A Future War ~ Future Au TomTord Eddsworld FanFiction

Chapter Seven: The Uninvited Guest

Tom's POV:

I speed walk all the way to the cafeteria. By the time I arrive, I barely make it in time, and I am a little more out of breath than I would like to admit. The room is packed.

I scan the room for any familiar faces. I don't expect to find many, but eventually, I spot Paul and Patryck at one of the center tables that Tord and I sat at this morning. All the tables besides that one are completely filled with people, each person with a drink in hand from the bar full of food and drinks set up in the back. The entire army must be here.

Everyone except Tord.

Somehow, Paul notices my presence as his bushy eyebrows raise in either excitement or surprise. Or maybe a little bit of both. Either way, he happily waves me over.

As I make my way over to the table, I feel out of place. Not only because this is all new and strange to me, but also because everyone is dressed down a little bit. And of course, with my limited clothing options, I just wore the given uniform. Even Paul and Patryck are in simple red sweaters. The only sign of uniforms they have are their name tags they are still brandishing on their chests. Paul's is upside down. It weird not seeing them in super heavy uniform.

As I sit down, I think Patryck noticed my quick glance at Paul's name tag as he sighs and fixes it. Paul smiled and said something to him that I couldn't make out over the loud room, causing them both to laugh a bit. They snap out of it for a moment as they both suddenly remember I'm still there.

"How are you adapting, Tom?" Patryck asks, obviously just trying to make conversation.

"Uh.." I awkwardly start. "Well, there are definitely things I need to adapt to, but I think it's going okay."

"You did great in the training room today." Paul chimes in as jealousy overtakes Patrycks face.

"Thanks..." I respond, rubbing the back of my neck.

"By the way... I don't know if Red Leader informed you, but this is the table for Red leader and his closest followers. So this is the table you will always sit at." Patrycks jealous face seeps into his words a bit demanding the attention of Paul who now appears concerned. He once again said something quietly to Patryck who, despite his stubborn tendencies, it seemed, couldn't help but smile at whatever he said. They quickly returned to whatever conversation they were having before I came over.

Unsure of where to look, I take another scan around the room and notice the red head from earlier sitting at a table next to us.

"It's Matt, right?" I ask, stretching over to tap his shoulder as my muscles protest my every movement. He was also in a uniform of sorts. It appears he didn't get the memo about the casual dress attire either.

"Yeah," he smiles widely. "And you're Tim?"

"Tom," I corrected him.

"Oh," he mouths seemingly deep in thought. I would have said more, but I was taken aback by his new appearance. I didn't notice until he turned towards me. The bandages have now been removed with his whole face showing, but I was not expecting what was left behind. He has a metal plate covering his chin with 3 small bolts in it. On top of this, one of his eyes has been replaced with a red, glowing lens with a metallic frame forming a short cylinder. I think Matt noticed my stare.

"Oh, this?" He asks, pointing to his face. "The doctors here are really good. Apparently, I got in some big accident, but there isn't a scar to prove it. My new eye also works just as well, if not better than my old one!" He seems to hesitate as if remembering the whole thing with my eyes as he too keeps glancing at my visor. Maybe he's just trying to make eye contact and be polite, though. I don't know, but either way, he seems very cheerful for his given situation. He is definitely adapting well. But something about what he said...