Time Salvager (Time Salvager #1)(56)
Elise turned to face James. “Where are we?”
“A metropolis in the old world on the eastern edge of the continent. Torn down by war. Overrun by the rising tides. I believe it was in the province of Massachusetts.”
“Boston?” She didn’t bother hiding the shock on her face. “What in Gaia happened to this place?”
James sat her down and then filled in the gaps with the major events that had transpired on Earth since her time, from World War III devastating the planet to the decaying plague that had rotted the planet to the ice caps melting and eventually swallowing 14 percent of the world’s landmass. Elise was so stunned that she had to sit down and then stand up multiple times.
“How did you idiots let this happen?” she demanded, waving her arms, feeling the urge to take out her fury on someone from this stupid time period, which was unfortunately limited to the only other person in the room. “When I woke up this morning, the sun was out and the ocean was beautiful. The world was at peace. Hell, there hadn’t been a war in twice my lifetime! We defeated hunger, disease, and energy starvation. Humanity was finally fixing the planet and picking itself out of the gutter! Now, now…” She sat back down again, speechless and bewildered.
“We blew it,” he admitted. “In 2098, nine months after the Nutris Platform’s destruction, we fell back into our old ways. World War Three broke out over the colonial rights of Luna, Mars, and the mineral deposits in the Main Asteroid Belt. Famine, poverty, and the planet’s taint soon followed. We declined as a civilization, wasting resources on war and losing valuable technological achievements. In a short amount of time, the general population’s mind-set changed from one of innovation and prosperity to just self-interested survival.” He paused. “It gets worse. I haven’t even started on what happened once humanity got off-planet.”
“How could it get any worse?” she yelled and pointed outside the window. “Look at this place! I was almost better off dying back in my time.”
James rubbed his temples with his fingers. “I’m sorry, but I had to save your life.”
Elise took a few deep breaths and collected herself, feeling ashamed. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I appreciate you rescuing me, really. I just didn’t realize the future was such a dump.” She sighed and tried to suppress that mountain of outrage in her head. “All right, what’s done is done. What do we do now?”
“Now, you need to survive the present.” James looked out the window as the faint orange morning rays bathed the room. He plucked four metal bands seemingly out of the air and handed them to her. “Put these on.”
Elise stared at the ugly, dark, thick bands. “Um … thanks, but they’re not really my style.”
He held up his arms and showed her the dozen or so around his wrists. “They’re not for aesthetics.”
He picked out two of the bands and looped them around each of her delicate wrists. “This one is a rad band, and this one is an atmospheric control band. They will protect you against the radiation and the elements. The atmos will allow you to breathe clean air. Do not take them off.” He looped another band around her left wrist. “This one is a comm band. It’ll allow us to communicate at all times. I’ll show you how to work it later on.” Then he took the last band—fatter than the other three—held it up in front of her face, and then looped it around her right wrist. “This one is the most important. It’s a wrist beam. You will need to learn to shoot with it and protect yourself. Never take any of these bands off.”
Elise recoiled. “Like a gun? I can’t even kill a bug, let alone shoot someone.” She shook her wrists at him, jingling the loose bands. “Take it off. Take it off!”
James clasped her hands gently in his and sat her down. “Listen carefully, Elise. I’ve done a terrible thing in bringing you back. I broke some important laws. There are people looking for us.”
“Like the ones at the plaza today?”
“Monitors. They’re the police force of the time-traveling agency I work for.” He paused. “Used to work for.”
“What happens if they capture me? Will I go to jail or something?”
James shook his head. “They’d probably just shoot you on the spot. You need to know how to take care of yourself.”
A cold wave swept over Elise as she looked at the dark metal bands around her wrists. She was tempted just to shake them off and give them back to James. She was an avowed pacifist, and the very thought of wearing a weapon nauseated her. Still, these were extraordinary circumstances. People were hunting her. Not just any people, but from the uniformed authorities of this time. She was knee-deep in serious trouble.
She held up her arm reluctantly. “Fine, I’ll wear them on a trial basis. But if I do decide that I’m all right with them, I eventually want them in another color. These are ugly.” Even her attempt at a joke couldn’t break the somber atmosphere. James obviously didn’t get it.
“As you wish.” Still holding her hands, he spoke in a slow, measured tone. “These bands link to your bioenergy and respond to commands in your thoughts. You need to be able to clearly identify each one whenever you activate them.” He touched each of the bands one by one, naming them again. “Rad band, comm band, atmos, wrist beam. Identify them clearly.”