Sentinel

The mist swirled around the bodies that lay on the rocky ground. The moon peered out from behind the clouds and then hid its face again from the carnage. Blood stained the hillside and trickled down the rock until it reached the sandy bottom and was absorbed into the ground. The silence was almost palpable except for a soft shuffling sound. From the dark a thin girl appeared, mist dancing around her pale feet as she walked barefoot through the bodies. Blood covered her as well, matting her white hair and staining her clothes. A deep wound showed through the torn fabric on her shoulder and underneath the flesh a metal bone was visible, shining in the dark. Despite this, much of the blood caking her face and body was not from her. She reached up with her good arm and touched the tags around her neck. They began to blink, and she sighed, lost her balance and fell to her knees. The moon showed itself again from the clouds, and it reflected in her blue eyes as she looked at it, and then fainted.

***

Voices echoed down the hallway.

“Sentinels?”

“Yeah, avoid them at all costs. They’re not the same as they used to be. The government tinkered with them. Made them vicious and bloodthirsty. Only a shell of what they were. Still, they’re our greatest weapon. Impossible to kill. Impossible to beat in battle. Not quite human. Not quite machine either. They’re kept somewhere in the base, although no one really knows where.”

The soldiers sat in a sort of lounge. In a corner, a coffee pot gurgled as they looked at their cups in silence for a minute.

“They keep them in the base?” The younger man said.

“Yeah, although you hardly ever see them unless you get assigned to a mission with them, which is rare. The government is pretty careful about their involvement with the average soldier.” Said the older man.

“It’s a little sad isn’t it?” asked the younger soldier staring into his coffee mug. “I mean, they don’t remember anything do they. They don’t even know why they’re here.”

“That’s war.” Shrugged the other. “You fight and fight until you forget why.”

***

The thin girl opened her eyes. Sunlight reflected through a window and made her blink and squint. Everything was a blur. Shapes moved around and talked, but their voices sounded far away like she was hearing them through a dream. She reached up and felt her shoulder. There was a bandage on it, but the pain was gone. A feeling was gnawing at the back of her mind. A deep kind of sadness that made her feel tired. She tried to sink back into sleep, but someone was shaking her now.

“Linnea!” a familiar voice called. It was sweet and child-like, but had an unmistakable overtone, something like the sound of an electric charge.

Linnea opened her eyes, and squinted into the faces of three pale friends. Two were adolescent boys; one with dark, messy black hair and deep black eyes, one with shoulder-length brown hair which he tied back in a small ponytail. The last one was a female child. She was the one who had shaken Linnea awake.

“Morning.” Linnea mumbled rubbing her eyes.

They laughed. Their laughter crackled in the air like it was being heard through an old radio.

She could see the room that she was in, now. It was an infirmary, their infirmary. White walls and ceiling coupled with white beds that lined the walls made a painfully bright room for Linnea’s newly opened eyes. She looked over at her shoulder and saw an IV running from her vein, pushing blood back into her body. She felt her wound. Below the bandages, she could feel the scab, however, like always it seemed to be almost healed and certainly there was no pain.

“We were hoping that you would wake up soon.” Said the boy with messy black hair. “Maze Anderson has challenged us to an accuracy competition and we need the full team.”

“Now she will be doing no such thing.” A thin older woman stepped around the corner and crossed her arms at the small group. Behind her trailed a younger nurse with delicate features and a warm smile. “Linnea needs to rest. I swear. You children may heal quicker than most, but the strain you put on your bodies is unimaginable. This recovery period is very important.”

The black haired boy opened his mouth to protest. “No buts Allen!” The nurse scolded. He closed it again with a snap and grinned toothily at the others shrugging. The younger nurse stifled a laugh.

“Now shoo! You children have work to be done and so do I.” She ushered the three outside and closed the door forcefully. Linnea watched her walk back into her office and shut the door.

The younger nurse walked to Linnea’s bedside and began to check her vitals. “She means no harm, really.” She said. Despite her grace and delicate features, her voice was lower and raspier then one would expect. Underneath her lab coat, a thin scar was visible, spanning the length of her neck at a diagonal.

“She could be more delightful, Casey.” Linnea replied watching the nurse inspect the wound. She grimaced as the Casey’s probing fingers pressed against the bandage.

“Does that hurt?” Casey inquired.

“A little. Not too bad.”

“They really got you. Cut you right down to the frame. It’s a good thing that you guys have metal instead of bone down there or he would have taken your whole arm off.”

“It would be nice if he hadn’t gotten me at all.”

“Well we can’t have everything we want.” Casey said, probing the other parts of Linnea’s body.

“Why the scientists chose to wrap us in goop instead of metal I will never understand.”

“Flesh is the most flexible. Metal would limit you.” Casey said absentmindedly as she checked Linnea’s reflexes. “It also makes you more approachable to humans. Have you run a diagnostic yet?”

“Not yet.” Linnea replied a little sheepishly.

“Well I can’t find anything else wrong. You look like you’re on a fast track to recovery as always.” She unhooked the IV and wrapped up the line. “Run a diagnostic.” Casey looked around conspiratorially before whispering “If it comes up negative for problems, I pronounce you recovered.” She winked before saying loudly “Now wait here until Mrs. Flint comes back.”

The older nurse, Valery to her friends, Mrs. Flint to others, sat down at her desk and began to work on paper work. An hour later she looked up at the clock and reached for a bottle of medicine that sat on the corner of her filing cabinet. She opened the door to her office and shook two pills into her hand.

“Ok, Linnea. Simply take these and…” She looked up. The ward was empty. Linnea was gone.