Uneasy Night

Confusion reigned. Their co-ordinates hadn’t changed yet now, three years in the past, they found themselves not on a grassy park but in a darkened building. The Breacher’s self-preservation programming had kicked in and ensured that they hadn’t transported themselves into a wall or floor so now they floated, frozen in time above the ground below. Lore took a moment to search their surroundings before time resumed but found it difficult with their eyes still adjusting to the lack of light. They fell but not as far as they had been fearing. The ground below was soft and plush but lumpy and uneven; it was quickly dragged from underneath them in a cacophony of screams.
“Guards! Guards!” A voice shouted from the darkness.
Lore and Char scurried to harder ground before turning on their torches. The room around them was enormous and at its centre, a bed more than fit for a king. Shining their lights onto it revealed four distinct body patterns. Seeing them, Lore averted their torch. It soon became unnecessary as the room was quickly filled with both light and soldiers.
“Identify yourselves.” The Leader barked at Lore and Char.
“I’m Lore, this is Char and…” They considered how to best word their reasoning for appearing in someone’s bed in the middle of the night uninvited. “We’re here to speak with whoever’s in charge.” Lore nodded to Char then to the officer before them.
“The only person you’ll be talking to is your legal counsel. I am hereby arresting you for intrusion on private property and the attempted assassination of Chairman Shren.”
“Chairman Shren?” Not wanting to cause further issues, Lore held their wrists out in compliance as they tried to remember where they recognised the name from. “Shren Varerian? Father of Shren Udonita?”
The Chairman held his hand up with an authoritative stare at the lead officer. “You have until the end of this moon, who are you and what do you want?”
Char looked to her Breacher then leant in to Lore’s ear. “He’s given us five minutes… Give or take.”
“This is perhaps not going to be the sanest thing you’ve heard but it’s quite serious.” Lore started. “We’ve been sent by The Chronicle to forewarn your people of a coming disaster one that will endanger your very species.”
“How do you know about Udonita though? My wife’s pregnancy has not been made public knowledge yet and the name of our child is too sacred to share until after she claims it?”
“If history maintains its current course, your daughter will take over your position and attempt to lead your people to a safer future. She will fail but it wasn’t her fault.”
“My daughter takes over? What of my sons?”
“I’m afraid they die in an attack on the capital.” Char narrowed her eyes and looked again to her Breacher. A minute had passed but that wasn’t what she was afraid of. “Lore. We need to get out of here.” Lore saw the fear in her eyes and knew exactly what was wrong.
“Chairman, Missus Chairmans, we need to leave and now. There’s a bomb somewhere in this building set to detonate in…Three and a half minutes. After that, you’ll either believe we’re from the future…”
“Or that we’re friendly terrorists slash assassins.” Char smiled an uneasy smile.
The arresting officer unbound Lore’s hands and began ushering the Chairman and his wives out of the building. Sirens wailed as a state of emergency was announced causing the rest of the building’s residents to scramble to their closest exits. The screams of the fleeing and the sirens cut into Lore’s ears, digging in and stabbing at their eardrums. They tried to maintain their focus but were having difficulties. Their head began to jolt to the left repeatedly as their arms flapped at their sides. Char, who had been directing the flow of the escapees watched as Lore’s metal fist began to crumple in on itself. She shot a considered look to her partner as if to ask if they were ok. Lore simply nodded and feigned a smile. They had survived war and pain but still they were weak. The majority of the residents now on the mossy streets outside, Lore and Char performed a final sweep. They were about to open their last door when time ran out. Lore reached for the handle and instead of them grabbing it, it grabbed them. The door hurtled towards them, knocking them to the floor as the fires of the first explosion washed over them. Door like a tortoises shell on their back, Lore did their best to protect Char who was clinging to their underside. The second explosion ripped the floor from beneath them as they began a freefall to the floor below. Lore wrapped themselves around Char and positioned their prosthesis to take as much of the impact as possible. There was a clang as the metal plates hit the concrete below. Lore quickly resumed their tortoise position, using their arm as a stand to keep them from being further swallowed by the rubble above.
“Were there two bombs or three?” Lore forced their words out between grunts. An answer quickly came as the third and final device detonated.
“Three.” Char tried to nod.
The third explosion had little effect on them but signalled that the ordeal was indeed over. They waited for a moment, buried under the relocated roof which had made its way to the ground floor, before attempting escape. Lore removed their arm and carefully wedged it between the floor and the door above them. They then tried to adjust the arm’s length. This caused an avalanche of debris to fall from above them but also assisted in their escape attempt. Using the disjointed limb as an axe, Char created them a path through the rubble.
The sun was just rising as they escaped. Chairman Shren shivered in the early morning cold. “You have my attention. What is this disaster?” His wives stood to one side with the emergency crews weeping as they closed a series of small black bags.
“I’m sorry, but in three years, your whole planet will be hit with a famine.” Lore began, they coughed as they tried to restore their voice.
“You need to start rationing immediately to have any chance of surviving.” Char gave them back their arm.
The Chairman stood there in shock. His once red face now a sickly pale grey. He looked to the bags and tried to speak yet no words came out. He simply nodded before beginning a slow walk towards his wives. Surplus Food.