A Future War ~ Future Au TomTord Eddsworld FanFiction

Chapter Seven: The Uninvited Guest

"Is this the entire army?" I ask genuinely curious.

"Yes, well, it's the entire army that is stationed here currently," he grins, obviously proud of his work. "The Red Army is limitless with soldiers all over the world!" He does that thing as if to make some grand gesture, where he spreads his arms out dramatically. I give an impressed nod, mostly because I'm not sure how else to respond. I'm not necessarily the best at this whole conversation thing, it seems.

Tord smiles even more as he seems pleased enough with my response, taking another sip of his mixture. It doesn't last long, but as Tord lifts the mug to his face, I see a glimpse of his tired face as his smile briefly fades. However, the drink almost immediately gave him enough energy, perking him up a bit to be able to put on that famous smile of his.

Before I know it, my drink is gone and quickly replaced by another one. I'm not too familiar with the effects of alcohol for obvious reasons, but I'm definitely starting to feel some kind of something from it. I wanted to ask Tord if he was alright, but I don't think this is the time, and he doesn't give me the chance as he quickly changes the subject.

"Oh, look at that! Ha!" Tord laughs at the suddenly half empty table. "I wonder where Paul and Patryck disappeared of too." Tord smirks into his next sip, hinting at the obvious. I can't help but laugh a little.

"Patryck mentioned earlier that this is the table that you and your closest soldiers sit at, and you said you have known me for a while, so how did you meet them? How did we meet?"

"You were told correctly. Well, Paul and Patryck were like dads for me for a while, in a sense."

He laughed at "dads," further confirming the obvious implications.

He never answered how we met.

I was going to pry for more answers, but that's when the alarms went off. The room was flooded with red as swirling, flashing lights slide out of the walls, as a deafening alarm squeals simultaneously. Tord stands as everyone watches for instructions. For the most part, everyone seems just a bit surprised but definitely prepared. Except Matt, who ultimately appears terrified.

Paul and Patryck burst in, both of them seemingly out breath and a bit panicked.

"Sir, he's here," Patryck heavily breathes, barely audible over the alarm.

"Where?"

"Our systems indicated his appearance in the wing of the soldiers living quarters with the stolen technology." Paul Reports.

Tord mutters something in what I assume to be Norwegian angrily. I can see the rage glinting in his red eye that seems to turn almost a silver.

"Sir..." Paul begins but stops knowing Tords situation all too well. Tord collects himself and regains his leader qualities as he very rapidly assesses the situation.

"Paul, Patryck, follow me. You two," Tord orders pointing at me and Matt. "Head to the training room immediately and press the button on the inside by the door to put it into lock down. The rest of you, head to your rooms and search for trespassers."

"Sir, yes, sir!" The whole room shouts in unison. Instantly, everyone springs to action, heading every which way and pulling out very well concealed weapons. Even Tord seems to pull a hand gun out from nowhere.

Thankfully, I didn't get too drunk before all of this, but I'm definitely not in the best mindset right now for the situation. I look over to Matt, who nods confidently. We both dash out the door and down the halls together to get to the training room. I stumble quite a bit due to the alcohol but I manage.

After only a short while, we finally reach the training room. We push open the heavy door, and I locate the button Tord mentioned earlier. I basically fall into the button in my attempt to press it. Metal shutters begin to descend over any and all windows in the room. Before it is completely sealed off, I hear a strange zap behind me, just as all sources of light are blocked off.

My visor automatically switches to a night vision mode I didn't know it had. I see Matt holding out his arms, looking disoriented as his eye darts all around in search of anything in the darkness. Apparently, his cyborg eye doesn't help with night vision. I'm about to call out to him until I notice a shadowy figure standing a few feet behind him. I can't tell what he looks like as it's hard to see him even with night vision on. I can see general shapes and outlines of things, but I can't make out anything super concrete.

Emergency lights finally come on and temporarily blind me as my visor adjusts.

The man is familiar. Way too familiar. He has short brown hair with a fringe that partially covers his forehead. He is quite young and is no older than I am. Thankfully, I am able to make out much more detail now.

He has the ghost of what appears to be stubble of a barely existent beard on his chin. He is wearing a thick, black trench coat thrown over a green hoodie. He pays little attention to us as he presses a few buttons on a square and flat device that I dont recognize at all. At least I dont hink I do.

He finally looks up and instantly seems... almost relieved upon seeing Matt until he realized someone else was in the room. Upon seeing me, his eyes go wide, and his mouth opens, but no words come out. Matt takes a few steps back and stands just behind me like a scared child hiding behind a parent.

The strange man seems conflicted.

"Matt..." He began.

The voice, with the rest of him, was just too familiar.... Suddenly, I get a splitting headache that is 100 times worse than any of the other ones I have had. I automatically fall to my knees in pain, roughly grabbing my head in my hands as if it would somehow relieve the pressure. My vision blurs. Is this because of the alcohol? I groan as the pain only gets worse by the second. I hear Matt yell something, most likely my name, but it sounds like I'm underwater. I try to focus on something, anything, besides the pain, but any attempts are futile. It just hurts too much. It feels like someone is slowly slicing into my head with a sharp knife. It seems to go on forever until it suddenly stops, and I feel something metallic against my temple.

Is that a gun? I try to move at all and almost fall over, holding myself up with my hands. I'm really dizzy, and I can tell that part is from the intoxication. In my confused daze, I'm about to re enter a full-on panic until I hear a familiar voice disrupt my messy thoughts. The metallic feeling object leaves.

"Hello, old friend." But Tord wasn't directing that at me, nor do I believe at Matt. Despite the words spoken, there was no friendliness in his voice. If anything, there was every tone besides that.

Either way, I could tell this strange man was no friend of Tords. That much was obvious.

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