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Chapter 16
It was late. The moon had long since disappeared into a heavy bank of clouds far above the military base. Wade reclined near one of the misty windows, gazing at the clear, frothing waters far below. The patterns in the waves danced in his mind, bringing him back to his dreams of wheat fields, strange rockets, and an image of him reaching out for some dark figure.
He shook his head as if to rearrange the jumble deep inside.
"At least there are some benefits to living on an island," Kylan spoke softly as he walked over to the other man. In his hands he carried two mugs of hot liquid that left wispy white trails in their wake.
"Hmmm. You were standing there for quite a while," Wade responded, still looking out over the water. "Why did you wait to come over?"
Kylan handed him a steaming mug. "It's tea," he said.
Wade nodded once in thanks.
Kylan leaned back and looked over the water too, "You looked like you were deep in thought," he said finally. "I didn't want to disturb you."
"So, umm... When's the funeral?" Wade asked, looking Kylan straight in the eye.
Kylan faultered for a second. The moonlight had escaped from the clouds, and was now cascading in a distracting fashion over Wade's taut body. "Uh... In a few days," he replied. "The family asked for a few days."
Wade took a sip of his tea, his eyes locked firmly on the gently swaying liquid in the mug as he spoke, "What was it that you wanted to talk about?"
Kylan looked up, blinking rapidly for a few moments before swallowing hard.
"I mean, when we were in the bar, and then in the station," Wade continued, "We were going to talk and-"
"Wade, umm there are things that I don't... things that I don't want to leave unsaid between us," Kylan interrupted, shuffling closer. He reached down and took Wade's mug from him, placing it by the window. "I don't want to wait `till it's too late." Kylan was dangerously close now, and Wade could feel the heat radiate from his body as his face, his soft lips, drew closer.
Wade's eyes flashed in the dim light. "And here I thought that the kiss was enough talk," he smirked.
"I..." Kylan hesitated slightly before continuing. "This is hard for me to say, but I'm hopelessly in love with you. And I don't want to leave things unsaid like I did in the past, and-"
"That night by the barn - you sure didn't leave anything unsaid."
"Wha?" Kylan stopped, "What did you say?"
Before Kylan could ask further, Wade quickly pressed forward until their lips met. Kylan staggered for second, but eventually he too lost himself in the kiss. Wade's head swam in a euphoric rush of heat and heedless passion that bubbled up, as his tongue pushed forward.
"Wait, Wade," Kylan finally said, pushing back. A gossamer thin thread of sparkling moisture hung between their mouths, illuminated by the moonlight, before it vanished after a second. "I need to know what you think of me?" Kylan asked, sitting back.
Wade caught himself and sat back down, wrapping his arms tightly around himself. "I don't know," he said after a brief pause.
"You don't know?"
"I... I'm not really feeling like myself lately," Wade smiled brokenly at the other man. In the haunting glow of the moon, Kylan's features seemed to be both hard, and soft, all at once.
"Are you alright?" Kylan asked, reaching a hand over to the other man's shoulder. "Do you need a medic?"
Wade shook his head, "I just need some air, Richard. That's all."
Kylan's eyes widened. "What did you say?"
Wade looked up. "I said I need some air," he repeated slowly.
"No.. I meant... Never mind."
Wade stood up slowly and stretched, as if enjoying the exercise. "I just need a walk. Think things though, you know?"
Kylan nodded, staring off into space.
"Something wrong?" Wade stopped and turned back, his turn to look concerned. "You look like you've seen a-"
"Fine," Kylan replied quickly, "I'm fine."
Wade's brow furrowed as he glanced back at the other man, "I'll sort this out soon, Kylan," he tried to smile, "I promise."
After Wade had closed the door, Kylan sat down heavily, shaken to his core. 'What the hell is going on?' he shuddered. Beside him, the two tea mugs kept billowing their white steam into the air, like oddly shaped steam ships passing in the night.
For what felt like forever, Wade walked through the oddly echoing station in the darkness. It still struck him as odd to find a military base nearly deserted, even in the middle of the night. He still had flashes of memories from back on his ravaged world, where sleep was a luxury only the dead could afford. Somewhere deep inside, he felt a twinge of regret stabbing at him every now and then, for surviving somehow, when everyone else around him were long since dead.
How had he survived, anyway?
He stopped. Absently, he ran his hand over the place where the creature had cut him, only days ago. He remembered the surprise on its face after the infection had, for some reason, stopped spreading. And the wound had closed over so quickly. That, sure as hell, was new and more than a little unsettling.
What the hell is going on?
Wade rounded one corner almost unconsciously. Soon, he came upon Shaylene's control centre for the training pools, as if by accident. He looked over at the empty panel readouts, and empty tanks. Just behind his eyes he could still see the odd, and alien, images from his dreams. From a life with Kylan, on a planet covered in seemingly endless wheat. He didn't even like the country, but for some reason he felt at home in those dreams. Not to mention those startling blue eyes staring back at him. There were other images too. He felt sure that they were other people, but no...that was too crazy to even entertain.
He wasn't crazy... Right?
On a whim, he pressed a sequence of controls and watched as tank number 4 sprung to life. "I wonder," he said to himself. It was only a feeling, but it would explain so much. He needed answers, and this was his best shot, he decided. Wade reached up for the side panel and pulled out a thin plastic readout sheet. After pressing another sequence of commands, he placed the readout onto the flesh of his upper arm.
On cue, the seemingly ordinary plastic of the slot bubbled up and moulded itself over his forearm, creating a gauntlet with a mini readout panel imbedded within. "Nothing like being prepared,"' he muttered, smiling to himself.
In a matter of minutes, Wade was racing towards tank 4. He climbed up the ladder and looked into the seemingly innocuous, bright white, self-illuminating liquid. The sides of the tank were made from a transparent plastic polymer, to allow for people on the outside to view the actual bodies of the trainees, as they were suspended in the viscous liquid. High above the pool there were an array of tubes, and claw like devices, hanging like a swarm of hungry insects, ready to devour and dismember unsuspecting prey.
In a few seconds, Wade had stripped down his underwear. In the dim lighting he was fairly confident that no one was around. He dropped his shorts, and slowly stepped into the formfitting pouch that was required for pool training. It looked like a regular Speedo, save for the fact that it was made out of a synthetic material that functioned much like a second skin. Or the inner suit that one would wear inside a personal battle suit.
Wade reached over to the sidewall where packs of analgesic gel where stored. Without hesitation, Wade rubbed the numbing gel onto the various contact sites where he knew the machinery suspended above the pool would attach to his body. It felt cool and slippery, raising goose bumps on his skin, before he jumped into the pool, feet first.
Unlike water, it took some time to sink completely into the glowing liquid. As his legs sunk deeper into the gel, a slightly unpleasant feeling spread up his body. It was as if his body itself was on fire. It felt like he was coming apart.
The liquid was partway up his chest, before his head was suddenly plunged in the rest of the way. Spluttering, Wade opened his eyes to a familiar view. He could see the mud and compressed dirt structures that were once his happy training grounds, far below. He floated slowly to the ground, as his arms finished materialising, looking as if they were being pieced together, particle-by-particle.
When he finally touched down, Wade reached over and hit a few buttons on the gauntlet. The air around him shimmered, revealing a form fitting, navy blue suit; complete with combat boots and utility belt.
"A shame really," a familiar voice cooed from behind him. Startled, Wade vaulted forwards, twisting in the air before landing a short distance away. When firmly on the ground, Wade turned and peered into the fathomless shadows.
"I liked you better when you only had the g-string," a tall blond man sneered as he stepped forward.
"Allan," Wade spat.
"Is that any way to greet an old flame?" Allan smirked. "Didn't I say that I'd see you soon, lover?"
Wade reflexively slapped his arm over the prominent scar on his shoulder.
"Still carrying a torch for me, I see. I'm touched," Allan said, fluttering his long lashes.
"I? Allan?" Wade cocked his head to the side, as each man began slowly circling the other. "What happened to we', and us', and all that `betrayers' shit?"
Allan shrugged, "I guess I'm just special," he smiled venomously, "unlike you."
"We'll see," Wade replied, without the slightest trace of emotion. With a small command input into the gauntlet, and a wide sweep of his arm, Wade opened a small tear in the very structure of the simulation itself.
"Oh come now, lover," Allan smiled as the air around him seemed to shift as if suddenly boiling hot, "That's not very nice of you."
Wade pulled out a blaster pistol from the seemingly impossible hole, along with two large bladed weapons that looked like giant, metal truncheons.
"Bladed tonfas, my love?" Allan's eyes widened with excitement - and hatred. "You know I like it a little rough, but this? I'm beginning to think you don't love me anymore!"
The air around Allan began to settle and coalesce into something sharp and metallic. Twin swords formed in his hands, and Wade noticed several grenades appear on his belt, as the black suit he was wearing shifted and changed into something more functional.
"And you think me archaic?"
"Well, when you have good taste," Allan shrugged, "Not that you would know anything about that."
Wade and Allan stopped circling, and braced themselves. "Let's end this, lover," Wade spat the last word before both men charged, weapons glinting in the simulated light of a setting sun.
************************************************************************ Author's Note:
Again big thank you to Kane for editing and making this story readable :)!
Corporeal09@yahoo.com = Comments, concerns etc are always welcome
Regards,
Gene