The Visionaries

8

Six didn't remember much after the helicopter passed by and Jennifer called for medical attention. Just that they gave him something and he was knocked the fuck out afterwards. He was laying in bed, too exhausted to get up.

"Thank God for the body modifications we had done on you." Michael had said when he woke up from the general anesthesia. "That knife stab could have killed you if they had stabbed you any higher."

He still thought about the attack. Six was trying to process it. He could still see the one person giving him the middle finger salute and the other blowing him a kiss. They were making fun of him. Six turned his head to the side of the table. He stared at the knife on the side of the bed. It was a plain, military issued knife. He had seen a knife like that before.

He closed his eyes. A child screamed something as he tried to run after them. Someone was carrying the child away as she flailed and screeched. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest, sweat running down his face and back, and his feet burning. He snapped awake, gasping for air. Who was that?

"You okay?" a voice asked. It was an older woman with a food tray. She was dressed in green scrubs. She stood at the front of the door.

"I'm fine. Just had a nightmare." Six closed his eyes again.

"It's hard not to have them." the woman said. "Everything these last four years have been an absolute nightmare." Her brows were raised and she covered her hand with her mouth. "I was just mumbling to myself it's-"

"I won't tell them, if that's what worries you." Six felt bad. What had she seen to make such a harmless comment so dangerous? Then again, his only memories were those in his dreams. "And if I'm honest, I'm not sure this is the world that I would have wanted to wake up to." There. Maybe that would make her feel better.

She laid a plate in front of him. It was roast beef, mashed potatoes, and a roll.

"No one wanted this. But there's no one coming to save us all." she patted his back. She left, closing the door behind her.

She wasn't wrong. No one was coming to save them. He was discharged and taken directly to a car. It was a black Charger with tinted windows. Michael was sitting in the back.

"So how are you feeling?" he asked him.

"Better, I guess." Six responded.

"That's good. We got more information that you might be interested in." he said. "Concerning the attack on the Crystal Manor."

Six looked at him, his eyebrows raised. "What about it?"

"There's more information available on your attacker and their friends." Michael handed him a file. Six opened it. There were mugshots and pictures of various people.

"They are the ones we believe to be the attackers. They were all activists of some sort in the time before. Except for these two," Michael pointed out at two girls. One was thin, had a tan, and had short hair. The other had a thicker build, long hair in a ponytail and glasses. "These are from about six years ago but I don't think they have changed much."

The pictures looked like yearbook pictures. The rest of the pictures was a mugshot of a young man with his hair braided, someone's selfie with a filter over it, and a young woman working at a food stand.

"We have their names and identities. However, we're having a hard time trying to pin down their location. It seems they have not been around civilization for about two years. Or at the very least, keeping a low profile."

Six noticed the pictures were attached to files stating names, addresses, schools they'd gone to, workplaces, and names of family members.

"They don't have any social media or anything of that nature?"

"We've tried. The last accounts they held were from six years ago. They had nothing of importance." Michael replied.

"So you want me to find them for you?"

"Of course, that is why you're here. I also figured it would let you blow off some steam after what they did to you."

Regardless of their goals, they had a fair fight. Meanwhile, Michael and his allies had blackmailed him into doing everything they wanted. Six stared at them.

"Sure, whatever. What am I getting in exchange?" he asked.

"I thought I might have been too cruel the last time we interacted. Of course, you're not going to fully devote yourself to the cause without a real anchor to it. " Michael took out something from his suit jacket. It was a picture. It was two grown adults, several children and a dog.

Six recognized them as the people in his dream. He recognized the adults. The children seemed familiar. And there was one that stood out to them the most. He had short brown hair and big gray eyes.

"That's me." he said.

"That's your family. I can give you everything you need to find them, you just need to bring me those terrorists. Dead or alive." he said.

"So this is what you're going to use?" Six asked. He did want to find out what happened to them. Were they still alive? Did they die after whatever happened? He wanted to see them, hug them, maybe ask what he did before all of this. Or at least know what happened to them.

"I'll do it." Six said.

Michael smiled. "Good. I don't have much else to give you besides a few locations we know their organization is known to be at. You'll also be given money, weapons, and personal items to hunt them down."

Six sighed. He didn't want to do this fully but he wanted to find out what happened to his family. And besides, he did have some of a grudge with the attackers. Or maybe he was just rationalizing it in his mind. Either way, he had work to do.