The Day Before We Met

Matter of Time

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wake up." I shook awake to someone kicking my leg.

I groaned and went to wipe my eyes, but my visor glass stopped me. Right, still here for several months.

"Can't wipe your eyes, can you?" Keenan pulled me up off of the couch by my chest plate. "Enough napping. We'll be at the next stop in a hour."

My armor locked up at my knees when I almost collapsed back onto the couch from her abruptly pulling me up.

"Armor, unlock." I waited for my armor to unlock before stretching some to wake up more. "Half of an adrenaline shot."

The familiar needle went into the back of my neck and injected the adrenaline right into my bloodstream.

"Yup, I'm awake now." I blinked a few times and felt like I could run two-hundred miles.

"Dude, you're only supposed to use adrenaline when sleep isn't available and you are in the middle of a mission. Not when you're waking up from a catnap." Zander flicked my helmet.

"Am I judging you? No, so don't judge me." I went to push him, but Keenan clicked her tongue and I groaned instead.

"You two are going to wake up Hannah. Knock it off." Keenan scolded us.

"Why is Ajax driving?" I asked Zander who is almost always the driver.

"He traded off so I could sleep for a hour and get out of my armor for a bit." Zander shrugged.

"Good morning, everyone." Hannah walked out from the bunk area to where we were.

"Good morning." Ajax, Zander, and Keenan responded in unison.

"Morning." I awkwardly mumbled. I feel weird, like guilty, for upsetting her, and I never feel that, so it's best that I distance myself. I definitely need an injection. No more emotions for Alex.

"Coms to Admiral." I made up my mind.

"Sentinel Alex, what can I do for you this morning?" Admiral sounded half asleep.

"I need another emotion-reversal injection." I double checked to make sure my speakers weren't on so no one could hear.

"Another one? Your mission stats are flawless. Are you sure?" Admiral was hesitant. I've gotten the most injections out of all of the Sentinels, and I still need more.

"I'm positive. When can I get it?" I checked my wrist pad to see just past four-hundred hours.

"I can have it delivered to you tomorrow afternoon for personal injection if you can administer it on your own. If you can't it'll be another week or so till I can get someone out there who can." Admiral didn't want to fight me on it, so he just went with it. It's the easier and best option for him.

"I can do it on my own. Tomorrow afternoon sounds perfect. Thanks Admiral Wilson." I cut the coms at that.

"What was that?" Keenan asked me.

"What was what?" I played stupid.

"You com'ed Admiral for an injection, didn't you?" Keenan knew because I had done it before. She's tried to stop me multiple times, but it's ultimately my decision.

I ignored her as a way to agree with silence.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Alex! It's always injections with you! One emotion that you don't know how to handle is all it takes for you to want to get rid of all of them! God damn, as if a little bit of joy would kill you." Keenan threw her hands up.

"I'm not permitting you to have another injection." Ajax gave me a look over his shoulder before turning back to the road.

"You can't stop me when it comes to injections. If I want to be more machine than human, I can be." I knew what power I had, but in reality, I was pushing it.