A Tale To Tell - In Search Of Myself (Hallow pt 9)

Before I had even opened my eyes, I could tell that something had changed. I could hear almost everything happening at the camp. I could make out the smells of all the animals in the area without a problem, easily knowing what they were, what gender, and when they had last bathed. Things I had never heard before were suddenly loud and clear. The horse in the stall next to me was breathing heavily, I could hear his heart beating – I could hear his blood flowing through his veins. I could literally smell his fear as he tried to adapt to the changes in his body.
When I opened my eyes, everything looked different. Depending on where I looked, numbers and words would literally show up in front of my view, and amazingly, I knew what they meant. I blinked and everything was suddenly reds and oranges. I could see through walls (kinda) and the horses where all brighter red then the rest. I blinked again and my sight was back to normal. What’s even weirder, now that I think of it, is the fact that I actually knew what I was doing. I didn’t even have to figure out how to use my ‘new eyes,’ it was like the information was already programmed into me.
Everything was so different, and yet, it wasn’t. The changes were hardly noted, I wasn’t panicking like the horse next door. I wasn’t upset, because I didn’t really know that things were different – or more, I didn’t remember. Everything – it was all gone! Every part of me, everything I used to know, everything I used to love, it was all gone, as if someone had erased it from my memories. I didn’t even know who I was, I didn’t even know what I was. All I knew was my body – my new body – and how it worked. I didn’t even know what EMO was anymore, and I didn’t know why I was in a cage, but I didn’t agree.
Angered that anyone or anything would dare hold me back, I began ramming into the iron bars that confined me. I smashed at them with my horns, I slashed at them with the hooks on my forelegs, and I even threw my whole body into them, actually bending them some. Encouraged by the slight give of the bars, I threw my body at them again, denting them even more. I was about ready to ram into them once more when, out of the hundreds of voices I heard, my ears focused on a conversation between two men in another room.
“Yes sir, Hallow War II has awaken.” A male said, his voice ever so slightly shaken with anxiety. He was probably only 21 years old, still young, and scared for his life.
“You best hope it won’t go mad. If anyone is killed by him, it’ll be in your hands, Doctor.” It was no wonder the young man was frightened, this man was obviously the head of command, probably a General, and he knew it. Just his voice made a snarl surface in my throat.
“I assure you, sir, this one will be different. We have tested the process on other animals, and all of them forgot everything, including who they were. They knew nothing but what we told them. It’s just a matter of-“
“So what did you tell him?” He snapped, interrupting the Doctor.
“Well… n-nothing yet, sir.” His heart-beat picked up considerably and he swallowed hard. The General didn’t say anything, but I guessed from the way the young man’s heart skipped a beat that he had received quite the intimidating look.
Just then the two walked into the large hall where I was kept. They walked to my stall in complete silence. I stood perfectly still as they stopped in front of me. The General looked me over, and I evaluated him in turn. He was a tall man, very muscular. His eyes were hard and emotionless, but for the ferocity in them. It frightens me no to think that my expression was just as fierce as his, if not more.
He noted the dents in the iron bars, motioning toward them with one hand. “I suppose the first thing you’re to tell him is not to break out.” He said, his voice rough, causing the Doctor to shrink under his gaze.
“Yes sir.”
“Have him ready to perform tomorrow evening. I want to see what he can do.” The General waved to two others and walked off with them following right behind him. I snorted to his back, I already didn’t like him and I had only seen him for a minute or two.
The Doctor was shaking under his skin, literally, as he began giving orders involving my preparations. I turned around and stuck my head in the corner, giving them all a clear view of my tail. I wasn’t sure who or what I was, but I was not their war machine… or was I?