"Fox… Fox, wake up!"
I woke up with a start in a cold sweat and panting. Wolf was standing over me; she had a concerned look on her face.
"Were you have more dreams about…." Her voice dropped off for a moment, "…It?" she finished.
All I did was nod. About two weeks prior, I had witnessed something that has haunted me since. My parents' car exploded, with them and my sister inside. I was barely far enough away for it to be a safe distance and I still didn't get away unscathed. I was blown back a few yards into a wall and a piece of shrapnel had taken out my left eye.
Wolf was the only one that knew everything that had happened. Others only knew the bare minimal. Ever since, I had been shaken awake by Wolf several times because of terrible dreams.
"How could you tell this time?" I asked softly.
"You were starting to thrash and you were getting kind of loud…"
I just shook my head, trying to get the visions out of it. I looked over at the night stand in between our beds where the clock should have been. After I realized I had knocked it off I picked it up off the floor and looked at the display.
~2:51AM~
"Go back to sleep. I don't think I'll be sleeping for awhile." I sighed, getting up and dressing. She just nodded and quickly went back to sleep, no doubt exhausted from rooming with me. I had these kinds of dreams almost every night.
Slowly and quietly I walked around our make-shift base, checking on the rest of the people and children sleeping there. The Mercury Unit, which was the espionage unit, was far enough away from the front lines that we had also become the baby sitting squad; meaning that we had to watch over children whose parents were killed or missing.
As I watched the others sleep I envied them; peace and a few small smiles painted over their faces. I hadn't had this kind of wonderful sleep for a few weeks.
The hours between then and dawn passed slowly. The day was even more so. We took shifts in the guard tower and patrolling. This was how most days were. It was boring. We had yet to have any kind of missions other than baby sitting. But this day would prove to be very interesting. At least once it became dark again any way.
I was inside , sipping at a cup of coffee. I was tired and trying to wake up before I had to start my shift outside. It wouldn't have been so bad if there wasn't almost two feet worth of snow outside. Suddenly Seal, the other main member of our small (almost non existent) unit, burst through the door.
"Fox!" he exclaimed, almost out of breath after having run for the nearest door and up two flights of stairs.
"What is it?"
"There is someone outside. I don't think he saw me."
"Well what did he look like? Do you think he's with them?!" I questioned. There was a pause as he stopped to catch his breath. He shook his head.
"I'm not sure. His gear is different then theirs. He's wearing some kind of weird suit and his weapons aren't standard issue." Another long pause. "What should we do?" he asked.
Out of all of us, I had spent the most time learning how to fight and getting in fights in school so everyone always came to me about these things. I had kind of been pushed to the head of the unit because of it. That and I was pretty handy with a gun and almost always had a plan.
"I'll take care of him." I said and Seal let out a sigh of relief.
Little did I know that the man outside would become one of our greatest allies in this war. I didn't know what I was up against in a fight against him either. His fighting style was different than anything I had ever seen before, and it was a lot better too. I was almost no match for it. But I had a few things on my side. Surprise and I was familiar with my surroundings.
It wasn't an easy fight and the stranger almost beat me. I still don't know how I managed to win. Perhaps it was because he paused and looked at me as though it brought back an all but forgotten memory. Like he was seeing a ghost, he quickly shook it off. Not before I took advantage of it though and, I managed to knock him out. With some help from one of the bigger guys at base, we dragged him inside and tied him up.
Over the next few days, some of the guys tried to take a crack at him and get some information from him. Nothing. He wouldn't even tell them who he was. Meanwhile, I watched and waited. Hacking and searching for anything I could find on this guy. I noticed he was talking to someone over a small radio that was in his ear. I let it be, 'Perhaps I could use that to my advantage later~' I thought. Then, bingo. I found everything I was looking for.
I called Seal and his brother who had been attempting to question him again into my office. All it really was was an extremely tiny and crowded room with a desk, a few chairs, my computer and a window overlooking a snow covered field and a snow storm. A few minutes passed as we discussed what to do. Then I gave them a few orders that would end up being quite a gamble.
"Are you sure about this Fox? How can you be so sure we can trust him? He wouldn't answer any of our questions and with that kind of gadgetry he would almost have to be working for them."
"No, he was too good to be one of them. The little information he did give us checked out. He isn't one of the goons they sent here. Besides, what choice do we have? We need his help; we are losing ground every day and without his help we don't stand a chance." I stated firmly before sighing, rubbing my forehead and sitting down.
I was only 13 and this was a lot of pressure. Leading your friends, people you have known all your life, into something like this wasn't easy. We were all barely teenagers for crying out loud!
"Go get him, keep him tied until you have him inside. I have a little deal for him and his friend."
With that the brothers left and I was alone again. What was I thinking? This could easily be the biggest mistake I could ever make. That 'What if?' question was running through my head as I stared blankly at my computer screen. What if he was one of them? What if I get all of us killed?
I was so lost in those thoughts that I almost didn't notice when they walked back in. This other man looked taller than I remember. Perhaps it was because he was standing next to teenage boys. He had a few days stubble on his chin and wore a bandana on his head; it had a small infinity symbol on it. 'That's odd...' I thought, but then shrugged it off and signaled for the brothers to leave. Now was when things would get interesting.