The unexplored frontier of death unfold it's mysteries before Akira as he breathed his last. After the pain and darkness, what greeted him is the ache of muscles trained past their limit. The fishy stink of rust, dust and oil filled his nose with every breath.
'Breath?'
Akira asked himself in confusion before his head was flooded with memories of someone named William Lennox. William came from a middle class American family with military background.
In his desire to follow his father's footsteps and consideration for the limited financial means of his now widowed mother, he enlisted after finishing high school.
In overall ability for the arts of war, William stands out in both command and execution. Calm under pressure, emotionally contained, duty-driven, and follows orders to the letter like a freaking boy-scout.
'Is... Am I dreaming? I should be dead... Right?'
Akira, blinked away the fog in his vision, taking in the stark white walls of the military medical bay. The thin mattress beneath him creaked as he shifted, his arms protesting in pain with every small movement. A nurse in crisp khaki uniform glanced up from her chart, her brow lifting in surprise.
"About time you woke up, Mr. Lennox. You pushed yourself too hard during that endurance course—"
She smiled then went back to jotting down on her clipboard.
"Sergeant Martinez said you were crazy to keep going after everyone else tapped out."
Her words washed over him, but all William could focus on was the strange duality in his mind. The memories of his life as Akira— a quiet high school teaching job, of a sudden accident that should have ended everything—clashed sharply with William's own recollections: drill sergeants barking orders, the weight of a rifle in his hands, the photograph of his mother.
'What in the...'
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed removing the monitoring devices attached to his chest and the IV in his arm ignoring the nurse's protest. The floor felt solid beneath his feet, real in a way that made his previous life feel like the dream. Through the small window in the ward door, he could see other recruits running laps on the parade ground, their boots hitting the asphalt in perfect rhythm.
'If this is real... then what happened to me? And who—or what—brought me here? What the heck? Is this something that happens to everyone who kicks the bucket?'
Obviously, the experience of death only led to more questions than answers. Questions that probably won't be answered at all given their nature.
Before he could ponder further, the door swung open to reveal a tall man with sharp features and silver streaks in his dark hair. Sergeant First Class Martinez stood at attention for a moment before relaxing his stance slightly.
"Lennox. I was starting to think you'd chickened out and faked a blackout to get out of cleaning the armory. Good to see you're healthy! Well... You've got twenty minutes to get cleaned up and report to the vehicle maintenance hangar. We've got a shipment of new Humvees coming in, and I want your team to run diagnostics on every single one."
William straightened automatically, his body moving on instinct even as his mind raced. "Sir, yes sir!"
As he made his way to the showers, the familiar scent of soap and industrial cleaner mixing with the ever-present smell of oil and metal, he made a silent decision.
'It looks like I'm not dreaming after all...'
Whether this was a second chance, a strange afterlife, or something far more mysterious, he would honor both lives he carried. He would be William Lennox from now on. But somewhere deep inside, Akira would watch and wait, determined to uncover the truth behind his impossible journey. He or more like his past life will not be forgotten.
William got to the hangar, after a few awkward greetings, he rolled up his sleeves, and dove right into checking out the new Humvees like he's done it a hundred times before.
He popped open the hood of the first one, and the usual smell of engine grease hit him like a greeting from an old friend it almost made him feel like the vehicle was calling to him? He reached out to adjust a loose wire, and the second his fingers touch the metal casing—BOOM—his head spins like he just downed a whole cup of extra strong coffee!
Suddenly he can hear stuff—clear as day—radio chatter from all over the base, even channels that aren't supposed to be accessible to recruits. "Alpha team to command, over" … "Supply run delayed due to weather..." …He even heard some guy complaining about the cafeteria food.
He yanked his hand back like he just touched a hot stove, staring at the hood like it just grew a second engine.
'No way no way no way—did I just… absorb that thing?'
He tests it out, focusing hard, and sure enough—he can send out a quick signal in his mind, making the base's intercom crackle to life for a split second before he shut it down. He looked around and thank goodness no one noticed his actions since everyone is busy.
His heart raced not just with fear but more from excitement.
'So being reborn into another guy's body wasn't wild enough, now I'm some kind of tech-munching human or something?'
He glances around once more to make sure no one's watching, then tentatively puts his hand on the Humvee's engine block. The feeling hits again. It was warm, tingly, like he's downloading a whole manual straight into his brain. He suddenly knows every single part of this vehicle, how to fix it, upgrade it, even tweak it to go faster than it's supposed to.
'So that's it. I can assimilate the technology onto myself like some cyborg module... Okay. Not too overpowered just yet but time can fix that!'
"Alright Lennox, you done daydreaming over there? We got work to do!" Martinez barks from across the hangar, making him jump.
"The radio on this one is wonky. Where'd you get this tin can? Hammer Industries?" William joked while closing the hood.
"I'm getting too old for these comic book references you kids are playing at. Focus on your shit. I want these junk heaps up and running before the sun kisses the horizon. Get to it!" Martinez grabbed a chair and chewed on his cuban while puffing circles.