Joel Adrian - A Shattered Future

“Excuse me?” Naomi tapered her eyes at Mona. “I was prepping for an Army Medical course. I’m not a doctor, but I know enough that if we leave it in and the wound wasn’t clean… if he’s moved at all, he could be bleeding internally. Leaving it in won’t help anything.”

“I-I found him on his side, but he might have moved,” Emersyn said quietly.

Mona’s face was blank. She stared down at the body of Bravon Pearson. “Okay, okay, let’s get the thing out.”

Emersyn cradled Bravon’s head in her hands as Mona sucked in a deep breath. “I’m going to pull it right up and out.”

“We’ll need to hit that wound with a ton of pressure to stop the bleeding.” She looked around for something to use. She swore and pulled a utility knife from her belt, cutting the sleeve of her army fatigues off at the shoulder. She yanked the torn piece of uniform down and wrapped it around her hands.

Behind her, Joey Del Core was stirring. Tanner and Catalina were both still out on the ground.

“Don’t none of y’all move.”

They all turned to see an older man holding a rifle at their heads. He wore a bright orange hunting vest over a tan jacket. Greasy black hair flowed down to his shoulders, capped off with an orange hat atop his head. “The hell’s goin’ on here, huh?

“Step away, civilian,” Naomi ordered. “We’re treating a wounded superior officer and if we don’t do this now, we’re going to be in deep.”

The hunter took a moment and surveyed the scene. He narrowed his eyes at Joey Del Core and Catalina Hernandez, then at Emersyn. “They sure ain’t dressed like soldiers. Someone tell me what’s really going on here!”

“Just step the hell back!” Mona shouted.

Emersyn flinched at her sudden shift in tone.

“’Ey, who’s this guy?” Joey Del Core asked, sitting up against a tree. “Oh, damn, my head…” He brought a hand up to rest on his temple.

As the hunter averted his gaze to the large man, Mona shot up. In one swift movement, she retrieved her baton, extended it, and smashed it across the hunter’s face. He collapsed into the leaves and tall grass, unconscious.

Emersyn watched as she dropped the baton and fell back to her knees, reaching a hand over and grabbing the stick impaling Bravon. “Ready?” she asked, passing a glance to both Emersyn and Naomi.

“Aye,” Naomi replied.

Emersyn could only shake her head. The situation was spiraling out of control, and she was struggling to keep herself in the moment.

Mona pulled the stick free.

Deep red blood started leaking from the wound. Naomi immediately put her torn sleeve down on the hole and pressed as hard as she could.

Bravon jerked up, groaning. Emersyn leaned over him, trying to restrain him and hold him down, but he was strong and fighting against her. She hugged his muscular frame, trying to pin him to the ground.

“Just stay still, sir,” she whispered to him.

“Damn it, it’s not working!” Naomi shouted. “I need to find something else. Here—hold this!” She grabbed one of Emersyn’s hands and planted it atop the bloody sleeve. Emersyn winced as the warm blood ran over her fingers.

“Press it down!” Mona said.

Emersyn grunted and put as much pressure on the wound as she could. Bravon jerked in her other hand, and she was afraid she might be hurting him. But they needed to save his life above all else.

She pushed and pushed and pushed some more.

Mona rushed back with an entire shirt. Emersyn looked beyond her to see Tanner, still unconscious, now wearing just a gray, sweat-stained tanktop.

“Okay, use this now.” Naomi pulled the bloody, soaking torn sleeve and tossed it aside. Shen piled the crumpled top uniform and applied as much pressure as she could.

Emersyn fell back, the Sergeant’s head hitting the ground below. Her hand was completely coated in blood. She couldn’t take her eyes off the crimson mask that adorned her palm.

“Hey!” Mona shouted. Emersyn turned to face her, eyes wide in horror. “Hang in there,” she said in more of an order than a comfort.

Mona and Naomi stabilized the Sergeant, though both were hesitant to tell Emersyn what his chances were when she asked. She wiped as much blood off her hand as she could onto the leaves and bushes, though there was still a noticeable tint to her left palm.

Joey Del Core hadn’t moved from the tree he was leaning up against. He was gently snoring, occasionally mumbling something and groaning. Tanner was still out, not having moved a muscle.

Catalina Hernandez woke up about an hour after everyone else. Emersyn was glad she hadn’t had to see the panic that everyone was in during the arrival. It would’ve frightened the jumpy girl.

Everyone was seated in silence, spread out amongst the small clearing they’d arrived in. At least two hours had passed since they’d successfully time traveled.

Bravon took small, shallow breaths, but the blood was still leaking from his wound.

Mona had found a mini med-pack in the bag he carried and wrapped his stab wound with gauze. It didn’t do much to restrict the blood flow, but she also tied the shirt around the wound to keep constant pressure on it.

“Do we know where we are?” Catalina asked in a quiet voice. She leaned against a tree next to Emersyn. They were across from Mona and to the side of Naomi.

Mona pointed at a mountain in the distance. “I’d say about a hundred feet from where we came from… but in my universe.”

“That usually happen?” Naomi asked, face flaring. “You could’ve warned us we wouldn’t come out right where we were before.”

Mona glowered. “I’ve only done this one other time, and I did come out where I started. It must vary. Or it could’ve been the way I programmed it. I’m not a freakin’ Requiem activator, I’m a soldier, same as you!”

“Nah.” Naomi turned her head. “I never would’ve put a superior officer in danger.”

“Go to hell.” Mona stood and marched off into the woods.

Emersyn watched her, and then something clicked over in her brain. She felt the sudden urge to follow her counterpart. She stood, and despite the looming vertigo that held onto her, she walked towards the woods after Mona.

“Hey, hey!” Catalina shouted. “Where you going, amigo?”

Emersyn turned and waved her off. “I’ll be right back, Catalina. I’m just going to help.”

Mona trudged on for about 200 feet before she came to a halt. The wooded area was doused in trees sprouting thick, green leaves. The ground was wet as if there had been a heavy rain that morning. The sun barely bled through the thick branches, obscured by the leaves.

“What do you want?” Mona asked, not looking at Emersyn.

“I want to help.”

Mona scoffed. “Nobody can help. We’re screwed. Sarge bites it, and we’re on our own. Assuming the Requiem transferred through alright and it’s skill in the cave, we’d best go. Now.”

“He’s not dead, and are you forgetting why we’re here? Going back empty-handed won’t fix anything.” Emersyn walked to the front of Mona, staring at her older self. “Are you that quick to give up?”

Mona eyed her insidiously. “Don’t lecture me. You haven’t seen the things I’ve seen. You gotta know when to fold ‘em.”

Emersyn felt her hands clench. “Well, not much coming from you. Took you how long to realize Ollie wasn’t what you wanted.”

“I’m you, you make the same mistake!” Mona shouted.

Emersyn stood upright and stared herself in her brown eyes. She got into Mona’s face, their noses inches from each other. “I’m not you!” She shoved a finger into Mona’s chest.

A gunshot cracked through the air.

Mona and Emersyn both jolted their heads to the direction of the clearing.