Mind Shatter

Chapter 3

             Ruben swiftly but cautiously dashed to the door. As his fingers loosely wrapped around the door handle, he prepared himself for who might be waiting on the other side.  This is not going to be easy, he thought. He wanted nothing more at that point than to take a break from the army and figure out who his family was. Though he knew that the Stoneland army's higher-ups wouldn't let him. He twisted the handle, though the door was not yet open.

             “Alpha beta Alpha,” says one of the doctors into a walkie-talkie, an order to capture a squadmate dead or alive.

            Ruben cocked his leg back and kicked the door away. On the other side there was absolutely no one in sight. He searched around and found that there was no one in the building. He figured that all of his squadmates were all outside to avoid destroying the barracks in a fight. Ruben could have cared less. He was determined to let no one stop him. He let no emotion show in his face.

            The door leading outside was wide open. Ruben casually walked outside and saw everyone, his 14 squadmates the general and a tank, already aiming their guns at him. The General didn't need guns, of course, so he was unarmed. His hair was fixed too. He was just over six feet tall, but Ruben thought he looked a little shorter standing a few yards in front of the tank.

            His object was in sight, a massive stretch of Zolean territory forest near the border about half a mile away. That forest always struck curiousity in Ruben. On the Stoneland side of the border, all there was as far as the eye could see was barren, cracking Earth.

            “Ruben, we don't want to fight you. Just go and take your medicine,” he said. He raised his arm high.

            “Sir, I saw a man in a vision and I think he was my father,” Ruben said, “then it came to me that I've never thought about my family before. I want to take a break to find out more about myself and my family.”

            “I'm sorry, but we can't let you go just yet. Relations between Stoneland and neighboring countries have been rocky lately. We need you to take your medicine so you can be in top shape should any cross-border fighting happen. So just--”

            “I'm going to take a break from fighting and find my family. One soldier shouldn't make too much of a difference. I'm not letting any of you stop me,” he said firmly, pointing at all of the soldiers.

            “Fine, have it your way.” Maxel dropped his arm, then Ruben put his arms out as to stop two walls from crushing him between them. He was really spreading his energy. “You've got to be joking,” Ruben said.

            The tank fired. Everyone fired. The bullets and tank shell stopped just inches from Ruben. They sat frozen in a wall of barely visible energy. It looked like a cross between water and light, always shifting like a stream. Ruben put his arms at his sides and the wall disappeared. The bullets fell to the ground.

            “Not the best force-field I've seen, but you've learned well, I guess,” Maxel says with a sly grin. “A little flashy with the arms, don't you think?”

            “I'm not in the mood for small talk, General,” Ruben said while getting into his Muay Thai fighting stance. His left arm in front of his face and his right arm on the side. Body always turned at an angle.

            Maxel cracked his knuckles and grinned mischievously. He was obviously itching to fight using his full abilities for a change. Most times he needed nothing more than his rifle. “Alright everyone, stand back. Bullets won't work on him. Drop your guns and fall back to the barracks.