The Survivor of the 27

Chapter thirty three

We walk into the living room and it almost seems familiar. Almost like a fever dream. I pause the moment I entire. I can feel pressure on my head. I bring my hand to my head and let out a little grunt. Not loud enough though that someone could hear.

"Have a seat," the general commands. I sit down on one of the leather chairs.

"Can you take off your mask?" The redhead asks.

I look at him and sigh. I comply with his wish and take it off. Revealing the bottom half of my face. The moment I do everyone gasps, everyone except the general and the redhead.

"What happened to you?" The lady asks.

I clench my hands so tight that my knuckles turn white and my nails break the skin of my palm. Drawing blood. Yet nonetheless, I don't respond. I was trained not to.

"We want to help you," the man sitting next to the older woman says. I look over to the girl that I choked and she's still rubbing her neck. Pussy.

I keep on going in and out of consciousness, but I won't let anybody see the state that I'm in.

"How do I know that I can trust you?" I ask. That was the real question for me.

"If you didn't think that you could trust us, then why did you come?" The general asks.

I look down to my hands and sigh, "I don't know."

"We're not here to hurt you Mace," the younger man says. He has blond hair and brown eyes. He's about 5'11. He has a defined jawline and is about twenty four years old.

I quickly stand up, and right as I'm about to yell at him I get a shooting pain in my head, making my knees buckle. I fall to the ground clutching onto the side of my head.

Flashes of the people around the room fill my mind. Party's, drama, fights, dinners, laughter, hard times, happy times. It all just hits me. I want this to stop. I feel so confused and angry.

I feel a hand on my shoulder that brings me back to reality. I grab the hand, and right as I'm about to flip them over, I don't. I can't, so I let go and place my hand back onto the ground.

"Mace, are you ok?" I hear a soft voice ask. I let out a puff and try to force myself up. As I do though, my legs give out.
The one reaches their hand out to me, but I smack it away.

"Mace-"

"Stop! Please... just stop." I can't think through all of this. I needed everyone to be quiet and still

I walk over to a chair and sit down. Then I realize that someone will be here to pick me up in a few hours. Dread and fear washes over me. I failed. I failed and now I'm screwed.

"What is it? What's wrong?" A girl with blue eyes asks. She's 5'2, ugh I hate this. My mind is always reading people. Finding every possible way to find a weakness and trying to know everything about everyone.

"Mace?" The girl asks, this time with caution. I stand up and grab my mask.

"I need to go," I tell them.

"Why? We just got you back!" The older woman pleads.

"There's going to be someone waiting for me," I inform them.

"What do you mean?" The red haired man asks.

"The General isn't going to be happy about this. I failed," I tell him. I can only imagine what's going to happen.

"Who is the general?" The redhead asks once more.

"General Hassan. I have to do as he says, if I don't then," I pause. I turn around to face them.

"I don't want that pain," I add. Trying to hold back the tears.

"Hassan? He's behind this? He made you like this? How?" The general asks.

I can see care and worry in his eyes, I can also see love. Not love love, but more like a father's love.

"I-I'm not programmed to tell you that," I tell him. I've already told them too much. Maybe I don't want to work for Hassan anymore? It's only been pain and suffering with him.

"Mace, can you listen to me? Please?" The girl that choked begs.

I turn my attention to her. "When it was my wedding day, I was so excited and happy about the life to come, but I was also sad. I was sad that I wouldn't have my sister there with me. But then, I don't know how, but you came home. You seemed so lost and sad, like you were on the bridge of breaking. You couldn't even remember your own brother's name. It was heartbreaking, and then you just left," she says with tears streaming down her face.

She walks up to me and I back away, but she keeps coming. She places a hand on my cheek, and instead of pulling away, I let her touch me. Her hand was smooth and soft.

"When you left, I was so so sad. I realized how bad of a sister I was to you. And I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry. But I have you back now, and I refuse to just let you walk out of here."

"Addison?" I choke out. I can feel a lump in my throat and tears threatening to fall.

"Yeah, yeah that's me," she smiles. I grab her hand and hold it. I let one tear fall against my will. Then the realization hits me. I take her hand and place it by her side.

"I don't know what to do. If I stay, I could hurt more people and General Hassan could find me and kill you guys. If I go back, I will be tortured. If I run away from both I'll never be able to stop. And eventually he'll find me or use you guys as bait."

"We'll help you Mace. We'll help you for as long as you need. We'll keep you safe. The government doesn't know who you are, it will all be ok. It can go back to normal," general Logan says.

"I miss you Mace. I miss my sister." I know him, but I can't remember his name, and it saddens me.

"But what about General Hassan?" I ask.

"I won't let him touch you ever again. I have enough evidence to ruin him," General Logan says. He's my general. Not Hassan.

"Mace, you and my wife are the only two people who know my story. You and my wife are the only two people who know everything about me. We have been to hell and back together. You always put your troops before yourself. I need my Major back, I need my friend... I need my sister," the red head says.

Jackson, his name is Jackson Cooper. I used to call him Jackass though. I smile at the memory.

"How do you plan to pull this off? Hassan is strong and he has men in high places."

"We'll figure it out. Please Mace, I need my soldier back," the General says.

I think for a moment, going through every possible scenario. I could just kill him now and everyone else. But I didn't want to. I could run away and never look back. But I longed to be with these people. I could go back with Hassan and face the torture. But I don't want to fight anymore.

"Fine," I sigh, finally giving in.

They all grow smiles on their faces. Addison runs up and hugs me.

"Thank you," she sobs. I can start to feel the blood loss get to me. I can't help but sway a little.

"This isn't going to be easy," I inform them. Addison pulls away and looks at me.

"It doesn't matter. We have you back," she smiles.

I feel like a broken toy. I feel so confused, I feel hate, I feel sorrow, I feel happiness, and I feel anger.

"Let's go clean you up," the older woman says.

She grabs my arm but I pull back. I get flashes of being dragged through halls by soldiers. I don't like the touch. I can see the general shoot the woman a look and it seems the woman understands the look.

"Come one, we're just going to go to the bathroom so we can wipe the blood off," she explains.

I follow her into the bathroom upstairs. Shanon? No no, it's not that. Sheen? No, it's, it's Sharon. She's my mother.