded into the soft earth below him and chunks of rich brown dirt and pine needles launched themselves upward as a result. I didn`t waste any more time observing him and began to twist and launch myself back up and onto my feet.

　　My body made it halfway up when the distinct sound made it to my ears and my gaze narrowed further up the hill. The dog bark was the added motivation I needed to surge myself into a sprint. I didn`t hold anything back as I tried to evade those who were pursing me.

　　A new volley of gunfire followed immediately after the dog barked. My legs carried me further up the hill as I swept past dew laden leaves of the fern bushes. Their leaves dampened my pants and soaked through as I trudged past row after row of the invasive bush. The distance between my pursues seemed to be closing in on me, but why hadn`t they given the command to release the dog? I could easily make out the ferocious sound of jaws chomping down as it barked with the ferocity of hell itself.

　　My body twisted around and lunged up the hill in another sprint. My eyes widened as I took in as many details as possible during my efforts. It was then in my long strides that the beams of light from my pursuers highlighted the sign up in front of me. The metallic sign was painted red and had rested weathering all along its` edges. In dead center was a skull and cross bones. There was a veiled transparent overlay, the original text underneath but what my eyes saw within my HUD was clearly displayed in English. "Danger Mines."

　　So that`s why they haven`t released the fur missile. I thought as I found a new tree to duct behind and let my body catch a quick breathe. A large cloud of steam lofted out in front of me and I worked to calm my heart rate. The heavy fog bank still at my waist and I quickly turned to check my pursuers progress.

　　My face was caught in the worst moment as the direct beam of light exposed me against the darkened background. Muzzle flashes erupted as a new volley of rounds smashed into the tree I stood behind and cracked all around me. The hot lead streaked through the fog bank as it slammed into the earth and launched dirt particles up and all around me.

　　My muzzle guided me around as I spun and faced behind me. The distance I had reached on the slight incline of the forest hillside was enough for me to see the multiple targets lower down the hill as they continued to close in on my position. The barking and guttural growl of their K9 unit still aiding them in homing in on me.

　　I could see the ammunition display on the right side of my vision. There were only a few rounds left within my magazine. My left hand quickly reached down to my web belt around my waist, nothing. I was all out of ammunition, every pouch, pocket, and magazine slot that I carried was empty. I reached down and went to grab my side arm, it wasn`t there. Where the fuck is my pistol? I thought to myself. My right hand continued to pat the holster. The thought that the weapon would magically appear if I just continued the motion.

　　No luck. No magical ability to save me at a time when I wished it existed to do so. As the split second ended, I knew I had to make my shots count. I raised my muzzle and scanned over the fog bank and awaited as my targets quickly reappeared from behind the concealment of the trees towering over us. My gaze narrowed in one the first one and I squeezed back on my trigger. One down.

　　My eyes caught sight of the next muzzle flash, I repositioned my red dot just slightly over where the flash had come from. I squeezed back again on the trigger. The rifle roared to life, but a miss. I pulled the trigger back again, another miss. I could just make out the darkened figure in the dim light. My target was still tearing up the incline towards me as their body disrupted the mist and left a wake trail behind them. A clear disturbance in the fog and I utilized it to time my next shot. Two down.

　　I turned around and darted up another twenty paces and then bolted off and to my left. A downed tree lay across the hillside. I planted my left hand against it and leapt upwards. My feet arrived and landed upon a slick moss-covered surface. I couldn`t tell exactly what it was but the slippery surface shot my feet out from under me and sent me buckling down upon the damp earth. I first felt the pain surge upwards on both of my legs as my eyes caught sight of my health icon in the top left portion of my HUD. An orange coloration started at my ankles and then faded upwards in a gradient towards my knees.

　　My body twisted around as quickly as I could to regain my footing and I quickly made my way up onto all fours. I was just about to look up and quickly look for my enemy when my eyes caught sight of the three prongs sticking up from the ground, a mere 4 inches in front of my face. My heart skipped a beat and I slowly backed away from the anti-personnel mine which had my name written all over it. I didn`t have any spare time to loose as I could hear footsteps thudding up behind me.

　　I snapped around out of instinct and brought my rifle muzzle around as I fired from a seated position and watched my final four rounds punch directly into his chest. His body lunged forward and flopped on the ground for a split second before it was launched upwards a good six inches. His corpse had landed on another mine and now he had human flesh scattered around the area as if he was a smashed jack-o`-lantern. A gaping massive hole now in his stomach.

　　His body lay there with a small amount of smoke lofting up from it, but my eyes looked down at the small residual gunpowder smoke that was coming off my spent rifle. Empty& I felt my body tense and my grip clenched down on my weapon for a split second as I finally released it and threw it off to my side. It was no good to me now.

　　The audible cracks quickly returned as the incoming fire intensified. I surged upwards and darted my way forward towards a new tree which offered me cover and concealment. I quickly dove forward and started to low crawl on the ground, now heading straight for my enemy. My elbows pounded into the dirt and my hands clawed and pulled me forward until I felt myself get snagged.

　　My head whipped around instantly and I saw a small branch extending out from one of the fern bushes I was crawling past. A small branch with fingers had caught on the grenade that was attached to my web belt. Thank god! My voice cried out within my mind. I had not felt the grenade earlier when I went searching for a fresh magazine of ammunition. There wasn`t a second of delay as my hand latched onto it and I brought the grenade up to my chest.

　　A large cluster of gunmen came into my view and they were perfectly gathered close together. I pulled the pin and let the spoon kick free and launched it towards them without delay. The fog continued to roll over the area and graciously concealed the deadly gift I sent towards them. My body turned back around and continued to crawl my way forward a little more until I heard the welcome sound of the explosion.

　　The device erupted and the flash illuminated the dim lit area of the forest canopy. My hands pushed against the ground and lifted me upwards. My legs kicked up and got my feet back under me. In a fluid motion, I planted my left hand the next downed tree. My legs kicked up and over it while my right-hand grabbed hold of my combat knife. The handle of my 8-inch Kabar knife with a tanto blade was a welcomed sensation. The deadly sharp and blackened blade cut through the mist alongside me as I turned just slightly to the left and began approach from the flank of my enemy`s position.

　　I was practically in a dead sprint and had locked my eyes onto my targets. A final group of fighters who stood over their injured counterparts. My grenade had achieved my desired effect. The distance was cut down to less than 20 feet when I approached the final tree that stood between me and my targets. My eyes widened as they saw the movement out of my peripheral. A figure had been concealed from my view behind the tree up and till now. In a flash of a second, I narrowed in on the large piece of wood that was flying towards my face like a baseball bat. It was about to hit me when I-

　　My eyes sprang open and brought my surroundings into focus. The highly polished floor had a faint glow cast upon it from the few LED`s which were scattered throughout the room. The slightest outlines of the multitude of machines and furniture followed suit. My head was throbbing at the same ticking pace of the medical device which chirped out my heart rate.

　　I could feel my chest pumping aggressively as my heart had sky rocketed from the vision that played out a moment ago. There was a slight tremble coursing over my hands and I brought my right hand up and felt the vibration dance over my skin as I clasped hold of my head. There was a cool sensation my fingers felt upon their arrival. My eyes took sight of the small amount of blood that now coated them as I presented them out in front of me, investigating my suspicion. Shit& I thought as I lay there, still dazed and confused over the event.

　　I heard the sound of the door sliding open and heard the footsteps rush over towards me. Arabella`s soft voice greeted me with a frightened tone. "Oh my god, Trevor. I`m so sorry, I was dozing in and out and didn`t feel the alarm alert me to what was going on." She knelt down and I could feel her gently hands wrap around me and start to move over my body as she checked what other injuries I might have sustained.

　　My head was throbbing, but it was nothing compared to when I had originally awakened the previous day. I mentally worked to assess the rest of my body and limps. My right shoulder and arm were practically pinned under me, and my right ankle and knee were also emitting a heated pain from their joints. I took a few more deep breaths as I worked to calm my heart.

　　"I`ll be alright." I replied.

　　"That is something you would say." Arabella followed.

　　She quickly went to retrieve a small kidney pillow which had been placed in my medical bed. Her hand slowly lifted my head off the tile floor and put it underneath it. She finished moving me onto my back and I now looked straight up towards the ceiling. She reached up and started to press a multitude of buttons and the various devices, deactivating the alarms and chirps now that she had arrived.

　　"Seriously, I`ll be fine. I, I just need to get up and in bed." I started to move and work to get back up to my feet, against her protest.

　　Her hands wrapped around me to help brace and guide me back up. "Please take it easy." She insisted.

　　I crawled back into the bed and partially closed my eyes. "What time is it?"

　　"Why? Gotta go somewhere?" She smiled at me but then checked her watch. "It`s 4 o`clock in the morning."

　　"Okay, thanks darling."

　　I faded in and out of sleep for the remainder of the morning. There was a part of me that was afraid to fully fall back asleep, unknowing what exactly I had just experienced. My body told me it was real& or had been real. I could have sworn I felt the gun shot that had hit my right thigh. The same type of ghost sensation that amputees describe after they have lost a limb.

　　As the morning hours continued to arrive and start the new day, Arabella finally grew tired of arguing with me and brought me a cup of coffee. I sipped on it as Brian stood off to the far side of the room and discussed everything with Arabella. The two of them continued to go over information displayed on a digital tablet.

　　Brian finally approached me and asked a multitude of questions, wanting to know every exact detail of what I could recall. I played it off and told him it was a bad dream filled with dinosaurs and aliens. He didn`t buy it, not for one second. He pressed me like a police detective would if I was in an interrogation room. But I didn`t crack or give him any further information.

　　I had spent the rest of the early morning hours thinking about what Brian had told me. How Scalpel would not allow me to be a risk of having the neurochip get out of their reach. So to speak. Additionally, small blips of memories had started to return as well. But it was all long-term events from my past, such as the earlier years in my military career.

　　The attitude I had back then was the same one I had now. You don`t say anything that could prevent you from doing your job. We were stubborn like that in our earlier years, and I felt it best to maintain that attitude now. There was nothing wrong with me that would prevent me from being an asset for Scalpel. That was my story and speech that Brian received every time he tried to press further and for more information.

　　He didn`t like it& but I didn`t care. It was a new morning, and I was ready to start progressing and learning what all this neurochip could actually do for me.