Blurred Vision
The Soldier is led to the chair and sat down. The guards escorting him take up position by the doors. He doesn’t wait long before a couple of maintenance techs walk into the room talking to each other.
“Won’t this make him go blind?” The first one says.
“Due to his serum, he won’t be blind, just not able to see clearly. But I think that’s the point.”
“Why?”
The second shrugs. They walk up to a counter in the room and place their supplies on it.
“Some sort of training exercise? Makes him a better assassin? Not entirely sure. That’s for the trainers to worry about. We’re just supposed to prep him.”
They stop talking about him, and start pouring the liquids they brought into smaller vials. They each grab one and walk over to where the Soldier waits.
“He’s not going to lash out and hurt us when we administer it to him?”
The second tech curses.
“We’ll restrain him. Good call.”
The first hands his vial to the second, and orders the Soldier to sit back. The Soldier does so, and sits still as the tech attaches the straps around his arms, legs and torso. He stands and takes his vial back.
“Head back, Soldier.” The Soldier complies. “No matter what, keep your eyes open, and your head back, understand?
“Yes, sir,” he says
“Really think that’ll work?” The man on the left says.
“Worth a try,” the other says. “He’ll at least try. They made him good at following orders.”
“Do I want to know how?”
“Definitely not.”
“Right. On three?”
They count down and pour their vials into the Soldier’s eyes.
The Soldier screams, turning his head away as it hits his eyes. They burn, like a thousand needles in his eyes. He tries to wrench his hands free, but they’re fastened tight to the arms of the chair. He throws his head forward, hoping that helps. Someone turns on a stun baton and hits him in the stomach with it, and someone wrenches his head back by his hair.
Someone shouts, but the Soldier can’t make out the words, distracted by pain.
Something rubber is shoved into his mouth and they hit him with the electric rod again.
“Shut up,” whoever holds his head back yells in his ear. He tries. His screams turn down to pained whimpers as he blinks rapidly.
“Automatic response,” one of the techs says to the trainer in the room, although the Soldier doesn’t hear them. Too focused on the pain and keeping his cries to a minimum, lest they hurt him more. “Unless we tape his eyes open, we can’t make him stop blinking.”
The trainer watches, and shakes his head.
“We just want his vision impared. Not have him completely blind.” At the techs questioning look, he adds, “He’s going to learn to fight when he can’t see. To shoot when there’s not a clear line of sight. Not having his eyes will do that.”
The tech holding the Soldier’s head back pours water into the Soldier’s eyes.
The Soldier coughs and splutters as the water gets into his mouth as well. The tech lets go of his head, and he spits out the water. The water in his eyes helped, but they still sting. Blinking, his vision doesn’t clear. Everything is shadowy shapes against the light.
“Soldier,” the trainer says. But the Soldier isn’t paying attention, still panicking over his blurry vision. “Soldier,” he says more forcefully, jabbing him with the stun baton again. “Status report.”
“I-I can’t see,” The Soldier says hoarsely, “not functional, I can’t see.”
The trainer smiles sharply.
“We’ll teach you to be functional, even without sight, Soldier. Shall we begin?” He says. The Soldier knows that this isn’t really a question.
He shakes, tears streaming down his face. Of course he wants to be better. And if this is how his masters deem it to be done, he will do his best.
“Ready to comply.”