Someone was knocking in my head, banging on the door to my brain trying to wake me up, trying to tell me to open my eyes. But I couldn't. I was still lost in my dream and it was coming down on me fast. I was falling through the vortex of the black hole again, spinning never endlessly in circles. I wasn't in my ship; it was just me and my black armor. I could see thunder and strange strands of lights breaking through the empty space. There was matter around me being sucked through as well but they were stretched out so far that they were just threads descending in rays of different shades.
Even though I was falling I couldn't feel any gravity or pressure. It was like someone was holding my hand and pulling me through a void of hollow space. Everything around me on the other hand, seemed to be falling at great speeds. They passed by me in smudged shadows and forgotten clouds; all racing to the bottom. I could not see the bottom but upon my dive I saw a crack in the tunnel and somehow when I reached out for it, I was able to grab it with the tips of my fingers. I ripped a fracture into the cosmos and jumped through it.
I was in a white universe. In the distance there were black stars sparkling, a remote galaxy of hazy darkness spiraling, and even a black hole but instead of the center being filled by darkness, it was white and the matter being consumed was shades of grey and black. It was like someone took the entire universe and inverted the colors; light had become black and black had transformed into white.
I was still floating, trying to grasp all of my surroundings when somebody called for me.
"Safiya…" I knew the voice; it was a tone that I grew up with. I spun in the zero gravity to my right and saw my father. His dark figure accented against the giant plane of white.
Suddenly my feet where on an invisible floor and I was standing up straight. A light pressure pressed down on me, keeping my feet stuck on the unseen ground. I was staring at him but I could see beyond him; I could see a black hole coming right towards him.
I started to run as he reached out his hand towards me but not matter how hard I ran, I couldn't get any closer to him. I tried to scream but my lips were sown together. I pumped my legs, extended my muscles but I couldn't reach him. I watched him helplessly get sucked into the vortex and disappear into the white. I could feel tears over running my face, pain gripping my brain, pressure coming down unto me as my whole body started to shake.
Then I woke up.
I was in a small room. It had white walls, a white floor, and in front of me was a window that gave me a view of an entire laboratory. There were foreign computers reading strange signs on the walls, all different kinds of shaped glass and containers all labeled in a language that I had never seen. I had no clue where I was or how I got there. I remember the beach and the sand, someone attacking me…
That's when I realized that I was straight up. I wasn't lying down; I was actually several feet above the ground. I tried to move my arms but they were locked; I could feel a cold metal clamped to my wrists and at my feet as well. I wasn't in my suit either; I was wearing this strange stiff white cloak that fell clumsy over my body. Where was I?
The port was empty, there weren't even any bodies left over from the battle or signs of resistance. Garrus was in front of the squad, holding an avenger assault rifle in his hands while his volkov sniper rifle was strapped to his back. The island was peaceful, there was a pleasant ocean breeze rolling in and the foreign tall trees, that reminded Garrus of the pictures of palm tree that he had seen, were swaying in the air in a soft ballet.
Garrus signaled to the troops the coast was clear. They needed to continue deeper into the jungle to get to the military post. Hopefully there they would discover what Cerberus was doing and more importantly, if there were any survivors.
The soldiers strolled by carefully, checking out everything and moving with caution just in case the enemy was aware of their presence but Garrus was pretty sure they had the advantage of surprise or at least he hoped so.
As they walked into the jungle, it got denser, the vegetation got thicker, branches and vines reached out and tried the grab them but fortunately the path that the men on the post used was pretty clear. Garrus looked for clues on the path; blood stains, bullets, thermal clips, even foot prints but there wasn't a single sign.
"Vakarian?" the nervous soldier from earlier spoke up as they walked through the path.
"What is it?" he asked still watching every corner. The jungle was so thick in these parts that four feet in was complete darkness. Spirits know what was hiding in the darkness or who was watching them.
"Can you tell us anything more about Cerberus?" this kid was obviously nervous, Garrus could sense it by his tone.
"Before we shipped out I gave a report about all I knew, you should have all read it already."
"I did." "I did too." two of the other four Turians called out but the last two didn't. Garrus figured that they wouldn't have read it anyway; they were too good for reading and they were in it for the action.
"As did I," the timid one said, his assault rifle practically shaking in his talons, "But I was wondering if there was anything you left out that you didn't want the general to know…"
"First thing you should know about telling something to the military," Garrus told him. "They will punish you for telling the truth, but kill you for lying." The soldier got quite after that, Garrus felt sort of bad for being so stern. "What's your name?"
"Tsaro Saparus,"
"Well Saparus, just expect the unexpected,"
At the moment a loud buzzing noise zipped into the air, through the bushes, and the last Turian in line fell to the ground; blue blood oozed out of his helmet and onto the sand.
"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" Garrus screamed.
I was squirming. Whatever was holding me against this wall was strong and I couldn't break free but that didn't stop me from trying. I tried to squeeze my hands through the small holes, I even tried to just rip the fucking thing off but it didn't work. Nothing worked.
Click. Something behind me made a noise. I stopped moving. There was a loud screech of metal against metal followed by another weird sounding click.
"Are we ready?" said a voice.
"Yes, Doctor," another answered. I realized that I wasn't alone anymore and that's when they stepped into view.
They look like you my father's voice ringed into my ears as I remembered the moment when he described Humans to me. And he was right. The two that stood before me were both of soft flesh, pale skin, a nose, two eyes, and long lean bodies. One was definitely a female; her long blonde hair came out in wavy strands from her head but she had a white mask over her mouth. The other was a man dressed in a long white coat, he was wearing a cap, and strange wired glass over his eyes.
"Who are you?" I asked but both of them looked at me, surprised, but didn't answer. Instead they just continued to a small table and put on blue stretchy gloves over their hands. "Hello?" I said, "I'm talking to you!" Either they didn't understand me or they were just ignoring me. The girl went past my vision.
"Prepare the nitrazepam," the man said as some movement behind me occured. The girl came back rolling a cart. I could feel the goosebumps rise on my skins as I saw the needles, knives, tools, and scalpels. What were they going to do to me?
"What's going on?" I asked so timidly that I didn't even recognize my own voice.
The girl handed him a syringe and a bottle that contained a vibrant pink liquid. He filled it to the brim, giving two flicks of his fingers against the top. He turned to her, "Are you ready?" She nodded. He started walking towards me. I freaked, trying to move away, trying to pull away but I couldn't move.
"Get away from me!" I screamed but I couldn't stop him. He injected the needle into my neck and crammed my veins with the drug. Suddenly my body went raw; I could feel it move through my body with an icy cold power. It raced through my veins and into my heart, moving through each chamber, coating everything, and then existing out my arteries for another run. It took not even a minute for it to make my struggle go limp. My head lost its weight and became a feather in a light world. My muscles relaxed, my pulse slowed, my eyelids dropped. I could barely feel the metal against me anymore, I had a sense that I was hovering in mid air; just dangling helpless before these people to experiment on.
"Prepare the indoctrination," he told her as they both stepped out of my view. There was a whirling sound of mechanics around me and whatever I was on started to fall backwards causing me to be laying on my back. I could see a bright light looking down at me but my vision was hazy and it looked like a shinning sun. I could see him lean over me then looking away. He pulled something over me; it blocked the fake star.
"We're ready doctor," the girl's voice was so calm.
"Continue," he said with no hint of emotion.
There was a loud ticking sound, a snap, then a technological rotating sound. The black object in front of me began to move closer and closer. I realized, despite me thoughtless state, that it was a giant needle. I tried to scream but my throat was useless. I tried to move but my body could barely move. I wanted to push it away but it was hopeless, I was hopeless. It was coming down at me; the needle was spinning at a super high speed. The sound it was making was a high pitch, I felt like my ears were bleeding while my brain was going a thousand miles an hour. It was pointed at my forehead and it was getting closer; I could feel the wind against my skin that it made from its spine. I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see.
"INTRUDER INTRUDER!" an automatic voice screamed over me and the machine stopped.
Garrus was in the main building. They had lost two men, the ones that hadn't read, and they were being bombarded with attackers. Luckily for them, they had cover and the advantage. Where Garrus and Tsaro sat, they had a clear view of a hallway that the Cerberus troops mindlessly were walking down.
Garrus held up his sniper to his shoulder and gazed down the center of his scope; six more where coming. "Choose one, Saparus, and take them down," Garrus picked the closest one and pulled the trigger. The yellow and white armored helmet exploded with blood and the body dropped to the floor. The Turian soldiers around him took aim on the others and brought them down one by one in a violent bath of bullets and blood. One trooper was left, it was Tsaro's. The Cerberus soldier ran down the hall, holding up his rifle and shooting it off randomly. Tsaro held the gun so timidly, his talons shaking, his body shivering. Garrus was ready to take the hot if he couldn't but despite Tsaro's bad nervousness, he had a good aim. The bullet flew through the air and got the Cerberus bitch in the head. He fell to the ground with a big Thump. The hallway was no more than a gore dripping mess, something out of the depths of hell. Garrus signaled for one of them to check the area.
"It's clear," he said after looking around the corners, "But the next room has two hallways." They walked over to the next room with great caution; each only having their backs to each other for safety. Garrus scanned the room; just another empty room with couches, tables, and a couple of computers and data pads. There were still no signs of survivors.
"We'll split up," Garrus said. "Saparus and I will take the east entrance. You two will take the west." They nodded. "I want constant updates," Garrus said sternly; he didn't want to lose anymore men. The left without another word and Garrus faced Tsaro, "Stay behind me and watch your back. I'm not going to have anyone sneak up on us,"
They started their way down the long hall. There was no sign of anyone, no Turian soldiers, no Cerberus troops. Garrus wondered if they would even find anything.
The hallway opened into a room. It looked like laboratory; a slick, pristine laboratory. There was a huge control system there that centralized the whole post, large beakers and test tubes, other programming computers, and even some sampling containers.
"This is probably were they do research for the marine life," Garrus said, putting his gun over his shoulder and walked over the computer system. Hopefully something here would give him information about what happened or what Cerberus wanted. He overridden the systems and accessed the main controls. He tried the cameras, recent data logs and entries but he couldn't find anything. Not a single fucking thing.
" Vakarian…" Tsaro called out.
"Not now, I'm busy," he said back, still trying to find something, anything. "They deleted the entire security system, erased important data.."
" Vakarian, I really think you should see this…"
"What is it!" He asked turning around, realizing that Tsaro was looking through a viewing window. He walked over to him and gazed through the glass.
There was a human girl in the other room. She was pale with lush brown hair that curled over her face; dried up and crusted blood covered most of her face while bad black and blue bruises claimed the other half. She was wearing a hospital gown that revealed tattoos that ran from the top of her neck down her shoulder and descended to the tips of her fingers. They were odd shapes, weird designs, and spirals. She seemed to be unconscious, unaware of them. On her wrist and ankles were cuffs that chained her down on an operating table. There was blood dripping off the metal of the slab from where she had tried to struggle to fight back. A great needle gloomed over her, its shadow wrapped her in darkness.
" Omril?" Garrus said speaking into his Omni tool.
"I'm here," the Turian soldier's voice came through.
"Where there any humans stationed here?"
"No. It's strictly a Turian military base," he answered.
Garrus didn't say anymore. He just stared through the window at the girl; she didn't look Cerberus. She looked like a victim. But what about her tattoos? They reminded Garrus of the ones Turians wore on their face to signify their clan or family but hers were spread across her body. What were they trying to do to her? What is up with the needle? So many questions again that he wanted to know but were unanswered. Maybe she had the answers.
Garrus turned towards Tsaro who had his eyes fixed on him.
"Let's go."
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Mass Effect is property of Bioware.
Please Review! Things are getting intense and I really want to know what you guys think. There was kind of a spoiler in this chapter about ME3 but not enough to ruin anything I hope.