LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 3: Through the Looking Glass
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===[Chapter 3: Through The Looking Glass]===
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Sunlight. Eli’s eyes squinted as they took in the bright rays of sunlight that streaked through the air. They emerged from the deep underground tunnels into the outside world. But the world was different around him and the rest of the prisoners.
The cool breeze and crisp air of the Rocky Mountains had been replaced by a damp and swelteringly hot mugginess that reminded Eli of the tropics. If that wasn’t enough, palm trees stood high above the prisoners, their leaves gently swaying in the torturously slow wind. Birds chirped in the environment, though they looked strange. Different colors, different shapes. Their feathers arrayed in patterns that Eli had never seen before.
There was something amiss. He looked behind him at the massive steel door to which the machine remained. Streams of prisoners were still being led through from the inner catacombs of the base. Something about him felt hollow. He should’ve been relieved that he hadn’t disintegrated into nothing the moment he stepped into that… thing. Yet, relief was far – so very far – from the smorgasbord of emotions he felt.
For the tunnels had given way to what could at best be described as a forward base of operations. At worse, a plot of dirt with some tents and a fence.
A few prefab buildings, tents, and a barbed wire fence surrounded the perimeter. Temporary structures sat oddly placed along the interior of the base. The fence ran along the sides in a square-like formation. Dirt paths had been cleared marking passageways in the grass between buildings. Scattered about were palm trees that stood either alone or in clusters. Escaping being chopped down by those who cleared the area.
Beyond the fence was a forest. Jungle flora created another wall that surrounded the base in its entirety. On one side of the prisoners, were rolling mountains. Green tropical forests covered their slopes, often breaking to reveal the dirt and rock underneath it all. The mountains rolled across the southern side, with the base as a whole sitting right in the midst of them. To the north, the forest rolled downhill. If Eli stood at just the right angle, he could catch the faint glimpse of sunlight reflecting off cartoonishly blue water. A shoreline, miles downhill out of view for the most part. To the east and west, more land that sat in between the mountains and the coast. The base was caught somewhere in the middle.
Eli’s eyes wandered around. He was searching for any sign of deception. A source of light. A glitch in an electronic screen. A malfunction in one of the audio generators that were surely placed all around this facility. But something about it felt too real for it all to just be a computer generated room. Everything was too imperfect, in a way that computers had still failed to grasp. He searched his best, but an explanation evaded him.
He didn’t have even a clue as to where they were. Nothing about this place was familiar to Eli. Sure, he’s been deployed to a few places in the jungle on some occasions by Overwatch, nothing about this place in particular seemed even remotely like a place he’s been before. His brain tried to name places. Hot places. Florida? Too mountainous, besides, most of the Floridian panhandle had sunken underneath the waters of the Atlantic in the 2030s. Spain? Too tropical, and this place seemed oddly devoid of any familiar life that was sure to dot the Iberian countryside. Brazil? Argentina? Maybe.
But only a few moments ago he was standing in what he was certain had to be the Rocky Mountains of North America. Overwatch didn’t specify where in the world they had been sent to, but it had to have been the Rockies! In what universe was it possible for Eli to be standing in the cool winter breeze of the Rocky Mountains one second, blink, and in the next… they were here? Was he asleep? Was this a dream?
Eli looked around, watching the equally stunned faces of the prisoners in front and behind him. He imagined himself as each of them, just as confused, just as clueless. Misfit had followed him, tentatively. They too were awestruck.
There was a crackle through the air. Speakers. A voice came over the air. Kovic’s. All attention was turned to his voice, their only sense of guidance in this strange circumstance.
“Welcome to the Nexus!” Kovic’s voice rang above their heads, “I and the rest of Overwatch Central Command thought so highly of this location that we’ve deemed it suitable to establish it as our headquarters. It’s not much to look at now but as time passes, you’ll come to see that it will grow. With your valuable contribution of course.” His voice blared over loudspeakers placed throughout the base. Omnipresent. Everywhere.
Security units led the Phantoms out into the center of the base. Walking along past the main structures. A radio mast, central administration building, a motor pool, among a few. But most drearily were the rows of tents that lined the far side of the base. Rows and columns of hundreds of tents placed as preliminary housing. Judging by their drab quality, Eli knew that the tents were for the prisoners.
“However, you’ll be pleased to know that provisions have been made with you in mind as well. In the month or so that our brave Regular forces have spent building this fortress, we’ve made detailed plans on exactly what we want to do. Here we stand on the precipice of human ingenuity! Marvels of technology, eons of advancement and enlightenment, all leading up to now! While I’m not allowed to tell you all the details – yet – I am pleased to say that we are all embarking on a journey unmatched in the historical sense. Here, off of this virgin soil, we strive to build our utopia.”
The Prisoners paid no attention to Kovic’s words. Their world had suddenly shifted. A rug pulled out from underneath their feet. Eli resisted the urge to dwell on the matter. There must’ve been a reasonable explanation. There must’ve been a trick. A deception. Smoke in mirrors. There was no way that any of this was real. He was dreaming. He must’ve been.
“There’s no way… there just isn’t any way,” Dutch whispered as he took in the surroundings, “Eli?”
Dutch calling for Eli now of all times was particularly startling. What could've possibly given Dutch the impression that Eli knew what was going on, or was even remotely aware of it? Then Eli remembered, he was supposed to be the squad leader.
“I-I don’t know,” Eli told him.
“I was afraid you were gonna say that.”
Eli could hear both the fearful and excited buzz arise from the crowd of prisoners. There was hardly a difference. Judging by their voices, he could tell they felt much the same way he had. Confused. Scattered. Lost. Some sounded bewildered, finding their new change in situation fascinating. Others were terrified, and their dread easily crept into their voices. But most pungent was the atmosphere of complete and utter confusion. What could Eli say hat hasn’t already been told to them? What more could any of them do when nothing was made known? All anyone knew was that in one moment, they were somewhere in the mountains of North America. The next, the jungles of…
Wherever they were.
There was something wrong. Something sinister. Something secret. He almost didn’t notice how Kovic’s pre-recorded message abruptly cut, leaving an awkward chord of silence in the chorus of confused chatter.
They spilled out into a central court, somewhere amid the Nexus’ center. Eli could almost feel the hot asphalt through the soles of his boots. The muggy air made his skin sweat and blister. He could almost smell the fear in the air.
He caught the movement of regulars up front. An platoon by the looks of it. They walked uniformly, with their guns clenched as they surrounded a squad of officers. In the center, a thin pale man with a megaphone carried a clipboard in his hand. He wore wide dark aviators over his eyes, his face was wrinkled with the age of a man somewhere in his late fifties. His hair was short, mostly gray. His body was covered in a solid brown uniform of the Officer Corps. The same uniform Eli remembered his own officers wearing from his time in the Army. To his side was Captain Juma who stood in a line with what Eli presumed to be other Generals, Captains, Lieutenants and officers. The brunt of Overwatch Command.
The commander of each branch stood next to the man. He hadn’t noticed it before, but just underneath the flag of the Coalition on Captain Juma’s shoulder, was a delta. She must’ve been the primary commander of all Penal Units then. Or… it could also be a symbol that she herself was a phantom too.
But the man in dark aviators – the leader of the pack - had no symbol like that on his shoulders. Instead, he had a patch with a compass rose and an eye smack in the center of it. The symbol of Overwatch Command. He looked around at the prisoners almost dissatisfied. Perhaps upset that he didn’t command their full attention. Or even worse, that he was looking over a battalion of sweaty, confused, and likely pissed off, prisoners. Whatever the reason, the man raised the megaphone over his head.
From the megaphone came a piercing siren that ceased all chatter and forced their attention onto him – and himself alone. When the prisoners were silent, captivated by the wail, he raised it up to his lips. Slowly taking off his aviators. His blue eyes were deep set within his face. Yet they were tired eyes.
“Now that I have your attention, I can formally introduce myself! I am Major-General Jeremiah Matkovic. But you may call me, Major Kovic, as I’m sure many of you already have,” The man introduced himself. It was him. The voice that Eli heard on the intercoms everywhere in the last base.
Oddly enough, Kovic did not look like a general. At least not what Eli pictured a general ought to look like. Rarely did Eli meet any Coalition leaders who were higher rank than Captain, the superiors hated to mingle with the filth. Half the time, the prisoners didn’t know who was telling them what to do beyond the rank of the Lieutenant or Captain directly in charge of their unit. Back in New Cairo, the only reliable source of information Eli had was from Captain Juma. He swore half of his squad then didn’t even know who she was, only taking orders from their squad leader at the time.
Officers above the rank of Captain were – in Eli’s mind – gruff, cigar smoking, dictators who ordered everyone to go die while they sat tucked away in a nice office.
Kovic was not that. If anything, the man could be described as meek and unimposing. With the sunglasses off, Eli could see that he looked more like a clerk than a major in the army. He had looks enough to run for president. Not necessarily a handsome man, but clean shaven and a settled look about him that screamed ‘bureaucrat’. A bureaucrat with authority – the worst type – but a bureaucrat, nonetheless.
“As far as you need to know, I am the highest-ranking officer in charge of this operation, and the overseer of the base. All orders will come from my office. All of your officers report to me. And if any of you have a grievance, you are free to write me a letter. I’ll make an effort to read them, I swear,” Kovic gave a self satisfied smile that only confused Eli on to whether he was joking or not. If he was serious, Eli could think of a few things he’d like to write to him about. Something bordering strongly worded and outright verbal assault, “With that out of the way, I welcome you to our humble Nexus. This is where you’ll be working through your remaining prison sentences, to build and contribute to what I am sure will become a thriving city on a hill. If you play your cards right, you may be given the opportunity to benefit from our endeavors. Do you understand?”
There was silence from the prisoners, who were still too bewildered to really care or understand much of what Kovic was trying to tell them. He didn’t like the silence.
“I said, do you understand?” One more time, with more force in his voice.
“Yes sir!” A majority of the prisoners reluctantly chanted back, but Eli – and much of Misfit for that matter – held their tongues.
“We’ll work on that. By the time the Utopia Project goes into full swing, you’ll all come to recognize and respect myself and my colleagues. Speaking of, to my side are my trusted officers. The leaders of your Penal Companies,” He pointed to each of them one by one, “Captain Juma, Sergeant Bannon, Captain Wade, and Lieutenant Espinoza. They stand here next to my side as leaders who’ll transform you all from mere prisoners and phantoms - into the builders of a new society. A better one.”
He took a breath in, hesitating, “For all of us.”
There were hushed murmurs between the prisoners, questions and chatter. They were confused still. Yet, Kovic didn’t spare them the time to ponder. There were other staff surrounding him wearing freshly pressed suits or military uniforms, yet Kovic didn’t address them. Instead he held up his wrist, staring at his watch – and for the first time his face showed a real, genuine, emotion.
Worry.
“You all have orders sent to your monitors. I’m aware that you may have questions but we’re running on a tight schedule here. Details will be made clear after you complete your first task. Stay obedient…” he hesitated, “Stay alive. That’ll be all.”
Kovic lowered the megaphone from his mouth, as he turned his back to the crowd. He might’ve been done, but the prisoners were not. Their concerns grew louder. Their voices became combative.
“That’s it?” A prisoner screamed. Eyes turned to her, face almost pink. Flushed with anger, “You won’t explain anything to us! Drag us out here, and you just expect us to work for you?”
“They’re trying to get us all killed!” Shouted another.
It was like a bomb exploding. Single voices of anger blended into a choir of rage. There were shouts, prisoners cursed at the guards who flooded in to subdue the angry prisoners. Someone placed their hands on a guard, there was the sound of a taser going off, a body fell to the floor.
A bullet cracked through the air.
One gun shot. It silenced most. The next gunshot forced them to back away. The voices were silent. The absence of their shouts deafening. Only the echoes of the gunfire remained. Eli couldn’t make out what happened. It all went by so quickly. And yet, there were several bodies on the floor. Bloodied, bruised, prisoners being detained by the guards with handcuffs. One did not move at all, blood pooling around their head as guards swarmed the body.
The regulars surrounding the prisoners raised their guns at the crowd. They screamed orders, and immediately the prisoners obeyed. Eli raised his hands over his head, and got down on the floor – bent on one knee. As did everyone else who didn’t have a death wish. Those who resisted were delivered a final judgement, a bullet to the head. Eli counted the number of times the guns were fired. Two gunshots. Three. The guns fell silent. All fell silent. The only thing remaining being the memories of the gunfire and the screams of those who were shot, their echoes polluting the still and silent air.
Four dead prisoners. Countless more injured. Fear governed the masses. He felt his limbs shake in agony. Unsure if he was next. Not willing to find out. He cared little for anyone around him, outside of himself. It was Eli’s survival against all the others.
Until he heard someone weeping. He turned slowly to see who, and he saw Omar. He was quivering as tears streamed down his face and dropped onto the hot asphalt. His face so young, so terrified. There was something familiar about it.
Kovic looked back at the prisoners, his face grim. It was as if he expected it. He raised the loudspeaker to his lips slowly. Everybody was watching him, and not a single dared to resist him now, “Let me remind you that you are still prisoners. You have a chance to redeem yourselves. This is an opportunity. Whether you want to participate or not, is up to you. Just let me know, and we’ll arrange your… departure.”
Fear. It was the type Eli hadn’t felt in a long time. Not since Korea… his hands shook behind his head. His body threatened to collapse from the kneeling position. He felt beads of sweat trickle down his body. And yet, he wouldn’t dare move. Not one muscle.
Silence hung in the air as everyone listened to Kovic, “With time, you’ll come to see things my way, it’ll be easier for you when you do. But whether you get to that point or not, is up to you. For now, you will all follow orders. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir!” The prisoners all chanted out in unison, as if they’d been brainwashed. Eli didn’t hesitate. He'd give anything to survive. Even his mind.
He felt sickened, like a coward. Accepting this obvious abuse of their own human dignity in order to survive. He trembled at the realization. Kovic smirked, “Dismissed.” He turned his back on them for good.
Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. The guns were still trained on them. The danger of death at the slightest hint of rebellion kept them frozen. Still. A marionette to which Kovic and the rest of Overwatch held the strings. They didn’t dare move, not until a guard shouted at the top of his lungs.
“GET MOVING!”
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