Joel Adrian - A Shattered Future

The tiredness overcame her, and shortly after she sent the message, the phone spilled onto her stomach. Emersyn drifted off to sleep and dreamt of Mona’s world.

Emersyn and Tanner stood at the foot of Sergeant Major Bravon Pearson’s gurney. He was stationed in a room with other wounded and sick soldiers, though most of the gurneys were empty. There was more life in his face, and he looked better. If Emersyn looked hard enough, she could just make out shallow breaths through the movement of his chest.

“Think he can hear us?” Tanner asked.

Emersyn cracked a smirk. “I doubt it. He’s too old.”

“What was that, Private?” Bravon said, not a slur of sleep in his words.

Chuckling, Emersyn walked to one side of the gurney. Tanner approached from the other. They both looked the Sergeant over.

“How are you, sir?” Tanner asked.

Bravon glanced around the medical area. There was a heart rate monitor hooked up to him, a tray of assorted instruments, and a window to his right. “Ready to get the hell out of this bed and back to work.”

Tanner nodded. “Well, we’re ready to have you back, sir.”

“You,” Bravon said, sticking a finger up towards Emersyn. “I’m hoping we’ll see you sign up soon.”

She tilted her head. “I’m definitely thinking about it, but there’s some stuff I’ve got to do first.”

Bravon closed his eyes. “Ah. I get it. If it’s family stuff, by all means. I understand.”

“Speaking of,” Emersyn said, “your family’s on their way. Tanner and I got ahold of Tracey. She’ll be here in 3 hours.”

Bravon’s face lightened, and it was as if a weight had been lifted off the old man’s shoulders. “No kidding?”

Tanner put a hand on the Sergeant’s shoulder. “Never, sir.” He smiled, his pearly whites gleaming. “She’s looking forward to seeing you.”

Emersyn and Tanner both started to leave after conversing with the Sergeant for a bit.

“Hey!” he called after them.

They both turned over their shoulder, glancing back.

“I’m proud of you both,” he said. Emersyn could tell it wasn’t praise from a Sergeant to a Private, but a man who’d seen two people endure something nobody thought possible and survive.

She smiled. “We’re proud of you too, sir.”

Outside the hospital building, Tanner and Emersyn stepped out into the blistering heat. There was a cover extending past the entrance of the building, shielding them from the harsh rays of the sun. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned towards him.

“Hey, so you’re heading back?”

Emersyn shrugged. “Maybe. Haven’t completely decided yet.”

Tanner frowned. “Look, before you leave, I’d like to… take you out to dinner, or lunch, or just sit down and talk with you for a bit. Not as soldiers, not as geared-up time travelers—” they both chuckled, “—but as people.”

She smiled. Now that things with Ollie were over, the new possibilities scared her, but they excited her equally the same. “I’d love to.”

“Great. You free tonight?”

She glanced at an invisible watch on her wrist. “I suppose I can make time.” She smiled coyly and gave him a playful shove.

He wrapped an arm around her and the two started back towards the barracks. “Come on, Berg, I’ll show you to the scientist’s barracks. Don’t ever travel on a military base alone. Too many good-looking guys like me.”

Emersyn and Tanner conversed the entire way back and agreed to dinner around 1400 hours. He took his leave of her, and she started getting ready. It was always better to get ready early, she didn’t want to keep him waiting.

She dipped into the bathroom and started running some hot water. She shedded the plain gray t-shirt she had been wearing and snagged a black v-neck from her bag. She turned and looked up into the mirror.

Mona was screaming, pounding on the mirror.

The image disappeared a second later. Emersyn fell back, tripping and knocking the wastebin over. The image had only lasted for a moment, but it was burned into her brain. Mona had cuts along her face and blood all over her hands.

Somehow, it was like she knew she was reaching Emersyn. She had pounded on the other side of the mirror. Was she trying to beg for help? Was she warning Emersyn? She only had a second of the scene to go based off.

Emersyn stood, trying to gather her bearings. Her hands started to shake. She felt like something had twisted inside her. Seeing her older self, even for that one second, stirred something in her.

Mona knows me, I’m her, she told herself. She knew if I saw her appear, especially in that state, I would want to help.

She hurriedly got dressed, tossing the face moisturizer she was going to use back into her bag. She slipped on the same pair of jeans she’d been wearing earlier that day and snagged her cell phone from the table.

Emersyn spun and headed for the door. A familiar ‘whoosh’ cracked through the air and standing before her was the Russian man from Mona’s world. Her jaw fell open. She could see the outline of several bandages on his stomach beneath his shirt.

The phone spilled from her hand, clattering to the floor. Her stomach tightened in harsh knots. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “How—”

The Russian man held a hand up, silencing her.

“Always make sure that your enemy is dead. You remember me, yes? My name is Vetrov Rodinovich. I’m here to warn you.”

The Russian man had on a long-sleeve polo with the hourglass emblem sewn into the left breast. He wore a worn brown leather jacket over it, and his left arm was in a sling from where she’d shot him. “Don’t go after her. She’s fighting against governance. She’s illegally contacting you.”

Emersyn could feel her cheeks flushing red. “You bastard, what did you do to her?”

Vetrov’s mouth curled into a sick smile. “She committed the crime, not me.”

She reared her arm back and grabbed the lamp next to her bed. She chucked it at Vetrov, but his hand was already on the pendant he wore. He vanished a second before the lamp made contact. It smashed into the door behind him, breaking into a shower of grey-and-red pieces.

Emersyn rushed forward, but he was gone. She tried to slow her breathing, but she couldn’t contain herself. Turning, she smashed a balled fist in the door as hot tears started running down her face. She yelped in pain and crumbled to the ground, holding her hand as she bawled.

Tanner found her about an hour later. She’d stopped crying, and now had her mind set on one thing: fixing this mess of a situation.

She was in the middle of packing her bag, stuffing all the clothes and personal items she had into it when Tanner grabbed her arm.

“Emersyn?” he asked, “where the hell are you going?”

She forcefully shoved a bottle of conditioner into the bag. “I saw her, Tanner. I saw Mona.” She turned to face him, looking up into his eyes. “She needs help. Then that Russian man appeared. His name’s Vetrov Rodinovich. He threatened me. Told me not to come after her, that she was violating laws by reaching out to me.”

“How’s he still alive?”

Emersyn dug her fingernails into her palm. “We were stupid, didn’t shoot him in the head.”

Spinning on his heel, Tanner followed Emersyn into the bathroom, avoiding the shattered glass on the ground. “Jesus, what happened? Did you two fight in here?”

She snagged several more bottles and stuffed them into the crook of her arm. “I wish. He vanished. I’m so sick of that damn trick.” She tossed the mess of bottles onto the bed and exhaled.

Tanner grabbed her arm and pulled her so she came face-to-face with him. “Listen, I don’t care what the deal is, okay? I’m going to help you.”