W-12

My head was spinning and my head drooped in terror. “Welcome Soldier.” I didn’t even know who he was talking to. I couldn’t even open my eyes because I was in such a state.

“Where am I? Hell, who am I?” I coughed and immediately felt blood and mucus come out of my mouth.

“I suggest you slow down, Soldier.”

Half-lying on my back, I managed to control my cough to the extent that I was able to sit up.

“Where am I” I responded, “Who am I and where am I?”

The reason you are unsure of where you are is because it's classified. You'll have to see your name tag to find out who you are.

That's what I did.

“Lieutenant Alan Marshall? Hello! I guess I am a Lieutenant. That sounds really great to me, Lieutenant Alan Marshall.”

Looking around the room, I found it eerily empty except for my bed and the black chair where he sat.

As I was walking through the steel corridors and bulletproof glass, General Tyrac told me, “I'm afraid you will have to be blindfolded.”

“I just don’t get why you have to blindfold me, Tyrac.”

Lieutenant Tyrac: “That's General Tyrac.”

“Is it necessary for me to be blindfolded or not?”

"As I told you while you were in recovery, this area is classified, and we don't want to reveal anything that could allow you to recognize this area."

It was a rude awakening. What had they done to me? I had no idea who I was. I couldn't even remember my own name! What was I suffering from?

"What is wrong with me? Why do I forget who I am? What am I recovering from?"

"All will come out in due time, Lieutenant."

“You sound like a crazed fortune teller! I need answers! I deserve answers!”

At that, the General pinned me to the cool steel of the wall. “You will not talk to me like that! You would have died if it were not for us!” He continued to pin me to the wall for a few more seconds, then he dropped me. I fell on my knees on the hard surface of the floor. When I looked back up at the General, he was staring off into space smiling.

“We didn't expect you to lose your memory, but perhaps it is for the best. Before we took you away, you had gone through some very traumatic times.”

“What kind of traumatizing times, General?”

“There is no need for that Lieutenant at this time, or place.”

In response, I was going to reply, telling him I didn't care when he told me, as long as I knew, when I heard footsteps approaching. They were from a woman in her early twenties who appeared to be quite attractive.

“General?” She said in a voice just as captivating as her looks.

“Hello Abbi, how are you?”

Her face was puffy and red, and she was crying. “Could it be better?”

"The project worked out really well, and we're just happy about that.”

"How's it going Alan?" Abbi glanced at me.

“Confused, tired, and sore, but so strong.”

The general cleared his throat. “Do you have the blindfold Abbi?”

I lay there clutching whatever was hard against my back. I felt like I was being confined. It felt as if heavy rocks were pressing my eyes closed in a similar fashion to the experience I had in the room. It was then that I began to suffer extreme pain in my left leg.

Boom! I heard a near-instant explosion, followed by ringing in my ears that scared me. Glass and other debris flew everywhere. I could feel rubber burning my skin. There had been a vehicle hit.

The sight around me you could not ignore. There was debris everywhere. There were four bodies laying on the ground like I had just been. Each of them were alive, but all were unconscious and in rough shape.

What made me convinced that they were still alive? I had flashbacks of lying on the bed while I fought to stay awake, and the General and I walking down the hallway, “We were glad the project worked,” he told Abbi.

I limped over to the bodies. Two of them I recognized. General Tyrac and Abbi. There were two others which I did not recognize; they might have been bodyguards.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Three bullets whizzed through the air and bounced off the remains of a military Humvee.

A very scarred soldier stood at the top of a rock wall. "Lieutenant Marshall! What can we do? ", his voice spoke, "here we are." Another gunshot cratered through the air, sending him flying through the air.

"It's hard to fight when one is sore."

I turned around and saw General Tyrac sitting against the humvee with his gun pointed towards where the scarred man used to stand moments ago.

Our vehicles had been destroyed, and we had already walked miles from the site of the attack. We both took turns carrying Abbi.

At night, the question I've been wanting to ask all day popped into my head. "What project was a success General? Did it have something to do with me being in that room? I know when people are injured, dead, and unconscious from their looks."

Unlike earlier, when the general had dismissed my question, he replied, "Get comfortable, Alan." I heard my companion awakening from her slumber. "Where are we?" Abbi asked, looking around in disbelief.

As I assembled an appropriate fire, the General explained to Abbi what had happened earlier that day.

“Could you explain to me now, General?"

"Let us tell you about the given situation, and Abbi will be sure to provide you with any needed details."

I was asked whether I was familiar with Captain America by Abbi.

Suddenly I felt lost. What does Captain America have to do with anything? “Yeah, I know who he is.”

“We sent you on an assignment to Afghanistan, and you were hit by a hand grenade. “You were supposed to die.” Abbi began in tears.

“So the white room was the Militia hospital?” I asked. This was just so confusing to me.

“No.” The General now speaks. “Abbi invented a serum that could not only help you heal from critical injuries, but also prevent injuries from occurring at all.”

What an amazing experience! “Oh man, I am a super soldier like Captain America!”

At the same time, Abbi broke out laughing and crying. “Yes and no,” she responded. “You are almost invincible, but you're not stronger than he is,” she said.

“What about the ability to tell what state an individual is in?”

“We didn’t expect that, but it’s cool nonetheless.”

The General cleared his throat for the hundredth time today. “You are the first of your kind. Your job is to lead missions that ordinary men cannot accomplish. Good luck, General.”

“Did you just call me General?” Is that a trick of my mind?”

It’s your turn now. You’re leading a team. Welcome to W-12’s General.