A/N: A shoutout to Eromancer and zzzQNzzz for the review. Thanks bros, I'll keep that in mind.

His head hurt like hell, there was no doubt about that. Felt like the damn thing was going to implode any second now. The pain was good for one of two things: first, it reminded him that he was alive and he wasn't quite dead yet; and the second, which kind of sucks, is that his problems were far from over. Speaking of pain, the wound he had received from that Chinese rifleman wasn't throbbing and sore anymore. That's weird, I must've been transported to a triage center, or better yet, a hospital. He thought to himself. The images of a warm bed, hot food, and specifically hot, busty nurses swam across his mind.

He discontinued his line of thought when he finally realized something. The surface in which his back was resting on wasn't soft at all; in fact, it was rough, sharp, and was hard as hell. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to regain most of his senses. Where the hell am I? He could hear the sound of wind flowing freely as the leaves from a couple of nearby trees were rustling with movement. The light was blinding, so he put one of his hands up to shield himself from the searing sky. As his sight adjusted to his nearby surroundings, he could finally see where he was and stood up. All around him, he was surrounded with green shrubbery, idyllic mountain ranges, pine trees, and a couple of hilltops over the horizon. The sky was blue, with clouds putting up a nice overhead cover from the sun, and he could also smell the scent of…almonds? What in the hell.

He tried to look around, hoping to get his bearings, and patted his clothing to get his GPS locator from his uniform. Gotta get that damn…wait, what the fuck am I wearing? He wasn't wearing his standard-issue Philippine Army BDU's. The utitlity pouches, bags, and his ammo pack were gone. Only to be replaced by some kind of grey, short-sleeved jumpsuit with a lot of pockets. He was panicking, that was for damn sure. He was in a place he couldn't recognize and wearing clothes he didn't remember wearing. Am I fucking dead? They say whenever a person dies, they'd feel cold and they would see a searing white light coming to get them. He clearly remembered not experiencing any of those clichéd events.

The cloud cover was swept away from the wind, and he could clearly make out the sun. His eyes were wide with shock, as he didn't see just one, but two suns out in the sky. Jesus fucking Christ, what the fuck is going on! He began running around towards what he thought was north, putting some distance from where he just woke up. This has gotta be a fucking joke, or better yet, a fucking dream. Yeah, that's it! He stopped from his sprint, outstretched his right arm, and slapped himself hard on his right cheek. He was rewarded with a sharp pain, and he could feel his cheek redden. It's not a fucking dream! I'm fucking awake! He began hyperventilating, with sweat starting to trickle down in his body as the wind failed to cool him off.

He continued his sprint, just running and running for what seemed like forever. Hoping to get to some place where he could find some clues as to where the hell he'd gotten his sorry ass into. Finally, he stopped, his lungs burning from exhaustion, and his legs wobbly from all the exertion he committed. This isn't a dream and I'm fucking wide awake. He sat down on the soft, cushy grass. His hands behind the head his back, and laid down, breathing in gulps of fresh, clean, God-given air. He watched the skies, looking at the clouds as the wind continued to push them wherever it was they needed to go. With all the running and panicking he had to endure a few minutes ago, he hadn't had the chance to admire this place's splendid beauty. The grass, the mountain ranges, hilltops, trees. In his opinion, this place wasn't just beautiful, it was truly idyllic—no, it was fucking spectacular. Am I dead? This place really is a damn paradise.

The sight all around him let him wonder if he truly was dead and he was, in hindsight, stuck in heaven. He really wasn't that much of a religious man, and since he was a Filipino, he was raised a Roman Catholic. Not exactly the most devout one, but he was still a Catholic nonetheless. Whenever he had a chance to avoid going to mass, he'd always take it. And that was what usually happened all the time. He couldn't even remember the last time he went to mass. Still, he thought. If this place really is heaven, where the hell are all the angels? Where was Saint Peter? And, more importantly, where was God?

He stood up, signifying the end of his short rest, and continued walking. As he did so, he could hear somethingclinkingaround his chest. Intrigued, he started patting that part of his body and was surprised to feel something bulge there underneath the jumpsuit's cloth. He reached his hand there, and was surprised to see something he thought he'd never see again: his dog tags. He wondered why most of the stuff he'd gotten with him was gone and this thing was the only one that he could find. Well, at least I could still carry something from my previous life.

He walked for the better part of what he thought for an hour, thirst and exhaustion slowly creeping around his body. Sweat was constantly flowing throughout his back, armpits, and forehead. His grey jumpsuit was completely soaked. As he continued trekking his way, he eyes caught something far ahead, about two hundred meters away: a paved road with something sticking out there. Without further notice, he ran for it, completely forgetting the fact that his body was tired, cranky, and thirsty. A few moments he arrived, and what drew his attention was the object right in from of him: a sign post.

Welcome to Ferris Fields! It said. Population: 13,000. Settlement: Two kilometers ahead. For the first time since he first arrived here, he grinned from ear to ear. He was finally getting some answers as to where he was and what place this is. He continued walking, his legs burning from continued exertion and effort. Need. Water. He was breathing heavily now, his vision becoming blurry and his limbs becoming much heavier with each continued step he took. I need to lie down for a bit. He pressed on, needing to find a place where he could rest for just a little bit and be on his way towards the settlement. Almost there. Ahead, he could see the road curving somewhere to the left, and just beside that curve was a well-placed tree, like an oak one. Finally!

He frantically continued his pace, his body screaming for him to rest even though the oak tree was just up ahead. Just…a little bit…further. Along the way, he tripped, and he placed both of his hands ahead just in time for his face to avoid planting on the ground. He stood up again, this time, each step he took was heavier than the last. Left. Right. Left. Right. One step at a time. His mind was slowly starting to drift away.

At long last he finally reached the oak tree, with his back on the heavy-set trunk, he slowly slid towards the ground. He wondered how long he was walking and running. Two hours? Three? It didn't matter anymore, for the settlement was just up ahead. At least he thought it was. He shrugged, his head on the trunk, and surely his eyes began to close ever so slowly. He tried to fight it out, but in the end, exhaustion won.

As sleep became to overtake him, he wondered about all the guys from his unit, and that first and last battle he participated in. Did I fail? Did I turn my country down for losing and getting shot? He remembered his friends, all the guys from his platoon and Bravo Company. Corporal Perez, Sergeant Herera, Captain Hernandez. All the good guys from a unit in which he served proudly, and wondered if he ever was gonna see them again. Am I ever gonna see my home again? He thought to himself one last time.

And just like that, he was out like a light.

"Hey, you okay there, bud?" he heard a voice say something. He ignored it, instead trying to focus more on sleeping and defiantly keeping his eyes completely shut. But then the voice came again, this time even more persistently.

"Come on, buddy. Wake up." He felt something prod on his shoulders. Annoying bastard. As he slowly opened his eyes, he was rewarded with the sight of a middle-aged Caucasian man, with a complete beard under his nostrils and his chin, and a baseball cap fitting snugly on his head. Could you be so kind as to get the hell out of here and let me sleep? He tried to tell him, but his throat couldn't get the words out and all he could manage was a groan.

"It's alright, buddy. We'll get you outta here." The man grabbed one of his shoulders, placed it behind his head, and stood him up. All the young man could ever think about was the fact that he was being carried around by a middle-aged stranger, with no idea as to who this guy is and whether or not he did this for the best of intentions, or the worst of it. But right now, he didn't care. He was tired, and he was exhausted physically and mentally. The stress of finding out you were in the middle of nowhere had completely taken its toll on him. He heard the stranger's voice again, this time he wasn't talking to him.

"Terry, help me out here. Get him on the rover." And then, another set of hands grabbed his shoulder and led him off to some kind of vehicle. It didn't have a roof or a door, and looked like a pick-up truck from back home. Only this one was much more futuristic and sleek. He felt himself being laid down on a cool, metallic, floor. And with his eyes shut once again, he could only hear the sounds around him. The two man were conversing about getting to a clinic and getting there as fast as they can. He heard a switch being flicked and an engine sputter to life. As the vehicle sprang to life, he felt the world around him shake and move. I think I'm gonna be sick…

But instead of puking his guts out, the young private just laid there, ignoring his nausea and kept on resting. Wherever we're going, I'm gonna need all the sleep I can get. And then again, he slowly drifted away into deep sleep.

As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw that he was in an honest-to-God bed, it's cushioning foam soft and comfortable, and he was somehow in a place that kind of looked like a triage center and a small clinic. There were a couple of other beds around, but they were unoccupied. As far as he could see, he was the only person around. He relaxed, realizing that he was holding his breath the entire time he was surveying the area around him. For a second there, I thought I was marooned on some lost paradise with two suns. I must've been dreaming. He thought to himself.

But then he realized he was still wearing the same grey jumpsuit he had on and that his dog tags were still in place. Crap, still here. He mentally cursed, throwing in a lot of swear words in his mind. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice a woman with a white lab coat come near him with some sort of pad or tablet thing in her hand. The sight of her startled the young private, his eyes fixated on the medical-looking professional. Either that or she's some kind of scientist experimenting on me. He stopped thinking about that and focused on the woman in front of him: she was petite-looking, her height maybe around 5'4" or 5'5", but he couldn't tell exactly. She was a brunette, with blue eyes and a beautifully sculpted face with thin lips and…okay, she was sure pretty.

The doctor caught the young man staring and cleared her throat. That pretty much brought him back to reality and looked into her blue eyes. I could get lost in there for a long tiiiime. "How're you feeling?" She asked him.

"I feel fine, ma'am. A bit tired and sore, but I'm good." He responded, his voice dry and hoarse. The doctor smiled and took a quick peek into her pad thing, nodded and went near him further, until she was just beside the bed-ridden soldier.

"When they brought you here, you were pretty much unconscious and exhausted." She stated matter-of-factly, then continued, "They thought you were dying, and I was pretty sure you almost were."

"How long was I out, ma'am?" He asked, he was curious as to how long he was unconscious.

"About two days," Wow, was I really that fucked when they brought me here? "You were lucky when they found you. Which brings me to my next question," Uh-oh, something tells me I ain't gonna like this. She grabbed a chair and sat next to him, pad still in hand and looked him right in his eyes. "Who are you and why're you here?"

"My name's Henry Rodriguez, ma'am." The young private explained, adjusting his pillow and position to make himself more comfortable. "As to why I'm here, I have no idea."

"Huh, I see." She replied, she had a slight accent, like that from a person originating in the American Midwest. She continued messing with her pad for a few seconds then looked at him back. "Where you from, Henry?"

"The Philippines, ma'am." She looked back at him with shock and disbelief. Which made him wonder if he had said something wrong.

"Philippines? You mean you're from Earth? From the Federated Philippine States?" she asked again.

"Uh, yeah, I guess—" Wait, what? Federated Philippine what-now? The private wondered if he heard the doctor right and pondered on his thoughts. The doctor saw him deep in thought and cleared her throat again.

"Oh, sorry ma'am. I didn't mean to drift off like that." He apologized quickly.

"It's quite alright." She said. "By the way, it's Therese, not ma'am. Makes me feel old." She gave him a genuine smile, which caught him off-guard. Stop staring at her, damn it. He chastised himself and then quickly collected himself.

"I'll work on that, ma'am." He gave her a smile of his own.

"Okay, so do you remember anything before ending up here, Mister Rodriguez?"

"Just Henry, please." He gave her an embarrassed smile before turning serious. "I remember being in a firefight, ma'am. Then I got shot, blacked out, and before I knew it, I was here."

"A firefight?" Therese asked him, her voice obviously curious. She looked at him more closely, which only made the private all the more nervous. "Are you a soldier or something?"

"Yes ma'am." He replied.

"And you said you got shot? Hmm." She looked at her pad again and was deep in thought, pressing something there and reading, from the look of it. She was busy for about a minute or so, then she said: "Our analysis earlier haven't discovered any wounds anywhere, Henry. They must've fixed it before you got here."

"Huh." Was all Rodriguez could say. No wonder the pain was gone. But then he remembered that the purpose of getting into this settlement was to ascertain his location and know what date it was. It could've been a millennia for all he knew. "Excuse me, ma'am, uh, can you tell me where 'here' is and what date it is?"

"Well," she looked away from his pad and looked at him. "You're in Ferris Fields, a colony somewhere in the Terminus Systems," Colony? Terminus Systems? What the hell is she talking about? Before he could think of this any further, she continued to speak: "As for the date? Hmm, let' see. I think it's the seventh of August, Twenty-one eighty-three."

August 7th 2183? Please tell me that was a joke. His mind processed all the things from which Therese just mentioned. He couldn't believe it, and his mind was suddenly racked with a helluva lot of questions in which he honestly didn't know what the answer was for all of them. How the hell did I end up here? He asked himself in thought. And more importantly, how the fuck did I end up being transported a hundred and seventy years in to the future? For him, this was a lot—no, it was more than a lot—for him to take all in. All this seemed like some sort of sci-fi thing he managed to get himself into. All this seemed like a really, really, fucked up dream his mind managed to come up with. Well, it certainly did a really good job at it. This doesn't make any fucking sense. At all.

Doctor Therese looked at the private, who was quickly becoming pale and was staring up ahead. She was getting worried. "Henry, are you alright?" She asked him. Whatever thoughts he could muster was quickly extinguished as the doctor broke him out of his trance.

"Oh, I'm fine ma'am—I mean, Therese. Sorry." He managed to recover. He was still a bit surprised at the revelation that he was thrust into almost two centuries into the future. This shit is getting more and more complicated. Whatever concerns he still had, he hadn't shown it any longer after the initial shock.

"It's okay, Henry." She said to him and gave him another one of her sweet smiles. "I'm sure you still have a lot of things in your mind, considering where we found you." She stood up from her seat and said. "Now, I'll let you rest a bit more. Dinner will be served in about thirty minutes. Are you sure you're alright, Henry?" She asked again, her face showing worry and concern.

"Yeah, I will be. Thanks for everything, doc." He replied.

"Don't mention it." She replied, smiled one last time before she turned around and went back out towards the door at the end of the room, leaving Rodriguez alone with his thoughts and a lot of questions. 2183, eh? I guess I have lot of catching up to do.

Two days have already passed since the private first arrived here in the clinic, and still, his questions remained unanswered. For all he knew, he might be in a medically-induced coma back home or that he was captured by the Chinese and he was being interrogated using complicated dreams or something of the like. But, whatever thoughts he had on the matter was still irrelevant. He was still here, in Ferris Fields. Weird name for a place. What really troubled him greatly was the fact he was thrust a hundred and seventy years in the future. 2183. Even saying that damn year made the private's head hurt even more. He still couldn't wrap his head around it, being in the future. This must be every geek's dream to live in a world like this. He wondered. For now this was, in the private's head, a complete and utter nightmare, a still irreversible clusterfuck that needed to be fixed right the hell now. And yet, he couldn't do even a single damn thing about it. For now, he was safe.

For the duration of his stay here, the good 'ole doctor (Therese Watkins, she said her name was) had visited him and checked up on him regularly. She was a nice lady, who was really sweet and good-natured, caring and polite, which made for an excellent doctor. But, there was one thing that was really put on view whenever she visited him: it was the fact that she was totally and undeniably beautiful. Her face was perfectly sculpted, her eyes weren't that wide or big, it was perfect. Nose wasn't too short or long, her thin lips perfectly accentuating her face. She had a nice rack too…What the hell am I thinking? Stop thinking about her rack! He quickly expelled the lustful thoughts aside.

The door at the end of the room opened, and once again, he saw her enter. Right on time, too. But, a second person accompanied her, only this time, it was a guy. Caucasian, middle-aged, complete beard, baseball cap on his head…wait, do I know this guy from somewhere? Both of them approached him, flanking Rodriguez on either side of his bed.

"How's he doing, doc?" the middle-aged man asked Therese.

"He's already recovered, he'll be just fine." Doctor Watkins cheerily replied. She set her datapad (that's what she said it was) down and observed the private. "How're you doing today, Henry?"

"I'm fine, ma'am." Rodriguez cheerfully replied.

"Now Henry," she said, mentioning for the middle-aged guy next to him. "This right here is Patrick Knowles, he was the one who found you." Of course! He instantly remembered the guy who picked him up when he collapsed on that oak tree. He also remembered another guy, but he could vaguely recall who the guy was and what he looked like.

"I guess I should be thanking you, Mister Knowles." The private respectfully replied. He owed this guy his life.

"It's okay. Henry Rodriguez, was it?" The middle-aged asked for clarification, for which the private confirmed with a nod of his head. "How'd you end up here, son?"

"I honestly don't know, sir." He honestly replied. He still couldn't even believe how he ended up here. "I remembered being pinned in a firefight, then I got shot with a rifle burst in the shoulder. After that, I pretty much blacked out." The older man nodded for him to continue. "After that, I ended up in the middle of nowhere, just walking and walking 'til I found a road with a sign post which told me the next settlement was just two klicks ahead, then walked further until I found an oak tree—"

"—then you collapsed and we found you." Knowles finished for him. "The doctor said you were a soldier, what unit did you serve on?" he asked him again.

"Thirty-Seventh Infantry Regiment, First Infantry Division, sir." Rodriguez proudly responded. Even though there was a strong possibility he wouldn't be seeing his unit again, he was still proud to have known them. Perez, Herera, and all the others. I'm never gonna forget you guys.

"From the Federated Philippine Army, right?" the middle-aged man asked another question. What the hell are you—? Oh, right.

"Yes sir." Just go with the flow, Henry.

"I kinda thought you were an Alliance marine." What the hell's the Alliance? But before he could dwell on it further, the older man kept on going. "Well, you're a helluva long way from Earth, son." The older man told him. "To be honest, I don't quite trust you." Well, so much for being honest. Patrick Knowles gives him a stern look, cautiously trying to find anything that didn't quite add up from the story the young man had given him. "But," he stated. Oh God, please be good news…"I'll give you the benefit of a doubt." Thank Christ!

"I understand, sir." He assured him, relief barely hidden in his voice.

"Well, now that we've gotten over that, Doctor," he left his place on the private's bed side and headed for the door. "I best be heading back. Hope you get better, Henry." After that, he left.

"That went well." Doctor Therese Watkins joyfully replied. "Okay, we're gonna discharge you, tomorrow. Oh, by the way," she reached for the drawer that was beside the bed, and produced a datapad. "This should help you pass the time." She handed it to Rodriguez. "I should get going, I'll see you later Henry." She said, giving him one of those really sweet smile of hers, and left.

Well, that was interesting…

Please review and tell me what you think. Once again, thanks in advance.

-Rookie571