Screams in Time

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. I disagree considering every cell in my body is vibrating from my echoing screams as Marc was pulled from my arms. I futilely held my hand out praying he would be okay. The medics rushed him into the trauma suite. Although I know with my brain our ship was ground breaking and state of the art; I wanted more than anything to be Earth side where I know we are safe. My wings flicked behind me giving away just how upset I was. When the doors whooshed shut a long sigh escaped me.

"Captain Nash!" a firm voice barked from the hall. Turning and saluting in one smooth motion; "Major Blick, sir! I apologize for not coming immediately. I needed to get Captain Marc Nash to the surgical suite stat. He was injured while out on discovery today and..." I stopped mid-sentence when he raised his hand up. Bringing my heels sharply together I clasped my hands at my back. My wings betrayed my portrayal of utmost obedience by flaring out around me. I cursed the fact once again I had opted to not have them removed when they emerged at puberty.

Major Blick's subdued cough barely hid his chuckle. "Captain Nash, Amelia, I wasn't implying that you're being insubordinate. I simply didn't need an explanation. Of course the injures of your partner and husband supersede my request for an update." He clasped my shoulder firmly and gave a brief squeeze. "Let's sit over here and please tell me what happened."

I sat down heavily, feeling a chill enter my bones. "I don't know where to begin Blick. Everything was going great, we reached the ruins down on the lower East quadrant like we planned. But things seemed different and we couldn't place our finger on it at first. You know how this plane has odd time loops?" I looked up meeting Major Blick's dark brown eyes.

"Yeah. Man, I'm so glad we figured out what they were. It was driving me insane to not know why things went sideways on outings." I nodded, recalling the years it took to figure out what kept happening to our exploration teams. They would go out and pop back up older or telling us things that would soon happen. It almost shut the whole operation down with the amount of casualties we experienced.

"It was like the ruins were 500 years younger! The buildings were empty but the structures weren't as run down. I was wanting to back out and bring in more Commandos, but Marc was adamant we needed to proceed immediately. He was afraid it would phase back and we would miss crucial clues that could tell us what happened there." I shook my head punching my leg. "I knew better! But I let his excitement effect me and I backed down. We were 10 meters in and out of the South end we heard what we thought was someone's SOS beacon. I attempted to radio in our coordinates and couldn't get through! We formed a defensive formation and Marc took point while I was checking the gear. I thought maybe the battery had crapped out or a wire was loose. I try not to jump to the worse case you know?"

"I know Amelia. This isn't on you. I would have you at my back in the thick of it!" Blick touched my arm, giving it just a brief rub knowing when I'm emotional I hate touch. "Marc thinks like the history professor when he is on the hunt. Not like the trained solider he has become." Blick tugged at his hair with a heavy sigh. It was his only tell he kept over the decades of military life. "He has driven me nuts with that since the very first time I met him!"

I chuckled knowing exactly what he meant about the love of my life. Marc Anthony Nash may be 13 years a military man; but in his soul he was and would always be a hopeless romantic historian. That thought stirred memories that swirled in my mind. The tour in the Roman Holographic Ruins. Our honeymoon to the Atlantis Loop. I bit my tongue firmly as I felt tears beginning to tickle my eyes. I would have time to break into tiny pieces later; right now I had a job to do.

I snorted sharply "You have no idea how crazy he can drive you when you live together. Marc ordered Zane to take readings in a 1 click radius. Then John began taking video and photographs. I couldn't find a hardware failure that would account for our coms being down. So I told Marc we needed to fall back and regroup." My wings flared and the adrenaline pouring through my system made them fluoresce. "I knew Marc would fight back against it when I heard the SOS beacon again."

"Amelia! There is someone out there that needs our help! No man left behind!" My brain was yanked back 3 hours prior recalling the panicked tone in Marc's yell. I heard grumbles of those around me. "I know guys, I know! But without coms we are sitting ducks! The protocol when dealing with loops is mandatory 3 Commandos, a field generator, and clear communication lines!" I gestured widely as my voice rose. "In case you haven't noticed, we are missing ALL three of those requirements! We must fall back!"

I began pacing as I relayed what was playing out in my mind to Major Blick. I had to find some way to relieve the pressure building inside me. I knew better than to let it get to built up; ignoring it would only end in embarrassing loss of control of my gifts.

"So I can be sure that I understand what occurred to this point; when you got to the Ruins you had concerns that a loop had opened up surrounding the area?" Major Blick was writing in his notebook. There were better applications on our communicators but Blick was old school that way. Every time I poked him about it, he told me that being surround by all the technology drove his brain nuts so he used his trusty pen and paper to keep him centered. "Yes." I said.

"Captain Marc Nash communicated his concern that the loop would revert if you were to fall back and regroup into a better team for a loop exploration?" Blick tapped his pen on his notebook looking up at me. "Yes! The idiot was more concerned getting answers than following protocol!" The air around me shimmered as my emotions flared. I walked briskly to the water cooler and poured ice into a cup then filled it up with water. I gulped the cold water, taking a minute to center myself. "I mean, don't put that down in the report but I didn't agree with his priorities."

Blick smiled and crossed his legs leaning back. "I wouldn't put a knee jerk statement into an official report. So after that; there was a sound that replicated an SOS beacon? That is rather alarming to think of actually." I refilled my water before answering. "Yes I agree with that. It was very concerning especially considering a loop had opened up and our previous finds in our explorations into the Ruins."

"Okay, walk me through what happened next." Major Blick sipped from his tumbler and poised ready with his pen. "When I couldn't find a hardware failure for coms and the beacon alarming again; I weighed the risks. Everyone with us was well seasoned so we could feasibly proceed with at least locating the SOS." I sat down heavily. "I asked Zane if anything had shown up on the scans. He let me review them and we agreed that there was nothing of known risk in the 1 click radius. John also picked up nothing in the films or stills. I know SOS beacons only pick up on movement to alarm with a maximum 1 click sensor."

I popped back up and went to the windows. I looked out into the night, the blue and red moons on this planetary plane illuminated the night beautifully. The dense foliage edging the parking lot of the hospital would be filled with the soft calls of the nocturnal animals. The flowers would be open and I could almost smell their scent from here. They were a mix between Earth roses and night jasmine.

"I made the call to at least get to the beacon and then we would haul ass out of there to regroup. In my judgement we were experienced enough to proceed cautiously." My hands braced on the cooling glass of the window. I knew Blick had come up to stand close to me. I leaned my forehead on the glass, closing my eyes not wanting to recall what came next.

"We choose the Spear formation to move forward. It left us with the least exposure and best visibility of our surroundings. We rounded building 3B and saw the beacon flash along with the sound of it. I observed a 7 meter by 4 meter vine ball against the doorway." My wings were quivering as I slowed my breathing and planted my feet more firmly on the tiled floor. I needed to maintain my control. "Marc called halt and had Zane scan it. I ordered John to run video and photograph from every angle using the drones."

Major Blick scuffed his boots against the window edge. "Do you need a break Amelia? We don't have to run through this right now. I mainly came down to be a support for you and Marc." I could feel his eyes boring into me. "No! I want to just get this over with okay? It was my bad judgement call that put my team in that spot and did this!" Smacking the window with my open palms, I felt my control slipping. "I was Senior Field Agent! I should have known better. I let my overconfidence put everyone at risk!"

I took a long breath and held it; counting to ten as I slowly exhaled. "Before Zane's scans had fully populated there was a large sound wave and the vine mass pulsed outward. Marc, Zane, and Rodney were point so they took the brunt. I deployed the team net and used my Push to retreat with my team. I was able to get us out before anyone else was injured." I felt tears slipping down my cheek. "I used my entire reserve and Pushed us completely out of the Ruins. Jane deployed her shields and we evaluated our team."

Blick tapped the pen on the notebook. "Of course you used everything Amelia! You wouldn't ever knowingly put your team in harms way. This was no ones fault and you need to wrap your head around that right now!" The slap of his notebook on his leg turned me to him. His brown human eyes met my yellow and red marbled eyes that marked my mixed blood, along with my wings.

"I know Blick! I know! But damnit!" I stomped my foot in a fit of frustration and felt the tiles crack. "Zane had 3 thorns through the left side of his body. Rodney had smaller ones so we couldn't get a good count. But Marc..." My eyes betrayed me and let the tears flow freely. "He was the damn point! He took a large thorn to the abdomen! We did what we could and evaced here."

Blick held his hand out to me. "You did everything right Amelia. They made it here and now it is up to the surgeons and doctors to get our men patched up." I briefly touched his palm with my finger tips before turning back to look out the window. "Thank you sir. I don't agree but I appreciate your faith in me." We stood in silence looking into the darkening parking lot. The once appealing forest at the edge, now seemed to have taken on a menacing aura.

There was a soft whoosh behind me as the trauma suite doors opened. A harried rumbled Dr. Harvey Francis, trauma chief, walked towards us. "Amelia how are you holding up?" He touched my shoulder pushing a feeling of warmth and peace into me. I was a little offended but knew that part of what made him so great at his job was his gifts.

"I'm fine damn it! How are my boys?" I slapped the window again needing to just get some of my tension out. "How is Marc?" I held my breath and counted slowly in my head. I wanted the facts but also wanted to run away.

"Okay. Well Rodney is doing wonderful and shamelessly flirting with all my nursing staff. I have a resident taking care of all the thorn removal for him. Zane is being his typical wimp and demanding more pain medications than he could possibly need. I have scheduled him to go under general just so I can shut him up."

I waited impatiently, my wings vibrating briskly behind me. "That is wonderful and sounds about par for course with those guys." I managed a tense smile. "Now, how is my main man? How is Marc?"

Dr. Francis ran his hand through his short blonde hair. "I made the decision to not immediately operate." I opened my mouth to loudly protest only to be met with his palm applying gentle pressure over my mouth. "Now wait a second before you yell at me! I put him in the critical tank and have the regen liquid flowing at a heavy rate. I want to make sure he is strong and ready as possible before I take that damn thing out. He lost a fair amount of blood on the way here and then more when he decided he needed to try to leave."

I bowed my head and felt my tears flowing freely. "I don't want to stress his body more than absolutely needed. I know this is the best bet we have to do the least amount of damage." Dr. Francis gently led me over to the chairs.

"I know you know what you are doing Francis. But I just want him back to me and in one piece. How long do you want him in the tank?" I was picking at a thread on my pants refusing to meet his eyes. "I'm thinking..." Dr. Francis stopped mid-sentence as the suite doors whooshed open and a frantic voice called. "Dr. Francis, we need you STAT!"

He stood up quickly and left Blick and I at a jog. I screamed out "Is it Marc?" as the doors shut behind them. I fell to my knees, my sobs racking my body as my wings pulsed out shattering the windows behind us. I just needed Marc to be okay.