Joel Adrian - A Shattered Future

They both handed over their pistols, and Tanner turned over Catalina’s phone. Emersyn kept the Requiem gem in one of her pockets and the activator in the other. She’d give it up, but only when they got back. It was hard to trust anyone after seeing the Time Regulators in Mona’s timeline.

The plane ride bored Emersyn, and this time she opted to sleep, much like Tanner did. She found herself back in her counterpart’s timeline, thrashing through the jungle, a Time Regulator hot on her heels. She woke in a cold sweat, swearing up and down how real it had felt.

“Did she ever tell you what happened in her universe with us?” Tanner asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

She shook her head, grabbing a water bottle off the tray in front of her and twisting the cap. “No, can’t say she did.” Emersyn took a long swig of water, the liquid quenching the thirst clawing at her throat. “Why, what did she say?”

Tanner thought for a moment. “Nothing. I asked, and she wouldn’t tell me. I just figured she might have told you since you were, you know, her.” He stretched, smirking. “I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.”

Emersyn glanced out the window at the pillow-like clouds below them. “We’ll have to make our own path.”

The plane landed hours later, and though she’d managed to fall back asleep, Emersyn woke up more tired than when she’d left. The sight of Fort Ashen was a welcome relief that washed over her. She’d finally made it back. The trip to the future and back had succeeded, and somehow, she was still standing after it was all said and done.

The Atlanta heat hit them as they departed the plane. Tanner rolled the sleeves up on his fatigues, and Emersyn reached a hand back, tying her hair into a ponytail. With no wind in sight, and the sun drifting towards the high point in the sky, she figured this to be another scorched-earth day.

They both marched towards one of the offices, Emersyn more than ready to take in another round of air conditioning. She squinted when she saw a portly figure heading towards them.

“Is that—”

“Yep,” Tanner replied.

Wayne Baron waddled towards them, one hand shielding his eyes from the sun and the other holding a stack of papers. His blue suit was darkened with sweat stains at the collar and underarms. His forehead was flecked with specks of sweat. He offered them both a grin as they neared one another.

“Well, children, you’ve done it. Time travelers alive and in my midst. Mama, I wish you could see me now!” He chuckled.

Tanner reached a hand out. Wayne took it and shook it vehemently. “It’s good to see you,”

The oval-shaped man turned and shook Emersyn’s hand. “And you, child. By the grace of God, you’ve become one heck of a soldier these last couple days.”

“Thank you,” Emersyn managed. Seeing the scientist’s infectious smiled caused her to return it with one of her own.

He pointed towards the office behind him. “Let’s get inside. I have some forms for you both to sign, then we’ll get ya both fed, showered, and rested.”

The rest of the day sped by quick for Emersyn. She and Tanner were forced to sign at least two dozen papers stating they’d follow up with a debrief the next day, they’d never speak about the mission unless asked by direct military personnel, and they may be called on to oversee future missions regarding the Requiem or the activator.

Emersyn reluctantly relinquished the activator and the Requiem to Wayne Baron. He promised to take care of it and assured her that because casualties were sustained, it would be a long time before it was used to time travel again.

She was escorted to the scientist barracks once again, where she was able to shower. She washed herself of the crazy adventure she had. Flashes of Catalina and Mona broke into her mind as she showered, and she felt faint and dizzy, remembering they weren’t here. She put a hand on the tiled shower wall, steadying herself. The dizziness was quick to onset. It passed a moment later, and she tried to push the painful memories from her head.

Wayne Baron brought a tray of food to her in her quarters. She’d asked if she could eat with Tanner, but the stout man advised her that he was undergoing a mental evaluation and offered her a complimentary one on-site. She politely declined and sat eating her mock meatloaf and flaky potatoes alone.

Once she’d finished her lunch, she pulled her phone out. One thing she’d been excited about was the prospect of taking photos and videos in the other universe, and she’d never even gotten the opportunity. Everything had happened so fast. Guilt started tugging at the edges of her mind, criticizing her for not taking it in more.

She turned on her phone screen and saw 92 missed text messages from Ollie, and 30 missed calls. 12 of the missed calls had voicemails to go with them.

Emersyn clutched the phone in her hand. She sighed and pressed the on-screen icon to call Ollie.

She brought the phone up to her ear. Her heart hammered in her chest as the line trilled. After the second ring, Ollie picked up. “Hello?” she could feel the emotion in his voice. She hadn’t heard anything of the sort in so long.

You can’t let his emotions cloud you now , she told herself. “Ollie?”

“Oh my god, you’re alive!” His voice rang into her ear, overburdened with joy. “My god, why didn’t you tell me what was going on? Emersyn, I’m so sorry about—”

“Ollie?” she interrupted him.

The line went dead. She could almost see him, his smile frozen and petrified with fear because of the tone she was using. The dread was clawing at her innards. She wanted to stop, she wanted to quit, hang up, and forget it. But she couldn’t.

She knew this had to be done.

“I can’t see you anymore,” she said, her voice shaky and afraid.

He sounded like he was trying to find some word to say but was unsuccessful. “W-what?”

Emersyn Berg cleared her throat and knew this was the moment she was taking charge of her life. “I’m done with you, Ollie.” Her voice was growing, the shakiness fading. “I’m not happy with you, you’re not the guy for me. I’m sorry it took me so long to do this.” She ended the call a second later and tossed the phone to the bed.

Guilt and happiness struggled equally within her. She hated knowing that she was the cause of someone else’s agony and pain. She’d been through break-ups before. They hurt like hell, and Ollie was going to get nasty, she knew it. But she’d persevere, she always did.

Knowing that in some alternate reality, she had the guts to successfully navigate boot camp and become a respected soldier gave her courage and hope for the future. She didn’t need to be afraid of what lay in front of her. Destiny was hers, and the sky was the limit.

Night settled in on Fort Ashen and she was content to lay in bed and sleep. She wished she could see Tanner. The two had shared something nobody else in this universe had encountered. He was the only other one who would understand what she had gone through, and maybe he could give her some advice on how to deal with the loss of Catalina, Joey, and Mona.

Her thoughts drifted to Joey Del Core. She wondered what became of the Italian mobster—what the Time Regulators did with him. None of the soldiers made mention of him. She assumed he’d been transported to another realm or time to be held prisoner. She tried to subdue her anger at the regulators.

Emersyn snatched her phone from the bed and pulled it back up. She opened her messages and typed a quick message to her father. She felt strange sending it. The two hadn’t talked in forever. But she refused to wait until he was old and sick, and then regret not trying to reconnect with him sooner. She knew it might not work, hell, it probably wouldn’t result in anything. But it was worth a shot.