29. Robinc: The old war

After dropping off the money as requested from orders years ago should such a plan be activated I dashed to my next position. Clambering over ruined buildings rather than running through the streets to save time I found myself navigating the treacherous rooves. There wasn’t time to waste. Any fault in my movement could cause irrecoverable injury if I fell but I continued to soar in between the buildings as the sun began to set. With momentous effort and exertion the warm feeling of my body pleading to stop was so reminiscent from days of old.

Watching the ground pass far below again in between rooftops struck a chord in me that I hadn’t felt in a decade of survival. Purpose flowed anew with every stride. The thrill of the hunt pounding in my chest all fueled by the zeal in fighting for a righteous cause. A decade after being thrown away I was given purpose anew by the same power that left me to rot. A chance at redemption or revenge. For the moment it mattered not as the sensation of life coursed through me at last.

It had been so long since I felt the air whip past my face with such enthusiasm as I fell from the building into a cushioned bin. That same sensation from the pod. Careering down to earth as ablative plasma sliced through the air allowing decent at a truly miraculous rate towards an ultimate objective. With airbrakes tearing off at the appropriate moment the jarring impact threw me into the zone to secure my area as I awaited orders however the headset simply spat out static.

Checking for damage I found nothing wrong. Our technology was absolute. Our planning flawless. The radio should have crackled to life issuing a new stream of orders but that day it sat streaming nothing but interference. Nothing could jam it and nothing should interfere with the masterstroke in our plan. I was cut off.

That moment alone left sickening realization. I was alone, discarded, disbanded. Looking to the pod the signal booster offered no respite quickly disintegrating minutes later. The only trace of the organisations presence gone with the wind. Looking around the wastes waiting for the radio to crackle to life to provide me with anything saw no respite.

My life spent training with them after being taken away. The only memory before the organisation being carted out of the house watching her crying eyes track me and my brother go after father failed to find a way past the Berlin wall. The old facility we lived in was well hidden from the world. After examinations my brother was found more suited for an academic role while I was thrown into combat programs.

From the very first day I faced opponents who fought with years of skill and practice. Every day was met with rolling out of bed, an education limited to only what was useful to combat and savage beatings labeled as training. Battered, bruised, bleeding with broken bones I continued to fight. Some gave up taking solace in the ceremonial knife in our rooms left to remind us what failure would bring but I got up every day to continue the fight regardless of the stresses it would bring.

Just one day at a time. Each beating became less severe as I fought and my understanding of this world became simpler by the day. We lived to survive and that was all. It left a deep pit of longing for something more but in the circumstance surrounded by elite soldiers who witnessed the program with callous vigil survival was all we had. The only real light at the end of the month was sitting in an advanced medical station being patched up to see my brother.

Sitting together huddled we’d briefly mention the ordeals we were surviving to simply sit there in each other's company before it was time to leave. Though it was tense and brought to mind what else we could lose we welcomed the feeling reminding us we were still human. Still able to feel. When the time came to return to our programs we left without words or emotion. Just another day. Just one more day.

The program went for years but even it had it’s end. With it coming to a close came the announcement of enlightenment. Even though we only knew each other in combat most of the trainees were excited to see what they’re reward would be for enduring the program. That night I sat in my secured room where the door was left open for once. The whole point of this ordeal was to survive and with the door wide open there was an opportunity to escape to somewhere safer.

Without wasting a moment leaping from the bed and peering from the door I ran down the twisting corridors. We’d been allowed outside only a few times under heavy guard so I knew this place well enough. The first route I took however saw me dive deeper into the facility towards the academic section. All I could think of was my brother and the torment he would be enduring. Reaching the secured door trying to pry it open sounded a warning. Ignorant to its threats a silent turret ended my efforts leaving me crippled on the floor. Legs shot to bits.

Coming to back in my room with recent medical treatment miraculously regenerating the sections lost to gunfire a note sat on the table. Written down it mentioned one final test. I’d shown my willpower but it requested to see my skill. Looking out the door again the note instructed me to run. Turning in the opposite direction from the door I followed the order. Slipping by men who looked as if to have weathered countless battles I found myself standing outside in the world by myself for the first time in twelve years.

Soaking in the sun's glorious rays out in the field beside the long dirt road the long green grass brushed gently against my legs. The breeze offered newfound purpose to life as the threat no longer seemed to be present. Though only just meters from my prison the world was a beautiful spectacle. The moment however was shattered by three guards approaching from the trees ahead with their rifles rested low as they paced towards me. Expecting to be carried back in and locked away one of the soldiers simply nodded and asked me to accompany them.

Going back into the facility we found ourselves looking over a dark room it’s occupants unknown. Light shot through the mirror as lights were quickly switched on to display every other candidate sitting at a desk with only a syringe on the table. A speaker entered the room congratulating them on surviving and offered enlightenment. He offered a reason for their skills and reason to live. All they had to do was use the syringe to make them realise their true potential.

Without hesitation the trainees administered the syringes desperate for the relief of some form of purpose. They fell just as quickly. One by one they collapsed until the room was filled with still bodies. The speaker ordered in other soldiers to assist them as another explained to me what had just happened.

Looking over room he simply said they were enlightened in that they were free from the duties they were expected to perform not being deemed suited for the cause. They gave in and took life as it was in the facility in the promise for an answer so in the end they provided them with one. The serum would wipe the last fifteen years from their minds and leave their bodies crippled amongst the ordinary.

Though the soldiers were kneeling in respect that I was worthy to join their ranks I watched as the bodies were carried out. Every single candidate I had received such punishment from every day for twelve years had everything taken away in a moment. I was the last left among them. The strongest in the cadre of lifelong warriors.

Being absorbed into the ranks my life became one of constant warfare. Accustomed to body breaking beatings and soul crushing sessions alongside my new comrades we became the deadliest warriors unknown to the world. Our technology surged forward going well past anything known to the outside world and advances in understanding the human condition brought as closer to our objective every day. Upon hearing my brother had escaped as well and managed to be placed in a blacksite there was no distraction to my efforts for the cause.

Then came this fateful operation. After so much dedication and trust to be thrown away like the rest deemed unsuitable. As the mutants came to investigate the commotion the drop pod had caused I fought simply to survive. The next day was the same. As was the next. Without orders or purpose I obeyed basic instinct. Everything ended up just like it had before. All that wasted time.

Mind flying back to the present as I was scaling a building brought back that oh so familiar feeling of seeing all the candidates fall. With these next few days the end of this torment and the start of a brighter future was in sight. A light at the end of a long and arduous tunnel but it shone through the shroud that had enveloped me over these long years.

Today like so long ago the Arbitrators will shall be served. With Flux producing the first sparks of hope that it's objective might be completed today only confirmed I would be the one to finish the fight. One last raid to see the service of so many before me wasn’t in vein. The light will be preserved through the sacrifice of many.

Reaching the top of the building I shouldered the high powered sniper rifle hidden away till it was required. The L115A3/AWM sat snuggly in my hands after being parted from my grip for so long. Looking over the area of the firefight towards the river saw my heart pounding with joy.

Shadowfall operatives. Seeking to bring us down ignorant to the sheer importance of our efforts they saw us as their nemesis. The task force was an infant in comparison to ours. We stretched throughout time before the modern era while they only caught a glimpse of what was through the shroud we generated a mere fifty years ago. Sighting in my first target aiming for the distinctive blue lense they wore I watched the man fight for a moment.

Dancing from cover to cover firing into the mass of outlaws defending their compound he held the beachhead without issue alongside his comrades. Fighting vigorously without fault for what he believed to be right. It wouldn’t matter for long. Finger wrapped around the trigger squeezing effortlessly produced a significant kick from the gun. Shattering the blue lensed gasmask the man fell instantly.

Bolting another round the squad reacted diving for cover with another shot ringing out. Another hit the ground dead leaving two left behind heavy rubble. Firing at the cover another was taking saw him fall to the side in the open with a fractured skull leaving one last man skittering to safety. Waiting patiently his surroundings offered no escape. Seeing a grenade roll and a cloud of smoke generate I waited. Watching the cloud produce for a few seconds I took the final shot.

Waiting awhile longer the smoke blew away revealing the last man dying in the kill zone. Their interests in the zone would be stalled for a little longer. Long enough to fulfill the Arbitrators will by recovering the long lost data from what started all of this madness. With it this age old war would come to an end allowing the human race to become one.