I walked up to the round stone table while trying to keep the confusion and fear I felt off my face. People were really just animals when you got down to things, and when predatory animals sensed fear they struck. I really didn’t like being on the prey side of the spectrum when things went down, and so I developed great control of my expressions and tells over the years. I doubted there was anyone alive anymore that could tell what I was thinking or even when I was lying straight to their faces, I was more than a little proud of that fact.

Pulling out an empty stone high backed chair I marveled for a moment at how light the seat made of what looked like marble actually was. Sitting down I finally took a moment to look around.

On my right was sitting a solider, she was wearing some sort of advanced tactical gear that I had never seen before. The camo body armor looked like someone decided to take some sci-fi power armor from a video game and tone it down to the point a person could actually wear it without having to be some insane body builder or fantasy super solider. It was actually pretty cool looking and the way it hugged her tight athletic figure like a steel glove wasn’t anything to complain about either.

Probably some sort of advanced prototype… Or maybe some sort of secret military special ops armor, I had heard rumors that the U.S. and Canada had pooled resources for a new spec ops unit…

I focused on the woman’s face, out of necessity I had grown to be a great judge of character. If I could get a read on this solider then maybe I could figure something out to make her less inclined to use that insane rifle of hers on the table that looked like it could shoot lasers. Her features were beautiful, high cheek bones, soft jawline, and a flawless light skin tone combining to give her an artful and delicate appearance. Her golden hair was cut short and cut short, the tips only just brushing under her jaw, and her green eyes had hints of blue in them.

It was the eyes that told me what I needed to know, the sheer sense of purpose and drive in them let me know that this woman was not one to be trifled with. They were the eyes of a true believer, one of those terrifying old school types that had no doubt that they were doing the right thing and could justify any action they took as being “for the cause”. She would be simple enough to manipulate if you made the right first impression, but she would be an absolutely horrifying enemy to have to face.

Great, I’m sitting next to a fanatic… At least it looks like she’ll make a good bullet shield if things go south, then again she could also just as easily be the one to start the shooting…

I shook my head and turned to the left. Here sat someone who looked like they had stepped out of some old Japanese samurai flick. The man sat straight as a rod, was wearing some sort of kendo training uniform mixed with what looked like ancient Chinese armor straight out of Dynasty Warriors. He also had one of those wide circular straw hats tipped low over his face that kept with the whole mysterious Asian warrior look the man was working with.

As I looked into his face I saw a mixture of what I thought were Chinese and Korean features, he was handsome enough I guess although his brown eyes had a hint of danger and wildness in them that concerned me. The fact that he seemed to be discreetly inspecting the people around him like I was fine, but the way he did it unnerved the hell out of me. It was like instead of getting a read on the people around him he was selecting his targets and looking for weaknesses. The katana resting on his lap didn’t help matters either.

For some reason my 9mm is feeling less dangerous by the minute… First there’s power armor lady and her future rifle of death, then there’s this guy who might be some sword master who can cut me down before I can even reach around for my gun… What a group to wake up in a dark room with, I feel so safe and secure…

Facing forward I saw the two sitting across from me. One looked like the token edgy character that had to be in any anime or game nowadays. I couldn’t make out their gender, or much of anything really because they were wearing this ridiculous hooded black coat and bulky grey armor that looked like it belonged in the same video game that miss power armor next to me got her stuff from. There was even a fully opaque mask under the hood hiding the persons face, it was like they were screaming that they wanted attention at the top of their lungs.

But still, it does do a good job of keeping them unreadable. And if that armor is anywhere as tough as it looks and not just a good piece of cosplay I’m guessing it’ll take more than my 9mm to dent it… Shit, this really isn’t looking good. Why couldn’t I have been drugged and kidnapped by some idiots like the south street kingpins, then I could probably just talk my way out of things in under an hour…

Then there was the other girl across from me. She looked to be about my age or maybe her late teens and was wearing blue jeans and a graphic tee that looked like it was from some rock concert. She had pulled her knees up to her chest and looked to be trembling, her watery blue eyes scanned around her nervously and her left hand seemed to be anxiously playing with her long brown hair. Considering everyone else around me she seemed like she was the only normal person besides me, but then again I had a gun hidden under my jacket and a few knives strapped to my ankle under my faded black jeans so I couldn’t really call myself normal.

Ah, and then there’s you… The girl who looks to be as scared and confused about the situation as a person could reasonably expect from someone whose been abducted. But then, you also seem to be a bit too normal.

If I didn’t think smiling would bring even more attention to myself and potentially get me killed I would’ve had a big shit eating grin on my face at that moment.

You’re a good actress, but you picked the wrong role for this situation. Normally the scared abductee would be the right card to play, but when you’re in a room with a Halo reject, a swordsman straight out of feudal Asia, and Edgelord McNoFace the scared “normal” girl stands out like a sore thumb… Props for sticking to the part though, at least you know to commit to the role you’ve chosen.

Of course there could be the chance I was wrong, the girl across from me could be exactly what she appeared to be, but I doubted she was. When you get good enough at lying you begin to be able to spot other liars, and I was so good at lying my government had me do it for a living. Unless I was getting rusty, and given the fatal implications that would mean I sincerely hoped I wasn’t, the girl across from me was playing the same game as I was at the moment just with a different mask.

With a twinge of anxiety I realized that this was it, there were only the five of us in this room siting at this table. What made my anxiety worse was that I couldn’t catch even a hint of a tell that could tip me off on who was in charge here, hell from what I saw it didn’t even look like any of these people were involved in kidnapping me. It looked like everyone, well everyone except edgelord who could be high as a kite or making an evil smile at a job well done under that getup of theirs for all I knew, was looking around for answers as well.

So if the kidnapper isn’t sitting at the table…

I tried to mask my casual glance over my shoulder with a stretch, I didn’t want to alert anyone at the table or hiding in the dark room beyond the light shining down on the table that my focus had shifted. I might as well not even have bothered.

It was like my casual glance was a gun going off with the way everyone burst into motion. Samurai dude had his katana out and held at the ready pointed out at the darkness, his blade didn’t seem to shake or waver at all and was held with a control and skill that seemed inhuman. Future soldier Jane had her rifle at the ready aiming out at the dark of the room from her kneeling firing position with her back to the high backed chair, I guess it said something about her that even when facing an unknown enemy she still kept cover between her and the rest of us. Edgelord had somehow managed to knock their chair over, crouch behind it for cover, and pull out two hand cannons that made my 9mm look like a cheap squirt gun at a kid’s party all without making a sound. I internally notched edgelord up a few degrees in my “Ohmygawdwhatthefuckiswiththesepeople!?” scale, they seemed more than dangerous enough now to pull off that whole “I am Death” persona that their outfit seemed to be going for.

I at least felt a bit better about myself when I saw that the actress playing miss “normal” abductee seemed to have a more normal reaction speed. As I pulled out my 9mm and pointed it out at the darkness of the room she only just seemed to be dropping her façade and standing up, it filled me with a strange sort of relief that she didn’t ninja flip onto the table or pull a machine gun out of nowhere. At least I could claim that I had better reflexes than a teenage girl, which having thought about how that would sound I decided I would never say aloud.

As I aimed out at darkness that I could have sworn was impossible to achieve without being deep in a cave without so much as a matchstick, a thought struck me. A thought that in retrospect probably should have come to me far sooner than now, although given how frequently kidnapping occurs in my line of work I couldn’t really be blamed for glossing over it before.

“Um, hey… Does anyone remember how we got here?”

I was proud of the way my voice came out steady and smooth even though I was in a full blown panic internally. I couldn’t remember how I could’ve possibly gotten into a situation like this, let alone how someone could have transported me here without my knowledge. Even the best sedatives out there shouldn’t have blacked out much of my memory before having them administered, not with my levels of training and the built up resistances to various drugs and toxins that training gave me. I should have some sort of idea of how I slipped up and got knocked out, hell I probably should’ve even woken up mid-transport depending on how long it took me to get to wherever the hell I was.

But I didn’t remember anything like that. The last thing I could recall was telling my handler about the latest deal the black roses had worked out with the Ceres cartel before drawing a hot bath, then there was nothing. Just a big blank until I woke up here and walked towards the only light source I could see.

There was a mumbled curse before a husky feminine voice answered my question.

“Was on an op in the empire of Brazil. Was down to my last two mags and the imperial guard was closing in, there was a scream and someone yelled “phase charge” then nothing…”

I shivered at that, it sounded like future solider Jane had been in the middle of some sort of life or death firefight. The fact that she was here and didn’t remember anything after that firefight said a lot that I didn’t want to contemplate, I had never been big on religion in my life and thoughts on the afterlife were vague and distant things for me.

Wait a minute… EMPIRE of Brazil? What the fuck? Brazil is only just becoming a first world country and it sure as shit isn’t an empire. I think it’s a democratic nation, right? Wait… No, that would be too weird… It’s impossible, just my inner geek getting the best of me…

Clearing my throat I asked a question that I really hoped would be meaningless and dumb.

“What’s today’s date?”

That same husky feminine voice I assumed belonged to future solider Jane answered back.

“April 3rd of The Lord’s year 2045.”

A shocked voice that sounded like it came from the actress spoke out in indignation.

“Bullshit, it’s May 12, 2012.”

A calm and measured masculine voice that could have only come from the samurai answered next.

“It is 104 A.W., the season is fall.”

A synthetic tone growled out next.

“The current date is December 18, 2033.”

I winced at the answers, I really didn’t want to be right. Letting out a sigh that showed more emotion than I would have ever allowed normally I gave my own answer.

“February 21, 2020.”

I had read a lot of comics as a kid, watched more television than any developing child or adult ever should and was well versed in the worlds of anime and video games. With that background my mind drew the only logically conclusion it could, we were all people pulled out of time.

“Ah, I see you all are getting to know one another… That’s good…”

The voice seemed to have no inflection, tone, or gender and it seemed to echo in my mind with every word.

“I suppose that means it is time for me to introduce myself. Greetings oh chosen few, I am God.”