A Shattered Future

by Joel Adrian

  Mona held up a finger and turned. She stuck the finger at Emersyn. “One, you need to listen to me because I’m the only one who's been to both worlds. Two, Bravon made it clear to me that if things went south, I’m to get you guys back ASAP. Leaving you trapped here to get blown away by the bombs isn’t doing anyone any damn good.”

  “Hey, who’s getting’ blown away?”

  Joey Del Core had made it to his feet, and he waddled over to the group. He spotted Bravon’s wounded body and Naomi’s corpse. He spent all of two seconds studying them, then continued like they were dead insects.

  Mona’s eyes flared at the big man. “Just sit down, Joey. We’ll get you home, don’t worry.”

  The Italian mobster’s jaw opened in shock. He looked like someone had just smacked him across the face. “What did you—”

  “You heard me,” Mona said. She nodded towards Bravon. “He might have thought it was okay to ask you to do things and warn you. I’ll tell you the way it is. Anything you’re about to spew isn’t going to help, so just shut it and go sit down.”

  Joey’s fists clenched. Catalina stepped past Mona and put a hand on one of his meaty wrists. “It’s not worth it, ese. We need to work together to get out of here, okay?”

  Joey didn’t spare her a glance. “Nobody talks to me like that. Nobody!”

  “Back off, you overstuffed sausage.”

  The group turned to see Tanner emerging from the thick brush that fed into the woods. Emersyn noticed he didn’t look any better—his eyes were redder than before—but seeing him rejoining the group was a step in the right direction as far as she was concerned.

  “The hell did you just call me?” Joey asked, his cheeks flushing red. Emersyn could see the anger swelling in the obese man.

  Tanner didn’t hesitate to ball his fists and start towards the man. Despite Joey Del Core being three times the size of Tanner, the Specialist didn’t seem phased. “Sit your ass down. We’re already down two men, don’t make me make it a third.”

  Joey Del Core swung a hard right into Tanner’s face.

  Specialist Tanner Highwall collapsed to the ground, out cold.

  Joey turned, sticking a fat finger at Mona, Emersyn, and Catalina. “Now, I’m done with this ‘sit down and stay out’ crap. I’m on the mission, just like you folks. I’m tryna get my bid reduced! I got a family, too, ya know that?” The big Italian man folded his arms and looked them over. “Might even be some help if ya let me.”

  Emersyn glanced from Mona to Catalina. She could tell neither of them wanted anything to do with the mobster Joey Del Core. But she knew the severity of the situation. She didn’t agree with Joey’s decision to knock Tanner out, but the last thing they needed right now was to poke the bear.

  She stepped forward, motioning to the group. “Um, Joey, we’re all exhausted and we’re in a bit of a shock right now. None of us expected things to go south this quickly.” She studied his unchanging expression. “You’re right though. We need to work together. I’m sorry we excluded you.”

  Mona looked at Emersyn, disgust strewn about her face.

  Joey shrugged. “Water under the bridge, cute thing. What we doin’?”

  Emersyn pointed at Bravon. “Right now, he’s not looking so hot. He got impaled when we transferred through. Stick was stuck right here.” She put two fingers on her lower left abdomen. “We tried to stop the bleeding, but, well, we weren’t too successful.”

  The big man sauntered over to the body of Bravon Pearson and looked it over. “I seen a lot of guys die before. My guys. I don’t think we need to add another one.”

  “No,” Mona interjected, “we need to get back.”

  “Just how are we going to do that?” Emersyn asked, not trying to hide the annoyance from her voice. “A, we haven’t gathered any of the evidence we need. B, Naomi is dead for Christ’s sake, and C, Bravon’s down for the count. We can’t move him.”

  “I could,” Joey offered.

  Emersyn and Mona both turned to the big man, surprised. Emersyn could see Mona narrow her gaze almost immediately, not trusting the big man.

  “Y-you mean, you could carry ‘em?” Catalina asked.

  “Yeah, sure, why not?” Joey looked the aging Sergeant Major over. “He’s what, a buck eighty? I could do it. Maybe not for miles and miles, but I could do it.”

  Emersyn, Catalina, and Mona all looked at one another.

  “Ain’t like we got a better plan,” Mona reluctantly admitted.

  Emersyn put a hand out to stop her from walking away. “Whoa there.” She stepped forward. “I still don’t think we should just leave. We need to gather this evidence.”

  Mona sighed. “This man’s dying and you wanna hang around?”

  “No. There’s five of us left. I say two of us start trekking back towards the mountain. Let’s be realistic, Bravon’s gonna slow that group down a lot.” She turned and pointed east of their current position. “I think . . . yeah, that’s gotta be where the road we came in on is. The other three head down there. As soon as we hit a town, or people, or something, we gather intel. We’ll use our phones to take pictures, videos, whatever.”

  Mona ground her teeth. Emersyn could tell she wasn’t a fan of the idea.

  “I’m with you, amigo,” Catalina said. “We’re already here. I can move quick. I should go with the group to get evidence.”

  “We can’t leave Tanner and Joey alone,” Mona said. She eyed Emersyn. “And I suppose you don’t trust me to complete this little crusade of yours?”

  Emersyn crossed her arms. “I’d prefer if I went. You have army training, you’d do better at caring for Bravon.”

  Mona chuckled, her tone mocking Emersyn’s words. “I’m a soldier, I’d be better served running the mission and protecting you.”

  “I don’t need protecting.”

  “Kid, you can’t even maintain yourself!” Mona turned, throwing her hands out to accent her claim. “If I wasn’t here, if I hadn’t taken down that hunter, you’d still be sitting in those bushes, pissing your pants.”

  Emersyn wanted to fire back with an insult, or better yet, smack her counterpart in the mouth. But she was afraid. The looming cloud that was her fear of confrontation settled itself over her and started raining down something fierce.

  “You two go,” Catalina offered. “Let me stick it out with the big guy.”

  Emersyn shook her head, keeping her focus on Mona. She felt the tension between them rising: it could be cut with a knife. “No. Go ahead, Mona. You’re right, you’re a better fit for this mission.”

  “Whatever you think.” Mona turned and picked up one of the handguns. “We’ll move out in 10. Or whenever he . . . ” She stopped as she saw Tanner’s body on the ground. She gulped, and turned back to the pile of weapons she was forming.

  The group prepared to split. Emersyn reassured Catalina that things would be fine. The young girl wasn’t happy about being split from Emersyn, and Emersyn did her best to reassure the Hispanic girl. Mona didn’t say anything else, just focused on prepping the gear and loading the guns.

  Joey Del Core rubbed at the wound on his head. It’d taken Emersyn a bit to see it, but there was a nasty gash on the back of his head where it looked like he’d smashed his head into a tree. She’d made her way back to the tree he slept against and found a significant amount of blood leaked over the bark and ground.

  Tanner Highwall woke up about an hour later. Emersyn brought him up to speed, and he was on board with finishing the mission. He was reluctant to leave Bravon, and even more so with Joey. The two shared nasty glances with one another, but Emersyn assured him it would be fine, and that she would take care of the Sergeant.

  Mona left Emersyn and Joey Del Core one of the pistols that fired rubber bullets, as well as their individual batons. Joey frowned at this, though he didn’t put up a fight. “You shouldn’t expect much trouble,” Mona had told them.

  One it was time for them to depart, they shared one last huddle as a group. Jo
ey Del Core and Emersyn were on one side, and Tanner, Mona, and Catalina were on the other.

  Emersyn watched Catalina. The young girl was constantly shifting her gaze from Emersyn to Mona. She could see the fear welling in her eyes. Emersyn did her best to force a smile, trying to reassure her.

  “We’re taking off,” Mona said. “We’ll only be gone a day tops.”

  Joey grunted. “We’ll get to the cave as quick as we can.”

  “Yeah?” Tanner said, frowning. “Go slow. Don’t risk Bravon’s life.”

  “Easy, easy,” Catalina said under her breath.

  Emersyn gave Tanner a nod. “We’ll get him back safe. We’ll wait for the rest of you, and then we’ll all get out of here. Remember, you don’t need much. A video of a newscast, a picture of a report, anything.”

  Mona turned and planted the pistol into its holster. “Once you’re in the cave, wait for us. Don’t screw with the Requiem gem.”

  Emersyn looked to Mona. “Yeah, yeah, we aren’t going to leave you here, don’t worry.”

  Mona stopped and turned back, leveling her eyes with Emersyn. “I’m serious. Don’t mess with it.”

  Joey chuckled. “Take it easy, mom. Ain’t nobody messing with the time stone thing.”

  Tanner saluted Emersyn, and Emersyn smiled his way. Mona, Tanner, and Catalina took off through the thick brush in the general direction of the road. Emersyn and Joey watched as they started their trek.

  She hoped they found success and found it quick. She couldn’t recall passing many towns on the way here back in her timeline, but it had been pitch black and her mind had been jam-packed with worry.

  “Ready to go, kid?” Joey reached down and hoisted Bravon Person with an audible groan. He slung the older Sergeant Major over his shoulder, half of Bravon dangling over Joey’s back, the other dangling over his front.

  Joey wobbled, struggling to find his balance. He reached his free hand out, gripping a tree to hold himself steady.

  Emersyn felt her worry rise, and she remembered the wound on his head. “Hey, Joe, you okay there?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said, dismissing her with a wave. “Sarge here is just a bit stronger than he looks is all.”

  The two started their journey towards the large, jagged mountain that loomed in the distance. Emersyn took the lead, while Joey panted behind her, constantly stopping to shift Bravon’s position or change shoulders.

  The terrain was rough. They had to descend the mountain they were on now and then trek up the one in the distance. Emersyn carved out a path with supports for Joey during the decline. She’d pick spots that had trees or rocks he could lean against, ones that were short distances from each other.

  Emersyn hadn’t been in the woods in 15 years. She remembered hiking with her father. The two would wake up early, trek their way through woods or a path, always letting the trail fall by the wayside and forging their own way through the wild.

  As she pushed a large bush aside and planted her hand on the rotting trunk of a tree, she wished she’d kept the habit up. She was tired, sweaty, and struggling to judge how far Joey could move in one burst with Bravon. “Here!” she called.

  Joey released the rock he’d been holding onto for support and took several short steps towards Emersyn. His right shoe caught an obtruding root, and he stumbled, crashing into the bush Emersyn was holding up.

  His free hand flailed around until it found the tree. The rotting roots threatened to give under his weight. After he found his balance, he nodded forward, sweat leaking off his round face. “Quick, get the next one!”

  She sprinted forward, but on the hill leading down, there wasn’t anything nearby. She spun to her left, keeping a hand at her side to help steady her, and continued down until she found a tangled mess of brush. “This’ll have to do.”

  He grunted and followed suit. Just as he made it to the brush, Joey tripped and collapsed with a gasp.

  Both Joey and Bravon went spilling down the bottom half of the mountain.

  Emersyn shrieked in fear, and released the brush, chasing after the two rolling bodies. She kept her eyes on the ground, avoiding groups of gravel and sticking to the sides of the decline. She nearly tripped a dozen times but managed to find her way to the bottom without spilling and busting herself on her rear.

  “Jesus, are you okay?” she asked, passing by a massive tree, bark covered in vines.

  Joey was sitting up, holding his right hand with his left. “Nah,” he said, his voice calm as ever. “Think I broke my wrist.”

  She turned to look at Bravon. His wound was leaking blood out again, but the man was awake and trying to pull himself away. Beyond their current position, there was a small incline that led up.

  Emersyn’s eyes widened when she saw what was at the top of the incline.

  A road.

  Chapter 8

  Mona led the small group down the dirt road, glad she didn’t have to bat aside stray branches or overgrown vines every couple of minutes any longer. Tanner and Catalina had been quiet since they left the clearing an hour ago.

  Their trek was starting to break ground. Once they found the road that the SUV had traveled on in Emersyn’s timeline, they started the journey back to civilization. Another two or three miles, Mona estimated, and they’d hit something. Whether it was a small town, a house, there had to be something.

  “How sure are you that you can configure the Requiem to get us back?” Tanner asked.

  Mona didn’t bother turning around to look at him. She couldn’t. His face rose a pain in her she fought off every second. “Pretty damn sure. Got us here, didn’t I?”

  She knew most of the group was starting to despise her, and it was hard for her to fault them: she despised herself most of the time. But Tanner was different. She couldn’t stand seeing the same face she used to love, and this much younger at that.

  “Sure, and props to that,” Tanner started, “but we still don’t really know when ‘here’ is. We shot for a few weeks before the war, right? I was thinking . . . clearly we’re before the war but look around. None of this stuff would look any different otherwise. We could be a few weeks before the war, a few days before the war, maybe even a few years before the war.”

  “Your point?” she asked, keeping her eyes forward. She wished he’d just stop talking, even his voice shook her to her core.

  Tanner scoffed. “You’re unreal, lady. My point is, what if it didn’t work? What if we’re not close enough to the war to gather any evidence?”

  Catalina put a hand on Tanner’s arm. “Have a little faith, ese.”

  Mona admitted to herself he had a point. She had no idea when they’d come out. “That, or if your pessimism holds true, we turn our asses to the wind and go back up the mountain. Unless the bomb’s falling in a few hours, it don’t much matter when the war starts.”

  Tanner stopped. It took Mona a moment to register the lack of footsteps. She turned and threw her hands up. “The hell you doing?”

  He grimaced. “I don’t know how the hell someone like Emersyn could turn into you. You’re so cold.”

  Mona kept her face straight. The words stung her, doubly so coming from Tanner. But she couldn’t show him. “Not my problem. I know what it takes to survive. I know how to survive. If you don’t like it, go camp your ass in the woods and take cover from the bombs.” She turned and trudged onwards. “Otherwise, nearest town shouldn’t be more than a couple miles.”

  She didn’t want to look at the young Tanner Highwall any longer than necessary. Every time she did, she felt it hurt in her chest.

  The party continued in silence. The road widened as they pressed on, an after another hour, they saw the first sign of civilization: a house.

  The sun was starting to dip in the sky. Mona knew they needed to pick up the pace: being stuck out here at night wasn’t in the cards. She led the group off the road and through the thick brush so they could get a look at the house without being seen.

  It was a decaying, blue
American Foursquare. One of the front windows was smashed out and boarded up. The house was in rough shape. There was an old, rusting Ford F150 in the dirt driveway, sitting in front of a pile of old tires, tools, and debris. In front of the F150 was a half torn-down garage, the once-white door now a dirty gray.

  “Not the best,” Catalina noted.

  Tanner chortled. “That’s saying it lightly. Looks like it’s out of a straight-to-VHS horror movie from the ‘80s.”

  Mona pointed at the door, sure she saw a light flicker. “Someone’s home.”

  “Bullshit. I didn’t see anything.” Tanner stuck his nose up at her.

  “We need to see if they have TV or internet.” Mona stood up and reached back, making sure her pistol was secured. “Anything that can get us a report on the Russians.”

  “I’m coming,” Tanner said.

  She shook her head. “No, stay here with Hernandez. One person in a military uniform would look a lot better than a civie and you.”

  Tanner groaned. “Lady, what the hell is your problem with me?”

  Mona didn’t answer. She shoved past the brush and made for the rickety door of the house.

  The smell of a decaying animal hit Mona. She raised a hand to cover her nose, using the other to bang on the door. She heard something scurry inside to the back.

  “Hello?” she asked, calling into the house.

  Mona pulled the door open gently, though the hinges still creaked. There was a loud clatter from the back. She peered inside, but there was little light inside. She made out the faint outline of a door, leading into what looked like a hallway at the end of the room. “Just want to use your phone or TV,” she called into the house.

  Taking a step in, she blinked, trying to acclimatize her eyes. The room was filthy: dirty clothes strung everywhere, an old, destroyed couch, and debris piled in the corners and center. A staircase to her left held only a few stable steps, the rest were broken or looked like they’d give under any weight.

  To her right, there was an old box TV, with the screen smashed out. She peered into the remaining glass, seeing a reflection from the light of the open door.