Chapter 02 - Trance

Chapter 02

Trance

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Verona’s breaths were hot on the back of my neck. They hugged my skin and floated into my nostrils, wafting in the faint smell of whiskey. That wasn’t what kept me awake, though. It wasn’t how Benjamin’s uncooked meal was sitting in my stomach either. It also wasn’t the intensity of the fight just hours before. My mind simply couldn’t rest, and my chest ached. Open-eyed, I just listened to the ambience of the Jurassic night. It wasn’t so dissimilar to modern day. The bugs chittered in a different tune, and the leaves whistled in the wind a bit differently, but it never felt alien.

An anniversary was approaching of a day I dreaded, and the restless nights had started to pile up as it neared. A date that made the nights with Verona both more appealing and more guilt-inducing at the same time.

Verona pulled me a bit closer in her sleep.

I sighed. I tried to shut my eyes. Maybe I could make something of the night.

My eyes shot straight back open at the sound of shuffling to my left. I leaned up, trying to peer through the fabric of the tent for moving shadows in the dim light. I couldn’t spot anything, and I laid my head back on my pillow. It was probably just a bug scuttling around.

“AHHHHHH,” came a shrieking scream from across the camp.

I jumped up, untying myself from Verona’s grasp.

She also woke up with a startle, sitting up straight in her bag. “What’s happening?” she questioned, a panic still setting on her face.

“AHHHHH,” the scream came again.

“Get your gun,” I commanded. I pulled myself up and grabbed my gun sling I had set by my feet. We always kept them close. I removed my gun along with two hedron ammo sitting in the pouches of my removed uniform.

Verona grabbed her own gun beside her. Her movements were frantic as she tried to accommodate the sudden change of pace.

I unzipped the tent and darted out of it. The cool but humid wind of camp blew across my nearly nude, fair-skinned body. I was only in my green boxers. I shuddered.

“AHHHHHH,” the scream came again.

The white tent the shriek had come from was already surrounded by two personnel. It was Benjamin’s. Hannah had her gun trained on the side of it. Her finger was tracing over the trigger, waiting to take the shot at a moment's notice. Commander Green had his weapon poised at the entrance of the tent as he slowly lowered his other arm to unzip it.

I ran over to them, pulling myself behind Commander Green. Verona followed closely behind me, having pulled on a t-shirt.

“Benjamin!” Commander Green yelled sharply. “Benjamin, are you ok?”

Benjamin just screamed.

I looked around the area to be sure there was nothing in the camp with us. It was empty. Whatever caused Benjamin to scream was either in the tent with him or... I tried to disregard the other possibility.

Commander Green quickly unzipped the tent, keeping his weapon pointed.

I also held my aim into the tent opening, waiting for something to strike out at us.

There was only one entity in the tent, though, Benjamin. He was sitting up, still screaming at the top of his lungs. His eyes were the first thing I recognized. They were pure white. All except his pupils, which were dilated down to a soft pink.

Commander Green raised his hand to Benjamin’s face and slapped him hard across the cheek. “Snap out of it, Ben!”

The color returned to Ben’s eyes as he straightened back up. His now brown eyes darted to each of us before they landed on me. They lingered there for a moment.

“Dammit,” Commander Green groaned, lowering his weapon. “Not now.”

Benjamin grabbed his cheek and rubbed the red handprint Commander Green had made on it. “I don’t feel well,” he said.

I dropped my gun to my side. I knew exactly what had happened to him.

“Cade, get the Time-Aid kit,” Commander Green huffed.

I nodded and ran over to the white supply tent on the left side of camp. I unzipped it and reached inside. Sitting atop the rest of the equipment, it was there, always ready to grab at a moment’s notice. I tucked it into my armpit and ran back over to the tent.

I handed the kit over to Commander Green. He took it and clicked it open, fumbling around for the pill bottle. He popped the lid and poured two of the green tablets into his hand.

“Benjamin, take these,” he said.

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Benjamin shook his head, almost recoiling at the pills Commander Green held. “No, I'm ok really,” he mumbled.

“Dammit Ben, you got fucking time-tranced. We were all here. We all saw it,” he shouted. “Take the pills or we take you.”

Benjamin gave a nervous nod. With a shaky hand, he took the pills and brought them towards his mouth. “Am—am I going to be ok?”

“Just take the damn pills,” he said.

Benjamin opened his lips and let the pills slide into his mouth. He gulped hard. I saw his eyes start to tear up. “I don’t want to be sick.”

Commander Green handed Benjamin the pill bottle. “Two every six hours,” he said. “More if you’d like, just no less.”

“I don’t want to go to the ward,” Benjamin cried.

“Then you better fight,” Commander Green replied. He scrunched his nose and looked back towards the rest of us, shaking his head.

“I can handle this,” I volunteered, looking at Commander Green.

Commander Green nodded. “I’m going to scout the perimeter. No doubt every creature in the whole fracture knows we’re here now.” He walked off with his time counter in hand.

I knelt down to Benjamin’s eye level. He sat up, holding his knees to his chest, shaking. I looked into his eyes, red and puffy with tears.

“It's going to be ok,” I said.

His hand gripped the pill bottle tight. “How long?” He questioned. “How long do you think I have?” He stuttered over his words.

“You’ll be fine,” I tried to assure him. “It’s still early.”

“I want to go home,” he replied. “Dammit, I should’ve never signed up for this.”

“We’ll get you home,” I said. I reached my hand out to grab him by the shoulder.

He pulled back, waving me away. “Don’t touch me.”

“It’s not contagious,” I said.

“But what if I—,” he started.

“It's way too early for you to snap,” I replied.

Verona pushed past me. “How long have you been experiencing symptoms?”

His eyes avoided her, staring off to the corner of his tent. He wasn’t keen on answering the question.

“I asked how long?” Verona questioned again, leaning in closer.

“I didn’t know that that’s what it was,” he replied.

It was a striking non-answer. I took a deep breath.

“Jesus Christ,” Verona muttered. “You didn’t think to tell anyone.”

Benjamin’s grip tightened around the bottle. “I didn’t know,” he said in an irate manner uncharacteristic of himself. I could see the faintest gleam of white shed from his eyelid.

“Verona, back off,” I said, holding my hand up to her before any altercation occurred.

“We don’t know how dangerous he is, Cade,” Verona replied. “How are we supposed to trust he won’t fall into a trance again?”

“So back off,” I replied. “I told Commander Green I could handle it.”

Verona stood and dusted off her gun. “Fine.” She grunted and stormed off to her tent.

I watched as she left, waiting to hear the final zip of her tent before I turned back to Benjamin.

His eyes had also been trained in her direction. There was a faint glare in his dilated pupils. Eventually he turned his attention back to me. His eyebrows rested, and his pupils refilled to their normal size.

“We still have time,” I said. “Don’t listen to her.”

“I thought I was just homesick,” he replied. “I didn’t know I actually was.”

Homesick—that was a word that resonated with me. Perhaps not in the way he was defining it, but that feeling of longing wasn’t all too unfamiliar to me. “Hey, people have gotten better from worse,” I said.

He gave me a short nod. A tear rolled down his cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“Just try to get some sleep,” I requested. “And don’t be afraid to talk to one of us. Even Verona, I know she can be scary, but she’s just worried for all of us.”

He nodded again.

“Ok, get some sleep. We’ll be out of here soon, I promise,” I said.

He slithered down into his sleeping bag, releasing his grip on the bottle of pills. It clattered beside him.

I grabbed the zipper of his tent and started to zip it up.

He mumbled something to himself.

I looked at him through the small sliver of sight between us.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” his whisper broke through to my ears.

I finished zipping up his tent and stood up, dusting off my legs. I took a deep breath before spotting a presence in my peripherals. I almost jumped.

“Hannah,” I whispered. “Why aren’t you back in bed?”

She clicked off her gun and looked up at me. It told me what I needed to know. She turned around and headed to her tent.

I looked around the camp to spot Commander Green pacing around the perimeter, his eyes switching between his counter and the windows to the outside world. I walked over to him.

He noticed the sound of the foliage crunching under my feet. His eyes stayed on his counter, but he acknowledged me. “Cade, were you able to tone him down?”

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“Good,” Commander Green responded. “I trust your relationship with Benjamin more than my own.”

I nodded. “Any issues?” I questioned, pointing down at his device.

“By some divine intervention we seem to be in the clear,” Commander Green replied. He tucked the counter into his belt and turned his attention to me. He eyed me in my almost entirely nude outfit.

“Warm night?” He questioned.

“It's not like that,” I stammered out.

“I don’t care what it is or isn’t,” Commander Green responded. “Just making an observation.”

“Sorry, sir,” I apologized, feeling foolish for my response.

“I’ll keep an eye on the perimeter. We have a long day tomorrow if we want to get Benjamin back home before anything serious happens,” Commander Green replied. “Did he tell you anything about his symptoms?”

My lips broke as if to tell him what he had said, but I found myself drawn to a different answer. “He should be ok.” I don’t know why I wasn’t keen on filling Green in on the entirety of the situation. I was worried for Benjamin, I suppose. I was worried about what Green might consider if he knew how sick he really was.

Green just nodded. I didn’t know if he noticed any of the hesitation in my response, but he wasn’t showing it if he had. Or maybe I just didn’t recognize it in the dark. “Goodnight, Cade.”

“Goodnight Commander Green,” I replied. I turned back towards the tent and headed into camp. My eyes lingered on Benjamin’s tent as I passed it. Goosebumps crept up my neck, and they weren’t from the breeze. He was still awake in there, and his attention was turned towards me.