Kritikal Krysis

Chapter 5: Ghosts of the Past

    The chirping of birds and the laughter of children was a calming and peaceful sound. A young boy ran around the outside of his house, his younger sibling brother following him as they both carried toy swords resembling katanas. Their mother and father sat at the glass table on the porch, speaking to one another with smiles on their faces. It’s a loving and peaceful day anyone could possibly want. Soon however, everything became sinister.
The laughter had turned into the haunting sound of crying, the birds became silent, and the world had become black, white, and grey. The happiness had faded, replaced by sorrow. There was the sound of three gunshots as a liquid substance soared through the air, tainting the grass like paint on a canvas. Blood. The bodies of three of the family members laid dead upon the grass, blood seeping into the ground. The parents and younger sibling laid dead as the older child was dragged away by the cold hands.
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Nomad awoke with a rush of adrenaline, gasping for air. He wiped away the sweat of his forehead from with his left hand and looked around to his surroundings environment. He was in his hotel suite, a large room a digital television screen from across his bed, a couch facing to the large window of the room, with the dark tint activated. He felt pressure against his cybernetic arm and he looked to see the female from the front desk sleeping with him, stripped of all her clothing as she laid beneath the sheets. It took him a moment to realized he was stripped down as well and to recall what had happened. He had not been on the planet for one day and he already had intercourse. Ashamed and humiliated of himself, he covered his face with his left arm.
    Several minutes had passed until Nomad finally removed his arm from his face and gently removed his other from beneath the female, laying her down softly. He sat up at the edge of the bed for a brief moment before gathered his apparel into his arms, retreating into the bathroom of his suite. He dropped the chunks of carbon-fiber armor and the gel suit and proceeded to enter the shower, tapping the button on the wall and adjusting the water temperature to the heat. The door to the shower closed as hot water shot out of the nozzle and made contact to his skin, a warm and drizzly mist forming like fog.
He soaked his messy, black hair, which hung loose as he looked down with his cybernetic arm reached out in front of him and resting against the glass wall of the shower. He felt nothing from that arm. He then heard familiar screaming from within his head, which nearly made him fall to his knees. He took heavy breaths for a moment as his eyes remained closed. The memories would never go away.
    The hot water ran down across Nomad’s face, going down past his nose and eyes, his metallic bottom jaw, down to his throat and to his body; muscular, scarred, and enhanced. He stood in the shower for what seemed like forever, but was only five minutes. He pressed the same button twice and the shower came to a stop, the glass door coming open. He stood still for a moment before stepping out, feeling the cold floor beneath his feet, which sent a chill up his spine and gave him goosebumps.
He took a towel and dried himself off before getting back into the skin-tight gel suit. He then began to place on each chunk of his armor, the boots, shin plating, knee guards, shoulder pads, chestplate, and so on. The last part that came on was his mask (before the hood). The mask hissed softly as the air-locks activated and engaged. He placed his hood over his head before looking to the mirror to be assured everything was in place.
    When he stepped out of the room, he looked to see if the woman was still resting on the bed, which she was. Taking the keycard to the suite, Nomad placed it on the glass-top table next to the bed before exiting the room, adjusting the hood so that no one would easily recognize him. It was time to get down to business.