Beta Team

My head felt like someone tried to split it with an axe. I lifted it… I was on a bed in a dark room. I saw stuff on a wall- a jacket and a pack- and I thought they were mine. I felt a bit of panic for a moment, but I wasn’t sure why.

I checked myself… I was stripped to my undershorts with a blanket put over me. The room was cool, but not uncomfortably so. What happened to me? I remembered something about… a room. People… a chair… someone telling me to relax… my head was so foggy, I barely remembered my own name.

Not name… designation. I didn’t have a name. I was no one… just a scavenger from the streets. I had no family or friends… I meant nothing. I was a soldier in an army… an army built for survival.

The door slid open and a man entered. I recognized him and hurriedly stood. “General Case… I’m sorry, I-”

He shook his head. “There’s no need to apologize, Beta Forty-Two, you’ve been through a lot in the last few days. A head injury is nothing to mess around with. How are you feeling?”

“A bit… confused,” I mumbled. “I can’t remember anything.”

“No surprise there. As I said, a head injury like yours is serious. Do you feel like joining the others? It’s nearly time for dinner.”

I thought about it. Others? What others? I saw a face… a beautiful girl with dark hair and green eyes. If she was out there, then hell yeah, I wanted to join them. I just nodded.

“Very good. Get dressed, and I’ll have Lieutenant Beta come and get you. I imagine he’ll want to assign you an escort for a few days until you reorient.”

“I… guess… yeah. Thank you, sir.”

He nodded once and left. I found some clothes… they felt familiar. The pants looked right, but the shirt looked… different. It was probably just the head injury throwing me. I put them on and slipped my feet into my boots. Just as I finished, the door slid open and a tall young man entered.

“Got your head on straight yet, Forty-Two?” he quipped with an easy smile. I instantly liked this guy. I got the feeling that he was generally a likable sort.

“Yeah, I think so, sir,” I replied. “I’m still pretty foggy, though. I can’t remember anything.”

“That’s what the General said. No worries, we’ll get you straightened out in no time. Come on, it’s chow time and you don’t want to miss that.”

No, I didn’t. I got the feeling that missing meals wasn’t smart, but I couldn’t remember why.

Following Lieutenant Beta down the corridor, he made a point of showing me landmarks… the way to get back to my room. “You’re lucky, the Beta team all have private rooms, now. Delta gave the General some crap about it, but hey, it’s not our fault their guys are useless, right?”

“Uh… yeah.”

He put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, don’t try to force anything. You’ll pick things up right away, I promise. You’ll be okay if you just stick close to me and your squad. I mean that… aside from the Pit, we don’t mix with other teams.”

Strange, but… okay.

He took me into a large room with several tables. I looked around and realized that each team had a different color of shirt. Ours were a deep royal blue; that made it easier to identify our teammates, I supposed. He led me over to the table where the other blue-shirts greeted me in a friendly, laid-back way.

It was nothing like any army I’d ever seen… wait… had I ever seen one?

“He’s still pretty out of it, guys, go easy on him,” the lieutenant warned in a voice that had friendly overtones, but I could hear the serious note beneath the veneer. I got the feeling that they ragged on guys that didn’t perform well. I just wished I knew what it was I was supposed to be doing.

I was given a pack of rations and a bottle of water. I ate them quickly, feeling pretty ravenous, which told me I likely hadn’t eaten in a while. A pretty, petite girl with shimmering black hair came over to my side and put a hand on my shoulder. “Hi there, Forty-Two. Are you feeling better?”

I nodded. “Starting to.”

“Good. Do you remember who I am?”

I shook my head. It wasn’t the girl from my memory… that girl was the only human besides the General that I remembered.

“Not surprising. I’m Beta Forty, your squad leader for squad Beta-Four. Tomorrow, I’ll take you with me for orientation and get you straightened out. We’ve got a lead on a really good cache of platinum. It’ll take some strong backs to carry it all… are you up for it?”

Based on the comment about Delta team, I suspected claiming weakness was a bad idea, so I just nodded. “Sure, no problem.”

“Good man. Tonight though… it’s our squad’s turn for the Pit. You remember what that is, right?”

I hadn’t the faintest, so I shook my head.

She laughed. “Oh, you’ll remember after tonight, that’s for damn sure! You can go with me… I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but from the lingering brush of her fingers on my shoulders, I got an inkling.

She leaned and whispered in my ear, “I’ll save my last dance for you.”

I nodded. She walked away, and I glanced up and down the table to see if anyone could enlighten me. They were all busy with their own meals and barely seemed to notice me.

Except one… a boy far down the table. He shot me a grin and a wink. I had no idea what it meant, so I just grinned back, then finished my water. When I was done, I had no idea what to do next.

“Hey, slacker, bottles go back to the kitchen,” said an amused voice from my left. I glanced that way… another guy. He held his hand out sideways. I shook it tentatively.

“I’m Forty-five… I’ve been here about six months. You?”

“I don’t remember,” I muttered.

“Oh… you’re that guy. Got it. Well, you’ll get your head on, we always do.” He stood and tugged my shirt. “Come on, I’ll show you where you can put your bottle.”

Once I’d cleared my place, he took me out into the main corridor. “I’ll give you the grand tour, see if we can shake some memories loose in your head. Down there is Manufacturing. You don’t have family down here, do you?”

Again, there was the memory of that one girl… was she family? I just shrugged.

“Right, your memory… eh, it’s not a big deal, Family Day isn’t for another few weeks. My mom works down there, she’s getting damn good at transistors. Down that way is Command. Never go there unless you’re called. Going to Command without reason is a great way to a bad day.”

I nodded. I still felt so foggy, and worse, I felt like I was supposed to be somewhere. It felt urgent.

Forty-five noticed my nerves from constantly looking around. “Hey… are you okay?”

I sighed. “I dunno, man, I feel… like something’s wrong. Like I’m supposed to be somewhere, you know?”

He laughed so hard, I thought he might wet himself. “Dude, we always get that way on our night for the Pit! Everyone does! I can hardly wait… I have a real hot one waiting for me. A blond from Delta team… I tell you, she’s a real handful.”

Delta team… I remembered something about a blond from Delta, and it’s not good. Someone yelling at me, someone… the memory faded.

“I guess I’ll find out,” I said. “When do we go?”

“Opens at eighteen-hundred hours. About an hour from now. Till then, I recommend you do your chores. Captain Beta gets seriously pissed if people don’t do their chores on Pit night.”

“Chores?”

“Yeah, clean your room, do your laundry, make sure your pack is in good shape… wow, you really don’t remember much, do you?”

I shook my head. I felt like I should remember… in fact, I had this odd, life-or-death feeling that I needed to remember, but I couldn’t.

“We’ll get you straightened out,” he assured me kindly. “Come on, I’ll show you where to go. We can do chores together, then change and head down to the Pit.”

On our way back to the rooms, I noticed the boy who had winked at me. He had the room right across from mine, and he shot me the same smile. I just nodded at him in what I hoped was a cordial way. Forty-five gave me a strange look but didn’t say anything until we were in my room with the door shut. “You got something going on with Forty-eight?”

I stared at him. “Who?”

“That guy across the way… that’s Forty-eight. He’s the only gay on our team… unless you are? I thought Forty had eyes for you.”

That explained a few things. “I… no, I don’t think so. Is that why he’s winking at me?”

“Yeah, probably, he’s a born flirt. He’ll never settle down, though. He’s with someone for a week or two, then moves on to someone else. He’s one of our most adventurous guys, so he’s always getting attention, but I’ve never seen him so aggressive with a newbie before. He must really have the hots for you.”

“Uh… he’s not going to try anything, is he?”

“Neh, not if you don’t give him encouragement. Just… do you know if you’re gay?”

“I don’t remember, but it doesn’t sound like me.”

“Yeah… you aren’t. You would know if you were, fuzzy noggin or not. I’ll let him down easy. For now, just make sure your room is cleaned up and ready to go for tomorrow, got it?”

“Yeah… let’s do that.”

He turned to face me with a serious look. “One warning, since you’re still so squirrelly… personal relationships are only allowed in the Pit, or in your room. Nowhere else. If you’re caught necking on a scavenging trip, you’re dead where you stand, got it?”

I nodded hurriedly. “Got it.”