Sleep had taken me gently, I awoke sleep heavy in my eyes, my eyesight blurry and my thoughts scattered as I came to. Hitting my nostrils was crisp air and a gentle lavender scent, like the bushes my mum would plant in the front garden and the buzz of the bees could be heard through the window on a warm summer''s day. That same buzz hung in the ambiance now - that same buzz.
In fleeting panic, I gripped my chest and felt a single, broad carving that I could only describe as a runic symbol. I was back in that same room - was my imagination this vivid or had this really been real all along? Was I in some lab, some other world, another universe, another dimension?
Trembling, my attention turned back to the room which I had begun to realise was only visible through a slit in a helmet that sat securely on my head, lightweight yet rigid and stronger than steel. Designed to limit and obscure my surroundings, yet still durable enough to provide adequate protection from any human weaponry, begging the question, why would I need protection? Surely a cloth rag would be suitable for my current situation?
I took the time to view my new prison, searching for the speakers that had announced my departure the last time I was here - they were nestled high in the ceiling, covered in ivy and other hanging foliage that on second glance encased the whole room in a vibrant green, a stark contrast to the industrial steel that also plated every wall, ceiling and floor. Across the floor, those same veins snaked through the room running from the far wall towards me, where in my captive state it was attached securely to the nape of my neck again, this time with other smaller capillaries attached down my back in two neat rows. These I could not see but could feel the cold metal and the pulsating as liquids were being transferred to and from my body.
Everything inside me wished to scream and lash out, cry and weep, yet drained from the days before nothing came, not a whisper left my lips until a crackle came from above, the speakers vibrating in preparation for an oncoming message.
“Welcome Patient Genesis. I hope you are not too distressed, that is not our intention, it is unfortunate we have to restrain you in such a manner. You can imagine that we have to take the necessary precautions so as to not endanger ourselves nor you. I’m sure by now you will have noticed the markings on your chest, these are what we call the rune archaeica - an ancient language so old that even in our modern society we do not fully understand them. They are conduits for an omnipotent force, so great that if it were to ever be unleashed whole would wreak havoc to our nation and cripple future generations. Hence, as a society we have condemned the use of them for aeons and only now in desperation have we even begun to research them and utilise their power in an attempt to save and preserve our planet. That is why we have summoned you Patient Genesis. You are our last hope.”
Those final words rung in my ear, like a deafening silence, a foreboding speech that confirmed all that I had suspected. I was no longer on Earth - perhaps a million miles away, never to return and these <b>aliens</b> had <b>captured me</b> for <b>their</b> survival. My blood boiled, what dastardly selfish creatures I thought, ripping me away from my life, from a secure future I had built from the ground up.
And how many others? How many others would experience the same onslaught of nightmarish visions, causing them to spiral into crippling depression all to eventually be brought here. Wherever this hell hole was.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Grinding my teeth, I lashed forward, the chains which were holding me captive strained, groaning under the weight of this new form which I now possessed - much larger and broader than I had previously been, hands shaped like bear paws and forearms the size of dumbbells. Echoing around the room a thunderous twang emanated from the metal clasps bolted to the wall. The restraints held.
“Please remain calm - your situation is not what you think I assure you. All will be revealed to you in due time, we ask that you relax and allow us to perform some necessary tests. You see, we have watched you, studied you and learned from you Patient Genesis. In fact, we have studied thousands like you, and those of you chosen from Earth will lead us to a great salvation. You will be at the forefront of our nation’s survival and progression into a new age!” crackled the speakers, the speech almost ending in a hysterical cackle.
Everything about this unnerved me, I steadied my breathing, a raw panting had taken over me earlier, cold sweats running down my forehead splashing on the bottom of the helmet.
“And why do you think I should help you? Have you not tortured me this past week, mentally assaulted me and sent me into a depressive state so potent that I couldn’t muster the strength to even walk to my kitchen at times? Why…why should I help you when you have stripped away from me everyone and everything I care about - all for you, your selfish goals, <b>your </b>nation. Not mine.” I bellowed out in a stammering speech.
“You pose a fair point. You have no obligation to help us, your life is as precious as any other on this planet and yours. Yet - your world will be next. This force we are defending from are relentless, they do not sleep, they do not eat, they are walking husks of hunger and hatred. They will stop at nothing until every planet within the galaxy is but an empty shell, a deserted wasteland of no biological life. Then. Then they will move on to the next galaxy, and tear that one from the inside out, consuming anything that gets in their way. So Patient Genesis, you may choose to return to your mundane life, having hailed from nothing and made something for yourself. But now, I give you the opportunity to truly make something of yourself, to save not just our planet but every planet in the galaxy, but your planet included. To be able to save your co-workers, friends, family, loved ones.”
My legs became numb and I sank to the floor in defeat. If I was to go back now, taking this voice’s words for truth, then I would be condemning not just these people, but the entirety of Earth, all those smiles that would be directed my way when I would walk into work - my family - would be no more. I have not seen this enemy, yet a fire has lit itself in my heart.
I have the power here and now to do something great, to make something of myself! Having come from nothing this meant more than anything, having traversed the ends of London in my youth, a troubled youngster that had involved himself with the wrong people countless times. In truth, even now, despite how far I believe I have come, I am but a nameless factory worker, slaving away paycheck to paycheck, something that I will be doing for the rest of my life, until the day I die at this rate. And what will I have to show for it?
The voice is right. I am not obliged. These battlegrounds will not be on my homelands, I will not be fighting with my loved ones beside me, I will not be with men I know and trust dearly. I had decided from the moment the speaker stopped crackling, and now as I sit on the cold, steel-like floor, a new passion has begun to grow inside me.
“I understand,” I replied into the cold room, “I will fight with your men, I will see it through till the end. I’m ready.”
With that, the wall on the far side hissed, a slit appearing as two doors parted, sliding open a white mist escaping from outside and into the room.
Two figures appeared in white robes. I was about to meet my maker.