Joel Adrian - A Shattered Future

Mona rushed to the edge of the pool, dropping to her knees and casting her gaze into the darkness. She couldn’t see anything. The scream from her younger self had drowned out into the abyss several seconds ago.

She reached a hand over and grabbed the tiny flashlight that Emersyn had dropped. She cast the beam into the endless pool of black, but it did little to chip away at the darkness. It was an empty, hollow pit that seemed to have no end.

“No!” Mona screamed, clutching the light so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

Tanner pulled her back from the edge, clutching her. He pulled her several feet away while tears started dripping from her eyes.

“It’s okay, listen.” Tanner wrapped his hands around her face, looking into her eyes. “We don’t know what’s at the bottom of that well. She could be fine.”

Mona’s heart hammered in her chest. She’d lost her younger self, and now she was being forced to stare into Tanner’s eyes. All the suppressed pain was firing through every ounce of her.

“I’m going to check on Sarge,” Tanner continued. “But then you and I are going to figure out how to get down there. W-we can find a rope, or throw something down there and measure how long it takes to hit something, or—”

Mona raised a hand, silencing him. “No.” She eased herself back, sitting on her rear. “We can’t risk our lives. You, me, him,” she said, pointing back at Bravon, “we’re all that’s left.”

Tanner resolved to stand and pace the area of the cave they were in, casting the dim light on each of the walls as he passed them. Mona could see him searching for something, anything that would help. But this wasn’t the other universe, they didn’t have work lights or crews or tools or bodies. It was just the three of them stuck in a damp, empty cave.

“Earlier, before, you said you didn’t want to lose me again.”

Mona closed her eyes and exhaled. Tanner bringing up those words was the last thing she wanted to discuss. “Can we—”

“No.” He turned to face her, shining the blue light into her face. “We’re almost done here. We might not get another chance. All due respect, ma’am, you’ve had it out for me since you first got here. Ever since… Naomi died.” He cleared his throat. “Least you owe me is some answers.”

She shrugged. “I-I misspoke.”

He scowled. She could see, even in the dim light, that he didn’t buy it for a second. “Don’t lie to me. We’re soldiers. We might be from different worlds, you might be older than me, or I might be a higher rank than you, who cares. This is two people having a conversation. Just don’t lie to me.”

Mona ran a hand through her greasy, frizzy hair. She tried to think of how to form the words, but they weren’t coming to her, not like she thought they would. “I…” She stopped and frowned. Come on, it was always so easy to tell Tanner when he was yours. But this isn’t your Tanner. “You exist, in this timeline, my timeline.”

His face lightened a bit. “I’d certainly hope so. That’s good news.”

She motioned to him. “You’re a soldier. I joined the army.”

Tanner nodded his head along. “Okay, gotcha. So, we knew each other. Did we serve in the same platoon? Train at the same base?”

Mona frowned. This was the part that pained her to explain. “You always… you trained me. My platoon. We, uh… I always had a… I always liked you…” She kept her gaze dead ahead, not daring to look Tanner in the eye.

“So, we got together or something?”

She hung her head in shame. “Yes. Once, after boot camp. We always stayed in touch. Then the bombs it, and you actually re-initiated it with me. Said it didn’t matter anymore.”

Tanner watched her, attention full and focused. She could see his stare out of the corner of her eye. “You said lose me… so I died, then?”

Mona fought back the tears, but they broke free and ran down her face. It had been so long since she cried or let herself feel any kind of emotional pain. “You died protecting us. Our group. Raiders, bandits came, robbed us and killed you.”

The cave fell silent, except for the occasional sob from Mona. She tried to compose herself, but it was like a flood overcame her. She couldn’t have held back even if she wanted to. Tanner walked to her and knelt, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said. “I might not be him, but it all sounds pretty like me.”

Mona reached a hand out and clutched his wrist. She knew it wasn’t him, but damn if it didn’t fool her. “I’m so sorry,” she managed through a sob.

He rubbed her shoulder. “You got nothin’ to be sorry about.” He tilted her head up, and she looked into his eyes, the same eyes she’d been avoiding every second since she first saw his younger self. “Listen, we’re going to get out of this. We’re going to rescue Emersyn, we’re going back, and it’s okay.”

“You still sound just like him,” she said, slowing her sobs. She reached a dirty hand up and wiped the tears from her eyes. “You never lost that perseverance. That drive.”

Tanner smiled. “Well, that’s good to know, isn’t it?”

There was a growl that came from beneath the ground. They both turned towards the well. The walls of the cave and the ground started shaking. It was gentle at first, but seconds later the entire structure was rocking back and forth violently.

“Oh, crap,” Tanner said, looking up as dust and bits of rock started to fall. “What the hell is going on?” He backed up to protect Bravon.

Mona scurried back with him, all three huddled together. She prayed that the cave would hold and that whatever was causing the violent shaking didn’t continue, or they’d be buried alive in the collapse.

Emersyn banged against the curve of the floor, being strung along against the rough ground. The downward curvature of the pit threw her to and fro until she and the Russian eventually slid to a stop as the bottom sloped down and inwards.

Emersyn coughed. She heard the Russian man groan in pain. Her hands were scraped and cut up. Fresh blood was dripping from her face onto the ground. Her right ankle was throbbing relentlessly with pain. Sprained, at least , she thought.

She hobbled to a stand. Realizing she could see, she glanced up. Her eyes bulged out of her skull when she saw where they were.

There was a large clearing in front of them, with jagged, sharp spikes of pulsing blue gemstones obtruding from the walls, and out of massive boulders and rock spread throughout the area. The light they gave off was neon-colored and lit up the entire cave they were in.

She stepped forward, limping towards the nearest rock. It was half the size of her and cut jaggedly into it was one of the blue gems. It pulsed with life, almost like a heartbeat. “My god,” she whispered under her breath.

The Russian man had found his footing and held his gun up at Emersyn. But his gaze was on the gemstones. He watched them, fascinated, unaware of Emersyn’s presence any more. He whispered what sounded like a prayer in Russian.

There was a whine from the back of the cave, and suddenly, a low-pitched buzz emitted from the depths. It was dull and annoying at first, but it was picking up frequency and loudness. Emersyn covered her ears, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the pounding ring.

The Russian man screamed and raised his revolver.

“No!” Emersyn tried to shout over the roar, but she was unsuccessful.

The pendant-device the Russian man wore around his neck shot up and out of his shirt, pointed towards the back of the cave. It was being pulled there, like a magnet. He screamed, and dropped his pistol, trying to unfasten the chain from his neck. A second later, he was pulled to the back, his heart-wrenching scream drowned out a second later by the growing buzz.