The Iron Skeleton

Chapter 1

Falcon's eyes flew open, his bare chest heaving up and down. He jolted to sit up, but the iron restraints on his wrists and ankles prevented him. With a grunt, he strained harder, but the metallic loops refused to budge. 

After inhaling sharply, the man dropped his head back down on his bed in defeat. He could do nothing but lay there and gasp for breath, waiting for his panic attack to disappear on its own. Periodically, he tugged at his bonds, but always to no avail. 

He sighed after several minutes had passed. The panic attack had subsided, and he was now able to attempt to figure out where in the world he was. The air was warm and humid, and Falcon found himself unsure whether the droplets of moisture on his brow were his own sweat, or liquid byproducts of the surrounding muggy air. 

And the air didn't smell any better than it felt, either. Falcon wrinkled his lip in disgust as he tried to decide whether the unpleasant odor was fecal matter, dank vegetation, or something necrotic. Perhaps even a combination of the three. 

Finally, Falcon turned his head from side to side to see what he could from his unfamiliar environment. The surroundings appeared just dingy and unhygienic as they smelled, starkly contrasted by the pair of men in white medical scrubs who stood in the corner, their backs to the bed he was fastened to. Why do the walls have those brown and green stains? he wondered, Never mind, ignorance is bliss...don't wanna go there. 

However, there were some things he didn't want to be ignorant about. 

Falcon cleared his throat loudly. "Would somebody mind telling me where the heck I am?" 

The two men in the medical scrubs spun on their heels and raised their eyebrows at one another. "What was that, sir?" 

Falcon snarled. "You heard me! Where am I?" 

"You're...in our medical center...?" one of the men answered, his voice wavering and his brow wrinkled. 

"That much is obvious." Falcon replied, glancing down at the man's scrubs. "Now you'd better give me more information than that!" 

"Umm..." 

"What's wrong with you guys? You can't answer a simple question?" a female voice called from somewhere behind the headboard. 

"Well...I dunno." 

Footsteps padded around the corner, and an athletic brunette with stunning green eyes appeared in Falcon's field of vision. She smirked and glanced at the man's well-defined pectorals. "Oh, I see. I think they're intimidated." 

Falcon frowned. "I have no clue what you're talking about. Is anybody gonna answer my question, or—" 

"As he said, you're in the medical center of our base you so rudely assaulted. Oh, and we dragged you out of the bog you were about to drown in. You're welcome." 

Falcon's eyes widened and he moved to sit up. As before, the restraints held him back. "Wait a minute, you mean to tell me, you're the very same rebels I was sent to take down?" 

"You could say that, yes. Now, you need to answer my questions. Who are you? We searched and searched, but couldn't find any identification on you!" 

"Who're you?" 

"I'm Keira. Now, answer my question, or I'll have my brother come and ask you some things." 

"You say that as if it's some sort of threat." 

Keira glared. "Just answer my question! Who are you?"