Chapter 3. Unexpected

General's POV.

The soft breeze of the evening met my form – face and body, making my hair swirl vaguely. Something had happened this morning. East. Before I received that phone call from the training base, I had felt it: a disturbance in the environment and a change in the atmosphere all around me. Like a waterless wave washing my face, like a gush of wind meeting me… a silent and a discreet warning headed towards me and only me.

As if the planet was alerting me of something, that something had happened. Something I would have to take part in, eventually.

I was somehow used to these strange, odd feelings. This intuition thing was part of me, since I remembered. And it was as random as it got. Out of nowhere, I had hunches. My body and mind got alerted that something – something was about to happen. A sudden attack, some unexpected movement against my troops, enemy tactic shifting and… the kind of supernatural forces they had the ability to summon.

Don't ask me why, but I knew it. I sensed it – as a clear ray of light, which made us – me and my army of men – very difficult to surprise.

Sighing discreetly, mechanically I walked, towards the building where the problem resumed to be. The problem of today morning – most likely, the reason of that disturbance I had felt, was in there. Quiet. Silent. Waiting.

The issue had to be definitely serious – otherwise they wouldn't have called us – 1st Class… and me. Usually the training center was very independent and they solved their own problems rather efficiently. It was a well known fact they didn't particularly enjoy calling other forces to solve things in their territory. So, all I could conclude was… this was serious enough for them to ask us for help – we, the men of war. And the phone call had been vague and somber, which meant… they were clearly out of strategy.

Today the day had been calm. After a couple of day's rest after my comeback from the Wutai, I felt fresh enough to conquer this world and the next one. Of course, this was only me – the rest of my men were still off, most likely with a hang-over that consumed two days and nights in a row, with no interruptions whatsoever.

I didn't criticize them, but I wasn't particularly fond of their way of "relaxing" when they were back home from missions. I had my own way of resting and restoring my physical and mental vigor.

Reaching the inside of the training center main building, security greeted me stiffly. They respected me – in a way, maybe too much, judging by the way they bowed their heads and their heartbeats peaked as I passed by them.

"Evening." I said, my voice calm and hard. I eyed them, and few of them eyed me back. Apprehension and reverence poured from those men, what made me feel comfortable. And proud. And, might I add, satisfied. After all, I hadn't dedicated body and soul to the art of war and strategy for nothing. I was good – the best, and I excelled at what I did. I had earned and conquered the reverence everybody felt towards me. All of it, with my own effort. No favors. Just me and the way I naturally was. Me and my nature.

"Lieutenant is waiting for you, General." The man behind a black granite massive desk informed. "4th floor."

"Thank you." I said, bowing slightly my head to my right side, a sign of appreciation. Low-ranks seemed to take that in consideration – and I wanted to gain the sympathy of all the potential men-in-arms in this facility. One never knew when one might need them. War is unpredictable. And so is fate.

And having extra men at war is a luxury many didn't count on with.

Inside the elevator, I wondered what would be the nature of the problem here. Details had been scarce – as always, since it was strict policy inside the compound NOT to deliver crucial information via telephone. Ever.

I hadn't brought my sword. It was rare, I know. That sword was already part of me, just like my organs, my senses, part of me physically and mentally. However, I didn't sense it would be necessary in this matter. My intuition worked in this department too. I had a feeling I was going to deal with something… intricate, but with no need of physical strength… otherwise, I would have been alerted of it.

Once the elevator doors opened, I faced the two men that seemed to be expecting me. I looked at both, as they heads bowed.

"This way, General."

And without further words, those men guided me through halls, silently, only the sounds of our dry footsteps scoring that little two minute travel. As we reached a fine, steel door, my escort left me and I entered, opening the door with a confident and decisive action, closing it behind me silently. I was inside a questioning room, fully equipped, and the stare of those two men standing met mine instantly.

"Evening, gentleman." I said, stepping in their direction, as they greeted me with a slight bow of heads. "What seems to be the problem."

It was a declaration disguised as interrogation, and I stood quiet, my gloved hands joining behind my back, as I clearly expected a fast answer. I had no time to waste. It was a fact of life that I, the General, didn't use my time superfluously.

One of them – the one I suspected to be the man in charge of the operation, took his time to gather himself, clearly choosing the words to resume the event. My presence disturbed him, it was so clear it hurt. But that was the way I was, my presence was always strong, an imposing and oppressive existence, and people didn't feel comfortable around me. It was something I had learned to live with and it didn't bother me in the least. Most of the times, I was actually thankful it happened that way. I absolutely loathed small talk. It was insulting to my ego.

Finally, the man in front of me spoke.

"Unidentified civilian found in the training area, Sir. The woman is calm and cooperative but her speech is somehow altered."

"Altered." I quoted, not grasping what he meant with it. I wanted details, and fast.

"Here, Sir, see for yourself." The man said, as he pressed the "play" button on the equipment at my side, a screen popping to life instantaneously. The interview gave me a clear idea about what was their problem. The image of a woman and that man – he, questioning her -, as well as their dislocated dialogue remained cautiously processed in my mind.

And while I listened to her, studying her facial expressions as she talked, analyzing her tone and her attitude, the Lieutenant handed me her file – practically empty, nothing concrete about the woman who spoke about strange things, launching inexistent words and convoying a speech I could only classify as… pathologic.

"The lab has been alerted of this?" I said, as I read what was on the file and eyeing the screen with… inevitable curiosity.

"Not yet, Sir. We were waiting for your analysis."

Nothing I didn't expect.

"Is she here?" I asked, although I knew the answer already. The woman had to be here somewhere, she was held in custody.

The man nodded and his eyes shifted to the large glass on the wall. I stepped towards the glass, knowing what I would find on the other side.

My eyes found the woman, sitting, her eyes on her fingers, scared and anxious, as she bit the inside of her mouth occasionally. Woman? She seemed more like a girl. Around her twenties. Lost and lonely.

And as my eyes scanned her, I recalled her strange words, her confusing justifications. Her wavy brown hair and her greenish eyes complemented her face in a strange… way. I couldn't predict her origins, I had never seen a mix of facial features like that one. And her accent? Unknown. Just like her prints. Just like her background.

Which was unacceptable.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late." A voice said, interrupting my line of thinking. Three sets of eyes met a pair of bluish ones, revealing a blunt guilt for the obvious delay. "What's up? I heard the training team found a girl-"

"Fair." I interrupted, with my usual irony. "Always in time." I added, knowing he would probably miss it. Fair, the way I knew him to be, wasn't that fast processing my dry sense of humor.

"Uh?"

His answer annoyed me slightly, but it wasn't enough to bother me. Zack Fair, one of the 1st Class that accompanied me lately, held too much enthusiasm in his guts. And sometimes that enthusiasm revealed to be a little dislocated. Not to mention exaggerated. And now was one of those moments, obviously.

"Random civilian found in the training area, disrupted speech albeit calm and cooperative." I said, my voice hard and firm, as I handed the file to him.

Fair read cautiously the few paragraphs inside that file, which basically resumed what I had been watching in the videotape previously. He reacted fast, his stare meeting mine with a frown of surprise, as he said:

"2012?"

Yeah, it was weird. All her speech, answers and questions were weird. It was like the woman spoke about a different reality besides our own, believing in it fiercely and justifying herself as if that was something very ordinary. I didn't react, my eyes suddenly on the waiting mystery woman on the other side of the glass. She remained still. A mystery. A silent and quiet conundrum, I thought.

"Do the honors, Fair." I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest and positioning myself exactly in front of the glass, where I would have a good, full perspective of the questioning room itself. "You can start by figuring out why she isn't registered."

Fair's stare was on me, piercing my skull, and I sensed his sudden shift in his stance when I ordered him to question the woman. I had to push him to make him behave like a worthy 1st class he was. Neither foolin' around nor spraying idiotic jokes like he used to do most of the times. Well, no chance for that now - he was on duty, as well as I was, and 1st class had to behave to the finest level. That was who we were. The finest. The best. And I was on the top of it all.

Fair left the place without making a sound. He knew what he had to do – we had done this so many times, it would be piece of cake for a skilled soldier like himself to perform this inquiry.

However, the unexpected is always around us, when we least wait for it. I, for that matter, knew that… better than anyone.

Zack entered the questioning room in full soldier mode, firm and resolute – as he'd been taught to do, at any circumstance. My eyes approved both his stance and his attitude. He was doing fine, he was behaving correctly.

The woman's eyes met his form - she even looked twice at him, clearly shocked with… with him. It was like she was staring at a specter, rather than a simple man. Her eyes widened, her mouth half-opened and she breathed in – a breath interrupted for several, painful seconds, only to be replaced with the most ridiculous panting I've ever heard. Shock bathed all her facial features and body language. Her hands gripped the sides of the chair and Zack, approaching the place and preparing to sit on that vacant chair, spoke, completely unaware of her shock… yet.

"Hi there."

As he spoke, his eyes found hers and he also seemed a little surprised with her reaction. None of us expected a reaction like this, not even I, who excelled at predicting and reading people's faces. Swiftly, Zack gained composure again, his face hard and expressionless, although on the inside he was absolutely appalled. Of course he was. This was no ordinary reaction and we all knew it very well.

"Z… Zack?" The woman said, her voice barely audible and her eyes now watery. Zack reacted at once, his neutrality mask disappearing in a no-time. His face now held the most stunned expression ever. Yes, he wasn't expecting she knew his name... at all.

I narrowed my eyes, not liking what I was seeing, the path this situation was taking. Wait a minute… Did she knew him? From where? And how? What had I missed here? My nostrils flared in that moment, and I thought of the worst. Fair was known to be very nice to women. Dozens of theories went through my mind before I heard Zack speaking again. And his voice seemed as lost as hers.

"Do you know me?"

Okay, analyzing both reactions… it was clear that he didn't know her. The shock and surprise on his face were genuine enough and I knew Zack very well. He wasn't lying. He – definitely - didn't know her at all.

But somehow she did. And, judging by her face, she knew him very well. What left us with few options here.

"Oh my God…" She whispered, her hands now on her mouth. She trembled, all of her, from her hands to her feet, her eyes a green potency of powerlessness and her throat clearly constricted. "…This isn't… real, it can't be."

Her words were hardly heard, while she gulped with difficultly and stared at Zack as if he was… unreal. Which was beyond strange. Why would she look at Zack like that? Like a… unreal entity of some sort?

"What?" Zack asked, in lack of better words. He was completely disarmed, and I could understand why. I would have been too, but I wouldn't disclose such surprise, like he did. We would have to work on that later. As a 1st class, he must never show emotions this bluntly. Or the enemy would take him for granted. And none of us would want that. Especially me. I wouldn't tolerate such flaw in a 1st class soldier under my command.

"I'm dreaming." The woman in front of him said, her eyes huge as traffic lights, staring at nothingness. Her hands were now on her lap. "Or I'm dead."

Her reasoning was clearly out of logics. I sensed the woman could easily snap, if Zack didn't do or say the right thing.

Luckily, he reacted. Out of despair.

"Hey… just calm down." He said, as he got up and approached her, his hand touching her arm. It was a clear attempt to appease her, to let her know that he was not going to hurt her in any way. "Would you tell-"

"It's you." She whispered, as she processed his presence, his touch. "Oh my God, it's really… you." Her voice weakened to a point she only mouthed the last words. The way that woman looked at Zack… was clearly of someone that knew him. Now I was definitely sure of it.

And then, one of her hands, slowly and trembling, touched his hand. His fingers. Several breaths came out of her, as if she was having difficulty breathing. Her fingers touched his… in the most strange way. That woman… she wasn't simply touching him just because. She was touching him… to believe he was actually there, to make sure he was flesh and bone. Out of instinct, I focused and I scrutinized the scene, which seemed to flow in slow-motion. Without any doubt at all, she was checking his authenticity. And Fair, shamefully, was allowing it.

Weak boy…, I thought, as my body took initiative. In a blink of an eye, I left, now headed to the questioning room. It was time to put an end to this mess. Fair was going to hear it afterwards – behaving this recklessly was going to cost him more than he would think.

I didn't knock. I simply entered, not introducing myself. Manners didn't matter now. Not now.

"Knock it off, Fair." I said, my voice low and dark.

Fair reacted at once, removing his hand from the woman's touch and… allowing me a full vision of that dreadful, shameful scene. This kid had to be more conscientious. We were 1st class and we had a reputation to keep, what was he thinking, collapsing into a stranger's will so easily?

"I didn't do anyth-"

"You!"

The woman's voice was the one interrupting Fair's week speech. Her strong tone earned a stare. Both our stares. And locked in her eyes we remained, the three of us, trapped in a chain of speechless words, a flow of uneasiness passing by. She was frightened. We were surprised. And none of us understood why, as slowly, painfully slowly, the woman got up, standing now in front of us. She didn't move at all. Her stare was now trapped on mine… and I didn't like a bit what I saw there.

Acknowledgment. Terror. Panic.

"Sit down." I ordered, realizing the "You" she had previously shouted had been directed to me. Never leaving her eyes I could see… oh, she was tough. The brownish green on her eyes burned with recognition… and I had to admit, I didn't like that. Not a bit. So, I reacted: I stepped forward, decided to ask her why she was behaving like this. And only one simple step was needed to launch chaos in that questioning room.

"NO!" She screamed, one hand on her mouth and the other one searching the wall behind her, clearly, searching for support. "My God, I can't… I can't…" She whispered, visibly despaired, as her form finally found the wall, where she remained, her back glued to it as if she wanted to merge with it.

"What seems to be the problem?" I said, my eyes on her while I reached Zack, who stood paralyzed right next to me, looking at me and her, alternatively, as we spoke.

"I'm not here. This is a dream. A very vivid dream."

As her tone weakened, she put her hands in her face, her eyes closed, determined to stay like that for a while.

I was going to intercede, but Zack went for it first.

"Just… just calm down." He said, approaching the woman, leaving a safety space between them. After a long second, her eyes finally opened and she looked at him once again… like he was very unreal. The stare she gave him unsettled both of us. "What is it?" He insisted, trying to ease the woman from her ridiculous trembling.

"You're not real." She answered, her hands next to her form, trying to grasp the wall behind her. "Neither of you."

Well. That was the hugest non-sense I had ever heard in life. Which made me react at once. I had to stop with this right now, it was reaching a rather pathetic level by the second.

"Listen, would you sit-"

She didn't let me finish.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Her misplaced scream of panic as I approached her compelled me to grab her arm and knock her down in that exact moment.

"I need the lab here NOW." I ordered, as I eyed discreetly the mirrored glass in the room, knowing those man behind the glass were witnessing the whole show since the beginning.

"Calm down, no one is going to hurt you." Zack said, as the woman kicked and moved her arms, trying to get his arms free from my hold, her hair chaotically disposed and her eyes… burning into mine. As frightened as furious.

"NO!" She shouted, as I turned her with her back to me, pinning her arms and body easily so that she could stop moving instantaneously. It was piece of cake. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" She reinforced, as her face met the cold surface of the wall. Her body still fought, trying to get free of my grasp. Inwardly, I concluded she was an obstinate fighter. A survivor.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH ME!" She screamed, while I trapped her with my hands and fingers. I wasn't being harsh, I wasn't being rude. I was just keeping her immobile… but her words sounded terribly harsh to me. Considering she was a complete stranger. I didn't know her… but it was pretty obvious by now she did know me… as she knew Zack.

And that, considering how I abhorred not being of control of things… didn't please me at all.

Thankfully, the Lab bursted inside the questioning room, interrupting my uncomfortable line of thinking. I looked reflexively above my right shoulder – there were three of them, and they brought the adequate gear with them all right.

One of them approached me and took advantage of the position I had the woman, clearly trapped between me and the wall: a syringe with a transparent fluid inside appeared out of nowhere and, calmly as ever, he removed the cap covering the needle. Without making a sound, right in front of her scared eyes, he inserted the needle in her upper arm, pressing and releasing its content under her grunts of pain. The way she moved under my grasp was prove enough that fluid injection hurt her.

And not ten seconds had passed, her body started to become less rigid, a compliance clearly achieved with the drug that scientist had injected her with. Her legs soon failed, her head bowed and I had the sensation she was passing out.

With a soft but decisive move, I pushed her from the wall she was pressed into and I let her rest against my right arm. She didn't move, her head falling backwards, exposing her slender neck, her eyes half-closed and her mouth half-opened, as her body resumed to a floppy mass of bones and muscle.

The man – the scientist in front of me took her in his arms and laid her down in a litter that had been brought meantime. I stared at the scene, as they tied her wrists and feet to that thing, covering her with a sheet whose color and consistence I remembered too well… from my childhood. Growing up in the lab facility hadn't been easy. And I didn't miss the place.

"We'll take it from here." One of the scientists said, eyeing us both.

With rush, they disappeared from our sight, and alone we remained. Me and my incompetent subordinate 1st class soldier Fair. My head pumped with questions – questions that weren't answered, questions that demanded the urgency of a clear and obvious justification. And I didn't have any of it by now.

"I think you have a fan, General." Zack said, and I looked at him. He had his arms crossed, and he had that silly grin on his face. Clearly, the situation didn't bother him the way it bothered me.

"Well aren't we inspired today." I said, irony on my face as I left the questioning room, now vacant of purpose.

I had to find out what was wrong in this picture. This simply wasn't normal. I felt it… I felt it inside me, how her arrival – somehow – had changed something around us, our existence, our routine.

And I… was going to find out everything.

A/N – There you have it! Hope you liked it! I enjoyed immensely writing this, it was great to be inside out General's head, all arrogant and know-it-all :) I honestly think this would be the way he would deal with a situation like this. Now... Elie's in trouble. :D

R&R, guys, and let me know your opinion!