Gunslinger
So Far Away
By the time, the small group had managed to find the rallying point it was well into the next morning and Dana could swear that she had never walked so far in her life. The horrible black leather boots on her feet were pinching and she was sure that her blisters had developed blisters. Her arms were sore from lugging the rifle in her arms and she couldn’t wait to find a quiet corner and sleep for one hundred years.
Quite a few men were still unaccounted for, and some were still coming in dribs and drabs into the area. She had just taken a seat on an ammunition case when Lieutenant Somerville and a tall blonde man she didn’t recognize walked over toward her.
“Vandenberg, I want you and Haner to go and see Doc Brouchard. You’ve been acting mighty strange and forgetful. Go and get checked out – we don’t need to send two soldiers with concussions into battle.”
Knowing it would be useless to argue, Dana once again got to her feet and looked around until she noticed the tent with a red and white cross affixed to the entrance. She trudged toward it. As she was about to enter the doorway, she noticed an old woman standing off to the side. The woman was wearing a simple black dress with a floral scarf, her short grey hair held back with a hair clip. Wondering what a woman who looked like a civilian was doing in the midst of an army base camp, she paused to look at the woman.
“You need to change what went wrong”, the old woman suddenly spoke to her. Dana’s eyes widened in alarm. The woman placed her hand on Dana’s arm and Dana could have sworn that she felt something like an electric current run along her arm, raising goose bumps on her skin.
“What do you mean?”, Dana asked suspiciously.
“You need to fix the past to ensure a happy future”, the woman responded. “Your future happiness, and that of your soul mate depend on it.”
“Soul mate, I haven’t got a soul mate”, Dana sighed. As she spoke the words, Dana felt a forlorn feeling wash over her. She had never met anyone that came close to making her life complete, and as she got older she had begun to doubt that she ever would.
“You taken to talking to yourself, Vandenberg?” The familiar goading voice came from her left, and she spun around to find Brian standing next to her, about to walk in to the tent to see the medical team.
“No, I was talking to the old….”, Dana broke off when she looked over to her right and noticed that the old woman had vanished.
Present Day
“I don’t understand what happened”, Emily cried as she sat in the passenger seat of Matt’s car as they followed the ambulances that held Dana and Brian. One of the bar staff had come running into the bar to call an ambulance, and when Emily had run outside she had seen both Dana and Brian lying almost comatose on the footpath outside the bar.
Whilst both had a pulse, they could not be roused and were totally unresponsive.
“The chick who walked outside just after Brian went for a smoke said that they both went down at the same time, but neither of them have any visible injuries”, Matt sighed. Emily was crying, and Matt reached across the centre console and took her hand.
“Honey, they’ll be alright. The hospital will run tests and we’ll find out what happened to them.”
Once she and Matt had arrived at the hospital and were shown into the waiting room, where they were joined by Jimmy, Johnny and Zacky.
“Any news yet?”, Zacky asked as he flopped down into one of the hard plastic chairs situated outside the emergency room entrance.
“Nothing yet”, Matt responded with a sigh. Emily clasped her hands together, and jolted in fright when a hand was placed over hers. She looked up into the smiling eyes of an old woman wearing a black dress who had sat down beside Emily without her realizing.
“They will be fine dear”, the older woman stated calmly. “They need to do this.”
“Need to do what?”, Emily asked with a frown. The woman patted her hand comfortingly.
“They need to find themselves again.”
Emily looked over toward Matt with a frown, and he glanced down at her concerned.
“Honey, are you okay?”, he asked her, his hazel eyes concerned.
“I don’t know, she just said the weirdest things to me” Emily responded.
“Who did?”, Johnny asked as he turned to look at her. Emily went to motion to the woman sitting next to her, and her eyes widened in shock when she realized that the seat was empty.
Quite a few men were still unaccounted for, and some were still coming in dribs and drabs into the area. She had just taken a seat on an ammunition case when Lieutenant Somerville and a tall blonde man she didn’t recognize walked over toward her.
“Vandenberg, I want you and Haner to go and see Doc Brouchard. You’ve been acting mighty strange and forgetful. Go and get checked out – we don’t need to send two soldiers with concussions into battle.”
Knowing it would be useless to argue, Dana once again got to her feet and looked around until she noticed the tent with a red and white cross affixed to the entrance. She trudged toward it. As she was about to enter the doorway, she noticed an old woman standing off to the side. The woman was wearing a simple black dress with a floral scarf, her short grey hair held back with a hair clip. Wondering what a woman who looked like a civilian was doing in the midst of an army base camp, she paused to look at the woman.
“You need to change what went wrong”, the old woman suddenly spoke to her. Dana’s eyes widened in alarm. The woman placed her hand on Dana’s arm and Dana could have sworn that she felt something like an electric current run along her arm, raising goose bumps on her skin.
“What do you mean?”, Dana asked suspiciously.
“You need to fix the past to ensure a happy future”, the woman responded. “Your future happiness, and that of your soul mate depend on it.”
“Soul mate, I haven’t got a soul mate”, Dana sighed. As she spoke the words, Dana felt a forlorn feeling wash over her. She had never met anyone that came close to making her life complete, and as she got older she had begun to doubt that she ever would.
“You taken to talking to yourself, Vandenberg?” The familiar goading voice came from her left, and she spun around to find Brian standing next to her, about to walk in to the tent to see the medical team.
“No, I was talking to the old….”, Dana broke off when she looked over to her right and noticed that the old woman had vanished.
Present Day
“I don’t understand what happened”, Emily cried as she sat in the passenger seat of Matt’s car as they followed the ambulances that held Dana and Brian. One of the bar staff had come running into the bar to call an ambulance, and when Emily had run outside she had seen both Dana and Brian lying almost comatose on the footpath outside the bar.
Whilst both had a pulse, they could not be roused and were totally unresponsive.
“The chick who walked outside just after Brian went for a smoke said that they both went down at the same time, but neither of them have any visible injuries”, Matt sighed. Emily was crying, and Matt reached across the centre console and took her hand.
“Honey, they’ll be alright. The hospital will run tests and we’ll find out what happened to them.”
Once she and Matt had arrived at the hospital and were shown into the waiting room, where they were joined by Jimmy, Johnny and Zacky.
“Any news yet?”, Zacky asked as he flopped down into one of the hard plastic chairs situated outside the emergency room entrance.
“Nothing yet”, Matt responded with a sigh. Emily clasped her hands together, and jolted in fright when a hand was placed over hers. She looked up into the smiling eyes of an old woman wearing a black dress who had sat down beside Emily without her realizing.
“They will be fine dear”, the older woman stated calmly. “They need to do this.”
“Need to do what?”, Emily asked with a frown. The woman patted her hand comfortingly.
“They need to find themselves again.”
Emily looked over toward Matt with a frown, and he glanced down at her concerned.
“Honey, are you okay?”, he asked her, his hazel eyes concerned.
“I don’t know, she just said the weirdest things to me” Emily responded.
“Who did?”, Johnny asked as he turned to look at her. Emily went to motion to the woman sitting next to her, and her eyes widened in shock when she realized that the seat was empty.