Project Achilles

Noah

The next day, my injuries from the cattle prod punishment had completely healed, which meant I was cleared to return to training. When I entered the training hall, all eyes turned to me, the incident still fresh in their minds, as I made my way to the gym. When I got to the gym, one of the commanders, the same one who had punished me the other day, came up to me. “Noah, I have not seen you in the training grounds as of late,” he stated, his figure towering above my own. “I was put on leave to recover from injuries sustained during my last training session,” I explained. “That is understandable,” the commander said, “but I will remind you that tomorrow is the next close combat fight, and a week from now will be the next evaluation. You currently still have a perfect record, but it would be a shame if it were broken due to a lack of practice.” I nodded in response, “understood,” I said. “Train hard,” the commander said before he walked off to his place to supervise a workout. A couple of minutes later, I was on the bench press, as I lifted, my mind kept drifting from my exercise back to Felix. Even when he wasn’t in the room, I could still hear his voice, feel the way his hand felt when it brushed mine as I handed him that radio. The fire in his eyes during our first encounter. If I were a fanciful person, I’d say he’s doing it on purpose. That it was his plan all along to draw me in and distract me from my position as a soldier, but of course, that’d be untrue. I was pulled towards him long before he knew I existed. All I was to him was another one of those soldiers who took away everything from him. “Noah!” the soldier who had agreed to spot me called out. The weight was starting to slip out of my hands and fall sideways, so I quickly adjusted the position of my hands so I could get back to having a good grip. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed that, and thankfully, they didn’t. I finished my set, and then it was leisure time. I went straight for the library, and I went directly towards that psychology book I had picked up all those years ago. I went over to the section on attachment. The section provided information on attachment styles and the different ways one can attach to others, but nothing told me what I needed to see. I searched plenty of other books for the information I needed, but none of them gave it to me. I was just about to give up until I got a notice from channel 15. I pulled my radio out of my pocket, looking around before turning to channel 15. “Yes, Felix,” I greeted. “Creep’s at it again,” he simply said, “hurry.” “I am on my way,” I responded. I ran over to the prison complex, and as soon as I got there, the first person I saw was Sally, this time in her training uniform, though not worn properly. “Oh, hey, golden boy, what brings you here?” she said, throwing her arm around my shoulder, clearly under the influence of some kind of substance. How she manages to gain access to such things I will never comprehend. “If it is any of your concern, I am here to interrogate a prisoner,” I responded, not turning to look at her. “Oh, that’s funny, I’m also here to ‘interrogate a prisoner’ too,” she laughs. “I’d use protection during ‘interrogations’ if I were you. In your specific case, you probably won’t be able to knock someone up, but we don’t want any epidemics among soldiers, now do we?” I lightly pushed her away before I went directly up to the front desk and asked to see Felix. I followed a guard who led me to one of the bathrooms. Once we arrived there, the same guard I caught harassing Felix the other day was banging on the door of a bathroom stall as he yelled, “Open up, bitch!”. As soon as he saw us, however, he stopped in his tracks, buttoned his pants, and belt back up and turned to us, stance perfectly straight as if he wasn’t doing anything prior. “Sir,” he greeted me. “I’ve come here to collect Felix Medina for an interrogation,” I said. I kept my tone direct and authoritative. The guard gave me a quick and short bow, “Of course, I was just trying to get the prisoner to cooperate.” “I’ll take it from here, sir,” I responded. The guard stepped aside fearfully, and I knocked on the bathroom stall door. “You may come out now.”. Felix opened the door slowly; he was visibly shaken with a mix of fear and rage as he stared da the guard while moving carefully to my side. The bruise on his right eye was an indicator of what had happened. “We will be going now. I will return him in a few minutes.” I said before gesturing for Felix to follow me. We walked to our usual interrogation room. He sat on one side of the table, his arms crossed across his torso. “Do you mind telling me what transpired?” I asked. “Nothing happened,” he shook his head, while letting out a shaky sigh, “I mean it almost did, but… I don’t wanna talk about it.” I recognized the tone, but I didn’t want to press any further. “Understood.” My eyes fell back to the bruise under his eye. “That bruise looks rather nasty. May I take a look at it?” He looked at me hesitantly before letting out a sigh, “Fine.” I then walked up to him. He instinctively flinched at my touch as I reached out to hold his face with one hand, as I examined the mark. It was red and still very much fresh, but it was big. Probably big enough to make it hard to see out of that eye. My heart raced as I felt the proximity between us, the soft skin of his face, warm against my cold, calloused hands. I briefly let him go and walk over to the first aid kit on the wall. When I return, I open the box before pulling out a small bottle of ointment. I coat my fingers with the cold gel before gently placing them on the bruise. Felix hissed in pain, his face flinching away, but I held him in place as I ran the ointment on the bruise. My face flushed as I treated the injury. I felt the urge to lean forward, but I shoved all such thoughts aside. Once we were finished, I put away the product and stepped back, “That’ll be it, you should ask the guards for more ointment, make sure to reapply every 30 minutes,” I instructed. “Can you just stay here for a bit?” Felix asked, his voice soft and weak, like I’ve never heard before, “Just until you have to go back, I just don’t wanna go back in there.” “Of course,” I responded, “but I will remind you that though the audio doesn’t work in this room, the camera does, so we must make it look like I am interrogating you.” Felix let out a soft chuckle, “Yeah, go figure.” A couple of hours curfew was approaching, so I stepped into my dorm’s bathroom to take a quick shower. As water dripped down my back, my mind drifted back to the way his skin felt against my hands, the way the proximity never failed to make my heart skip a beat. The way his eyes always captured me, no matter the circumstance. I could no longer pretend not to know what this is. He’s a prisoner, a heathen, the enemy, and yet I yearned for him. This is not how a soldier is supposed to behave, yet here I am thinking about him under the hot sprays of the shower. It would be inappropriate, given my position, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care. I eventually got out of the shower and changed into my nightclothes before getting into bed, silently wishing he’d be next to me.

Felix

When I woke up the next morning, I was hiding out in my cell from the same asshole. Chances are, he wasn’t gonna let shit go after what went down last time. I sat on my cot, my eyes periodically shifting from the ceiling to the door. My hand was clutched inside my pocket, holding the walkie-talkie that Noah had given me. He probably took care of that fucker like he said he would, maybe he’s trying to take care of him, or maybe Noah only said he was gonna do it to keep me complacent. Either way, I can’t relax now that I know how far that piece of shit is willing to go, unless he’s gone completely. My attention snapped back to the entrance of my cell as the door lifted open and light poured in. I shifted to the corner, on one hand, I held a fork I had snuck out during mealtime, trying to hold it as discreetly as possible. My eyes finally adjusted to the light, and the figure I saw was not the one I expected, but certainly one I wasn’t all that happy to see. Noah stood right behind the guard who had led him here. I quickly hid the fork and stood up. “Let me guess, interrogation?” I said. “I ask that you please follow me,” Noah said, his voice dripping with detached professionalism. I followed him to one of the interrogation rooms. Once we got there, I sat down like usual, as I watched him lock the door. “I froze the camera last night; they think it’s a malfunction, so we’re free to speak and act freely,” Noah said. I was slightly taken aback. Usually, talking in a muted room is enough. What the fuck would be going through all the trouble of freezing the cameras for? “Don’t you think this is all a bit much?” I asked. Noah sighed before he spoke. “No, I think such measures are necessary for this particular occasion,” he said. “Today I have a confession to make,” he sat in the chair across from me. Instead, he walked directly in front of me, his green eyes meeting my brown ones in a gaze that made me feel all kinds of exposed. Finally, he took a deep breath before speaking again, “My feelings for you have changed,” he said, “it’s no longer just a compulsion to protect you and make sure nothing happens to you, since getting to know you, I’ve found myself romantically drawn to you. I think about holding you, kissing you, and every time I gaze upon you, my heart races.” The more he talked, the more anxious he seemed. “I know this might come as a shock, and you probably want nothing to do with me, considering I was part of the army that invaded your home and arrested you and your friends, but I cannot deny these feelings that I harbour for you.” Finally, he finished as I sat there trying to take in everything he just spilled. I knew this guy was weird, but what the actual fuck is this? Once I finished gathering my thoughts, I let out a shaking chuckle, “fuck man,” I said, “you can’t just say shit like that, I mean, what’s your fucking supervisor gonna say?” Noah took a sharp breath. “I quite frankly don’t give a shit.” The statement took me back. Noah usually talks so poised and so formal, I never expected him to swear. The silence was heavy between us before he finally broke it. “You may say no if you wish,” he assured, “may I kiss you?” I’m sitting on the chair, speechless. I want to say yes, I want to say no. I don’t know what I want. I feel my heart beating against my ribs. After agonizingly long five seconds, I don’t answer with words; instead, I nod. I stay completely still as he leans in, meeting his lips with mine. My eyes closed almost like my body was programmed to react that way. It’s not practised or calculated. Just lips against mine. His hand hesitantly rests at the back of my neck, as if my skin would burn him if he touched me. His lips move against mine as he starts getting bolder. He pulls me closer to deepen the kiss, and with that, I’ve had enough. I push him away before he stares back at me, his face a mix of confusion and hurt. “What the fuck?!” I exclaimed. “I-I apologise if that was too forward,” he said. His voice sounded so pathetic, I considered taking it back. Instead, I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes, “You take me back to my cell and we never speak of this again.” Noah let out a heavy sigh before nodding, the pain in his eyes was clear as day: “If that is what you wish.” A couple of hours later, I was back in my cell, lying on my cot, as I stared up at the ceiling, I contemplated my situation. It wasn’t a bad kiss… Well, it wasn’t exactly a good kiss either. I’ll admit it, if he weren’t part of the army that killed my friends and demolished my home, I’d think he was handsome. I don’t really feel anything for him romantically (it’s not just him; I’ve only ever felt romantic attraction once in my life; other than that, all my crushes thus far have been purely physical), but I’ll admit, it felt nice to feel his lips touch mine. I held my hand to my lips, remembering how it felt. The next morning, I went straight to one of the lead guards. “And this happened when,” the man said as he looked at me sceptically. “Yesterday afternoon, I was doing my shift cleaning the restroom, and he came up behind me.” I took a deep breath as I told the story to him. I know this is fucking hopeless; these guards don’t give a fuck about us, but I can’t rely on Noah. I have to look out for myself. At least I gotta try and get him removed. “In your written report, you mentioned that this guard had attacked you from the side,” he replied. I took a second to try and remember. I could swear he came up from behind. Why would I write that he attacked me from the side? “I wrote that by mistake,” I responded before trying to move on with the rest of the story, but I was interrupted one more time. “According to your written report, this incident occurred during the night, but you’re just now telling me that it occurred during the afternoon, not to mention that I can confirm based on records that the Achilles Soldier who allegedly intervened came to collect you for an interrogation at 1700 hours,” the lead guard said. God, this shits exhausting. “I must’ve gotten some of the details wrong, but the gist is he hit me in the face and tried to do shit to me while I was on the floor. I shoved him off, ran to the nearest bathroom stall, and he kept banging on the door until that Achilles Soldier walked in,” I said. The lead guard sighed before I watched him tap something on his tablet, “Your report has been noted and will be investigated,” he said. Though his tone sounded more like he was dealing with petty drama between teenagers and not attempted sexual assault, “you may return to your regular activities.” That day at the cafeteria, I looked around the premises as I was uneasy. Snowball’s chance in hell that dick believed my story. It was worth a shot, but given his reaction, I’m pretty sure I just wasted my fucking time. “Earth to Felix,” Maya’s voice pulled me out of my train of thought. My head snapped back to look at Maya, “been trying to ask you a fucking question, but you won’t even look at me” I shook off all my remaining thoughts. “Yeah, sorry, I’m just kinda distracted. What did you wanna ask me?” I said. “Where were you all day yesterday, and what happened to your eye?” Maya asked. “Hiding in my cell, and I got in a fight with a guard.” I didn’t feel like telling the whole story. “Shit, are you okay?” Maya asked. Before there could be further discussion, a young woman entered the cafeteria. She looked to be around Noah’s age, and she was wearing almost the same uniform as him, but I’m pretty sure she wasn’t wearing it properly. “I’ll be a good girl and wait right here for Zebby,” she chuckled, calling after a guard, before she sat down to wait for the guard to retrieve whichever prisoner she was here for. I sat there wondering if maybe she and whoever this ‘Zebby’ is have something similar to what Noah and I have… or had Based on her demeanour and appearance, I could tell she wasn’t as uptight as Noah. “So how’s your situation with Noah?” Maya asked, having already dismissed the newcomer. Shit, how do I explain this? “Not great,” I said, “don’t think he wants to talk again”. “What?!” Maya exclaimed, “What do you mean he doesn’t wanna talk again?! What did you do?!” I shrugged in response, “beats me, must’ve done something to piss him off.” he spilled his guts to me, and I let him kiss me and then told him to fuck off. “I’m a very blunt person; maybe I said something that hurt his feelings.” Maya sighed, “Well, whatever it was, I’m sure you can make things right and talk to him.” “I don’t know Maya,” I said, “I think this plan went too far.” “We need him, Felix,” Maya responded, “whatever it is you did, you gotta make things right, cause without him our escape plan is fucked.” “You guys talking about an escape plan?” the voice of the young woman who had come in earlier spoke from behind us. She chuckled before she sat down on top of the table, her movements a little too relaxed, Don’t worry, I won’t snitch, name’s Sally.” “We weren’t talking to you,” Maya said, her voice heavy and her gaze strong. “Whoa there!” Sally said, raising her hands in defence, “I’m just trying to help you guys out.” “We’re just fine by ourselves,” Maya responded. “Maybe she can help us,” I replied. Maya turned to me as if I had just lost my mind. “Felix, we don’t know this girl. Besides, she’s one of them.” “How’s that any different from Noah?” I replied, “If we can’t rely on him, we could use another inside person.” “Shit, you’re the prisoner that Noah’s been ‘interrogating’?” Sally exclaimed, “I didn’t know he swung that way.” I dismissed the comment, “If someone managed to get past the prison compound, how would they get past the guards?” Sally smiled, “I slip outta here now and then, you’re best bet is to hide in one of the trucks,” she said, “if you wanna have a little fun, you can also sneak to the power grid, cause a scene, it would disorient the guards, for a bit, perfect for you to slip out.” I took a mental note of everything she said, “The only thing you gotta worry about is getting a map, and sadly, I lost my map privileges.” Sally sighed, “Guess you’ll have to uh, ask lover boy,” she winked. It was in that moment that a guard entered the commons with a prisoner who looked to be in his thirties. Sally looked excited when she saw him. “Ohh, looks like that’s all the time we got, I gotta go ‘interrogate the prisoner’” she winked, before she walked up to him and pulled him by the arm toward the exit. I let out a sigh of defeat. Well, that’s another dead end. As I was lamenting my shortcomings, my attention was caught by a certain scene. Two Achilles Soldiers were dragging out a man in a guard uniform, who looked very familiar. I squinted my eyes, and that’s where I saw who it was. It was the creep. All eyes were on him as the two soldiers dragged out the asshole who wore handcuffs. I must be dreaming. Did they actually take my report seriously? I could’ve sworn the lead guard didn’t believe me for shit, they actually looked into it? The head guard came up behind me, putting a hand on my shoulders, effectively pulling me out of my train of thought. “I think I owe you an apology,” he said, “when you first came in with the report, I was ready to dismiss it, until an Achilles Soldier came by and gave a report that perfectly lined up with what you said. Maybe next time, try and keep your story straight.” I stood there stunned. Noah did this… I won’t have to worry about that piece of shit coming near me again, cause Noah put himself on the line. Thanks to him, I can sleep peacefully knowing that creep won’t try and put his hands on me again. Even after I rejected him the way that I did. Hours passed, and I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. I thought back to our kiss in the interrogation room. I’ve never kissed anyone else before, but still, I knew it was a good kiss. I can still taste him. I can’t say I love him, but I felt something when we kissed. I guess you could say butterflies, but any other time, I don’t really feel anything. I think back to my reaction, the way I shoved him away, didn’t even give him an explanation, just told him to take me back to jail. I think back to his pained expression, the hurt in his eyes is something I’ll never be able to stomach. Maya was right, I had to make things right with him, it’s the least he deserved, and to be honest, he is kinda handsome, at least physically. I look over at the tray I used to get out of the prison compound last time. I had an idea, but I knew I was making a mistake.