original

Dystopia Against Fantasy

Author: NaranNarman

Chapter 1: Awakening

[The thawing process is almost complete]

[Will this be necessary?]

[It will be necessary, let us not be lenient. It is time for them to save us once again]

[Can they? It's been well over a century.

[We could only hope on their records, make sure the others are processed and briefed before meeting each other. The situation, for now, is under control but we do not know until when the council wishes to postpone the operation]

[Yes, sir]

When I first heard them, I thought I was dreaming. Not until I opened my eyes for the first time in what felt like decades and saw the face of a young man staring at me through the glass of my casing. He was a short, fair-skinned man wearing the usual white coat and tie while having those funny glasses over his eyes.

He stared at me intently, staring directly into my eyes. I decided to widen my eyes but it seemed like I was yet to calibrate my movements and accidentally startled the fellow. He jumped back and placed his terminal in his hands in front of him like a shield. I heard someone laugh from the rear but I could not see him.

Where am I? I asked myself. The environment was unfamiliar, the recent most memories I had was when I fell asleep. My memories were fuzzy, nothing made sense.

Hello, Ghost

A tall man walked from the rear and went near the glass of my casing. He had white hair but looked considerably young, a young adult I assumed. He was also wearing the same white coat albeit had a badge on his right chest.

I squinted my eyes and looked at the badge.

UB-DOD

An unfamiliar acronym.

[Although you're still in the process of thawing, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Director of this facility, Director Bullwright from the United Bloc- Department Of Defense. It is but an honor for me and my staff here to meet you in person]

He greeted me but I did not have the ability to respond. My body was frozen still all-over.

[Director, the council has called for you]

[Ah yes, tell them I am on my way. Sorry, Ghost. Save me your terrifying gaze later, feel free to get comfortable first]

Just like that, he scurried off with the female assistant.

I was left alone with this naive-looking man.

It wasn't long until I felt my body again. I felt healthy, nothing ached even after being frozen for what seemed to be so long. My casing opened and I slowly took a step outside. That was when I felt nauseous though. It wasn't as severe as I think the scientists here had thought. The bastards were carrying large barf bags.

"Uhm, pleased to make your acquaintance, Ghost. I am researcher Paul and I am in charg-"

The young man suddenly stopped in the middle of his greeting and was staring at me with frightened eyes. I was not doing anything, just looking at him. I could see his fingers shake and the terminal he was holding tremble.

"Y-yes, I will now guide you to your personal quarters," He said. He turned his back and walked away.

A weird fellow.

I followed him through the long halls of sterile metal and titanium. It had been so long since I walked through these kinds of halls. The walls back then were made of white marble but now I could already feel that the floors were now made of steel, hard steel to be exact.

He lead me to my quarters, it looked rather new. A simple yet large room with no windows, gray walls and ceiling. A bed to the left and a set of couches to the right. There was also a television attached to the wall facing the couches and there was also a large mirror.

"Please make yourself at home, uhm, er, I'll be leaving now. The Director will visit you shortly"

And off he went, faster than when he walked in.

I walked towards the mirror to see how I looked. Tall, hulking, scarred. No wonder why the poor fellow was scared, my eyes looked as if I was angry all the time, maybe I was? I was bald and a scar ripped through both my eyes. I had the face of a monster, a monster I had embraced.

I took the time to exercise, to see if I still had the strength from many years ago in me.

As I was doing push-ups and jumping jacks, I failed to notice that the floor now had small cracks.

Was I that heavy?

No matter, I continued anyway. Sweat trickled down my body but not as much as I had hoped. My body did not feel as tired as it should be. I have been doing a hundred push-ups but felt like I could do a hundred more, and another hundred.

My memories were still fuzzy. The world around me was all unfamiliar still, nothing made any sense to me, nothing came back to me. But I could feel my old memories slowly returning.

The wars..

There were wars.. but..

I finished my workout after an hour or so, I still don't know the exact time. There weren't any clocks inside my room nor did I have a watch. There was this television but I saw no buttons or remote for me to turn it on.

I then heard the door behind me open.

"Ah! Ghost, I see you have made yourself comfortable and.. uh.. destroyed the floor" he walked in and saw me sitting on the couch. I stared at him and he gave me a smile.

"Alright.. so," He said as he sat down on the couch facing me.

"Let's get straight to the point. I am here to debrief you of everything you need to know and the mission you will be undertaking in a month. I have the highest hopes that you will follow"

I believe he was expecting a reply, I did not give him one.