Joel Adrian - A Shattered Future

Panting, Bravon raised the flashlight to illuminate their surroundings. Everything looked the same, except there was no waterfall. The pool was an intimidating hole that fed into the ground.

Emersyn felt a spasm of anxiety bounce in her chest. Why wouldn’t there be water? It struck her as strange, and felt out of place.

Bravon collapsed to the ground, leaning back up against the rough wall of the cave. He clutched the flashlight in his hand, face drenched in sweat, and blood leaking from his wound.

Emersyn moved to the other side of him and sat down. “Sarge?”

He was struggling to catch shallow breaths. “Not doing so well here.” He coughed, barely able to bring a fist up to catch the light mist of blood that sprang from his mouth.

She reached a hand over and placed it on his shoulder. “Hang in there, sir.” The anxiety stirred in her stomach. The quicker Mona got here, the better. “We’re almost through this. Once she’s back, we’ll get you back, get a doctor, it’ll all be okay.”

He shifted his position, trying to stifle the cry of pain that slipped through. The flashlight clattered to the ground, spinning and illuminating the wall on the right side of the cave.

“Y-you know what I regret most?” Bravon asked. “Not making sure Tracey knew I loved her each and every day. Her mother and I, we… we were in love, once. Long time ago. Just went our separate ways. She got Tracey, and I got every other weekend. Then I started focusing on the service… just let it consume me.”

Emersyn frowned, rubbing the Sergeant’s shoulder. This isn’t it. You’re not dying here . “She’s lucky to have a dad like you.”

He scoffed. “I wasn’t there. I was going to try to be after I retired. I was so close. But… can’t change what’s happened, or what’s happening.” He stopped to cough again. It was a deep, guttural cough. “Please, look her up when you get back. Tracey Pearson. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Make sure, just… make sure she knows her dad died trying to save the world for her.”

“Don’t—” Emersyn stopped herself. She could tell the last thing she could say that would comfort him would be another encouraging round of telling him to hang on. She clutched his shoulder. “I will, sir. It’s been an honor.”

He turned to her, his eyes glazed and struggling to stay open. “You’re a hell of a soldier.”

Emersyn shook her head. “No, I’m not her. I’m not Mona.”

“Not her!” he reaffirmed. “You. You’re a hell of a soldier, Private.”

She almost chuckled at the words, but the seriousness on the Sergeant’s face stopped her. He truly believed what he was saying. She felt a streak of confidence rip through her for a brief second. As much as she hated her current circumstance and it scared her straight, having someone commend her for her efforts made her feel better.

Sergeant Major Bravon Pearson fell asleep after a few more moments. Emersyn had been overtaken with shock, but she found relief after holding her head up to his face and hearing the shallow, wheezing breaths he was sucking in.

Emersyn took the pistol from his holster. She snatched the light off the floor and cast it around the cave. She made her way to where the pool of water had stood previously in the other dimension. Now it was just a pit, and a bottomless one as far as Emersyn could tell.

The Requiem and activator were both still in the same place, though as she approached it, the faint burning smell grew stronger. Once she was on top of it she had to cover her nose because of how strong it was. She didn’t know if it was the gem, the activator, or both, but something felt off about how the stink was lingering this long in the air.

Emersyn heard a ‘whoosh’ behind her, and her heart sank to the floor.

She reached for her pistol.

“Don’t bother,” a man with a thick Russian accent said. “Mine’s already aimed at you.”

She slowly turned around. The Russian man wore a tank-top with the hourglass emblem splotched across the upper right shoulder. His left shoulder was covered in gauze and bandages. He had messy hair and a closely-cut goatee.

It was the same Russian man who’d fought them before, and who’d taken Joey Del Core.

The revolver he held was trained on Emersyn. He studied her face for a moment, cracking a half-smile. “You attacked me before. Assaulting Time Regulators is… frowned upon”

Emersyn felt the beads of sweat forming atop her forehead. “You came at us,” she said quietly. “You provoked us.”

“You’re meddling in government affairs. Technology you’re not supposed to have yet.” He moved to stand in front of the narrow slit that led to the entrance. “You and your group are a menace. The Regulators are fixers. We correct people like you. Those who think they’re above the law.”

She frowned, stepping toward him. “It shouldn’t be illegal to prevent nuclear warfare!”

The Russian man smirked, his arrogance permeating from his flesh. “You’ve no right to meddle in another universe other than your own. You think you’re helping, but you’re not. We’ve studied it.” He raised the pistol. “Kneel, surrender, and I can promise you cooperation. You fight, and I’ve been authorized to end this threat once and for all. You’ve already gotten people killed, let’s not add to that list.”

“Where’s Joey Del Core?”

The Russian tilted his head. “The big man? We’ve got him. You’d do wise to follow him.”

Emersyn shook her head. “You’d do wise to return him.” She watched him as he circled around her, approaching the Requiem. “He’s on a mission. We’re all on a mission sanctioned by the US Government.”

“Your US Government,” he pointed out as he reached down, picking the Requiem up. “Not this time line’s.” He held the requiem in its hand. Where it had been shining a brilliant red light before activation, it was casting the dimmest trace of red light now. It looked like a regular, diamond-shaped red gem. “Can you hear it?” he asked, pointing to the walls.

When everything fell silent, she heard a low hum. It was faint, and she had to focus on her hearing to even detect it, but it was there.

“It’s energy,” he continued. “Activates this thing.” He held the Requiem up. “Dangerous stuff. You and your crew are fools to think you can come here and stop something from happening. Do you really think if you go warn your president 20 years ago in your timeline that it’s going to help?” He lowered his gun and sighed. “You could be the ones that cause the damn war!”

“Don’t move.”

Emersyn turned to see Tanner Highwall aiming his pistol through the narrow crevice. He forced his body through, keeping his aim taut. The Russian shifted his position, clutching the Requiem in one hand and aiming his pistol at Tanner in the other.

Mona started to squeeze through, but the Russian fired a shot at the ground. The crack of the gun reverberated off the cave walls, stunning Emersyn. The bullet kicked up gravel at Mona’s feet.

“You come through there, you die! Everyone stay still!” the Russian barked.

“Drop the gun, or I drop you,” Tanner said. He knelt, keeping the gun aimed at the Russian, using his free hand to check Bravon’s pulse. “I’ve been through too much shit today. Don’t add to this.”

The Russian lurched forward, wrapping his arm around Emersyn, trying to take her as a human shield while still clutching the Requiem.

“No!” Mona screamed, still behind the narrow opening.

Emersyn threw herself back, and the Russian man lost his footing. The two tripped backwards over the lip of the pool, spilling down into the pit where the water once was.

Emersyn screamed as she tumbled down into the pit of darkness.