Joel Adrian - A Shattered Future

Hard to call it comfortable when you’re sitting in a strange bed, 10 hours from home , she thought.

Being alone didn’t sate her anymore. She stood and decided that she would check out the base. Walking around a strange world she knew nothing about would normally terrify her, but her world had been thrown upside down already. She decided to push her limits.

A few of the scientists, all wearing white lab coats, nodded to her as she traversed the halls and made her way back to the exit. Outside, a group of three scientists were conversing and smoking. Wayne Baron was among them. He waved a hand to her and tossed the cigarette butt onto the ground. He stomped it out with the heel of his shoe and made his way over to her.

“Didn’t expect to see you back out so soon.” He held a hand up, blocking the unforgiving rays of the sun. “Something I can help you with, child?”

She shook her head. “Not really. Just needed to get out. The room’s nice, but kind of… empty.”

Wayne shifted his position. The underarms and neck of his suit were stained wet with sweat. “Well, there’s not much in the way of recreation ‘round these parts, but—”

“That’s okay,” she said. “I’m just going to walk around.”

“Oh, sure, child. Just holler if you need anythin’. If anyone gives you any trouble tell them you’re a part of ‘Project Requiem,’ and they’ll leave you alone.”

She thanked them and started down the road that Wayne had driven along to get to the barracks. Things on this part of the base weren’t quite as lively and active as near Sergeant Bravon Pearson's office, but there were still groups of soldiers using obstacle courses and training, as well as the occasional vehicle passing through.

As she walked along the heat-scorched pavement of the roads, she found herself wanting to talk to Mona. She had questions. Even if things weren’t going to play out the same, she wanted to know about possibilities. She struggled to ever picture herself suiting up and defending her country, but in some world, in some timeline, she did just that.

It almost brought a sense of peace to her. Somehow, things worked out. She wasn’t going to be damned to work at Atriarch Communications for all of eternity. One day, she had enough and left.

Her rational reminded her that, in that timeline, the world also ended with a nuclear war. One that she was being invited along to help prevent.

There hadn’t been much time spent on the decision. She wiped the sweat from her head and considered both of her options. She had enough information now that if she went home, she felt she could implement some positive changes in her life. Maybe sit down with Ollie and figure things out. Get out of Atriarch with her newfound hope. Try to make life right as rain and work on herself.

But she’d always end up with questions at the back of her mind. Like a child who discovers a magic box, but never opens it. The idea of time travel, while confirmed, could never be expanded on again. She had no reason to believe this wasn’t the biggest moment of her life and to walk away from it all didn’t feel right.

If she went, she might likely die. She knew of the war from Mona, but beyond that, she had no idea of what the future would hold. At what point in time would they arrive in this other universe? How dangerous was it going to be? Was it even going to work? She forgot to ask Mona how well-tested and functional this Requiem was.

Emersyn crossed the road and walked towards the center of the base. Down inside her, she knew that even if it was extremely dangerous, she’d agree to it. She couldn’t sate her desire by walking away, no matter how safe and appealing retreating back to Ohio and getting a new job was.

This was revolutionizing their world as they know it. That wasn’t something she would throw away.

She didn’t know how long she’d been walking, but the office she came upon looked familiar. She recognized it as Sergeant Bravon Pearson’s. Turning back, she looked for the scientist barracks, but it was beyond her range of sight.

Late afternoon was setting in. The sun had reached its apex and was now on the descent, but the rays of heat were cast down with as much resolve as ever. Sweat had broken out across her arms and back, leaving her shirt wet and stuck to her body

She succumbed to the subtle call of Bravon’s air conditioner and headed for the door.

Two knocks later, Bravon opened the door. He was dressed more casually: his uniform had the sleeves rolled up and it was unbuttoned, revealing a tight black shirt underneath.

His eyes widened when he saw her. “Oh, Emersyn.” He glanced behind her and then arched his head to look to the side of the office. “You alone? Wayne didn’t drive you?”

“I wanted to go for a walk, walked a bit further than I thought I would. Is this a bad time?”

He turned and looked at his wristwatch. “No, I just got off duty about 20 minutes ago. Was there something you needed?”

“Just… wanted to pop in, I suppose.”

He tilted his head. “Well, can’t say that I’m used to social visits here, but I’m open to the change.” He turned to the side and motioned for her to come in. “Get out of that heat.”

She walked into the office for the second time that day, welcoming the cooling breath of the air conditioner.

“Wayne get you set up with a bed?”

“Mhm. It’s so empty there.”

Bravon chuckled as he sat at his desk. “Yeah, those scientists don’t believe in sleep. Me? If I don’t get my 6 hours I turn into a real asshole.”

She snagged one of the plastic chairs sitting around the meeting table and pulled it up to his desk. “I’m going with you on the mission.”

He looked up, smiling. “Now there’s a surprise. A damn good surprise.” He leaned back and laughed to himself. “A costly one, too. I had $30 with one of the other Sergeants that you were out of here first thing tomorrow.”

She giggled. “Sorry.”

“Well, It’ll be a mission that’s the first of it’s kind, that’s for sure. The details are changing by the minute. Mona’s giving us as much intel as she can, but she was thrust into this role at the last minute.” He brought a hand up and rubbed his eyes. “The truth is, this could very well not work at all. We’ve opened up this dimension, this idea, that we dismissed as a fantasy before.” He stared at his desk, shaking his head gently. “It’s scary, Emersyn. I’ll give it to you straight.”

“No, what’s scary is seeing that woman sit in front of you. I’m still trying to come to grips with the fact that that was… me.” The words didn’t taste right in her mouth, and she frowned. “I understand that fundamentally and scientifically, she’s me. But do we trust her motives? I’m a bit enamored with her, but I think that’s just because she’s me. What do you think?”

He rubbed his hands together, considering her question. “We’d have to come up with a damn good ulterior motive if she’s not on our side, I’ll say that much. But it’s a valid question.”

The room fell quiet. Emersyn noticed a picture on Bravon’s desk. It was of a young girl, maybe fourteen years old. She wore a pink shirt and had the same eyes as Bravon. “Is she your daughter?”

He glanced up at the picture. “Yeah, that’s my Tracey.” He stood and walked towards the door. “I was supposed to be here for one or two more months, then I was retiring and moving to be with her. Now, this mission kind of threw my plans to hell.”

Emersyn could hear the emotion in his voice. “That sucks. Can’t you appeal? Don’t they have other Sergeants?”

“Sure. But none of them are as decorated as me. They’re sending me because I’m the best on this base. President Warren is buying into everything Mona’s said, and I tend to agree. It’s got to be me.”