London, England 1998
Tord's POV
As I sat on a chair, right next to a table, I observed the men and women at the party.
My father forced me to go to a party full of rich and politically powerful people.
It felt like a zoo, and I was watching the animals.
The rich people complain about rich people's problems.
And the politics won't shut up.
The rest were drunk.
But someone at the party stood out.
A young man, he looked to be around my age.
He spotted me and looked at me.
His eyes...
He didn't have any eyes...
It was a bit freaky that his eyes were pitch black but I ignored it.
He started to walk up to me.
"H-how'd you get in here?" The man laughed.
"I was invited," I said simply.
"You don't just randomly get invited to a party like this," The man said.
"I got in because of some scientific project I worked on," I said.
"Really?" The man asked. "What was the project about?"
I glared at him with a confused look.
"You actually want to know?" I asked.
"Mhm,"
I thought to myself for a second whether or not I should tell him.
I might just end up wasting my time.
And that is the one thing I hate to do.
He looked very interested to know.
"It was a project called Aipotu, it experimented with-" I said before he cut me off.
"Aipotu?!" The man exclaimed. "YOU worked on Aipotu?!"
"Well, I didn't just work on it," I said.
"What do you mean?" The man asked.
"I created it,"
The man's face was full of shock.
"H-how old are you?..." The man asked.
"I'm seventeen, why?" I asked.
"I am too," The man said happily.
"My name's T-Tom by the way," The man said as he put his hand out.
"Tord," I responded as I shook his hand.
"Mhm, you're Tord Larsson," Tom said. "I can't believe I'm actually talking to the creator of Aipotu, THE Aipotu!"
I felt... Special, the way he talked about Aipotu 42.
It made me feel like I had actually achieved something big.
Heh.
This stranger treated me better than my own father.
We talked for a long time.
Tom was a nice person to talk to.
It gave me some sort of enjoyment from this dull and depressing party.
But once I left I was a bit disappointed I wouldn't see him again.
It felt like he was the only person who really, truly, understood me.
Red Base, 2014
Present day.
Tom's POV
"Thomas, I have a mission for you," Tord said.
"What now?" I asked.
"Do you remember Aipotu 42?" Tord asked.
"How could I forget?" I laughed.
Tord laughed a bit.
That was kinda how we met.
Tord was okay after what had happened the other night.
Even if it took him a while to recover.
"I need you to visit an old friend and bring him to me," Tord said.
"Who?"
"Matt," Tord said.
"During the time I tested Aipotu 42 on him in high school, he got past it easily, remember?" Tord asked.
"Yeah, I remember, what about it?"
"Matt has the potential to be big in this army, in the Red Army," Tord explained.
"So you want me to bring him all the way over here just for a job offering?" I asked.
"It's more than just that," Tord said. "It's a place in society."
"Sure," I said, "whatever you say, Tord."
"Good," Tord said as he gave me the car keys and a piece of paper with the apartment address written on it.
"You'll be going by yourself," Tord said.
"What- by myself?" I asked.
"Mhm, you're fully capable of driving a car, Tom, aren't you?" Tord asked.
"Y-yeah, of course," I said.
"Okay, go to the underground garage, it's on P2," Tord instructed.
"Oh... N-now?" I asked.
Tord looked at me with an irritated look and said "Yes now!"
"Once you're back bring him to me," Tord said.
"And what if he refuses to come?" I asked.
"Well... Then scare him with your gun," Tord suggested.
"What?! No!" I exclaimed.
Tord gave me a confused look and asked "Are you sure you're capable of doing this mission?"
"Yes," I said simply.
"Then hurry and go," Tord said.
"Fine. I'm going."
I made my way out of the room, into the elevator, and down to the underground garage.
P2
Found it.
I got into the car and turned it on.
I drive out of the garage to the surface.
I drove to the address on the paper, it took about 45 minutes - 1 hour but I found it.
I walked to the apartment door and knocked on it.
He answered with something behind his back.
"Oh, Tom, it's just you," Matt said. "I didn't expect to see you anytime soon."
"Yea... Well, I need you to come with me, Red Leader wants to speak with you," I said.
Matt's smile and happy facial expression changed quickly as soon as I said Red Leader.
"Tord? Why does he need to see me?" Matt asked.
"..."
"Maybe we should get there first," I said.
"O-Okay..." Matt said.
"It's okay, Matt. It isn't anything to worry about,"
"Oh. And... What are those things around your eye?" Matt asked
"Oh, these are a prototype, it prevents me from going blind," I explained simply.
"Oh... Okay," Matt said.
"Let me just get my shoes on."
Matt got his shoes on and we both walked to the car, the snow beneath us crunching.
We got into the car and I began to drive.
Halfway through the drive and there was no communication whatsoever.
But the awkward 25 minutes of silence was finally interrupted by Matt.
"So you can still legally drive with the thing around your eyes?"
"Uh... I think so," I said.
"They don't like... Give you another driving test?" Matt asked.
"I don't think so..." I said.
Matt laughed a bit.
"That's something that's funny about you, Tom," Matt said. "You don't know a lot, and when you do it's usually useless information."
"Knowledge is never really useless, Matt," I laughed.
"Yeah, well it wasn't much use when I had my gun pointed at you, now was it?" Matt asked.
"..."
"..."
"Or when I killed your dad?" Matt asked.
...
I laughed nervously.
"W-when you what?-"
I stopped my sentence as soon as a felt something push against the side of my stomach.
I look at what that feeling was.
What I felt was the muzzle of a pistol push against my body.
I began to slow down the car without noticing.
"Fucking drive, Tom," Matt demanded.
I kept driving.
"What does the Red Army want me for?" Matt asked.
"T-They just want to talk to you about joining..." I said, trying to keep my calm, as I had put my gun in the glove compartment and couldn't grab it.
I was afraid Matt would've seen me grabbing it and would've pulled the trigger.
"How do I know this isn't some sort of trap?" Matt asked.
"Why would we do that, I would never let them do that to you..." I said.
"Fine. Why do they want me to join?" Matt continued to interrogate.
"D-do you remember Aipotu 42?" I asked.
"Mhm, what about it?" Matt asked, pushing the pistol against my body roughly.
"Remember when Tord tested Aipotu 42 on you in high school?" I asked.
"Mhm,"
"Remember how you passed with no problem?" I asked.
"Mhm."
"He said he believes you are worthy of being a huge role in the Red Army," I explained.
"..."
"And if I refuse?"
"He didn't tell me that..." I said.
Matt slowly moved the pistol up my body to my head.
"He didn't tell me! I swear on my life he didn't tell me!" I exclaimed.
It was fascinating but still horrifying how quickly and easily Matt took control of the situation.
Matt then moved the pistol away from my head.
"Keep driving," Matt demanded.
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