Joel Adrian - A Shattered Future

Emersyn felt like she was going to pass out. She turned and tried to start back the way she came, but the pull of the ring was draining her of all her willpower. She fell to the ground, eyes starting to water.

Something caught her eye to the left.

She turned and saw the Requiem. Its red was a harsh contrast to the bright, neon blue of the room. It wasn’t being pulled back and didn’t seem to be interacting with the other gems in any way.

She reached a shaky hand towards it, clutching the stone and pulling it back to her.

The activator’s keypad lit up with the holo-screen. A dial displayed, threatening to go past the ‘max’ label on its gauge. She didn’t know how to interpret the settings, or how to configure it. The buzz was aching at her, she couldn’t focus enough to read what was displayed.

The gems behind her emitted a rasping growl. It was like they had a consciousness, they were alive, and they did not want her here among them.

The nonstop buzzing was pulling her back towards them, like a forceful wind. She couldn’t resist it. She fought to step forward, but it pulled her back. Emersyn grabbed the Requiem and the activator, and she was flung backwards forcefully.

Emersyn reached a hand out and grabbed onto one of the protruding gems from a rock.

Suddenly the buzzing stopped. Now it was a hiss, one of pain. The pull stopped, and she found herself level, standing on the ground again.

The Russian man charged her from behind, wielding a large rock. She ducked, and he smashed it into the rock she had been gripping a moment before. The hissing intensified, and she rolled to the side. The Requiem and the activator clattered to the cold floor.

Emersyn spun and ran for the gun. The Russian cranked his arm back and threw the rock, smashing into her back. Emersyn collapsed onto the ground with a yelp of pain. She turned and brought a hand up as the Russian gripped her throat She scratched her hand out, catching one of her nails under his eye.

As he tried to pin her down, she kneed him as hard as she could in the balls. He gasped and collapsed to the side, hands firm on his crotch.

She grabbed the gun and cocked it, turning to pin it to his head. She heard the familiar ‘whoosh’, and he was gone by the time she completed her turn.

“Emersyn!”

She turned to see Mona and Tanner descending from a makeshift uniform-and-shirt rope tied into knots. Mona wore a dirty black tank-top, and Tanner was shirtless, but they’d found a way down.

“Where is the bastard?” Tanner called, waving his pistol around.

Mona was transfixed on the blue glow of the gems. “Oh, god.”

“What is it?” Emersyn asked, panting.

Shifting her head, looking from one side of the room to the other, Mona bit her lip. “We always thought that the activation sites needed immense power. This is… this is a nest of Ataplite. It’s the exact opposite of what’s in the Requiem stone. My God, I never thought there would be so much.”

“So this stuff is what activates the Requiem?” Emersyn stood, glancing over her shoulder, expecting the Russian to appear and assault her.

Mona placed a hand on one of the pulsing blue gemstones. “They work in harmony. I’m not a scientist, but the way Hank Thrashor explained it to me… in layman’s terms, he said the Requiem rips time open with a tiny bit of energy of its own, and the Activator allows it to draw the rest of what it needs from this. From Ataplite.”

“What if—”

Tanner was cut off. The Russian man tackled him from behind and pounded the back of his head with a fury of fists. Mona charged him, but he spun and kicked her in the gut, sending her face down to the floor.

Emersyn raised her gun, but he disappeared. A second later, he was behind her. He wrapped an arm around her and used the other to grip the gun, wrestling control of it away from her.

“Give it here!” he cried, spittle flecking from his mouth and onto her face.

She strained against him for a moment, but he was too strong.

Mona was up and tackled him into one of the pulsing blue gems. There was another hiss from the Ataplite. The Russian disappeared and reappeared right behind Mona, pushing her forward and causing her face to smash into the rock.

Tanner raised his pistol and fired at their antagonizer, but he disappeared just in time. The bullets struck the side of a massive blue Ataplite. The cave hissed again, louder and in pain.

“The hell is that?” he asked.

Emersyn shook her head. “Don’t know, but we’re pissing it off.” She rested her hand on the rocky surface of one of the gems, trying to catch her breath.

She felt the blow to her knee from behind and collapsed to the ground in pain. Emersyn raised her gun, but it was kicked free of her hand. The Russian turned and smashed Tanner in the mouth with a balled fist. Mona was still out, clutching her wounded head.

The Russian punched Emersyn in the face. Her head was thrown back, and she spit out a glob of saliva and blood. The Russian gripped her hand with his own and started to pull his pendant out. “Time to go.”

“No!” Mona screamed. She leaped to the gun Emersyn had dropped and raised it.

In one swift movement, she pulled the trigger just as Emersyn and the Russian man began to fade.

The body of the Russian man slumped over Emersyn, blood spewing from his stomach.

Mona had connected with the shot just in time. She panted and let the gun spill from her hand. She was still clutching the bloodied side of her face. Tanner came to the two and fell to his knees. “It’s over,” he said.

Shaking her head, Mona closed her eyes. “No. Not even close.”

The three managed to get themselves up the rope of uniforms and shirts. Once they were all atop, Tanner freed his tank top from the rope and put it back on.

Emersyn blinked, believing her eyes to be playing tricks on her. From the top of the hole, it looked dark and endless. But it was only about 15 feet down they’d fallen. Maybe the Ataplite were manipulating the appearance of it, trying to shield themselves.

“We’ve got to get you two back,” Mona said. She wiped the blood from her temple with one of the uniforms and grabbed the Requiem and the activator.

Tanner turned to face her. “Yeah? What about you?”

“Wait a minute,” Emersyn said, eyes darting around for a small, familiar figure. “Where the hell is Catalina?”

Mona and Tanner exchanged an uneasy glance. He stepped away from her and towards Emersyn, his eyes meeting hers.

“Damn, I’m sorry. I… we,” he said, motioning to himself and Mona, “we tried to save her. A Regulator shot her.”

Emersyn stood stunned for a moment, then the tears took her uncontrollably. She cried, collapsing onto the ground in a sob. She hardly knew the girl, but that wasn’t the point. She’d been so inspired to changing her life, and it had all been ripped away from her. Catalina was the only one of them who kept a constant optimism through the entire mission.

Emersyn bawled, trying to catch a breath in between sobs. Tanner knelt and put a hand on her shoulder. She reached a hand up and intertwined with his. She wasn’t used to losing anyone—it felt like she’d been stabbed in the heart.

“I was with her at the end,” he said. “She… wasn’t crying or thrashing in pain. She was content.”

It’s not fair , Emersyn wanted to scream.

There was a small hum to their left, and the Requiem gem came alive with its brilliant red light they’d both seen before. The same burning smell rose to the air quickly. Emersyn watched through her red, puffy eyes as Mona typed on the holographic keypad on the activator.

“The Time Regulators are going to be all over my ass soon.” She cranked one of the dials on the activator, and turned, repositioning the Requiem gem in its case. “This is my world, I have to stay here. I won’t let them take me.”