Þessi hérna var skrifuð fyrir breskan lestrarhóp, sem skýrir hví hún er á ensku. Ekki frábær, en það besta sem vesalings ég hef skrifað
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<I>What… where am I? I feel… different. But I’m not sure how…
They say you should always try to remember what happened before…what happened? Think…THINK!</I>
A flash. A scream. Nothing
‘You want me to break into Ishukone HQ??’
‘Never heard you whine about a job before, bud’
I heard something. I grabbed my rifle and ran towards the direction of the sound, hearing footsteps that weren’t my own. I barely managed to turn around before I felt something rip into my left arm. I staggered, and fired into the darkness with one hand. Then I heard something fall, like a bag full of flour hitting concrete. There was a body lying there.
<I>I can’t feel my legs… or my arms… or anything for that matter
Was I drugged? But then why can I think so clearly?
Why am I not scared?</I>
I woke up in the hotel room I had checked in the day before. Everything was incredibly tidy and clean, which always comes as a bit of a surprise to someone who has grown accustomed to the mess that follows being single. It didn’t feel “home”. Not without the obligatory socks around the place and the misplaced books, papers and piles of junk on the floor and on tables.
<I>I feel strange. I feel light… but still so heavy at the same time. There is complete silence here</I>
The light brown and blue wallpaper screamed at me with its immense tastelessness. The damn room was also incredibly untidy. Dust had managed to settle in various corners, which showed the laziness of the staff in the hotel. I felt more and more annoyed by staying in the room. Finally, the message arrived on the computer.
I stepped down into the lobby and saw Sirean sitting on a couch. He had this look on his face again. He knew how much I hated it. I was sure that this was the reason he always put it up. This… grin of his could discomfort the most iron-willed soldier. When he had you on your toes, he literally attacked you, and soon you had agreed to everything the man had suggested. I really wasn’t sure what demonic creature he had made a pact with, but it looked like it had found its match there. Sirean could be demonic indeed if you didn’t keep him happy.
The damn thing wouldn’t go away. The whole lunch, this unnerving grin of his hadn’t moved from his face again. He was up to something. A blind man who’d donated his brain to science could feel it. Then it lashed out at me.
‘I want you to control the operation. Angel had an…. accident’
‘Wha…. WHAT?’
‘You heard me well enough. We need a reliable commander. Someone who knows how to react in a hairy situation. Someone like you’
My brain jumpstarted itself from the initial shock, but was still rather shaken.
‘Sirean, you know that I backed out of this a long time ago! I’m no longer a part of this game. I’m merely an observer now!’
‘Not anymore. Horizon wants you back’
‘You… you can’t do this… I quit a long time ago! Doesn’t that mean anything to you people?’
‘Yes, a lot in fact. But the times are changing. You don’t really have a choice’
Choice. What a word. It promised so much, but when you finally had the power to choose, you wish you didn’t have it because you usually choose the wrong options.
Responsibility was another very bad word. That meant you had to face the bad choices you had made before.
I always knew I’d never get away from all this. That I would never be allowed a normal life. Sirean always could manage to wrap me around his finger. I was like cookie dough in his hands. He could do anything to me, and I’d never be able to fight back.
<I>I’m… I don’t feel anything at all…I’m not hungry or thirsty, sad, happy or anything!
All I can feel is myself. My soul. My thoughts.</I>
Ishukone Incorporated Headquarters on Yria Prime. This mission was pure madness, nothing else. But they had something that didn’t belong to them, or so thought Horizon.
The security was laughable. I was inclined to back out of the mission because of that, but I couldn’t, could I? Horizon would come straight for me. They were apparently very serious about this one.
One team through some back entrance on ground floor, one through the rooftop and one team down underground to take care of security. I was with the group that went through the roof, since Sirean had been specific about that I should be the one to retrieve the chip.
I hadn’t felt the grip of the trusty AR-557 for a long time. It was specialized to my grip and carefully balanced. I had even added a custom scope and cranked up the firing rate, besides extending the magazine. I was quite the gun fanatic in the old days. It wasn’t even a laser rifle, but a trusty old bullet projectile gun. An antique design, but I liked it more than energy-based weapons. Had more feel to it.
Move, communicate, move, always making sure you don’t make the faintest sound. Avoiding guards as you went, always moving towards the target. It was almost too easy. The troops were well trained, and my comm. expert was a genius. He could deactivate a security grid within seconds.
This all added to my already nervous state. It was going too well.
<I>The light! Why is the light so bright! Even if I shut my eyes it won’t go away!</I>
It happened so fast… I didn’t know what hit us. Suddenly the few guards were so many… all properly armed. It was an ambush.
I saw them fall beside me; lasers flew through the air like crazed moths on fire. My only reaction was to grab the rifle, yell at my troops to fall back and retreat through the next door. I turned around and ran for the door. Self-preservation has always been a more important priority than loyalty to the job in my mind.
I was in some kind of a storage area. A large one by the sound of it. I quickly hid in the large room amongst some crates, but to my surprise no one seemed to follow.
I heard something, a faint “clink”, like a coin dropping on the floor. I grabbed my rifle and carefully moved towards the sound, hearing footsteps that weren’t my own. I barely managed to turn around before I felt something rip into my left arm, just above the elbow. I staggered, and fired into the darkness with one hand. Then I heard something fall, like a bag full of flour hitting concrete. There was a body lying there, with several wounds after a laser rifle in covering the chest.
I heard something, a faint “clink”, like a coin dropping on the floor. I grabbed my rifle and carefully moved towards the sound, hearing footsteps that weren’t my own. I barely managed to turn around before I felt something rip into my left arm, just above the elbow. I staggered and heard more shots being fired before I felt my body go limp and fall to the ground face first. I hadn’t felt he shots. I didn’t feel it when I hit the ground. Just the bright light rushing towards me, flowing around me like water.