What in the world had I gotten myself into?

I spared a glance down at my hands, studying the gun I had been handed. The shiny black weapon tied my stomach into knots. This was not the kind of power I wanted these hands to hold. It weighed my arms down, and not because it was heavy.

I made sure not to show my discomfort. This job was the last of my dwindling options for employment, and I couldn't afford to get fired during my first week.

But would I kill to keep this job?

"Oi, newbie. You listening?" The gruff voice of my superior interrupted my thoughts.

"Y-yes sir," I cringed internally for letting my nervousness show. I attempted to swallow my guilt and quickly slung the rifle over my shoulder.

"You'd better be. Now, I need you to deliver this here crate to room 89-B," he said, pointing to a sealed wooden box. "Stay out of everybody's way, and don't damage the cargo."

"What's inside?"

"We don't pay you to ask questions," the man responded with a threatening tone. "Now get going."

Wasting no more time, I got to work. I hefted the crate up into my arms and carried it out the door and into the hall.

As I made my way towards room 89-B, wherever that was, I pondered my predicament. I may have only been there for a week, but that had been more than enough time to realize that something was up.

My first clue should've been the fact that I didn't even know who I was working for, or what they actually did. All that I did know, was that I was a guard. More of a soldier, really.

Shady, I know, but what else was I supposed to do? I'll admit, I was getting desperate.I had Bella and our three-year old daughter back home. My wife wasn't going to get better any time soon, and medication certainly wasn't very cheap. I needed this money and I knew it.

But would I kill to keep this job? Anything was worth keeping them okay.

Apparently, my fellow soldiers didn't know any more than I did. However, that did not stop rumors from floating around the still curious newer recruits. They were crazy, full of conspiracies involving illegal human experimentation and higher-ups from the government. I never necessarily thought them to be true, but then again, I didn't really know what to think.

Despite these rumors, nobody really knew what we were actually doing, much less who we were even working for.

More often than not, I've noticed, the others wore cold, guarded expressions, suggesting that they'd stopped asking questions a long time ago.

It was quite the mystery. I continued pondering as I walked down the endless hallways, seeking the box's new home.

Based on what the building looked like, I felt like it would be something close to laboratory, or maybe even a prison. It certainly had the tense and ominous atmosphere to be such a place. As much as I hated to admit it, I had no idea what was going on. It was basically one gigantic, well guarded secret.

Out of everything here that was suspicious though, the thing that unnerved me the most by far were the screams. Nobody spoke of these screams, even though there was no doubt in my mind that everybody heard them.

It was not uncommon to hear faraway cries reaching out to fill the quiet rooms with their despair. I felt a pang of guilt every time the sound reached my ears, so I willed them to fade away and be forgotten. I didn't want to dwell on them, as they reminded me of everything wrong with this place. I'd be lying if I said they didn't keep me up at night.

I never liked those screams; however, there was one I never quite forgot.

On that day, as I was walking down that dark, unfamiliar hall, I heard something that scared me like nothing before. I heard something that changed my life.

It exploded out of nowhere and reverberated within the desolate halls like a battle cry.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY NAKAMA."

Silence.

The crate slipped from my trembling hands, and crashed to the floor.

What in the world had I gotten myself into?

Hello there, thanks for stopping by... hope you enjoyed it. I'm not the best at writing, but at least I try.

(reviews are appreciated, they make me blush)

(attempts and fails to include subliminal messaging for reviews... heh)