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Posted By: Xyster Jan 31, 2005 - 11:25 am

“So this is the only one you found?” Major Fetrow crossed her arms as she glared at the half-dead boy lying on the medical bed. He had been sedated and attached to numerous machines and IVs in the hope that he would recover, “This thing is the only one that you found?” She was addressing the dozen Lieutenants that stood rigidly to the side, not daring to speak, barely daring to breathe.

“I asked you a question Lieutenants.”

One of the Lieutenants stepped forward, “This was the only living specimen of such that we collected from the target, though evidence of others was found.”

Major Fetrow sneered at the man, contorting her not so pretty face even more. She had long, raven black hair that she continuously did up in the latest fashion, which right now was a rather hideous braid coiled about her neck. Her nose was very large and hooked, and her eyebrows were thin and arched, giving her a constantly arrogant look. She had high, angular cheekbones and eyes so dark brown that they verged on black. Though not very tall, she was imposing in every other way, lean and dangerous looking, “Find the others then, and make sure that I’m notified when that one wakes…” She gestured towards the boy lying on the bed, “I want to be the first to speak to him.”

The Lieutenant’s saluted in unison, “Yes Ma’am.”
Major Fetrow glared at them and turned on her heel, not bothering to salute back. As she exited the tent, the woman that had been standing patiently by the tent to followed her.

The woman was rather normal looking, shoulder length brown hair, soft brown eyes, common features, average build, and about five and a half feet tall. She was currently dressed in a medical uniform. She had had the job of slipping deadly doses of medicine to the soldiers brought to the medical tents. None of the soldiers were alive anymore, and all of them had been added to the mass grave that several of the other Special Forces units had been working on the past two days.

The Major didn’t turn to look at the other woman, but her voice was cold, “What is it Cassase? You have displeased me greatly, and you know what I do when I am displeased by something.”

Cassase continued walking, not missing a step, “I am called Vernetta Major, no one speaks my last name; not when they know where I come from.”

Spring huffed, “You know that I chose you as my second because of that very name and all that it implied; and you have sorely disappointed me this time. All you managed to recover was one maimed Gifted.”

Vernetta didn’t seem fazed, “We recovered several of the living experiments, all of which have already been transferred to Sector 4.”

“Mutated beasts, nothing more. They are worthless.” The Major dismissed them with a wave of her hand, “I was wanting to find something a little more impressive.”

“We also found something of more interest, though they were not alive.” Vernetta’s voice was soft…barely audible.

Major Fetrow sighed, “What could be so important from this place?”

Vernetta moved up beside the Major, “Transformed humans. We found two. Their bodies have been transported to Sector 4 as well for preservation and study.”

The Major finally stopped, looking to Vernetta, “Transformed humans? You never cease to surprise me Cassase. I am very pleased to hear this. Keep me informed on any progress you make.”

“Yes Major.” Vernetta didn’t salute; she merely turned and walked away.

Major Fetrow resumed waling. She didn’t like staying away from the main camp; it gave Major Carter and Major Gode time to examine the papers that they had retrieved without her knowledge.

If she was right about the papers, they could reveal something about this organization that was attempting to use Gifted for retaliation against the military. So far no major attacks had happened, but this mission and what she had seen of it proved that the higher ups were taking this seriously. Soon, she’d be in a higher position, and could use that power to make the military stronger. No one would be able to stop a military that she controlled.

*****

Jeromy stopped, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. His lungs burned and he was gasping for breath; his legs would barely hold him, “Please, no more Lieutenant.”

The Lieutenant halted, “You are in very good shape, for a common soldier; however, you have a long ways to go in your training for being Special Forces.” She stood several yards ahead of him, as coated in grime and sweat as he was, but not breathing hard at all. She seemed to be completely rested still.

Jeromy’s legs gave out and he crumpled to his knees. He stayed in that position, heaving for breath, “How can you run like that without getting tired Ma’am?”

Cecila shrugged, “I’ve been training since I was very small. My family has always been in the military…” She reached down and helped Jeromy up, “That’s enough for now. We’ll work on it more tomorrow. Return to your tent and get some rest soldier.”

Jeromy nodded. He straightened up a little and began limping back to the blue tent. Earlier that day, Cecila had showed him around several times that morning so that he would understand the layout of the camp. They were going to be leaving by the week’s end, but it was better that he didn’t have to ask directions for the rest of the time. He didn’t want to bother the soldiers that were actually working.

“Let me go you…”

Jeromy’s head snapped around as he heard that voice. That sounded like Tom, but Lieutenant Maddin had said that they’d moved all of the soldiers already. Jeromy stood quiet and still, trying to pinpoint the location of the voice.

“Get your hands off of me!”

Jeromy turned completely around. That had definitely been Tom, but where was he? Jeromy had no idea what direction the voice was coming from.

“Pipe down!”

“Shut up!”

“Leave me alone!”

Jeromy spun around, identifying the direction that the stream of shouting was coming from. Despite the soreness in his legs, he limped quickly in towards the source of the voices. He dodged past a couple determined looking Special Forces soldiers and navigated his way through the maze of narrow alleys between the tents, finally reaching what he was looking for. Sure enough, there was Tom, attempting to pull his arms away from the two rather large men that were holding him. Both appeared to be in a bad temper about his escape attempts.

Slowly, Jeromy approached the pair, not sure that there was anything he could do for his friend, “Hey…what’s going on?”

The men looked up, “Oh, it’s you. You’re that guy that’s guarding Lieutenant Maddin, right?”

Jeromy nodded, “Yes, I am.”

One of the men smiled, “Then this guy’s your problem now. Major ordered us to deliver him to you.” They roughly shoved Tom forward, right into Jeromy, who caught and steadied him. With a slight nod, they turned and left, not bothering to see what was going on behind them. They seemed to be eager to get back to work.

Tom wrenched himself out of Jeromy’s grip, “Let me go!”

Jeromy obligingly released Tom’s arms, almost sending both of them over backwards. Tom was the first to recover, “I bet you thought that was funny, didn’t you?”

Jeromy righted himself, “No, I was…”

Tom gave Jeromy an evil glare, as he cut him off, “I don’t care what you were doing. I don’t know why they separated me from the rest, but if you think I’m going to serve you or something, you’re wrong. I don’t know what they thought they were going to accomplish by doing this, but…”

“Enough!” Jeromy slapped Tom hard across the face, “You’re babbling. Don’t you recognize me?” He spread his arms and stood there, looking plaintively at Tom.

Tom put a hand over the rising welt on his cheek and examined the person standing in front of him closely. Though covered in grime and slightly battered, Tom could make out familiar features. Dusty brown hair that was cropped very short, a short, snub nose, delicate bone structure, and the clincher, eyes so pale blue that they almost appeared white, all met Tom’s scrutinizing gaze. The height was right, just about six feet, and the build matched too. Tom’s eyes slowly widened as he shook his head, “Jeromy…you’re…you’re one of…of…them.” Tom abruptly sat down on the ground, holding his head in his hands, “Were you one of them the whole time? Is that why they spared you? Did they send you in to make sure that all of us were destroyed?”

Jeromy knelt down by Tom, placing a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder, “No, I really was a soldier, but Major Carter says that I saved his life, he pulled some strings and now I’m stuck like this. I’ve been assigned as a bodyguard to one of the Lieutenants. I thought that they were sending you off with the others. I’m so glad to see you…” He trailed off as he noticed the skeptical look on Tom’s face, “…What’s wrong Tom?”

“Suddenly they just decide to let you live and become a member of the Special Forces without training you first?”

Jeromy shrugged, “I saved the Major’s life, and I’m getting trained now. Why would I lie to you?”

Tom shrugged, “I don’t know anymore…everything is wrong…ever since we attacked that place, everything has been going wrong.” He wobbled slightly, then his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground, staring up at Jeromy, “What have we come to? Is this all that’s left for us now?”

Jeromy carefully sat, not wanting to get any more bruises from falling, he was sore enough as it was, “I don’t know. I hope it’s not. I don’t think that I could stand to be trapped her for the rest of my life. If we’re lucky, something will come up…if we’re lucky.”

Tom managed a half smile, reaching out and punching Jeromy lightly on the arm, “Then I’ll stay close to you…you seem to be pretty lucky so far.”

A dark look crossed Jeromy’s face, “Since when is this lucky?”

Tom shrugged again, “Considering what could have happened, I’d tag this as lucky. We could have been killed you know, and would have been if you hadn’t helped that guy out…they would have shot us at the door.”

Jeromy’s eyebrows raised, “That’s true…” He sighed and stood, “It’s getting late…and I can barely stand. Let’s just take care of this tomorrow. You can sleep in my tent for the night. I’ll ask Lieutenant Maddin what’s going on in the morning.” He offered a hand to Tom, who gratefully accepted the assistance in standing. Supporting each other as they walked, they barely managed to make it back to the small blue tent.

*****

“So…the boy’s finally woken?” Major Fetrow tapped her bottom lip thoughtfully as she spoke.

“Yes, but he refuses to speak or even eat again. It seems that he wants something before he will cooperate.” Vernetta’s expression remained neutral as she spoke. She stood in the shadows of the dim tent, barely visible in her usual dark clothing.

Spring snarled, “That ungrateful brat! We saved him, and he repays us like this…” She paused, a smile spreading across her face, “…Do you know what he wants?”

Vernetta nodded, “He wants to see the man that rescued him. I took the boy from him personally…he was a normal soldier; I doubt that he’s still alive.”

The Major snarled, turning on Cassase, “Find him, I don’t care if you have to dig up his corpse, you will find that man or his body. I want that boy to talk, and I want it now. Give him anything he asks for short of being released.”

Vernetta simply nodded again and turned to leave, not bothering to say anything. She already knew that the man was still alive, but she almost wished that he were dead…that would be so much simpler than confronting Major Carter. He was one of the few people in the world that could keep her on her toes…and she didn’t like it.

*****

Cecila cocked her head as Jeromy ducked into her tent followed closely by a man in the uniform of the normal military. The uniform was torn and covered in mud and blood, looking as if it hadn’t been changed since the raid. That meant that this particular soldier was one of those that had managed to survive the slaughter, “Soldier, who is that?”

Jeromy quickly saluted, “This is Tom. He has been assigned to me as an assistant by Major Carter.”

Lieutenant Maddin raised an eyebrow slightly, “Very well. We’re not running a training today…you have orders specifically from Major Carter that you are to report to Major Fetrow in the main tent immediately.”

Jeromy’s look changed to one of surprise, and before he could speak, the lieutenant was standing. She made a motion for him to be on his way, “I’ll make sure that nothing happens to Tom, but go…the Majors are not patient people.” She shrugged and motioned for Tom to have a seat before Jeromy left.

Jeromy glanced around the tent once, then quickly ducked out, making a farewell motion to Tom as he did so. He hoped that he’d see his friend again soon…but there were no guarantees with the way that things had been going ever since that night.

Outside, the sun was just cresting over the hills that surrounded the camp. Activity appeared to have died down quite a bit. It seemed that the Special Forces were almost done with their cover up of this little escapade that had cost so many lives; they would be leaving soon. Jeromy wasn’t sure where he would wind up after this, and many of the possibilities scared him

Jeromy began walking, making his way through the haphazard maze of the camp. On his way he was greeted by several of the Special Forces soldiers, and even a member that he knew to be an Elite. Jeromy’s adventures had made him something of a temporary celebrity among a number of the forces camped here.

Finally, Jeromy reached the main tent. It was large and red, and Jeromy still couldn’t find it half of the time. Lieutenant Maddin had explained that it was made with some specially designed material that made it nearly invisible from most directions, but he hadn’t quite figured out how they had done it yet. The Lieutenant hadn’t wanted to go into much detail on the subject for some reason.

Pushing a flap aside, Jeromy took a step into the tent and was confronted by Major Fetrow. He stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of her, before snapping to a salute, “Major!”

The Major didn’t salute back, she merely nodded slightly, and “There’s something that I need you to do for me soldier. Follow me and I’ll explain on the way.” The Major stepped past him and back out of the tent, not bothering to see if he followed.

Turning on his heels, Jeromy hurried to catch up to the Major. She certainly moved fast enough, “Major, I’ve been assigned to Lieutenant Maddin as a bodyguard; I don’t wish to leave her unprotected for very long.”

Major Fetrow turned slightly so that she could look at him as she walked, “I know that you saved Major Carter’s life and that he wishes for you to serve one of his people as a body guard, but I would like you to meet this person for now. They asked to see you specifically.”

Jeromy’s eyes widened slightly, “…But who would need to ask to see me?”

Spring didn’t speak again as she led Jeromy through the camp and to an idling jeep. The thing looked old and shaky, definitely not top of the line equipment, and the driver appeared to be half asleep. Major Fetrow opened the passenger side door and motioned for him to get in, “Get in and you’ll find out shortly.”

Slowly, Jeromy moved past the Major and slid into the seat, hearing the door shut with a very final clank sound. He looked over at Major Fetrow, who was smiling. Jeromy didn’t like the way she smiled…she looked quite evil when she did it.

Major Fetrow saw Jeromy’s expression and frowned slightly, slapping the door of the jeep, “Get going.”

The driver released the parking break and wrapped his arm over the back of the seat, changing gears to reverse and backing away from the Major. As the jeep pulled away, Major Fetrow turned her back on it and began walking back to camp, not seeming to care about it any longer. Jeromy suddenly had the feeling that the Major wouldn’t care if he died…and it gave him the shivers.

The jeep turned, ratting over the vast expanse of grasslands. Here and there a tree dotted the otherwise barren waste…but there was really nothing worth seeing. When Jeromy turned to identify where the camp had been, he saw that it had apparently vanished. Jeromy turned around and sat back down, thoroughly confused again.
He really wanted to figure out how they did that.

Several hours passed in a boring and bumpy blur of time. Jeromy attempted to watch the scenery…the few trees that they passed…but found it did not keep his attention. He settled down and tried to sleep, but the constant jolting of the jeep kept him from being able to get any rest. Also, the driver refused to respond to any of Jeromy’s questions. Finally, Jeromy sat back and stared at the sky for the rest of the trip.

*****

The jeep pulled up to a desolate looking train station. The driver reached over and unbuckled Jeromy’s seatbelt, “Out.”

Jeromy looked at him questioningly, “Here? Why am I getting out here?”

The man turned a cold gaze on him, “Out; now.”

Jeromy clambered out of the jeep and closed the door behind him, “What am I supposed to do here?”

The driver shrugged slightly, not looking over as he hit the gas and rumbled off. The jeep kicked up a cloud of dust that left Jeromy coughing as it quickly disappeared out of sight.

Jeromy watched as it rippled and vanished like a mirage. His mouth hung open for several moments as he sat…staring at the point that he had last seen the jeep. He couldn’t comprehend how something could just vanish like that. Maybe it had been some kind of trick by the light…

Shaking off the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, Jeromy turned back to the train platform, the only landmark in sight. The railroad tracks that stretched off into the distance didn’t appear very used and were in a sorry state of disrepair. Besides the tracks and the platform, there seemed to be nothing here.

With a sigh Jeromy walked to the platform and clambered up onto it. Once on it, he stood and brushed off his uniform before looking around. When he finally did look at the tracks again, he was very surprised to see a steam powered train where a moment ago there had been nothing.

“All aboard!”

The call was loud, causing Jeromy to cover his ears and turn to glare at the conductor standing right next to him. The man merely smiled, tipping his grey hat and motioning in the direction of the train.

Still quite confused, and not too sure about what was going on, Jeromy walked towards the train. The conductor followed close behind him, motioning him to continue on.

The train was a large and imposing looking thing. The large steam engine at the front was pitch black. The cars of the train were rather large and luxurious looking from the outside, though with their black with dark grey accents and the contrasting red seats inside, it gave a rather haunting appearance. The whole thing seemed to give off strange ripples, like the kind that he saw when something got too warm.

“Hurry sir, the other passengers on the train cannot afford to delay any longer for you.” The conductor roughly shoved Jeromy into an open door and boarded after him, slamming and fastening a very heavy steel door shut. Door’s like that weren’t common anywhere, especially on anything like a train or car.

“Take a seat, we’ll be leaving shortly.”

Jeromy opened his mouth to protest, and was quickly thrown back the narrow aisle as the train began to move with a protesting screech. As the wheels groaned against the track, Jeromy picked himself up off the floor of the car and moved to a booth. He sat down, laying his head on the dark cherry wood table and not paying attention to the other passengers.

He had just found his friend earlier that day, and had been getting the hang of being Lieutenant Maddin’s bodyguard, she had even been training him, and now he was on a strange train in the middle of nowhere headed to meet someone he didn’t know. His life hadn’t calmed down at all since he had begun training for that mission.

The day progressed slowly, crawling by as Jeromy shifted between staring out the window and catching up on some much needed sleep. None of the other passengers bothered him…and the loudest noise inside of the car was the rumbling of the wheels. Everyone was either as silent as him or taking in quiet whispers that could barely be heard. No one seemed to want to break the mysterious silence in the car.

Only a rumble in Jeromy’s stomach even alerted him to the fact that he hadn’t eaten yet that day. No one else in the car seemed to have the same problem, in fact, half of them were working on some rather questionable looking dish, the others had empty bowls, plates, or glasses sitting in front of them. Apparently he had slept through the meal.

With nothing else to do, Jeromy began studying the other passengers on the train; he wanted to find someone he could ask about getting some food. Jeromy’s eyes widened when he saw the embroidery on the collars of most of the people on the train, red and silver. Nearly everyone on this train was a Major or Lieutenant for the Special Forces.

He quickly looked out the window, forgetting that he was hungry. He had no intentions of asking anyone on the train anything now that he knew. He’d prefer not to draw attention to himself, not with the way things had been going for him.

*****

The terrain outside of the train began to change by late afternoon, becoming more cultivated and richer. The train seemed to be headed for the civilized lands again. Jeromy realized that he wasn’t very much surprised, with all of the commanding officers on the train, it was unlikely that the train was headed to battle. There was no way that the superior officers would place so many officers in one place if there was a chance of getting attacked.

By nightfall, the train had begun passing the small towns that stood at the edge of the civilized lands. It passed through several stations, but did not stop. The other people in the car had fallen into a complete silence, not even one speaking; several had dozed off, but everyone else was just staring out the windows.
Jeromy followed their example, watching the moonlit landscape roll by outside. He watched for quite a while, admiring the beauty.

Abruptly the light was blocked out as tunnel walls closed in on the train, hiding the sky and landscape from view. Several dim lights switched on in the rear of the car, illuminating enough for Jeromy to see that about half of the people on the train were beginning to stand. Most of them moved forwards, towards the locked doors, but some began to move back, apparently going into the other cars.

“Hey you, get moving soldier.”

The voice was rough and gravely, coming from a man with red on his collar. He reached down and dragged Jeromy out of the seat, “I haven’t seen you on this train before, are you new?”
Jeromy nodded, “Yes sir, I was sent by Major Fetrow.”

The man released him quickly, “Then this is your stop. You’d better be ready to get off.”

Looking at the man oddly, he followed him, “What’s happening?”

The Lieutenant pointed to the door, which was slowly unlocking itself somehow, “We’re going to get off, but the train doesn’t stop here.”
Jeromy paled, “Is that safe?”

The man turned to him, grabbing him by the arm, “Seeing as how this is your first time, I’ll help you.”

The door’s lock finally popped open, and the door slid back into the car, revealing a rushing track and a wall not far from where Jeromy stood. The rest of the people parted to let the Lieutenant and him through, nodding slightly to Jeromy’s “helper”.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Jeromy reached out and grabbed the sides of the door as he was pushed from behind. His eyes went wide with shock and he grasped at the door so hard that his knuckles turned white, “What do you think you’re doing? You’re going to get me killed!” He strained against the force from behind him.

The Lieutenant pushed harder, nearly throwing Jeromy from the train, “This is your stop, now get off!”

Something hit Jeromy hard across both of his hands, the stinging pain causing him to release his grip, and fall forward. There was moment’s silence as he fell forward closing his eyes; it was almost as if the whole world had stopped. Then Jeromy felt himself collide with a soft surface. He opened one eyes slightly, and found himself lying on a plush rug in what appeared to be a lobby of some sort.

He felt someone lifting him up, and was once again face to face with the lieutenant, “What just happened?”

The Lieutenant smiled slightly, “Welcome to special forces headquarters soldier. You just had your first official Gifted encounter.” The man spun Jeromy around and pointed to the wall just behind them that people were literally stepping though. He motioned to a very complex looking symbol, “That’s a Sym. It’s what the Gifted use. You’ll learn more about it if you stay around here very long.” The man nodded slightly, “My name is Lieutenant Baker, if you run into any trouble while you’re here, just give me a call.”

Jeromy nodded dumbly, still staring at the marking, and more importantly, at the people walking through the wall under it. He couldn’t figure out how that was even possible…like the way the train had just appeared out of nowhere.
Baker shrugged, turning, “Good luck to you soldier.”

“Jeromy I presume?”

The voice startled Jeromy slightly, and he turned, and found himself staring at someone vaguely familiar. He just couldn’t place her.

The woman gave a slight nod, holding out her hand, “Welcome to Headquarters. I’m glad to see that you survived your trip.”

Jeromy reached out and took the offered hand, shaking it slightly, “Have we met before?”

The woman nodded, “Yes, I believe that you were the one that handed the boy over to me, I was dressed as a nurse at the time.”

A look of surprise passes across Jeromy’s face, “But….”

The woman pulled back her hand, motioning for him to follow her, “Please call me Vernetta, as that is my name. Major Fetrow has charged me with your care while you are here, so please come to me if you need anything.”

Jeromy quickly fell into step behind the woman, his mind reeling again. If this woman wasn’t the one that had sent for him, then could it have been the boy? Was he finally going to discover what the child had been doing in that place?

Vernetta led Jeromy through several carpeted halls, ignoring everyone else that passed. She stopped at an elevator and reached up, placing her hand on a flat panel, one that had a strange symbol carved into it.

Remembering the marking on the wall earlier, Jeromy couldn’t help but notice the similarities in the design that this symbol had. It was strange, but he almost knew what it meant. He didn’t know how that was possible though…he was probably just assuming because it looked a little like the other one.

“Come on now, we mustn’t keep him waiting.” The woman pointed to the door that had pulled back, the metal folding like a curtain. Jeromy’s jaw dropped, but he cautiously followed Vernetta into the elevator.

“Keep who waiting?” Jeromy’s question came out hushed. The interior of the elevator seemed to stifle the sound, making it almost nonexistent.

“The boy you saved. He may prove very valuable to us, but he refuses to speak or eat unless he first sees you. We wouldn’t worry much, but he has refused any meals…and will not even answer simple questions…his resolve is quite impressive.” Vernetta reached out and touched another panel, and the door slowly folded back into a solid plate of steel. The woman didn’t seem bothered by it at all.

Jeromy grabbed for the rail, clinging to it as the elevator suddenly dropped, it’s bottom actually rippling as it moved. His eyes widened, and he stared at Vernetta, focusing on the one somewhat sane thing that was happening.

She held onto the low silver railing with one hand, “This elevator was designed by a Gifted.”
Jeromy felt his stomach lurch as the elevator stopped as suddenly as it had started. His knees gave out under the force, and he crumpled to the ground, quickly righting himself and dusting off his uniform.

“Follow me…it’s not much further.” Vernetta reached out and touched the panel again, causing the solid door to part. She stepped out, motioning for Jeromy to hurry.

With a slightly stiff gait, Jeromy stepped out of the elevator and followed. She led him down a dimly lit hall that reeked of antiseptics and something that Jeromy couldn’t place. He looked up, wincing at the sight of the steam pipes overhead. Besides the lack of red lighting, this place reminded Jeromy a lot of the target for his last mission; it wasn’t a settling thought.

“Here you are. I’ll be waiting in a room just down the hall. Whenever you are done talking to him, please come find me.” She pulled open a door, revealing a small barren room. The only furniture was a hospital bed and a small table with a tray of food set on it. The boy lay on the bed, looking even more pale and exhausted than he had before. He didn’t look up at the sound of the door, or even when it closed again behind Jeromy.

“Kid?” Jeromy spoke softly, not sure if the child was asleep or not, and not wanting to disturb his slumber.

The gaunt face turned towards Jeromy, the green eyes widening slightly, then assessing the situation more fully. Slowly, his face rolled back and he was staring at the ceiling, “So they let you come…” The voice was weak, and somehow sad, though the face betrayed no emotion.

Jeromy nodded, moving closer to the bed, “Yeah, they brought me all the way from the camp just to see you.”

The boy reached up with his right arm and grasped the headboard of the bed, pulling himself into a sitting position, “I didn’t think that they’d let you come…I thought that you were a normal soldier and that they had killed you.”
Jeromy’s eyes widened, “How’d you know about that?”

The child motioned for Jeromy to sit, “I know a lot of things…that’s why I’m here.”

Jeromy looked at the bed, realizing that most of it was empty, remembering the shock when he had first seen the missing limbs. Evidently, his staring didn’t bother the kid much, because he continued to stare at Jeromy.

Finally, Jeromy moved over and sat down, pulling up his legs and leaning against the rail on the foot of the bed. He didn’t speak, not really knowing what to say.

The child was the first to break the silence, “My name is Sammuel Kolts. Most people just call me Sam.”

Jeromy smiled slightly, “I’m Jeromy Landun.”
Sammuel pulled at the pillows behind him, making himself more comfortable, “So, are you with the Special Forces?”

Jeromy shrugged, “I didn’t used to be, but I saved someone, and they made me one. It’s been really weird since.”

The boy looked away for a moment, “Who’d you save?”

Jeromy shrugged, “One of the Majors…he spared me and a friend when the rest of the unit was killed.”

“Yeah, they poisoned all of the injured soldiers, I saw them doing it while they were taking me away.”

Jeromy looked up, surprise evident on his face, “They even killed the injured soldiers? I had no idea.”

“Of course, the entire mission was to recover information on what they were doing in the labs there. The army sent the normal military strictly as fodder and a distraction. None of them were expected to survive.”

Jeromy looked at the child sideways, “How do you know all of this?”

Sammuel closed his eyes, resting his head against the headboard, “I’ve heard people talking about it. Most people assumed that because I didn’t speak, I couldn’t hear either.” He opened one slightly, “They forget that I’m a genius.”

A small chuckle escaped Jeromy at the comment despite the severity of the conversation. He couldn’t imagine any of the Special Forces he had met being stupid enough to discuss things openly in front of anyone…especially this child that seemed to hold great importance to them, “I can’t believe it.”

“It’s true, many times they have forgotten that I can understand what they are saying.” Sammuel opened his eyes and looked straight at Jeromy, “It happens when you’re like me.”

Jeromy raised an eyebrow slightly, “What do you mean by that?” He tried to avoid looking at Sammuel’s missing limbs.

The boy looked down, “I’m not human in their standards because of my curse. It has destroyed everything I love.”

Jeromy’s confused look returned, what was this boy talking about, he appeared human to Jeromy. Perhaps this child could explain to him what was going on, “What curse?”

Sammuel looked up, his eyes stained with tears. It looked as if he were about to burst, yet his voice remained the same, the quiet sadness, “I am Gifted.”