Luke Daniels stood with his combat boots planted steady in the soft earth. He scanned the horizon multiple times, looking for a sign. A word. Anything about Will.

If he went AWOL like the other soldiers were suggesting, Luke would have his hide. They were supposed to be in this fight together, and quitting wasn't an option. He couldn't run from truth. From who he was.

"Captain?" a low voice said behind him.

Luke turned around to see Jonah Carter, a fellow soldier in the U.S Army.

"What is it, Carter?"

"Sir...we've received word."

His heart jolted into his chest. "Word? What word? About Will?!"

Jonah seemed to straighten as he cleared his throat, and put his hands neatly behind his back in respect. "Captain Adams, yes sir."

"Right. Captain." Luke nodded his head. "What word?"

The soldier hesitated.

"Carter! Word! Now!" Luke barked out of unabashed desperation.

"Sir-"

"So he didn't go AWOL?"

"Negative, sir."

He knew it!

Rage swelled in his chest. "I told you, Carter. Captain William S. Adams doesn't just quit. He wouldn't."

"Sir." Carter seemed to know something that he didn't, and was obviously trying to tell him without actually having to tell him.

"He's been captured," Luke replied, vocal cords tight.

"Affirmative."

Luke swallowed hard, trying to fathom what his best friend might be going through. What kind of torture methods they could concoct. His stomach became sick at the very first string of notions. "How do we know for certain?" Luke would rather Will actually go AWOL then for him to be in the clutches of the enemy. This was war, not a game.

"Because they've sent us a warning this morning, sir."

"And why wasn't I notified earlier?"

"You're mind needed to be on the mission, sir. No distractions. General Wake thought that would be best."

"What's the warning, then?" Luke was getting impatient.

"Take a guess, sir."

Luke already knew what they wanted. It was a simple move, and now they wanted him to counter. "They want me in exchange for Captain Adams' life."

"Correct, sir."

Luke growled in rage. "How long will it take to get my pack ready."

"You can't go, sir!"

"I can and I am!"

Jonah's eyes widened. "You are the captain of this quadrant, sir. You have charge of over fifty men. You can't just go. With my utmost respect, sir- you simply can not go."

Luke ignored him. Every word. "His neck is on the line if I don't go, Carter."

"And so would thirty of our men if you send out a search party! This is foolishness!"

"I will take no such disrespect from you, Carter. You think I don't know what I'm doing, runt? I am going alone. That way the only one in danger is me. No casualties."

"You can not go to the enemy's base alone, sir."

"You're wrong, Carter. I can. I can, and I will."

x x x x x x x x x x

Luke made it to the enemy's base five hours later. Night had fallen, and the air was heavy with suspense. Getting inside the main base, and finding Will would be the hard part.

He could see the cloud his breath made in the cool air, and forced his feet forward. A plan. He needed a plan.

Go in, get Will, get out alive.

That was his plan.

Pressing on, he took a few more cautious steps. Perhaps he should scout out the front before trying a side entrance, that way-

Everything went black. Someone had put a bag over his head! The moment he realized the situation, he struggled against the men trying to pin him down. Adrenaline kicked in, and he reached for his knife that was strapped securely around his thigh. One of them smacked it out of his hand. The only thing he had left was his fists, but he doubted punching blind would do anything but get him injured at the moment.

The last thing he felt were strong arms wrapping around his chest, and a swift blow to the head by what felt like an elbow.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

His nerves screamed in pain and jolted to life out of the dark pit he had rested so safely in. Something cold rushed over him, and his body jerked up. He gasped for air like a fish would gasp for water when being severely deprived of it.

Water. Ice water. To revive him.

How long had he been out?

He swallowed hard, and looked around. The room he was in smelled like old socks,and soaked dirt. With some sulfur mixed in, he thought. Either way, it stunk. And his nostrils seemed to be rejecting the smell of the dirt, because he was having some problems breathing.

A single light bulb swung from the ceiling, with ill intent. He didn't know why the light bulb felt like such a threat to him, but he didn't like it. His ragged breathe seemed to be amplified in the small room. His combat boots were fixed on the floor. He ground his left one, to feel what the floor was made from, because he couldn't move enough to see. Dirt. A dirt floor. He was in an interrogation room.

Fear crept into his mind almost as quickly as he quenched it. He learned to control, and eliminate all harmful emotions that could jeopardize the mission long ago.

He looked around, wondering where the enemy was. He was clearly here somewhere, because he had just revived Luke with the icy water.

Luke was heavily chained down, so really all he could do was wait. He hated this. He closed his eyes and tried to go into his safe place, a place that couldn't be compromised by fear.

"So," a wicked voice said from a darkened corner of the room, just adjacent from Luke's restricting chair. "Lucas Daniels."

"Captain," Luke corrected.

"Do you know why you're here, Daniels? Hmmm?"

"To save my friend. Captain William Adams."

The man cackled, as he stepped into the flickering light the bulb offered. He had dramatic cheek bones, and a sickly thin frame. Luke could snap him like a toothpick, he was old. He bent over so Luke could almost smell his breath. "He's already dead," Toothpick whispered ominously.

Panic stuck Luke's heart sharper than a dagger. It felt like the breath had just been beaten from his lungs.

"As soon as you fell for our trap, we killed him."

Luke swallowed.

"We want the information."

"I don't know the information. Only one knows that."

"Yes, well we can't get him. And we know you have it, Daniels."

"I don't."

"Then we'll use other forms of...coaxing."

"Bring it on."

"Oh, so you're a brave one, huh?" the man never broke eye contact with Luke. "We'll see."

Two other buff men walked in, with a tray of syringes, needles, and vials filled with different colored liquids. Torture.

He could handle torture.

The first man, without warning, punched him. Luke felt the blood rush from his nose on the first hit. The other man injected something in him, and Luke screamed. All of his nerves contracted at one. His back arched, resulting in his chest being pressed against the thick chains that held him steady. He screamed with clenched teeth.

He felt a fist harder than steel go deep into his gut, and he puked. A blow came to his head after, as he heard the two yelling obscenities at him for retching.

Several more hits came, and he was now bleeding in several different places.

"Still won't talk?"

"Not on my life," he replied.

"We can arrange that."

A forearm hugged his neck tightly then, choking him. He struggled for consciousness, as Toothpick asked where the information was. Still, he stayed strong.

But Luke was going to pass out.

"Let him go," Toothpick ordered. "We don't want to give him the relief that unconsciousness would grant him. Let's try something else."

So, the men unchained him, and beat him so he wouldn't have the strength to run away, or fight back. Another brought in a large bucket of water.

The first one grabbed him by his hair, and then placed the second hand on his neck. With force, his head plunged underwater. Luke screamed, and sputtered. Still, he stood firm.

"Enough!" Toothpick yelled. "It's obvious he won't break. Not like this, anyway. Chain him back up."

They kicked him,  then shoved him back down in his seat. One eye had swollen shut, his lip, nose, chest, arms, and stomach were all bleeding. His dirty blond hair had turned brown because the water dripping from it. Cool water dripped off of his nose, and onto his lip offering some respite

He took sharp uneven breaths, as he stared at Toothpick.

"It's clear you don't care about you own life, but I know you care about your sister's."

Luke pushed panic from his heart, and replied in a gruff voice. "I don't have a sister."

"But you do," he replied, sliding a crumpled, and creased photo across the table.

Emery.

Luke's eyes darted from the picture to Toothpick, giving no facial expression.

"This is your sister, isn't it?"

"No."

"Then it's your girlfriend?"

Rage made his cheeks quiver. "She's six, you sicko!" he roared.

Toothpick smiled. "So then you do know this girl."

"No."

"Then how did you know her age?"

"Lucky guess." his voice was dry.

"Why was this on your person if you did not know who this was?"
Luke wagged his head, and a tear slipped from the corner of his eye. He stared at the floor, in more pain than he could ever imagine feeling. His body wasn't the source of the pain. His heart was. They found his baby sister. 

"We have a surprise for you."

The men jerked him up, letting the chains cut into his flesh. He yelped, but then muted his volume. They freed him, and dragged him outside. His legs had turned into noodles, so walking was a difficult action. Cool wind swirled around, mocking Luke with the freedom it possessed. His flesh rippled in goosebumps because he was still sopping wet, and the cold wind made him even colder. He looked up to the sky the best he could, and black clouds were accumulating. Like nothing he had ever seen before.

Then he heard it. A shrill cry. A cry of a child.

His eyes met the unfathomable. Emery. His sister! No! How did they get her?!

"Luke!!!!!" the little girl screamed through her sobs.

"Emery! Let her go! Let her go you sick twisted-"

"Shut up!" Toothpick screamed.

"NO! Let her go!" Adrenaline coursed through Luke's veins, and he broke free from the two holding him back.

Swiftly kicking one of them in the stomach, he stripped him of his gun, spun around, and then fixed the barrel on the man holding his sister.

"You don't touch her!" he growled.

"Drop the gun!" Toothpick ordered, own gun extended.

The man holding Emery pulled out a gun and pressed it against her temple, as she whimpered in fear.

Thunder clapped around them.

Luke looked up to see what looked like four lightning bolts meeting above his head, swirling like a cyclone. A phenomenon.

It struck him.

Everything went black.

x x x x x x x x x

"Wake up, wake up!" a man urged, slapping Luke's bruised cheeks.

"Emery! Where is she?!" he jumped up, and pinned the man to the wall. "Where is Emery! Where did you take her?!"

"Wha-"

"Tell me now!"

"Shush! You're going to draw attention!"

"Now! Tell me now!"

"I don't know where she is, I swear! You need to listen to me! Please!"

Luke felt like he should listen. He let him go. "You have thirty seconds. Go."

"Look at your left forearm."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Luke turned his arm over, and saw a marking that looked like a lightning bolt was etched into his arm in a reddish tone. "What did you do to me?!?" he screamed.

"No, no! Listen!" the man pleaded. He turned his arm over, and pulled up his long sleeve. He had the same marking! "Me and you, we're the chosen ones."

"Where am I?"

"The future, " he replied with a smile.