Misplaced In Time

chapter 4

The swirl of emotions clashing within the sea green eyes unnerves me more than I would like to admit. The anguish and grief are so deep I feel like they are physical things I could touch if I only reached out a hand. How had I not noticed the pain Percy was clearly in? What happened? And why was he being sent back to the front? Was he that good that they can't give him at least a little break?

"What happened?"

At my words Percy seems to come back to himself and quickly turns away from me and scrubs his hands across his face roughly. It takes him so long to respond that I begin to believe that he's not going to. And when he does speak I am reminded how young he really is. There's a vulnerability in his voice that hasn't been there before. But it does nothing to disguise the strength that laces his words.

"My whole 'unit' was killed. We were sent in to eliminate a high profile target. I am the only one who survived. I watched all my friends die." The hollow sound of his laughter speaks of self loathing and guilt. "I thought I could keep them safe."

"How wrong I was." His eyes are completely devoid of emotion when he turns back to face me. It scares me.

"I won't let it happen again."

I believe him. I believe that he will do whatever he has to, to make sure those closest to him are safe. To never experience that kind of pain and loss ever again. My first thought is that my squad is in good hands. My second thought is how far will those hands go to keep that promise?

Before I can chase that thought any further the the door opens and in spill the rest of my unit laughing and joking amongst themselves. Percy immediately turned back to his own bunk to ready himself for sleep.

I let the matter drop for the time being. It's not a conversation I want to have with the others around. I don't want there to be any doubts concerning Percy's state of mind. My own are all I can handle right now.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

I can feel Bucky watching me the whole rest of the week as we prepare to ship out. I avoid spending time alone with him like he's one of the furies. I know he has questions. Questions I am not willing to answer. Not yet at least.

I grab my duffel as I exit the transport that drove us to the camp where we are going to be stationed for the next couple of weeks. I trudge silently through the mud that clings to my shoes as I follow behind my unit to our assigned bunks. No one feels much like making conversation as the rain that has been a constant since we landed continues to fall. Drenching us all.

Not that I really mind the wetness, for obvious reasons. And the silence means I don't have to pretend to listen to or care about what is being said around me. I finally get a break from Adams constant chatter. I swear I thought he would never shut up until the third straight day of storms broke even his resolve to find something, anything to talk about.

We have only a day or two before the whole camp will pack up and move out. Our objective is a small town a few clicks northeast of here. Our intel suggests that Hydra has been using it as a way station for supplies. The goal is to take it as quickly and quietly as possible.

I have a feeling we're not going to take it as quick and quiet as we would like to. But there's nothing I can do about that now so I ignore the feeling as I follow Zack into our tent. I am greeted with the familiar sight of standard issue army bunks lined up in neat rows with a central walkway down the middle.

And since I am the last one in there is only one bunk left. The one right beside Bucky's. Where he can keep an eye on me. I should have seen that one coming.

At least I haven't had to deal with any dreams since I've been in the past. To be honest I was fully expecting to have a lot of nightmares about the war and Annabeth. But I haven't had a single one. Which is good because than I don't have to talk about why I wake up screaming and covered in sweat. That would not be a pleasant conversation.

I take my time stowing my gear since there isn't much else to do and with my ADHD I get bored really easily. I don't know how much time has passed. But the next thing I know there is a hand on my shoulder and I look up to see the kind face of Bo. "Supper is being served in the mess hall. We are all going. Do you want to join us?"

It would be a nice distraction from my gloomy thoughts but I don't want to start friendships with anyone. I don't want to feel this pain anew because I lost someone else to the tides of war. The pain I already feel is almost more than I can bear and the possibility of some of them dying is quite high.

"Thanks, but I'm not really all that hungry right now. Maybe I will get something later." It's true. I'm really not hungry. Ever since waking up in that alleyway I haven't had much of an appetite. Besides, it's not like I could die of starvation, right? because of the immortality and all.

"Oh, ok. See you later then." Bo's voice is laced with disappointment and something else. Understanding? Concern? Whatever it is I ignore it. Reminding myself why it's best to keep my distance.

The others follow Adam out the door in their quest for what the army dares call food. I miss mom's cooking.

Mom.

And Paul. The only two people I have left in the world. I wonder what their doing right now. Do they even know that I'm in the past? Or did time stop for them while I'm gone. Will I ever get to see them again? Will I ever get to go back to my own time? Or will I have to wait a lifetime as the things that I have already experienced happen all over again. I don't think I could live with that.

But I don't have much of a choice, do I?

◇◇◇

Hope y'all enjoyed and thanks for reading! As always a huge thank you goes to my beta reader, blackmelda8! Tks!!

-R.J.