Hammer's War 1: Forging the Hammer by James McEwan

the next kick.  The man failed to connect and he overstepped, which left him open.  Thad attacked plunging the knife in deep.  He could feel warm blood flow over his hand.  The young man looked stunned, pain filling his eyes.  Thad pulled the knife free, and with one quick motion cut the man’s throat, letting lose a fine spray of blood, as the man fell to the ground with a gurgling sound.
    Thad dropped the knife and started to yell, “Se ven I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Seven.”
    “Very good,” the sound of hands clapping broke his gaze . He looked up to see a man, the one he had called Thorne.
    “You made me kill my best friend! ”  Thad screamed, bloody knife still in hand.
    “You are here to kill , not make friends, and if you didn’t kill him it would be your body lying there, number six.”
    “I will kill you!” he screamed.
    “Wake up Thad, it is just a dream, you are having a nightmare. Wake up!”  Doctor Hammer was shaking him, trying to wake him.
    When Thad became aware of where he was and what he was doing, he had Doctor Hammer by the throat and was choking him.  He let go right away, “Oh my god, Doc I’m so sorry.”
    Rubbing his sore neck, he croaked out the words, “Don’t worry about it.” 
    A few minutes later Doctor Hammer was fine and Thad was sitting up in his bed with a cup of tea.  Doctor Hammer sat down with a cup of his own, “So who is Seven?”
    Thad had no idea, “I don’t know, but I think it may have something to do with my past,” he paused and looked up at Doctor Hammer, “it was so real.”
    “H ow long have you been having these nightmares?”  Doctor Hammer asked as he set his cup down on the bedside table.
    Thad took a sip of his tea, “For a few weeks now, but this was the worst so far.”
    “Well from now on I think I will have Archie wake you up from your nightmares.  You can throttle him all you like” Doctor Hammer said rubbing his sore neck.
    “ I’m so sorry about that, I don’t know why that happened,” Thad said eye balling the rapidly forming bruises on the Doctor’s neck.
    “Don’t thi nk on it again,” Doctor Hammer smiled as he got up and left the room.
    Thad was not able to go back to sleep so he got out of bed. After wondering the house for a while, he found himself in the garage polishing up the new paint job on the bike. Rhonda popped up on top of the bike, the whole twelve inches of her hologram, “You are here early, just couldn’t stay away from me?”
    “ That’s it, I just couldn’t go another minute without polishing something,” he paused as she gave him a sour face, “No just couldn’t sleep,” he said.
    “Anything you want to talk about?”
    “Not really, but if you wanted to play some music that would be nice,” he said as he sprayed a generous amount of liquid polish on her.
    “DJ Rhonda at your service Sir,” she took a bow and then disappeared.  Music filled the room as he worked making the bike shine.
    He continued to work on the bike for hours not really working on it, but more going through the motions while he thought about the dream.  At some point in the morning, Archie came in and got the sand crawler.  Thad watched as he drove off with Doctor Hammer.
    “I wonder where he’ s off to.” Thad said as he stopped polishing long enough to see them disappear in a cloud of dust.
    Rhonda appeared on the handlebars, “I have no idea, and mom keeps saying that it is a secret.”
    “ Hum, what is he up to now?”  Thad pondered.
    “I don’t know, but I want to know when you are going to take me out for a good ride big boy,” Rhonda said as she bent over the handlebars in a very sexual manner.
    “Just need a seat baby .  Once I have something soft to sit on then I’ll take you out and ride you hard and put you away dirty, so don’t you worry your pretty little holo-projector off.”
    Rhonda smiled, “I l ove it when you talk to me like that!”
    It was later that evening when Doctor Hammer