Extensis Vitae (2 page)

“No, not military…not a hospital, either. Do you remember your name?”

No,
he thought as he drew a blank. But then he remembered scraps of the dream. “Reznik…my name is Reznik?” It came out almost sounding like a question, but once the name crossed his lips, it felt right.

“Yes, that’s what it says in your file. Good!” She smiled for the first time. “How are you feeling, Mr. Reznik?”

“A little weak and dizzy, but no pain.” For a moment, he thought back to the dream. He probed his side where he had been shot, but the skin was smooth and unblemished.
Did that really happen to me?
he wondered. It had felt so real—like he was reliving a past event. “That’s strange—I remember getting shot, but there’s no scar or anything. I don’t know…it must have just been a dream.”

Myrna looked at him with some concern. “It’s probably just some disorientation. Other than the dizziness and confusion, are you feeling well?” He nodded. “That’s good. You would probably like to get dressed.”

She moved to unfasten the leg restraints when a voice boomed from the doorway, “Hold on! Myrna, what are you doing?” Myrna stepped away and turned toward the door.

A heavyset man entered the room, concern on his face. He looked to be in his mid fifties with graying hair, a mustache, and a large paunch. He wore a navy blue uniform similar to what Myrna was wearing under her lab coat. It didn’t look military, but more like some type of utility uniform. There was gaudy gold ornamentation on the shoulder board and a logo of a golden phoenix with the words ‘
Extensis Vitae’
on the breast.
He looks like a South American dictator out of a B-movie
, Reznik thought.
All he needs are some aviator shades and a cigar in his mouth.

“You need to be careful, Myrna! We don’t know what this man’s mental state is. We don’t have any research data for this procedure.” Myrna shrugged, unabashed. Her eyes flicked over to Reznik and then back to the heavyset man.

The man turned to Reznik and a smile easily replaced the scowl he had given Myrna. “Pleased to meet you, good sir! I’m Malcolm Swanson, administrator of this facility. How are you feeling? I take it Myrna’s taken good care of you?”

Politician of some sort
, Reznik thought. “Yes sir, she was kind enough to fetch me a glass of water and remove these restraints,” he replied. “Other than that, I’m not sure what else she did…or even what was wrong with me, for that matter.”

Swanson beamed. “Excellent! She’s a brilliant young woman—being able to take over her father’s work like this. We have much to talk about! But right now, if you’ll excuse us, I need to speak to Myrna for a moment in private.”

“Sure,” Reznik replied.

Swanson gestured out the door and Myrna walked outside with him. Reznik could hear their footsteps receding as they went down the hall. From what he could hear of their discussion, it seemed like Swanson was doing almost all of the talking.

Reznik looked around the room again. It looked like a makeshift medical facility that had been designed for various purposes. The room was clean, yet he got the impression that it had seen a lot of use over the years. ‘
Extensis Vitae
’
, he thought, wondering what that meant.
What kind of place is this?
“Not a hospital,” she said
. His eyes wandered over to the computer terminal she had been sitting at.

Reaching down, he unfastened the restraints around his ankles. He wondered if Swanson realized there was nothing preventing him from freeing himself.

Reznik hopped down off the table. The floor tiles were cold beneath his bare feet. A pinch on his arm reminded him of the IV. He pulled the needle out and set the tubes on the table. He also removed a couple sensors that were stuck to his chest. The machine began to chirp in alarm, but he hit the power button and silenced it.

He walked over to the computer terminal. It was a surprisingly ancient machine amidst the other sleek, modern equipment. Blurry green text stood out in stark contrast to the black background.
Shit, nobody uses these old tube monitors anymore
, he thought. A cup of coffee sat next to the monitor.

Computer code was on the screen. Reznik wasn’t much of a computer tech, and the code was unfamiliar to him. It looked like something off an old DOS computer from when he was a kid. The last command on the screen was for something called ‘
Augmentation BIOS, Firmware version 1.5
.’ Before he could read more, he heard footsteps outside the door.

“I see you’ve freed yourself,” Myrna remarked with a wary look at Reznik.

“Yeah, it wasn’t very difficult,” he said. “Perhaps you can tell me where I am. What is this place?” He took a couple steps toward her. “And why is Mr. Swanson worried about my mental state after some ‘
procedure
?’”

He could see her tense up as he approached. “I know you have a lot of questions, Mr. Reznik. All will be explained at the appropriate time. Administrator Swanson has instructed me that only he will be filling you in on what he feels you need to know.” From the tone of her voice, she apparently didn’t agree with Swanson’s directions.

He took another step toward her, and she took a step back. “Don’t worry, I won’t harm you.” He looked around again. “Other than having no idea what the hell is going on and not being able to remember what happened to me, I’m not mentally unbalanced.”

“That’s good, because Swanson sent for security just in case.”

As if on cue, Reznik heard the heavy tread of boots outside the door. Two brawny men entered the room and stood blocking the door. They wore some type of riot gear: a light body armor vest and a helmet with a clear visor that covered the face. Both men carried what looked like riot batons in their hands. They, too, wore the same style of utility uniform underneath their vests as the others.

Reznik gave them an appraising stare for a moment. They tried to appear imposing, but Reznik could see the nervousness in their eyes.
These two aren’t used to handling much more than the occasional minor domestic dispute or drunken brawl
, he guessed. He was an unknown factor to them.

“Myrna, is everything okay in here?” the larger guard asked.

“Yes, you can wait outside the door. I’ll be fine,” she replied.

“Sure?” he asked again with a glance between Myrna and Reznik.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she said with an annoyed glance. Reznik saw something pass between them for an instant, and then the two guards retreated to take positions outside the door.

She cleared her throat nervously as she noticed Reznik watching the exchange intently. “Are you sure you are feeling well enough to be up and about?” She glanced at the IV lying on the table. “I can put you under for a while longer, if you like.”

“No. I have a feeling I’ve been under much too long already,” he replied. In actuality, he felt pretty good. The dizziness and weakness had passed surprisingly fast.

“You don’t even know,” she said, not unkindly.

“You aren’t really a doctor, are you?”

She sighed. “No, but I’m the closest thing we have to one right now, sad to say. I’m a scientist. My father is a physician, but he’s…not available right now.” Reznik could tell there was something wrong from the way she said the last part, but he didn’t press her on it.

“Well, Administrator Swanson wanted me to show you to your quarters and find you something to wear. I’ll take you there.”

Reznik nodded and followed her as she went into the hallway. The security duo fell into step behind them. A long, dim corridor led past numbered rooms. The walls and ceiling were all made out of the same dull gray metal. Pipes and ductwork were exposed along the ceiling, and LED lights were interspersed at regular intervals. Soft elevator music was piped through a speaker system. The place reminded Reznik of a bunker. He couldn’t specifically recall having been in a bunker before, but somehow, he knew he had.

He found himself trying to take in every detail of his surroundings without being obvious about it. Whatever past training he had received was apparently so ingrained, that he noticed all the details without any conscious effort. He noted security cameras at the intersection of the hallway facing every direction. They took a set of stairs up one level. A sign marked “DINING ROOM, COMMON AREA” had an area pointing up. Another sign that said “LIVING QUARTERS” designated the level they entered. He didn’t see any signs for an exit anywhere, though.

They passed by a number of identical rooms marked by numbers on the doors. After a few moments of silence, Myrna spoke up. “I’m sorry that I can’t tell you anything. This must be terrible for you—waking up in a strange place and nobody willing to tell you what is going on or anything.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve had less cordial treatment before,” Reznik replied with a half-smile. “You’ve treated me well, and I don’t want to get you in trouble by pressing you for answers. I appreciate you taking care of me, not being a doctor and all.”

She gave a sad smile. “Hopefully you still feel kindly toward me once you talk to Swanson. I just hope this turns out well for all of us.”

Myrna stopped abruptly in front of a door that was identical to the others. It was marked ‘56C.’ A motion sensor activated, and the door slid silently open. She gestured for him to enter.

Inside was an austere chamber with a couple of chairs, a desk, and a small sofa. Reznik stepped inside and could see a small bedroom off to one side and a tiny kitchenette on the other. He was surprised to see a large picture window opposite the door. He looked around and saw that Myrna was waiting outside the door.

“Well, this is where you will be staying. Clean clothes are in the wardrobe. If you feel like a shower or anything, help yourself.” She pointed to an intercom device near the door. “If you need anything, just call me. Swanson will send for you soon, I’m sure.”

“I can hardly wait. Thanks.”

She smiled and left, the door sliding shut quietly behind her. He decided he liked her—she had an honest face.
Pretty, too
, he thought.

He walked over to the picture window, amazed that there could be such a view from what seemed like a bunker. A scenic landscape stretched out before him: deep blue skies overhead and a sunlit green meadow below an imposing mountain range. As he moved closer to the window, he realized there wasn’t any glass. In fact, the mountain scene was a clever projection on the wall. The image distorted as he passed his hand through the projection and touched the metal wall behind it.

Reznik walked into the bedroom and saw a neatly made bed and a large wardrobe against the wall. Inside the wardrobe hung a couple of the navy blue utility uniforms, nicely pressed.
I guess this is the dress code, then
, he thought.

He was going to poke his head out into the hallway and see if the guards were posted outside, but the door wouldn’t open. He ran his fingers around the frame, but couldn’t find a handle or any buttons to release it. Apparently, he wasn’t going anywhere unless they invited him.

With a sigh, he decided he would take a shower and freshen up before they summoned him. He stepped into the shower, surprised that the water came out hot almost instantly. As he soaked up the warmth, his mind began to wander.

***

“Down the hatch!” yelled a clearly drunken Nash. The others howled in agreement and they all downed a shot of whiskey. Reznik felt the burn as it went down, but it felt great. There were four of them in the hut—he, Nash, and two others that he recognized as Combs and Jefferson. They all were grinning like fools, clearly drunk or well on the way. The bottle of Jack Daniels had nearly been drained. Whether or not all the damage had been done in one sitting, Reznik couldn’t recall. Someone had smuggled the whiskey into camp, as it was banned and could be cause for trouble if the C.O. found out about it.

“So what’s the first thing you’re gonna do when you get back stateside?” Combs asked.

“I’m gonna find the first bitch I meet and give it to her so hard, she’ll walk bow-legged for a week!” Nash shouted. The drunker he got, the more his southern accent came out. The others all bellowed their laughter.