In the dark times of war a hero ventures forward and bears the light of peace...
That was a line read from an excerpt of an old children's book my mom once read to me. But fairy tales don't exist anymore do they?...
The year is 2089 A.D. The elderly call this time period 'The Future' but our generation calls it 'The Neo Revolution'. It's an age of fantastic discovery and invention. A glorious era of technological progress and wisdom expanding wider than the universe itself. It is a golden society consisting of an easier lifestyle, political peace and no injustice, no war, no fighting, very little environmental issues. 'Perfect and forever perfect' is what we've told ourselves for years and yet we were blind to see what was coming. It began when the newly appointed Ambassador of Eastern Russia had finally shown his face. What he had announced at a later press conference had shocked the entire world. " My title is ambassador but that is not what I prefer to be called." he began. " I have grown to realize that my duty as ambassador is to represent my country but that is not all that I want to do. Represent is only a small word in my dictionary, I want to run my country, no, perhaps the world even. Has the Tsar heard of my intentions? Yes. Has he agreed with me? Of course not, which is why I took the liberty of making sure that he would not try and stop me. There is no longer a Tsar my fellow citizens for I have replaced him entirely. As the new Leader of Russia I plan to take full control over every nation on the planet. All political powers must comply or face dire consequences, beginning with the European nations." Europe laughed and scoffed at the ambassador's foolish plot. They though it was all a joke.
It was their mistake.
It had turned out that the Tsar was found dead in the palace's lower chambers, a sad and terrible loss for Russia. Then, underground forces from Italy, Greece, and Portugal arose and began attacking the mainland causing Spain, France, and even headstrong Germany to surrender to the ambassador's secret forces. The remaining nations stood no chance. From these alliances the Regime was formed and now America was it's next target.
I was eleven at the time. I hated the Regime. They took my father's life when he was sent to fight.
Five years later...
A cold, eerie silence settled over the clustered buildings that made up the northeastern section of Carolina. It was unusually quiet on summer nights like these but tonight was different. It was deathly quiet like the scattered grounds of a graveyard. Dead silence. It was a night like this that kept me awake right now. Was it paranoia that caused me to lay my tired self to bed but not sleep? Was there something in my subconscious alerting all of my senses now instead of submitting to slumber? Whatever it was I just couldn’t fall asleep and I didn’t know the reason as to why I was like that. I opened my eyes slowly to the pale light of the full moon. It was obviously a clear night so the threat of a storm was the least of my worries. I turned my head to the left towards my nightstand. The digital alarm clock read ‘ 1:25 A.M.’ in dull red. “Why can’t I sleep?” I asked aloud and then my question was answered with an unfamiliar rumbling in the distance. Something was coming and this something was the source of my problem. Soon, black shapes were coming into view over the hills, moving uniformly in rows of four. They were heading toward the front gate. The figures stopped in their tracks and then… BOOM! The gate doors exploded instantaneously! They were intruders gaining entrance! The warning siren blared across the town, as soldiers flooded in like a plague of mice. Lights flickered on in every home and shouts of anger, terror, and some frustration were heard outside. I sat up quickly fumbling for my glasses and my father’s sniper rifle. The Neo Regime had made it into Carolina? But how? The stirring downstairs suggested that mom and Jeremy were already awake; they were probably just as terrified as I was. I raced downstairs and motioned them out of the back door. “Run as fast as you can! Don’t stop until the both of you are safe inside the shelter!”
“But what about you? You need to come with us!” I could hardly stand the pleading look in her eyes. She didn’t want me to stay because she feared that the worst would happen to me. Just like what happened to Dad. I just shook my head. I had to defend the border. She hugged and kissed me goodbye before she hurried Jeremy outside. He looked back at me as he ran; shock clearly read all over his freckled face. Gunfire was already booming in the front. I rushed back upstairs to the broken window in my room. The enemy was advancing quickly. I slipped the head of the rifle through the hole in the glass, the scope and my gaze focused on my first few targets. One shot. Two shots. Three. That took care of the troops near the house. Four, five, six, seven were by the soldiers at the gate. Eight was by the one who opened the hatch from inside a Regime tank. Nine and ten were about to pull the trigger on an old man before I got to them first. I continued to shoot, every once in a while ducking to avoid being seen by approaching gunmen. Farther ahead a Regime general was shouting out orders. I could see him but he was too far from my sniper's range to land a hit. He was a large Cuban man with a wicked smile. He was looking in my general direction now whispering to his troops. They were planning something. I looked out of the window again to see that they had broken away and were heading toward the house again but now they were shooting at me. I pulled away from the window as it shattered from the bullets. I couldn’t let them break into the house though. I was able to shoot three of them before I ran out of ammo. Cursing under my breath, I quickly made my way to the other side of my room to search for a new cartridge. A crashing from the other window made me jump. I turned my head and to my horror a plasma charge rolled onto the floor, its light flashing as fast as my heart was racing now. I just barely made it out of the window when it exploded. I landed on the roof of a smaller building next door but I was dangerously close to the edge. My legs were numb from the jump. As I stood up I thought that I would be able to make a break for the shelter now if I made another jump down but to my dismay I could hear the sound of two guns loading. Damn. My only choice now was to surrender. I raised my hands in defeat. They didn’t move they just stood on either side of me. One was on the ground to my right and the other poised on the roof next door. They were snipers. The Regime was playing my game. Before I could react an order was given from down below. “Fire!” They shot both of my knees without hesitation.
The pain that came to me was indescribably agonizing. I immediately lost my ability to stand; as a matter of fact, I lost my footing all together and began to fall backward… off of the edge. I closed my eyes tight, bracing for the impact of the cold cement. I should be thankful that I didn’t land on my back or even worse my head but I took a crushing blow to my right shoulder because that was the first part of my body to hit the ground. The fall had me rolling many times before I finally collapsed on my left side. I could hardly breathe now and I could hardly move. As soon as I opened my eyes several things came to my daunting realization. For one thing my house was destroyed and crumbling to nothing. Second, I was in such insurmountable pain that I could hardly fathom the possibility of being able to survive at all. Looking down I could see the blood seeping through my clothes and ooze onto the street. My legs were useless now and I had broken my shoulder when I fell leaving myself with only one good limb. Finally, what terrified me the most was that I was beginning to loose consciousness from the blood loss. My vision blurred and my senses distorted. The sounds of gunfire were fading away and my eyes began to close involuntarily. My last memories of this night were the clutter of boots coming towards me, seeing the burly general’s satanic smirk, and his lips moving to form the words “Take him away.”….
What happened next?
I awoke feeling light-headed and somewhat weightless. I remembered what had happened earlier and I wondered if I was possibly dead now. But, looking around I figured that I was still very much alive. But how could that be? I would have thought that the Regime general would have left me there to watch me bleed to death but no, I was now in what looked like a laboratory and I was lying on a medical table. What the hell was going on? My blurred vision hinted that I wasn’t wearing my glasses. I spotted them on the other table beside me but when I reached out to grab them no arm reached out to take them. What? Am I imagining things? Shockingly I wasn’t. To my horror that arm was missing… No, my other arm and legs were missing too. This was a nightmare, it had to be! Everything that happened was all just a bad dream and I should wake up soon, safe and sound. I started to struggle but I was strapped down firmly by leather bindings. "You shouldn't move, boy. You're just going to make the attachment process much more difficult for us." It was the general. He was laughing at my futile attempt to escape. "That was quite a fall. It's a shame that you broke your shoulder. It doesn't matter though we'll make you a new one. Like mine for example." He raised his left arm to reveal the sparkling metal of a prosthetic. "It's very helpful. You will learn to get used to it." He began to circle my table. "You work quite well with a sniper for your age, boy. A skill you've picked up from your father I'm sure?" That evil smile came into view again. I narrowed my eyes. So he too knew about my Dad. "Ah yes, I remember him. He gave me that same headstrong look before he was executed." He grabbed me by the hair and pulled my face closer to his. "You're a spitting image of him, General Morales of the Neo Alliance, a selfless and ignorant man. He didn't know who he was dealing with." He slammed my head against the table causing me to black out for a moment. He started to pace again, occasionally glancing at the screen of a nearby super computer. "You are lucky that I will spare you life, boy. However, I have another use for you." He stopped and turned to face me now, his eyes glittering with wild amusement. "How about a proposition? I could give you back your arms and legs and make them one hundred times better. You will be much faster and stronger than you have ever been. You will be the perfect soldier." These last words dripped with amicable malice; it made me shudder. "In return you will work for me, meaning that you will now be a member of the Neo Regime." He paused. "If you refuse however you will immediately be killed on the spot. So what is your decision, boy? Choose wisely…"
Should I comply? Personally, I would rather be a dead man then a traitor, but in this situation living was the best option. "I'll do it." I whispered. "Excellent. The doctors will be here shortly." He looked up at the screen again and then to a dark case sitting underneath my glasses. "In the meantime you should sleep." He reached into the case to reveal what looked like an oxygen mask and held it against my face. I breathed in the noxious fumes and began to fall asleep. "We wouldn't want you feeling the pain of the operation." The words faded into nothing as I closed my eyes once more.
Reconstruction. That's what they had done. As promised, I had gotten my arms and legs back but they were made into something more than just limbs. What the general had meant by useful was to be used as a weapon. I was now what was known to be a cyborg, a reconstructed human being turned into a cybernetic tool of warfare. Many others and I were part of this legion, and I was the under minor of the group. They were malicious beings; less human then I had thought; yet they were extraordinary beyond compare. This was the Regime's ultimate weapon and their greatest project. The Alliance would be done for once these men and women were unleashed. Unfortunately, I had become one of them too. Unlike these other cyborgs I was less advanced then they were. I was a prototype. After my reconstruction I was run through a series of tests. They considered me the guinea pig of their project. Then, they had brought in others that followed after me. To my surprise most of these participants were voluntary. Former criminals, the needy, inexperienced soldiers, prisoners of war, all lured and baited into the Regime’s trap thinking that this was an escape from the inevitable. It was only the beginning of it. One by one they fell victim to the Regime’s mind control. I however would not allow that to happen to me. With the help of my new abilities I was able to escape from their clutches… for now at least. Little did I know that I would some day find my way back to them.
I broke away from the Regime and joined the Alliance, my country’s military force, in hope of getting closer to revenge. I was shunned upon and indifferent from them for having been their enemy’s creation but I considered it a bittersweet welcome to the group and I chose to ignore their scornful gibes and ridicule. I worked alone for the next several months under the watchful eyes of the Alliance heads. I performed dutifully on missions so I could hopefully win their trust but it still wasn’t enough. Although I moved up to the rank of Sergeant I didn’t get the respect that I deserved. My life as I knew it was starting to become more difficult then I thought it would be. The Loner of the Alliance, I wasn’t expecting that title. In this point of view I felt that I was fighting for a lost cause and that there had been no purpose of becoming a member in the first place. Should I have stayed on the side of the Regime and become a traitor to my country and put shame to my family name or, should I have chosen to be noble and chosen death in the laboratory where I would be yet another meaningless soul who chose to be patriotic in his last hour? I was losing my sense of belonging. Just when I thought that this emptiness would consume me I was given a new opportunity to redeem myself. It would be the light that would cast down the darkness that threatened to swallow me. It was a mistake that would lead me to redemption; she would be my guide to acceptance….
