A Future War ~ Future Au TomTord Eddsworld FanFiction

Chapter Two: New People and Places

I drop my head back on my pillow in defeat. What have I gotten myself into?

I feel the hard cuffs previously holding my arms and legs down release, as I see the Norwegian suddenly on the other side of my bed at the computer. I didn't even realize he got up.

"You may find yourself feeling... dazed or zoned out at times. It's... one of the side effects of being out for as long as you were," he states so matter of factually, as if any of this were normal.

I noticed the small gold-plated badge pinned to his outer coat that I must have missed before. It just simply reads "R.L."

With my limbs finally free, I slowly make an attempt to sit up and examine myself. My body is stiff, so it does take some time, but eventually, I am able. 

First, I notice the obvious. My clothes. I'm wearing a deep blue, long sleeve, button-up shirt with a black and white patch sewn into each shoulder. On top of this, I have a black vest pulled over that matches my black pants and tie, as well as some dress shoes at the foot of the bed that I assume are mine. Upon closer examination, I notice stitches that circle my wrist and seemingly continue up the entire length of my right arm. Still aware of the numbness of my upper face, I reach up and slide my hands over a smooth, semi-bulky glass surface. It feels to be in the shape of goggles, but it's much more thin and stuck to my face. It actually kind of hurts to pull on it.

Am I a cyborg?

Still feeling at my face, R.L. chimes in. "Be careful with that, break it, and you won't be able to see anymore." 

This would probably explain the electric feeling I felt earlier. Looking over at R.L. he seems to just be observing my reactions with a grin. I can only describe as him looking as if he is claiming triumph over something. Like he is claiming his victory for some huge success, but it is an almost menacing way. 

"Uhh.." I begin not even knowing where to start. My voice comes out hoarse and cracked, to the point where it startles me a little with how rough it sounds. 

"First things first," the Norwegian begins. "You will address me as sir or red leader. There is a war going on, and you're involved. You're a member of the Red Army, obviously led by yours truly."

He flings his arms out and gives a little nod as if bowing almost. He seemed to only create more questions rather than actually answering any of the ones I had. He definitely seems to be one who loves the dramatics of all of this.

"Why can't I remember anything?" I croak.

He doesn't respond right away. Instead,  he just looks at me carefully, definitely this time, choosing his words.

"Heh... Well, the war has been rough, and well, you have been through some... difficult events, to say the least. We did fix you up after your injuries, but I'm afraid there may have been some effects, it seems." 

Sensing that I was unsatisfied with his response, he continued.

"But Tom, that's why I'm here. And we will be a team! Just like told times, yeah?"

Just like... old times?

Something felt familiar about that... But not in a good way.

"So... We have known each other for some time then?"

At first, he seems a bit taken back, suspicious almost. Then he just grins even wider than before somehow and presses a few buttons on the keyboard.

"Ha! Yes, well, I guess you can say that."

Not even a few seconds later, the steel door opens, and the man from earlier as well as a similarly dressed, shorter man enter. The man from before looked less grumpy now and was carrying a tray in his hands. Now in a more... focused state, I notice the gold badges on their chests as well. With the guys from earlier reading "Patryck" and the shorter ones reading "Paul". Paul lights a cigarette and walks over to speak with "Red Leader". Now that he was closer, I noticed one of his eyes was wrapped up with bandages with his bushy eyebrows sticking out. Patryck comes and places the tray he is carrying in front of me.  The tray had some water as well as some Bacon on it.

"Tord loves bacon," Patryck shrugged as he returned to Pauls' side. They seemed inseparable. I wonder if they are actually "a thing." Maybe that's why Patryck is suddenly less grumpy now that he's with Paul again. Why am I wondering such dumb things with obviously much more pressing matters at hand?

But...Tord? is that Red Leaders actual name? Something about Patryck's statement striked me as familiar. Suddenly, my head hurts as I feel a small electric shock, causing me to lose my train of thought. Tord... or Red Leader suddenly looked slightly alarmed as the computer screen flashed and he turned to me. 

"Tom, why don't you relax and gain back some energy. Once you're better, we have a lot to do." Red Leader grins as he quickly turns around so I don't see the grin fade into a much more serious face. I did see it, though. 

"Uh.. yes, sir." I manage to say just before he ushers the two other men out the door and disappears with them. The door quickly shuts with a loud click of the door locking behind them.

For the first time since I awoke, I am alone. I attempt to relax, which quickly proves itself impossible. I take a bite of the greasy piece of bacon to distract myself. I can probably trust this, right? It's not like I have many other options. God knows how little there probably is in my stomach, if anything at all. It felt nice to have some food in me, so I quickly finished the four slices on the plate. Then I just sat there, not really touching the water while pondering the strangeness of everything going on. I laid back down, staring at the ceiling once again, wondering why I was craving a Smirnoff so badly.

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Authors Note: 

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for all the support I got from chapter one! It really means a lot!

Edit: Thankfully, editing is a lot easier than writing, so the chapters should be up rather fast! Thank you all for all of the support that this story has received. Years later, it still blows my mind!