The young man sat there, motionless. The myriad of emotions swirling in his captivating eyes gradually fading away leaving them void.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
After what felt like eternity, a series of beeping sounds finally shattered the silence inthe room.
Turning to the side, he saw 6:00am glowing sharply on the digital alarm clock near the bedside lamp.
With a sigh, he moved the blanket aside. The dim light of the bedside lamp illuminating his body down to the two stumps where his knees should have been.
Reaching beside the bed, he pulled a wheelchair closer. Then using his arms, easily placed himself on it.
He spun the wheelchair around, wheeled himself towards the wall and turned on the lights.
Bright light from the ceiling fluorescent flooded the room, driving away the remaining darkness.
The room was not very large with the interior furnishing kept simple.
A moderate size bed at one corner of the room, with a bedside drawer close to it.
A wardrobe was positioned at the foot of the bed bordering the bathroom entrance while a desk and chair sat on the opposite side of the room.
A simple and clean space.
Under the illumination of the light, the figure of the young man on his way to the bathroom was fully revealed.
Lean sculpted muscles rolled beneath the olive skin of his scar-covered shirtless body, as he wheeled himself into the bathroom to do his morning business.
After washing his hands and splashing water on his face, he looked into the wall mirror, which had been lowered alongside the sink for him.
A young man in his late twenties with lusterless black hair styled in a lowcut stared back.
The lack of expression on his face further emphasized his high cheekbones and sharp jawline.
The light reflecting from the dog tag on his bare chest pulling his captivating crimson eyes down to them.
[McCreed
Jason A.
SF-40-130407
O Neg
No Pref]
Glancing at the tag, an identity he was once proud of, Jason quietly turned and left the bathroom.
Slowly wheeling around, he quietly made his bed, arranged his footwears and clothes as well as other necessary tidying. After which he went ahead to freshen up.
At 7:00am, Jason exited the room putting on a military green t-shirt and camo shorts covering the stumps of his missing legs.
"Well if it isn't young Jason, up early as usual I see." As he closed the room door, a familiar voice sounded from behind.
"Morning Major Lazer." Jason turned around, greeting the newcomer.
Behind him on a wheelchair being wheeled by a female military nurse, a carefree middle-aged man with a muscular stature and lowcut hair sat smiling.
But apart from the smile on his face, the rest of his body remained completely motionless.
"A fine morning to you as well Jason. Heading to the cafeteria?" Major Lazer asked to which Jason just nodded.
"In that case let's go together then." He smiled.
"Do march his pace, will you my dear." He said, his head still locked in the position.
"Yes Major." The nurse behind him replied with a smile as well.
Together they headed towards the cafeteria, with Major Lazer merrily whistling a tone, while Jason remained silent.
They soon caught sight of a man standing still on the corridor and staring out the window.
"A good morning to you Sergeant Jock, good to see you up and out already." Major Lazer cheerfully greeted as they passed.
However, the man didn't so much as glance at them. He just stood there staring straight.
Glancing briefly at his empty eyes, Jason continued on his way.
Gradually more people also joined them, all heading in the same direction. They greeted Major Lazer and Jason. But while the former responded cheerfully, the latter just nodded in reply.
A few turns later and they arrived at the cafeteria. Everyone then went ahead to receive their own serving of breakfast.
Jason also got his and moved to a quiet table in a corner. His eyes observing the whole room as he ate.
The one armed middle aged man sitting and chatting with major Lazer.
The young man in his front with trembling hands struggling to eat his soup admist cautious words from his nurse.
The old guy with a blank expression being fed some distance away.
He calmly took it all in.
The cafeteria was filled up with different people.
Yet they alll shared one thing in common. They were all broken, either physically, mentally or even both.
Eating quickly but neatly, Jason emptied his plate in no time. He quietly returned the tray and left the cafeteria.
Many eyes curiously trailing his exit.
"Jason is still as cold as ever huh?" The one armed man eating with Major Lazer sighed, his eyes trailing the exiting wheelchair.
"Well Lieutenant, to put it crudely, the kid's shut himself down after whatever happened to him. He's just operating on auto-pilot now. He's gonna need a strong stimulation to restart him again." Major Lazer replied while receiving food from his nurse.
"Well I sure hope he finds that stimulation soon. The kids too young for this." The Lieutenant replied also returning his attention back to his food.
*****
Meanwhile, the subject of their conversation came to a halt before another door.
Glancing at the watch on his wrist, he lifted his knuckles and knocked.
Thud! Thud!
"Come on in please." A charming feminine voice echoed from the other side.
Jason opened the door and centered the room.
"Good morning."
"Ah! Good morning Jason." A black haired bespectacled lady, sitting behind a desk responded in surprise.
Checking the wall clock which displayed 7:30am, she smiled wryly.
"Jason, our session is scheduled for 8:00am today. You are thirty minutes early." The lady who looked to be in her early thirties said.
Hanging around her neck and resting on her ample bosom was an ID card with the name
Psychologist
Dr Helen Pierce
"Being early is better than being late, Miss Helen." Jason gave a short reply.
"Indeed. Well, since you're already here I guess we can begin early." With a smile, she stood up revealing her alluring figure and headed towards a door to the side, with Jason following in tow.
The door led them to a lounge-like office, furnished to make one feel relaxed and comfortable.
Settling on a couch in the room, Miss Helen motioned Jason to an opposite couch. Patiently watching as he wheeled closer and transfered himself to the couch.
As his psychologist, she was well aware that one of the things Jason hated the most was people treating him like he was a helpless child.
He even went as far as to drop the nurse assigned to take care of him and she worked for a few days.
"Now then, lets begin by asking how you are feeling?" After Jason settled down, Miss Helen began their session.
"I feel fine in every way. but the nightmares still plague me." Jason replied in his slightly deep voice.
"How often have you been having those nightmares recently?"
"Every night I close my eyes, it's the same. Sometimes I wake up and I don't even know where I am anymore." He answered.
"Well do you feel like sharing the events of the nightmares with me?" She asked politely.
But Jason quietly shook his head negatively.
Giving him a reassuring smile she replied, "Don't worry about it, whenever you're ready, you share them with me okay?"
Jason just gave a small nod in response.
The following one hour thirty minutes of therapy time were spent in calm questions and answers along with advices.
"One more thing before you go Jason." As Jason returned to his wheelchair ready to leave at the end of the session, Miss Helen called out.
Seeing as she has his attention, she continued speaking.
"Try getting yourself something engaging to help take your mind off things. I'd recommend the new VR game War Online that launched last year. Some of the older men are playing it lately and it seems to be doing their mindset a lot of good."
"War Online huh? War ain't a pretty sight Miss Helen, not even for a game." He replied and quietly left.
'I can't begin to imagine what happened to him to turn him into this.' Miss Helen sighed as she fixed her gaze on his retreating figure.