Between time and space

The only chapter

"Forty five metres wide, 20 metres long." Jessie announced. "Mark it."
Hollow footsteps echoed throughout the fort as Jessie inspected the area, the light faded as the pitter-patter of the rain began to rise to a roar. The sounds of stern voices began to flood her ears as she was enveloped by darkness, only the fading light could hear her screams.

There was a flash of light, and then there was nothing.

A haze of white clouded Jessie's vision as she began to gain her consciousness. Her stomach turned and there was a sharp ringing piercing her ears. She sat up from the cold stone, the chill of the room running through her spine.  A person was standing next to her, staring at her. They had dark brown hair, dull green eyes and their skin was rough and scraped.
"Who are you?" The mysterious person asked.
Jessie panicked and looked up at them in disbelief. "I'm the one who should be asking that!" Jessie exclaimed. "Who are you?" "Where am I?" "Why am I-"
The unknown person placed their hand on Jessie's mouth and silenced her. "Be quiet, or you'll wake up the others." They softly spoke.
"Ahem, to answer your former queries, my name is Sara, however do not speak a word of this name to the other soldiers. I go by Sam when you speak to them."
Jessie sat on the cold asphalt perplexed. The response only opened up another plethora of questions. Soldiers? What soldiers? Where were her co-workers back at point Nepean? Was she even at point Nepean? Who was this Sara woman? Was she even a woman? Why would she need to lie about her name? The racing thoughts in Jessie's head were almost impossible to catch, like balloons floating away from her.
"You..." Sara continued in a bitter voice. "You should get some rest. You're not paying attention to anything I say." Sara began to walk away from her.
Jessie stood up so suddenly that the shock struck pain in her head, her breathing reducing to short breaths. "Tell me where I am!" Jessie snapped back. "I don't know who you are, but what you have done to me, but I have a life to get back to, I am-"
Sara looked back at her with an icy cold glare, the room growing frigid. "You talk quite a lot, don't you?" Sara retorted. "You're at Fort Nepean, an army base in Australia. I have not done anything to you, but all you have done to me has been a nuisance and disturbed my rest. we rise at o-seven hundred and training begins at seven forty."

Jessie sat on the bed facing away from Sara as the sleep never came.

***

"Hey, you uh... did well"
"Oh did I?" Jessie replied back cheerfully to Sara's comment. The two were situated at the training grounds near the fort. Word spread quickly about an attack that was soon to come from Japan's troops and the Australian soldiers made quick work of preparing themselves for this attack. Sara and Jessie were no exception.
Jessie tapped Sara's shoulder and chuckled "Now about that promise you made... Can I go back to that life I told you about?" "Remember that promise you made me? That if I was able to help out the army in time for this attack, I'd be able to return back home?"
Sara's soft smile faded away. She looked down at her hands and deeply exhaled. "What is it that you loved so much about this... past life?"
Jessie felt a shiver run down her, the rain began to pour down, the pattering of rain bringing her back to when she was at the fort, where she was an architect planning out the factory layout for her client.
The question dawned on her. Sara's melancholic voice echoing through her head.

What did she love so much about that life?

This whole time, she worked tirelessly to become a soldier so that she could return to her "normal" life, so that she could return back to her home, so that she could return back to her "normal" job.
Did she even love her job? The pay was shockingly good for her position, but she worked for corporate companies who destroyed national landmarks, parks and forests so that they could build their petty little factories and take the resources from these sacred places.

"Hey," Sara whispered. Her voice was soft yet wistful. "I probably should admit that-"
Sara paused, taking in a quiet breath. She looked up to Jessie, then looked back down at her hands. Sara seemed so small in that moment. Almost like Sara could fit in the palm of Jessie's hand.
"There, there is no way for you to return to that past." Sara's voice shattered like broken glass. " I'm sorry, I should've told you sooner- I only know because-"

Without saying a word, Jessie stood up and marched away. The anger surged from her, engulfing her in pure rage. Her heart raced, her breath quickened, her body clenching up, a bitter taste coating her palette. She was mad because there was no way back right? She was furious because she was stuck in a place she didn't want to live in.
But she regretted looking back at the small curled up body in the distance, as the gushing rain drenched the fragile figure. While her senses burned with the feelings of anger, her heart only flickered with the feelings of regret.

Awakening to the sounds of gunshots and frantic screams, Jessie rose from her slumber. She looked over to Sara's bed and saw that she wasn't there. Was Sara still at the training grounds? Did training start early?
Jessie rushed out of the fort and was greeted by the horrific sight of the attack. Bodies laid lifelessly on the ground as the deafening noises pounded her ears. Her right arm was tugged on harshly as she pulled behind cover
"Sara?"
"I'm- please just let me apologize, you don't- you don's have to forgive me, I lied and you wouldn't be here, fighting in a war you were never apart of because of my-"
Time was ticking, and Jessie frantically pieced together a response."Sara, Sara please, I'm the one who should be apologizing, I didn't mean for-"
"Jessie. I wanted to tell you, that-"

The sound of the bullets boomed.

The piercing sounds of shots fired, and Sara was shot in the head. Her warm body laid in Jessie's arms as Jessie laid her head on Sara's chest. The sounds of war fuzzed as she tightly gripped the body that grew colder. There was so much she had to tell Sara, so much she wanted to know about Sara, so much she wanted to do with Sara, but Jessie could only sit there, holding onto the lifeless body.

Through her breathless sobbing, Jessie pieced together the last few words she could muster.
"I love you."
Sara weakly smiles, and passes away in Jessie's arms.