Project Achilles

Noah

It was another day of training. Today we were running laps around the courtyard, my mind running alongside my feet. I thought back to that boy the other day. The way he asserted his name. Last night I dreamed about him. I dreamed of him unbuttoning my shirt, I dreamed of his calloused hands tracing my top surgery scars, before putting a hand under his own shirt, almost as if it was a moment of recognition. The next thing I knew was awake, and it was just a dream. Back to the present, I could not focus on anything other than that dream, other than the way his touch in my sleep, and what it meant that I was disappointed when I woke up. It would be absurd to believe that I had feelings for this prisoner. I didn’t even get to speak to him; our interaction must’ve been for a few seconds, and yet every time I close my eyes, I see him. Or at least I see what my mind remembers of him. Yet he appears in my dream. And when he does, I pray I don’t wake up. My thoughts are interrupted by a sudden, sharp pain in my leg. I double over before falling on my knees. The commander ordered everyone else to stop running and come forth before he approached me. “Is there something wrong, Noah?” the commander asks me. I look up at him, clutching my leg, “It’s just a muscle spasm, sir.” I explain through pain hisses. “Perhaps you were walking crooked,” the commander spoke, “this is not like you, you always have excellent form. You know better.” “My apologies, sir,” I responded, “I must’ve gotten distracted.” The commander must not have approved of my answer, “You know better than to get distracted during training,” he says, “perhaps you need a reminder.” I take a sharp breath, knowing what came next, “Yes, Commander,” was all I dared to respond with. I was led to a tall structure, with two chains dangling down and wrist cuffs on each chain, at the center of the courtyard, before I was instructed to take off the shirt of my training uniform. Once I was shirtless, two workers secured my wrists on the cuffs. The last time I was punished with this, I was eleven, and I had just received my first bionic upgrade on my legs, a feat which soldiers often only achieve during their teenage years. My body was still getting accustomed to the foreign objects that had been implanted in my body. I remember crying out in pain during training, my bones hurting so much that I vomited all over the track. I was then hauled to this very same structure in this very same position. From then on, I made sure it would never happen again, until today. A worker walked up to the commander with a cattle prod in hand. I took a sharp breath as his foot steps approached. I mentally counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 The device pressed against my back, sending a quick surge of control shock through my body. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Another poke, this one longer than the last. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 It went on each poke longer and more painful than the last. The torture ended when I counted 50. I was let go, and I barely had any strength left to stand. “You may be excused from the rest of the activity,” the commander said, “on account of your injuries.” I nodded and followed the guards who escorted me to the infirmary, watching as the commander continued the training session I would have to miss. After my wounds were treated, I was escorted back to my dorm for the rest of the day to rest. I passed the time reading a history book I found at the library. I take a quick moment to glance out my window, and that’s when I see it. A figure running across the lawn. I step closer to get a closer look, and I recognize the figure as the boy who’s been dominating my headspace. How he managed to escape prison almost undetected is beyond me, but I know the gates are the real challenge. I look up at the two Achilles Soldiers manning the gate, and in that second, I find myself in need to act. I put on my shoes and I sneak out of the dorms. I was not ready to let this go wrong.

Felix

Five days passed, and I was ready to execute my escape plan. I only needed one thing. During lunch, as we lined up to get our food, I shoved the inmate lined up in front of me, causing him to tumble forward, knocking three people in front of him. “I’m so sorry, I tripped while trying to tie my shoelaces,” I said, selling the excuse the best I could. The inmate scoffed in response, “Yeah fucking right,” he said before he swung his fist at me.. I immediately ducked, causing the woman behind me to get hit instead. This caused an all-out war to break out. I stayed in the middle of the chaos, avoiding hits, and eventually, the guards showed up to separate us. Perfect. While the guards were busy calming the chaos, I snuck up behind him and stole the ID from his pocket, and then slipped back to my cell. That night, when the guards closed all the cells, I gently placed a tray in a specific position where it would stop the door from closing, and the guard would not notice. I waited in my cell until midnight. I don’t know how true this is, but I once overheard that at midnight, they shut down the cameras to do a routine system reboot. Instead, they turn on a heat sensor to make sure no one tries to escape. Which is why I stole five heating pads from the infirmary and then put them in my bed. I then poured four water bottles, which I had hidden in the back of the ice box inside the kitchen, and once it was time, I slipped out of my cell, knowing I only had thirty minutes. I rushed down the perimeter, evading armed guards who walked around the jail. Once I got to the main door, I used the ID I stole to open the door, then ran down the entry hallway to the elevator using the same ID card to unlock it. As I feel the elevator ascends, I find myself a mix of shivers and relieved laughter. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d get this far, but I wasn’t free yet. Once the elevator arrives, I slip out into the familiar grass. I maneuver through the trees, avoiding detection as I try to get closer to the gate. As I get closer to the gate, I unknowingly step on a branch, catching the guard’s attention. I immediately duck down and slip behind a statue, before realizing that was a mistake cause now there is a guard only a few feet from me… fuck, I didn’t think this through. I turned around and saw the same guard from earlier, also a few feet away from me. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Before I knew it, I felt a rough hand grab me by the arm, pulling me behind the trees. Before I knew it, they had one hand clamped over my mouth and the other gripping my arm. My first instinct was to fight back, but whoever had grabbed me was much stronger than I could hope to be. “I understand you may be frightened, but I’m gonna need you to be quiet.” his voice was warm and soft yet stern, as he whispered back to me, “I am only trying to help you.” Eventually, both guards were gone, and the stranger let me go. When I finally got a good look at him, I felt my blood boil. I recognized the uniform and the slicked back blond hair as that of Achilles' soldier who caught me during the riot back at the Sanctuary and then held a gun after I watched Noel die. “Hey! You’re one of those-” he didn’t let me finish my sentence as he clasped his hand over my mouth, before looking around frantically. “It was probably one of those brats fucking” one of the guards said from a distance, “Hastrod’s perfect soldiers, my ass.”. Once the guards were gone, the man in front of me let out a heavy sigh and let me go, “You are making this more difficult than it has to be,” he said, “I understand why you don’t want to see me, but I’m gonna need you to come with me.” he said before trying to grab my arm again, but I pulled it back. “Yeah, fuck off, I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said, “I’m busting out of here and you can’t stop me.” The man sighed, “Alright, I won’t stop you,” he said, “but judging by this situation you have found yourself in, you somehow managed to get past the prison complex, but I highly doubt you had a plan for how to get past those gates. I wager you didn’t even think you’d get this far.” Now this guy was pissing me off cause of how right he was. “Look, if you wish to risk your life, be my guest, but just know you’re no good to your friends dead, if you follow me, I’ll take you back before anyone notices you were gone.” I weighed out my options, and he was right. I thought I planned this out so well, but in the back of my mind, I thought I’d get caught before I even made it to the elevator, so I didn’t even bother to come up with a plan for what I’d do once I was out. As I was still making up my mind, the man in front of me held out his hand .“Please,” his voice softened, “I just want to help you.” I looked into his brown eyes, and I tried to look for any signs of trickery, but couldn’t find any of that. He was being sincere. What reason would an Achilles Soldier have to want to help me? I looked behind me as I heard the guards shuffling, before I finally made my decision. “Fine,” I respond. He led me through the perimeter, occasionally ducking behind statues and trees. We eventually made it to the prison complex. We went down the hallway and into a room that was a few doors down. I was greeted with some monitors showing footage of every perimeter in the prison complex. He pressed a few buttons and clicked a few things, which I was honestly too stupid to follow. “The security footage is frozen; that should give you an hour to slip back into your cell, undetected,” he says. “Why are you helping me?” I ask, half curious and half skeptical. He turns to look at me before he lets out a heavy sigh, “because, the other day, when we were processing you, when you asserted that you were a man to that commander, I found out that you were just like me,” he explained, I looked at him with confusion, before he opened up the shirt of his uniform revealing he had top surgery scars, oh that. “I understand why you have your reservations about me, but I’ve never met another transgender person, so I have found myself compelled to protect you.” There was a silence that hung between us. “Hurry up now, you don’t have much time to return to your cell before someone finds you.” With that, I slipped out of the room and snuck down the hallway, and back to my cell. Once I get back, I lie down staring up at the ceiling. On the bright side, I lived to see another day. The next morning, I was walking towards the cafeteria, minding my own fucking business, when I bumped into one of the guards. “Sorry,” I apologized, not knowing he was about to grab my wrist and throw me to the wall. I instantly recognized him as the guard who was leering at me when I was showering. “You should watch where you’re going,” he whispered, his voice a mix of sultry and dangerous in a way that made my skin crawl. “Look, I’m sorry for bumping into you, but I have places to be,” I said before trying to get away, but he shoved me back, holding one hand on my shoulder and the other caressing the side of my face. “No, I think I’m gonna need a little more than sorry,” he said, a predatory smile forming on his lips. My saving grace was the sound of a man clearing his throat behind him. We turned around, and in front of us was another guard, and right behind him stood the soldier from last night. Great, now my shadow is here.