Until Time Stands Still (10 page)

            “Where is he?” Graham hollered, his own rifle tracking the woods.

            “I don’t know!” Mykel yelled. “Let’s get to the extraction point!” He grabbed her hand and weaved them through the trees at top speed. Another gunshot split the air and Mykel felt the heat of the round graze his arm. He flinched and sped up. They had to get out of range of the sniper as fast as they could.

            Isabelle pitched forward as he dragged her along with him, and tripped over an exposed root system. She fell hard, scraping her knees and twisting her ankle. Mykel scooped her up and ran. “Graham, cover my six!”

            “You got it!” He was right behind them.

            The three of them moved quickly down a slope, and into a small clearing. “Shit.” Graham said. “We got no cover!”

            “We gotta run for it.” Mykel said. “I don’t think we have time to set up any trip wires either.”

            “Nope.” Graham said, tracking the woods behind them, looking for any sign of the sniper. There was only the stillness. The first shot had scared all the birds into flight. All they could hear was a slight breeze playing through the trees. 

            “Can you walk?” He looked down at Isabelle, still in his arms.

            “My feet are all cut up.” She said. “And my ankle is twisted.”

            “Alright.” Mykel shifted her in his arms a bit. “Let’s move.”

            They dashed across the clearing, Graham bringing up the rear, and trying to block Mykel’s back from the line of fire of the sniper, wherever he was behind them. They barely made it to the opposite tree line when another shot rang out from a different direction. The bullet bit into Mykel’s thigh, and he pitched forward and fell to his knees, dropping Isabelle, who screamed and hit the ground with a thud. Graham turned in that direction and sprayed rounds into the tree line.

            “Run, Isabelle! Go!” Mykel shouted. “He’s trying to get to you. Run for your life and don’t stop. We will catch up.”

            “I can’t just leave you here.” She gasped, putting her hand over the wound in his thigh.

            He shoved her hand away. “GO!” He roared. “Go to the bridge of the river. We’ll meet you on the other side of it. Hide somewhere, and don’t come out until me or Graham comes for you.”

            “But what if you guys both die?”

            “This isn’t my first fire fight. I’ll live.” He said. “GO!” She turned and ran as fast as she could, limping a bit on her bad foot.

            “How you doing, pal?” Graham yelled, still shooting.

            “I need a pressure bandage.” He grunted. “Then I’ll be good to go.”

            “You sure?” Graham asked. He stopped shooting long enough to toss him a bandage and shove another magazine into his gun.

            “I’ll be fine!” The hit man wasn’t shooting back, luckily, but they were basically sitting ducks in the clearing with no cover. “We have to get out of this clearing. NOW!” Mykel grabbed his rifle and used it to help prop himself up on his feet. He put a little pressure on his leg. His leg buckled.

            “I’m gonna need your help.” He confessed, catching himself before he fell.

            “Let’s go.” Graham turned and slipped his arm around Mykel. Together they made their way further into the trees and down another slope. Mykel bit the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming with every step.

            “Come on buddy, we’re almost there.” Graham said. “We gotta go save your girl. Dude, I sure hope she’s worth all this.”

            “She is.” He said firmly. “She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to marry that woman.”

            They finally made it to the bridge. When Isabelle saw them, she came out from her hiding spot behind a large tree. She ran toward them and helped Graham carry Mykel into the trees.

            “Ok…this is close enough.” Graham said. “We’ve got to go.”

            “Look, I know you don’t want to do this.” Mykel said, looking at Isabelle. “I’m sorry…but you really don’t have a choice now. If you stay here, you will die.”

            She nodded. “I know.” She said simply. “I’m not happy about it, but I’ll go with you.”

            Graham walked up behind her and plunged the nanites into her neck.

**************

            Being pulled through time is something she could only describe as completely terrifying, similar to the feeling of being on the world’s most twisty roller coaster and being electrocuted at the same time. When she came back to her senses, she found herself lying on a hard surface, shaking like a leaf, every nerve super sensitive. She felt like vomiting.

            “I don’t think we allowed the nanites enough time to work, Graham.” Mykel said.

            “Well, let’s get her into the decontamination shower and you to the infirmary.”

            “No.” Mykel said, stubbornly. “The scalding hot water on her skin right now will feel like daggers. I won’t do that to her.”

            “She has to…”

            “I know. She will. Just not right this second.” Mykel snapped.

            “Watch it.” Graham warned. “I’ve had enough of your insubordination lately. You’re antics is what got us into this mess. We all could have died today.”

            “Fine.” Mykel said. He crouched over her protectively. “Just go do whatever you have to do. I’ll take care of her.”

            Graham sighed, and dropped his equipment into the decontamination chute. He hit the medical alert button on the wall. Immediately a siren blared. “I’ll shower and report to the General. You gonna be ok?”

            Mykel waved him away. “Isabelle.” He said, he gently touched her arm. She flinched and cried out. “I’m sorry baby. It wasn’t supposed to be that harsh for you.”

            “H…hurts.” She said, clamping her hands around her ears. She was curled up in a tiny ball, shaking.

            “That will pass,” he whispered. He stood and hobbled over to drop his gear down the same chute. He leaned against the wall, shaking and sweating from the effort. His own head swimming. Eventually he made it back to where she was laying, and slumped down next to her.         

“Just relax…breathe through it darlin.” He said softly. “You’ll be okay.”

            “I can’t see.” She whimpered.

            “That’s ok. When the ringing in your ears stops, I’ll take the shades off. You want to keep them on for a while.” He’d already taken his off. He was more used to the effects of time jumps and had adjusted within seconds. He sat with her, and carefully rubbed her arms and legs, to help with the circulation and tingling.

            “I think I’m going to be sick.” She croaked, heaving. He helped her to roll over, and she puked, dry heaving over and over again.

            “That’s okay too.” He said. “Slow, even breaths.” He said, rubbing her back. “There ya go.” The spasms stopped.

            “This sucks.” She gasped.

            “Trust me babe, I know.” He said. “I’ve done worse.”

            Eventually the headache eased, and her ears stopped buzzing and the heaving, queasy feeling faded.

            “Let’s get you up and in the shower.” He said. “That will make you feel better.” He lifted her to her feet and walked her toward the decontamination showers. He stopped her, and helped her remove her clothes.

            “Why do you have to do special showers?” She asked, standing stiffly. She still couldn’t see a thing.

            “To make sure no viruses or bacteria from any other time or place comes back here with us. Once you are done in the shower, you’ll have to go to the infirmary to be checked out. They will give you a few different shots, to inoculate you against various things you could be exposed to. It’s all procedure, after the last major plague outbreak.” He explained, peeling off her pants.

            The bruise on her thigh where she had been kicked was huge, bigger than a grapefruit, and dark black. He hadn’t noticed it in the dark the night before. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? Last night?” He asked. He lifted her arms and pulled her shirt off over her head, so that she was standing in nothing. He admired her body openly, not saying a word. She was stunning, despite the tiny scratches from brambles and broken glass, the leaves in her hair, and the dirt she had managed to get everywhere.

            “No.” She shook her head. Her long hair, still in its braid, was loose and messy. “Last night was wonderful.” She said.

            “I’m going to take the glasses off now. Keep your eyes closed for a bit though. The lights are dim in here, but it will still feel bright.”

            “Ok.” She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. The room they were in was grey metal, and blue walls. One wall leads to some communal showers. It looked mostly like a locker room. She giggled. Some things don’t change that much in the future.

            He led her to the showers and turned on the hot water, which blasted from jets in several directions. Carefully he soaped her up from head to toe, including her long, beautiful hair. The water blasted again, this time twice as hot, and she squealed in shock. He took a special light, and ran it over every inch of her body, looking for decontaminant material. “Okay, again.” He said. He gave her a rough sponge and told her to scrub until her skin was bright pink. He sat on a bench and watched her, unable to stand any more. When she was scrubbed raw, and she felt like she didn’t have any skin left, he handed her a special brush and a cup of rinse for her mouth, for which she was beyond grateful. After trampling around in the woods, she really needed a toothbrush and a shower, even if it was with boiling hot water. Huge hot dryers came down from the ceiling and dried her in a matter of seconds, her hair flying all over the place. She nearly fell over, startled by them. He laughed.

            The medical team rushed in, with a gurney. He wrapped a towel around her, then himself as they swarmed into the showers.  Two of the men grabbed her and forced her onto another gurney.

            “Hey, let me go!” She hissed, fighting their hold.

            He frowned. “This isn’t like the world you knew, sweetheart.”

            “I get that.” She said.

            “No, I don’t think you do. But you will. Cooperate with them, and don’t speak to any of the other men you see unless I’m with you.”

            She glared at him. “What aren’t you telling me?” She asked, suspicious.

            “Things are just different here, honey. You need to take some time to adjust. Don’t worry about stuff like that right now.”