Joel Adrian - A Shattered Future

“Good luck,” the driver said, not turning his head.

Emersyn stepped out, the hot Atlanta heat immediately beating down on her. She brought a hand up and pushed her unkempt hair from her face, glancing around. Another group of soldiers jogged by, a drill instructor at their side swearing and shouting at them.

“This way, Ms. Berg.” Bravon turned and led both her and the man in the suit into the small office.

Inside, the air conditioning thrust relief upon her. She’d only been outside for a minute, but even that was enough for her.

The man in the suit pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at the beads of sweat lining his forehead. He wheezed, trying to catch his breath.

The office was small. There was a desk that held a computer and a phone, a circular meeting table with plastic chairs around it, a couch, and an old, standard-definition TV in the corner. It was a cramped building, one of the two windows occupied by the air conditioning unit.

Emersyn didn’t consider herself claustrophobic, but with even just the three of them here, the room felt constricting.

“Take a seat,” Bravon said, pulling a chair back at the table. Emersyn and the man in the suit all sat.

She tapped an index finger on the light brown wood, her gaze down but eyes darting from Bravon to the man in the suit, waiting for one of them to tell her what this is all about. She tried to purge the worst-case scenario from her mind, but it kept tugging at her.

“Okay, let’s get started,” Bravon said, setting his hands on the table. He traded a concerned glance with the man in the suit and nodded. “This is Wayne Baron. He’s our resident scientist.”

“Hello,” he said, offering a warm smile.

“Hi,” Emersyn said quietly, eyes glued to the table.

“We brought you here today because you’ve been unwillingly thrust into one of the greatest discoveries of our time.” He stood and walked to the desk. He opened one of the cabinets, and was back at the table a second later, holding a folder. He placed the folder down and pulled a pen from his pocket. He slid both to Emersyn. “But before I can tell you what it is, I need you to sign these.

“They’re legal documents. Feel free to sort through the mumbo-jumbo yourself, but they all say that what we’re going to discuss doesn’t leave this base. You can’t tell your friends, family, anybody. Do I make myself clear?” He stared right at her.

“Yes,” she said without raising her eyes. She opened the folder.

Inside were at least two dozen pages of small-print words, throwing around non-disclosures and legal ramifications. There were four pages that she had to initial and sign. She knew from asking the Sergeant previously that if she refused, things would just get worse for her. As much as she’d like to, she couldn’t rebel now.

She swallowed hard and, despite her shaking hand, signed her name on all the pages. She dropped the pen on the paper, closed the folder, and slid it back towards the Sergeant.

The fear was dragging Emersyn down now. She clutched her eyes shut. “Now, can you finally tell me what’s going on please?”

“Child, are you… open to change?” Wayne Baron asked. He had a heavy southern accent that contrasted with his high-pitched voice. His hand clutched the edge of the table.

Emersyn opened her eyes, tilting her head a bit.

She could see Wayne knew she was confused. He cleared his throat and extended his arm. “There are things we thought we knew, things we’ve taught your generation and many generations before that we… well, we just discovered might not be true.”

She half-shook her head, eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”

Wayne shifted his position, turning to face her with his entire body. “We’ve encountered something myself and my team can’t explain. I was brought in with 6 others. Physicists, other scientists, you name it.” He stopped for a moment as if carefully considering his next words. “It appears all we knew of time has been flipped 180 degrees.”

Bravon stood and moved to his desk, picking up the landline phone. He punched in a number on the keypad and turned towards the two while he waited. “Yeah, I’m in my office. Bring her over. And watch her, I’m serious.” He dropped the phone back into the receiver and folded his arms. “She’s coming.”

“Who’s coming?” Emersyn asked, looking up. The vague answer Wayne Baron gave her wasn’t putting her at ease, and now someone was on their way. She looked at Bravon, panicking. “You’ve got to tell me. I signed your form. Please.”

He walked slowly towards the table. “Trust me, for something like this, it’s better that you see it first. I needed to. That’s why we came and found you.”

She groaned. Everyone was talking in riddles, it was like they were under their own legal bindings to use vague words and indefinite answers. Glancing down, she focused on the table again, trying to calm herself. “I feel like I’m going to be sick,” she said under her breath.

“It’s okay, child.” Wayne reached over and put a meaty hand on hers. “Just remember, we’re all in this together. This has thrown all of us for a loop.”

Emersyn jerked her head up. “But I don’t even know what you’re—”

There were two loud bangs on the door. She jerked to the side, eyes snapping over to it. The knocks were loud and bold, like the ones Bravon Pearson had used on her own door. They had an authority about them.

Bravon spared her a concerning glance, and turned, heading for the door.

Emersyn watched, fingers digging into the edge of the table. Her palms were slick with sweat, and she felt dizziness overcome her. The door handle turned and in stepped two individuals.

One was another soldier. He had his gun drawn and at his side. In his free hand, he was escorting a prisoner. It was an older woman, bound at the wrists and ankles with chains. She had graying black hair tied into a ponytail and dark brown eyes. There was a scar running across the bridge of her nose, and the edges of her eyes were speckled with crow’s feet.

As Emersyn studied her face, an uneasy feeling punched her in the gut. She felt like the curtain was being pulled back slowly.

The woman looked like her, but much older.

“That’s…” She couldn’t speak, she was at a loss for words.

“Impossible?” Wayne Baron asked, shifting to arc his head towards the older woman. He rested a hand on his protruding gut and studied her for a moment. Emersyn could see the fascination in his eyes. “That’s what we thought, too. In fact,” he said, turning to look back her way, “we were sure of it up until the moment you answered the door for Sergeant Major Bravon here.”

Emersyn couldn’t speak. She stared at the older woman, transfixed by her. That’s… me? The face was worn, but the same. The eyes were the same. Even the hair. That was Emersyn. But it couldn’t be, because she was Emersyn, wasn’t she?

I’ve lost my mind .

She buried her face in her hands and gave up trying to figure it out. The last 24 hours had been so stressful for her she’d no doubt lost her mind and succumbed to some form of hallucination. Bravon wasn’t real, Wayne wasn’t real, and the other her certainly wasn’t real.

Sergeant Bravon Pearson leaned against his desk, watching Emersyn. “I know it’s a shock, but she’s you. We ran her DNA against yours. We utilized the government’s biggest database. This isn’t a mistake, this isn’t a joke. This woman is you.”

Emersyn watched older self through her fingers, keeping her face shielded. The world was playing a cruel trick on her, and she wouldn’t give in.

Turning to Bravon, Wayne shrugged. “Maybe it’s best if we, ah, leave ‘em alone?”