The Twilight Zone in my view is one of the greatest horror shows in the world, not because it offers and few jumps and scares but because it presents the world of possibilities. This world goes against the obvious, scientific world and instead gives us a dimension where anyone's dreams and nightmares can be true. I wanted to do a fan story of this because well it's the one fascinates me the most so here it is 'Irregular regular Joe'
This story begins in an ordinary city but with an unusual person. Robert Walker is a brilliant man with the mind of ten men. His intelligence has made him rich, successful and powerfully but with such power comes greed, vanity and hatred. He is the CEO of a large oil provider, his workers hate him for he treats them as slaves but he is going to discover that such talents shouldn't be squandered for Robert Walker is about to enter the Twilight Zone.
The city is buzzing with people as usual, all set to do a certain task, to provide a service. Robert's is to provide oil for the cars of the world, a carpenter or builder may get a certain amount of satisfaction from the end product but for Robert the satisfaction comes from his immense wealth. In the centre of the city is the business district with Robert's company headquarters at the very heart of the district. The impressive art deco building towers high above all else and at the very top, in an overly large office room more akin to a throne room is Robert's office, covered in the same art deco that once littered the original owner's office. Robert in his valentine suit slaves away at his desk looking over the finances while enjoying his father's pipe. Two other men sit by the desk, one almost unnoticeable, slouching in his chair creating a sense of insignificant while the other more arrogant one clearly attempts to outshine Robert. The arrogant one who we shall call Jonathan Hedge sits up in his chair to ready himself for speech.
"Well, how about it. Are we fine? Is everything in order? Is there going to be a problem?"
Robert unwilling to even move his head in the direction of noise merely points his eyes towards Jonathan.
"The funds are in order but I have some questions regarding this."
Jonathan impatience appeared for the entire world to see as his face grew in redness.
"First off the funds may be available for such and endeavour but legally I don't see how this is possible, I mean sure we could pay off the officials but then we would have to contend with the locals, press, competing companies and our own government let alone another countries."
Jonathan prepared himself in a rushed way
"I can tell you right now I can deal with all of them, after all I have clearly defined in the finances, money to be used for paying off any troublesome problems."
"And then we'll have a black hole in our finances, where do you think people will think the money is going to?"
"Overseas charities unregistered in this country and within the control of Hedge media. It's easily claimed that the money went there and with no one at the helm to say otherwise it is a safe investment."
The second man still drifting into the shadows unnoticed by the others finally voiced his concerns.
"I still remain concerned of the moral consequences."
Both other men laugh; Robert composes himself and engages in the second man
"Charlie this is an oil company; if I was worried about moral consequences I would have joined Greenpeace."
Charlie still not convinced tries to argue his case
"But this is different, you can't just go into a poor country already stricken by corruption and ruin it, locals will have their food sources destroyed because of this, people will die bec....."
He is cut off by Robert's hand being raised
"I don't want to hear it. The only thing I want to hear from your mouth is that profits are going up. Jonathan, everything seems to be in order and I would be happy to perform it. You will make sure that there aren't any leaks, don't want media attention."
Both Jonathan and Charlie stand up
"Of course sir."
The men walk out leaving Robert by himself to think over the profits he should gain from this next endeavour. Little does he know that he is about to enter the Twilight Zone.
Robert goes home as usual to sleep comfortably knowing he has made something of himself, and as usual he falls right asleep.
Waking up Robert finds himself uncomfortable, the bed is harder than what it should be while a loud banging noise is coming from somewhere. He opens his eyes to find his no longer in his luxury apartment but a damp man made cave of dirt. Robert looks down to find himself in a strange army uniform complete with a weapon by his side. A voice is heard outside,
"Keep your heads down, prepare the big guns now!"
The room begins to shake as if being hit by mortar shells, loose dirt falls onto Robert. He jumps from his makeshift bed and heads towards the only slit of light from a small entrance. Robert is amazed to find himself in a trench surrounded by men hugging the wall; it appears as if a world war one setting although the modern equipment tells him that this is something else. Robert sees the man barking orders and proceeds towards him in his cocky manner.
"You there, where am I and what have you done with me. I demand answers now!"
The stern Captain turns with a clear show of anger
"How dare you talk to me like that Private, now get back in line or I will personally lift you over the trench and into enemy fire, now move!"
Robert stricken by surprise backs off for a moment before coming to his senses
"Don't you know who I am, I am Robert Walker, CEO of ...."
The major grabbing Robert with a large amount of force sends him crashing to the ground with a large boot crashing into his stomach.
"Get in line or be shot!"
Robert is helped up by another soldier who makes room for him
"What are you crazy, you want to get killed or something. Don't ask questions, just do as your told and you'll be fine."
Robert still in shock over where he is shouts over the explosions
"But I'm not a soldier, I don't belong here in fact I don't know where here is"
"Don't worry, I saw you earlier, you hit your head pretty bad. Give it time and everything will be clear."
Robert was unsure what to make of it all, he hit his head? Was he really a soldier? Has that life that he remembered just been a crazy dream? He shook the thoughts from his head, no of course not, He was Robert Walker and that was it.
The Captain was given a note by a runner, the Captain face looked grim. He appeared to collect himself for a moment before shouting as loud as possible
"Move Up! We are marching towards the enemy collect your gear and yourselves and wait for my command"
One man close to Captain began to break down and cry. He slumped to ground with his face buried in-between his legs. The captain grabbed him by the throat and screamed into his face
"Either you prepare yourself or I'll kill you now!"
The Captain backed up his threat by putting his pistol to the man's forehead. The man still sobbing didn't even notice the gun. Robert still nervous didn't know what to do until his natural instinct took over
"Leave him alone you bastard!"
The captain swung his around hitting Robert in the side of the face sending him to the ground once more. The Captain let the man fall to the ground as well but continued to point his pistol at him until the bang. The man's body flopped to the side covered in tears and blood.
"Let that be a lesson to all of you now get ready or you all die!"
The soldier helped Robert up again
"Didn't I say, do as your told. There's no room for individuals or egos out here, if you remember that you'll survive against the big guys like the Captain otherwise they wouldn't have a second thought of letting you die."
Robert got back in line; his nerves began to melt away as he slowly regained his real memory. He was Robert alright, Soldier 22496, Alpha company, United States army and just another minor number to the brass on top. He looked around him and recognized his home again, the trenches. Robert prepared his gear as usual, stood side by side with the other men, all in uniform, all ready, all the same. Robert was no billionaire, he was one of the regulars, just another guy trained to do as everyone else did, to provide a service but not for himself.
"MARCH!"