1 Awoken to a Nightmare

I gradually opened my eyes, but I couldn't distinguish anything as my vision was hazy.

What happened?

I couldn't recall my memories as if they were hidden inside a locked vault. I struggled to move my body, but I seem to be chained to something. I immediately panicked and continued to struggle free but to no avail.

Why am I chained?

My vision began to clear, and I tried to calm my haggard breath.

The room could only be described as a laboratory from hell. The only light source available was from a blue, transparent screen that flickered endlessly. What surrounded me was many bizarre devices with unknown functions. The sound of electronic beeps occasionally echoed out in this silent room.

This grotesque room was built from an amalgamation of flesh and metal like some bio-engineered nightmare. Tubular structures, resembling veins, course through the walls. They throbbed intensely as if the room was alive.

In the corner of the room was a storage tank, filled with a mysterious, black substance, that connected with the tubular structures by a pipe. On the ceiling, that same substance dripped down from a cracked pipe and into a small, putrid puddle in front of me.

Where am I?

The question raced through my mind as I nervously looked around. My heartbeat still hasn't slowed down since I woke up. I groaned loudly as I tried to break myself free from these shackles. Soon, a sudden, ear-piercing static sound resounded and was followed by an artificial voice.

"Subject 042 has awoken. Proceeding with general instructions," It spoke in a cold, emotionless tone.

The voice made me jump in fright, and I immediately surveyed the room nervously. However, I couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the voice.

"Huh?" My mind was racing. "What's going to happen to me?"

"A designated name is given: BION."

I had heard a series of metal clicks before the overwhelming sound of compressed air penetrated my ears. My whole body loosened, and I crashed to the floor. I got to my knees and looked behind me. A large, metallic table stood upright that used to hold my body in place. There were many tubes swinging in a parabolic motion that oozed out the same black substance.

I unconsciously touched the back of my head where one of the tubes had connected. What I felt was a cold, metallic surface that extended all the way down to my neck. I panicked once again and instantly examined my body's condition. My whole body was a mess of flesh and metal that grossly merged with each other. I felt like a failed laboratory experiment created by some mad scientist.

I hastily crawled towards the black puddle and peered at my reflection. On my chest was a large, red screen that read "BION." The left side of my face was gone and replaced with metal. I had an artificial eye that glowed a haunting, crimson color, unlike my other eye that remained black. I stroked my metallic face in shock and fear of my appearance. I clenched my fists in a sudden rage and smashed toward the puddle repeatedly.

"AGH!" I roared as the black substance stained my body.

I prayed that this was only a terrible dream. I threw several punches at my face in desperate hopes of waking myself up. However, this might be a nightmare that I'm unable to wake up from.

I heard more sounds of compressed air, and I suddenly raised my head. A large, metallic door that stood before me slowly opened. The door produced an eerie, mechanical noise as it opened up to the unknown. A blinding, white light shined through the opening, and I instinctively looked away while covering my face. Smoke swept through the door and slowly spread throughout the room, enhancing its haunting appearance.

"Exit the room, Subject 042," The artificial voice spoke once more.

"What's going on?" I asked in confusion. "Am I able to leave?"

"Exit the room, Subject 042," It spoke once again.

I clenched my teeth and lifted myself off the ground. However, my knees wobbled as I struggled to stand, and I almost fell over. I slowly stumbled towards the door and leaned my body against the metallic door frame as support.

What greeted me was a dark and grim world that filled me with dread. Gigantic factories produced massive columns of smoke that rose towards the sky and merged with the clouds. The clouds blanketed the sky from sunlight and painted the world with a grey, monochromatic color. There were no signs of any wildlife, but instead, a post-apocalyptic environment filled with rocks and dirt. A tall, metallic wall surrounded the area in a semi-circular fashion. On top of the wall were rows of soldiers with black uniforms and guns pointing at my direction. They covered their faces with masks that exude out an oppressive aura.

I nervously walked outside with wobbling steps and felt the cold dirt beneath my feet. An unpleasant smell wafted through my nose that reminded me of burning fuel. The smell nearly made me nauseous, and I felt my head going dizzy. I shook it off and continued to march forward. I heard the voices of people around me and gazed across the surrounding area. Others, who were like me, walked out of their perspective doors with faces full of confusion and fear. They peered at the environment in awe and horror.

I felt a tap on my shoulders and flinched in response. I immediately backed up and looked at the person with caution. He was a young man that had a similar height to me. Flesh and metal made up his whole body, and he had an artificial eye that glowed a bright azure color. Unlike me, he had a full head of wavy, brown hair that reached below his neck. I noticed the red screen on his chest that read, "TANNEN."

"Hey man, do ya know what's going on?" He spoke in a soft voice.

I shook my head and whispered, "I wish I knew."

Loud, crackling noises echoed while bullets flew past our heads and pierced through the ground. We both fell down and covered our heads. Everyone else turned to our direction and immediately back away.

"Come on!" The soldier screamed. "Keep moving forward!"

He raised his gun again and fired off more rounds into our general direction. Everyone ran towards the wall in fear for their lives like prey being chased by a predator. I struggled to help the guy up, and we both followed the herd for safety. We ran towards a large gate that stood between the outside world and us. Before the gate stood a burly man who towered over everyone here.

The man had a thick, black beard that covered half of his face. He had combed his long, black hair back that nearly reached his shoulders. The man's obsidian eyes had an intimidating glare as he glared at everyone before him. He wore a black military uniform, but the sleeves of his jacket were torn. The jacket had an insignia that belongs to some organization that runs this place. He had metallic, prosthetic arms that looked as if they were built mainly for war.

The man unsheathed the sword that was strapped beside his waist and smiled maliciously. It was a double-edged sword that displayed an exquisite, silver color. The sword gave off an enchanting luster as he playfully swung it around.

"Listen up! I'm Sergeant Orion!" The man pointed his sword at us and shouted in a gruff voice. "All you piles of shit will be spending your months here suffering until I can turn you sheep into wolves."

His eyes swept side-to-side, "Starting today, you will all be training here without rest!"

My body froze up, and I felt incredibly bewildered when he said that. Am I going to be fighting in a war? I can feel my heart beating faster.

"That means no food, water, or sleep until I say so. Is that clear!"

We all looked at each other and then nervously nodded our heads towards him. Sergeant Orion's eyes twitched momentarily. He raised the sword above his head before slamming the blade into the ground. The sword shined brightly before streaks of lightning came rushing towards us.

My body stiffened up in an instant. I quickly convulsed as the electric current shot its way through my nerves. I cried out in pain and fell to the ground. I felt the insides of my body being fried as electricity continued to course through me. The cries of agony from others pierced through my ears that resembled the screams of hell.

"That's a yes, sir. Understand!" Sergeant Orion pulled his sword out. "Get up. I want you all to run fifty laps around this area."

Everyone groaned in pain while they lifted themselves up.

"Yes, sir," We meekly replied.

"Then what are you all still standing there for?" Sergeant Orion became infuriated. "Go before I'll give you an even greater shock!"

"Yes, sir!"

We quickly turned around and bolted off in the opposite direction. Sergeant Orion pulled a cigar out of his pocket and lit it up. He stared at everyone's back before letting out a large puff of smoke with a sneer on his face.

Two hours gradually passed. I finally finished my last lap and collapse to the floor. My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath. I was one of the last remaining people who finished their run. I've managed to push myself to the peak of my limits in spite of the Sergeant's constant harassment. My legs were incredibly sore; it felt like I'm dragging a ton of weight every time I tried to move them.

"Damn, if he wants us to be marathon runners, why can't he just ask us nicely?" A young man complained.

He was the same person I'd initially encountered upon awakening to this dreadful place. Tannen collapsed beside me from exhaustion. Steam flowed out from the surface of his body before disappearing into thin air. The Sergeant mentioned that this was our body's method of cooling down. How strange.

"I hope we ain't training to fight off aliens," Tannen sighed. "I'd be damned If my ass gets probed."

This guy always seemed to turn everything into a light-hearted joke.

I smiled, "We'll see."

I felt a vicious kick behind my head and was sent flying. The other guy soon followed behind me. We both slid through the ground and left a small dirt trail behind. I sat back up and wiped the dirt off of my face. A rough hand instantly clutched my neck and lifted me off the ground.

Sergeant Orion glanced at our screens and angrily asked, "Tannen, Bion. What the hell are you two doing?"

"Sergeant, we were just on our wa-" Tannen responded before suddenly being interrupted.

Streams of electricity flowed through our bodies from Sergeant Orion's hands. I gritted my teeth and endured the pain.

"Shut up."

Sergeant Orion dragged us through the dirt and walked towards a group of trainees. Everyone felt incredibly worn out as seen by their drawn faces.

"Everyone, line up! Ten people in each row!" He dropped both of us down and shouted towards everyone.

It hadn't taken long before everyone stood in a line. There was a total of ten rows - exactly one hundred people. The brutal training regiment had just begun. One thing for sure is that this wasn't meant for any normal human. It pushed me past my physical limitations, and I nearly fainted on a few occasions. Strangely, my body was healing the damaged muscle fibers with incredible speed.

Night soon fell, and everyone gathered around Sergeant Orion who stood near a large, blue crate. The surrounding area suddenly lit up from the lights embedded on the wall. The gentle rain drizzled on my worn body. It brought a welcome coolness that made me momentarily forget the brutal training. I looked towards the sky and saw a streak of blue lightning flashed by. Not long after, a booming thunder erupted that disturbed the silent atmosphere.

"I'm sure you all experienced it by now," Sergeant Orion spoke. "Your bodies were built to withstand brutal punishment, and it has incredible adaptability."

He blew out a large puff of smoke and tapped the ash off his cigar.

"However, you are all still far away from unlocking the true potential of your bodies."

A massive object abruptly crashed before us and shook the ground beneath our feet. The dust slowly settled and revealed the object's metallic body to everyone's astonishment. However, only Sergeant Orion remained calm.

"This beauty here is an old combat robot that fought alongside me during the last Great War." Sergeant stared at it with reminiscence.

The robot was bipedal and had the height of three men. It had a thick, bulky body built to withstand incredible punishment. There were two large turrets mounted on its shoulders that looked immensely powerful. The robot's head resembled a square and glared down at us with its red, menacing eye. Black paint coated the robot, but it had faded with the passage of time. It was obvious this machine had gone through numerous maintenances over the years.

"We called it Juggernaut, but ACU-5 is its actual name meaning Armored Combatant Unit." He walked towards the robot and caressed it.

He then walked towards the large crate and bent down to unbolt it. A huge stockpile of melee weapons revealed themselves, and Sergeant Orion handed each of us one. I stared at the black sword in my hands in awe. It had a basic guard and a grey, leather handle that was comfortable to hold onto. I unconsciously stroke the sharp blade since I never held a sword before.

Sergeant Orion turned towards us, "I don't really expect you all to beat this bad boy here early on."

"Sergeant, sir, you're not asking us to fight that thing with just swords, are you...?" Tannen nervously asked.

He smiled and laughed, "Good luck and have fun!"

With a single leap, the Sergeant flew high into the air and somersaulted on top of the wall. Everyone panicked and chaos ensued everywhere. The Juggernaut's eye suddenly glowed brightly and aimed its turrets at us. It spoke three words that sent chills down my spine.

"Eliminating all enemies."