Joel Adrian - A Shattered Future

Mona ground her teeth. Emersyn could tell she wasn’t a fan of the idea.

“I’m with you, amigo,” Catalina said. “We’re already here. I can move quick. I should go with the group to get evidence.”

“We can’t leave Tanner and Joey alone,” Mona said. She eyed Emersyn. “And I suppose you don’t trust me to complete this little crusade of yours?”

Emersyn crossed her arms. “I’d prefer if I went. You have army training, you’d do better at caring for Bravon.”

Mona chuckled, her tone mocking Emersyn’s words. “I’m a soldier, I’d be better served running the mission and protecting you.”

“I don’t need protecting.”

“Kid, you can’t even maintain yourself!” Mona turned, throwing her hands out to accent her claim. “If I wasn’t here, if I hadn’t taken down that hunter, you’d still be sitting in those bushes, pissing your pants.”

Emersyn wanted to fire back with an insult, or better yet, smack her counterpart in the mouth. But she was afraid. The looming cloud that was her fear of confrontation settled itself over her and started raining down something fierce.

“You two go,” Catalina offered. “Let me stick it out with the big guy.”

Emersyn shook her head, keeping her focus on Mona. She felt the tension between them rising: it could be cut with a knife. “No. Go ahead, Mona. You’re right, you’re a better fit for this mission.”

“Whatever you think.” Mona turned and picked up one of the handguns. “We’ll move out in 10. Or whenever he… ” She stopped as she saw Tanner’s body on the ground. She gulped, and turned back to the pile of weapons she was forming.

The group prepared to split. Emersyn reassured Catalina that things would be fine. The young girl wasn’t happy about being split from Emersyn, and Emersyn did her best to reassure the Hispanic girl. Mona didn’t say anything else, just focused on prepping the gear and loading the guns.

Joey Del Core rubbed at the wound on his head. It’d taken Emersyn a bit to see it, but there was a nasty gash on the back of his head where it looked like he’d smashed his head into a tree. She’d made her way back to the tree he slept against and found a significant amount of blood leaked over the bark and ground.

Tanner Highwall woke up about an hour later. Emersyn brought him up to speed, and he was on board with finishing the mission. He was reluctant to leave Bravon, and even more so with Joey. The two shared nasty glances with one another, but Emersyn assured him it would be fine, and that she would take care of the Sergeant.

Mona left Emersyn and Joey Del Core one of the pistols that fired rubber bullets, as well as their individual batons. Joey frowned at this, though he didn’t put up a fight. “You shouldn’t expect much trouble,” Mona had told them.

One it was time for them to depart, they shared one last huddle as a group. Joey Del Core and Emersyn were on one side, and Tanner, Mona, and Catalina were on the other.

Emersyn watched Catalina. The young girl was constantly shifting her gaze from Emersyn to Mona. She could see the fear welling in her eyes. Emersyn did her best to force a smile, trying to reassure her.

“We’re taking off,” Mona said. “We’ll only be gone a day tops.”

Joey grunted. “We’ll get to the cave as quick as we can.”

“Yeah?” Tanner said, frowning. “Go slow. Don’t risk Bravon’s life.”

“Easy, easy,” Catalina said under her breath.

Emersyn gave Tanner a nod. “We’ll get him back safe. We’ll wait for the rest of you, and then we’ll all get out of here. Remember, you don’t need much. A video of a newscast, a picture of a report, anything.”

Mona turned and planted the pistol into its holster. “Once you’re in the cave, wait for us. Don’t screw with the Requiem gem.”

Emersyn looked to Mona. “Yeah, yeah, we aren’t going to leave you here, don’t worry.”

Mona stopped and turned back, leveling her eyes with Emersyn. “I’m serious. Don’t mess with it.”

Joey chuckled. “Take it easy, mom. Ain’t nobody messing with the time stone thing.”

Tanner saluted Emersyn, and Emersyn smiled his way. Mona, Tanner, and Catalina took off through the thick brush in the general direction of the road. Emersyn and Joey watched as they started their trek.

She hoped they found success and found it quick. She couldn’t recall passing many towns on the way here back in her timeline, but it had been pitch black and her mind had been jam-packed with worry.

“Ready to go, kid?” Joey reached down and hoisted Bravon Person with an audible groan. He slung the older Sergeant Major over his shoulder, half of Bravon dangling over Joey’s back, the other dangling over his front.

Joey wobbled, struggling to find his balance. He reached his free hand out, gripping a tree to hold himself steady.

Emersyn felt her worry rise, and she remembered the wound on his head. “Hey, Joe, you okay there?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, dismissing her with a wave. “Sarge here is just a bit stronger than he looks is all.”

The two started their journey towards the large, jagged mountain that loomed in the distance. Emersyn took the lead, while Joey panted behind her, constantly stopping to shift Bravon’s position or change shoulders.

The terrain was rough. They had to descend the mountain they were on now and then trek up the one in the distance. Emersyn carved out a path with supports for Joey during the decline. She’d pick spots that had trees or rocks he could lean against, ones that were short distances from each other.

Emersyn hadn’t been in the woods in 15 years. She remembered hiking with her father. The two would wake up early, trek their way through woods or a path, always letting the trail fall by the wayside and forging their own way through the wild.

As she pushed a large bush aside and planted her hand on the rotting trunk of a tree, she wished she’d kept the habit up. She was tired, sweaty, and struggling to judge how far Joey could move in one burst with Bravon. “Here!” she called.

Joey released the rock he’d been holding onto for support and took several short steps towards Emersyn. His right shoe caught an obtruding root, and he stumbled, crashing into the bush Emersyn was holding up.

His free hand flailed around until it found the tree. The rotting roots threatened to give under his weight. After he found his balance, he nodded forward, sweat leaking off his round face. “Quick, get the next one!”

She sprinted forward, but on the hill leading down, there wasn’t anything nearby. She spun to her left, keeping a hand at her side to help steady her, and continued down until she found a tangled mess of brush. “This’ll have to do.”

He grunted and followed suit. Just as he made it to the brush, Joey tripped and collapsed with a gasp.

Both Joey and Bravon went spilling down the bottom half of the mountain.

Emersyn shrieked in fear, and released the brush, chasing after the two rolling bodies. She kept her eyes on the ground, avoiding groups of gravel and sticking to the sides of the decline. She nearly tripped a dozen times but managed to find her way to the bottom without spilling and busting herself on her rear.

“Jesus, are you okay?” she asked, passing by a massive tree, bark covered in vines.

Joey was sitting up, holding his right hand with his left. “Nah,” he said, his voice calm as ever. “Think I broke my wrist.”

She turned to look at Bravon. His wound was leaking blood out again, but the man was awake and trying to pull himself away. Beyond their current position, there was a small incline that led up.

Emersyn’s eyes widened when she saw what was at the top of the incline.