Xylophobia

Chapter 1

William Santiago's P.O.V.
   It's November 1, 2015. Happy 29th birthday to me. Another year is here. I look at myself in the small, square rectangle that is hanging haphazardly over the porcelain white sink in my bathroom. I take in my appearance. Being a six foot and two inch white Mexican guy is, as my ex-girlfriend put it, insanely hot. That was before I entered into the Marines full time four years ago. My shaggy black hair was shaved upon entry. She used to love running her fingers through it. I can remember when she got lost in my chocolate brown eyes as I gazed into her bright green ones. A loud knock on the bathroom door shakes the memory from my head.
"Will, you better hurry up. Master Sergeant Greens wants us to report to the cafeteria in fifteen minutes." my roommate and best friend, Jonathan Sanders, informs.
"Alright. You go on ahead. I'll be there shortly." I reply.
   No response, which means he already left. I finish washing up and exit the bathroom. The cramped dorm greets me with silence. On my twin sized bed lies my uniform. The midnight blue coat radiates with authority as I walk over to it. I slip it on and pull on my shoes. After I look myself over and feel everything appears sharp, I walk into the radiant white hallway. The cafeteria is right next to the housing, so it isn't too long before I am entering through the double glass doors. Upon my arrival, I notice that the usually busy and full of life space is dark and quiet. I turn to leave. Maybe Jon got the meeting place wrong. Before I can step foot out of the grand place, the fluorescent lights flood down from above. I spin on my heel and find all of my comrades standing in a horizontal line in the middle of the cafeteria.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" they all shout in unison.
   Jon is standing in the middle with our Master Sergeant Barry Greens. Two ladies clothed in uniform shuffle over to me, one on each side, and trigger confetti guns over my head. I bow my head and chuckle. A surprise party. I should have guessed with everyone acting so secretive this past week. They erupt into applauds and cheers. After the two ladies, Janet and Chloe, hug me, I strut over to the rest of the party.
"Happy birthday, bud." Jon claps me on the back.
"Thanks, man." I grin.
"Happy birthday, Corporal." Master Sergeant Greens nods his head once and offers his hand.
"Thank you, sir." I take his hand and shake firmly.
"The team set up a karaoke machine and there is cake to be had in a few minutes, will you stay to enjoy the festivities?" Jon asks Master Sergeant Greens.
"I'm afraid I have some business with Sergeant Major Grant. I just came by to aid in your plan to surprise William and wish him a happy birthday." he explains.
"Oh, well thank you for stopping by and helping out, sir."
"It was my pleasure. I'll be going now. You two have fun."
"Yes, sir." we both reply.
   With a nod of his head, Master Sergeant Greens turns and marches his way out of the cafeteria. Once he is out of view, Jon turns to me and wears a conniving smile. I narrow my eyes at him.
"What did you do?" I ask suspiciously.
"Nothing yet, but I bet I can totally kick your butt at singing Katy Perry's "Firework"." he challenges.
"Oh, it's on!"
   We rush over to the karaoke machine where the majority of the party is already belting out to their favorite songs. After three rematches, I am still the Katy Perry champion. No one can top me at "Firework". Not even the ladies. Several liters of root beer and a whole birthday cake later, only a few of us are gathered together on two tables adjacent to each other. We are talking about recent HMX-1, or Nighthawks, missions. We are the Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1). Which is the U.S. Marine Corps helicopter squadron responsible for the transportation of the President, Vice President, Cabinet members and other V.I.P.s. The main headquarters is the Marine Corps Air Facility located in Quantico, Virginia. There are two detachments, one in Maryland and the other in Washington D.C. We are stationed here at the Naval Support Facility in Anacostia, Washington D.C.
"So, have you guys heard the rumors?" one of our comrades, Louis, asks.
"Are you talking about the Captain America serum?" another one of our friends, Alex, guesses.
"Yeah. You know about it?"
"All I heard is that it's supposed to turn us into ultimate soldiers to better protect our leaders."
"Wait, are you guys serious?" I shake my head at them dubiously.
"Yes! According to my sources, HQ has a secret lab where they have a bunch of genius scientists working on it. It's apparently got different animal traits that will aid us." Louis exclaims.
"What, like the strength of a bear and the speed of a cheetah?" Jon chuckles.
"Exactly. Plus it's rumored to have a super healing factor. Like, if you have a broken bone or internal bleeding. If you have had the injection, you'll be healed and ready to go in less than an hour."
"You can't be serious."
"I believe them." Chloe speaks up from the other table.
"Really? Why?" I ask her.
"It's not surprising if you think about it. I mean, scientists have already dipped into the gene splicing pool. From that they've come up with hybrid plants and animals. They were going to start on humans eventually."
"Well, I can see where you're coming from, but these are human beings we're talking about. Not a bunch of lab rats. Besides, who is really going to subject themselves to letting a group of science geeks test on them? I know I wouldn't."
"They're a bunch of morons!" we all turn our attention to the source of the voice.
   Sitting near the back at an empty table is Eddie Norman, the best helicopter engineer on our site. Not a single helicopter takes off without him inspecting it first. He's an older fellow up in his sixties. His crew cut hair is almost platinum and his light skin is leathery after years of service. No one hardly converses with him seeing as he keeps to himself most of the time. So, you can imagine our shock when his coarse voice spoke up from behind us. It seems he is currently in the middle of his lunch because on the table in front of him is a plate of beans, turkey, and bread.
"Who- who is?" Jon stammers.
"Those damn scientists." Eddie stares at us. 
"What is your input about all of this, Mr. Norman?" I ask him, genuinely curious about his answer.
"They shouldn't be going around messing with the natural order of things. Man has tried to play God before and it's only ended in misery. They are never going to be able to make a super human. If there was supposed to be a super human, they would already have been here since Adam and Eve. Since there are none up to date, there shouldn't be any at all." he vents.
   None of us know how to respond to that. After seeing that what he said has us all silenced, he stands up, picks up his lunch, and heads out the back of the cafeteria. We look around at each other once he has gone. Suddenly, all of us start giggling and laughing like schoolgirls. It was said that old Eddie was a bit of a loon, but none of us could tell for sure until now. Right as we all start to settle down from our fit of laughter, Jon points our direction towards the front entrance. Master Sergeant Greens is back.
"Huh, I thought he was going to be busy for the rest of the day." Jon thinks out loud.
"Corporals William Santiago and Jonathan Sanders, I need you two to come with me." Master Sergeant Greens beckons.
"Yes, sir!" Jon and I comply.
"See you guys later and thanks for the party." I thank our fellow Nighthawks.
   Jonathan and I follow Master Sergeant Greens out of the cafeteria and across the facility grounds. It looks like we are headed to the helicopter pad. Half ways to our assumed destination, Master Sergeant starts to fill us in on why he called us out. Jon and I try to make sense of what he is telling us. I can't believe what I am hearing.
"We have a V.I.P. to transport to HQ in Virginia. His name is Doctor Johannes Berkley. He's the head scientist working with a team of other scientists on a new drug that will heighten our soldiers senses and abilities. Kind of like super steroids. Anyways, we need to transport him and the drug to HQ so that it can be tested. You two are going on this mission to make sure they both get there safely. Under no circumstances are you to discuss this mission with anyone other than those of us involved. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" Jon and I confirm.
   With a glance towards each other, we finally arrive at the helicopter pad. Next to the helicopter is a skinny gentleman who looks to be in his mid thirties. He has blonde hair and the top of his head looks to be thinning. Giant, metal framed glasses hang at the tip of his crooked nose. His attire consists of a blue plaid shirt tucked into brown dress pants. He looks short due to his slouching, but is probably a few inches away from my height. In his hands is a silver suit case. He looks up as we approach.
"Dr. Berkley, this is Corporal Jonathan Sanders," Jon shakes the scientist's hand, "and Corporal William Santiago." I shake his hand also. "These two men will be accompanying you to your destination." Master Sergeant Greens informs.
"Well, thank you, gentlemen." Dr. Berkley's voice was surprisingly deep.
"It shouldn't be more than a forty five minute flight. If we leave right now, we can make it to Quantico before three o'clock." the pilot, Murphy, interjects before climbing into his seat.
"After you, Doctor." I gesture to the helicopter.
"Right." he climbs inside.