Time Traveler Part I (Feeling Like The World Forgot Me)

Chapter 10

Patty leaned on the table, squeezing his eyes shut against the blinding light as a wave of nausea passed through him. Hand shaking, he pulled the processor out of the side of his head and blew on it, willing himself not to throw up. As his stomach began to settle somewhat, he pushed it back it, blinking in the dimness of the bunker.

"You okay, mate?"

"Yeah." Patty looked over his shoulder at Ben, bundled up in several large blankets. He pointed to the processor. "It fucks up sometimes."

Ben gave him a long look before putting his headphones back on and going back to whatever he was doing. Watching old court trials, Patty remembered. Trying to figure out what happened after OGR captured him. He was wearing the blankets because he was sick. No, not just sick. Dying.

Patty flopped down on his bunk. "Do you know what I was just doing?"

Ben removed his headphones again. "What?"

"No, like, what was I doing?"

"Oh. You just got back. I think you mentioned your friend Awsten? You were gone for ages."

"Oh god."

"You don't like him?"

"No, it just sucks that I forgot."

It was just his luck that he'd have an episode right after seeing Awsten. He'd been missing him lately and it had been difficult to bring people back here since they'd found Ben. While Ali and Foley worked often, allowing plenty of opportunity for private moments with whoever Patty wanted, Ben couldn't leave as often and never for so long.

Of course, Patty didn't fault him for it. He deserved to be as comfortable as possible for his last rotations and Patty getting laid every now and then wasn't shit compared to that. He did wish he could do more for him, though. Ben was sweet. Patty felt kinda shitty for being a bit upset.

As he wondered if the gap in his memory could make for some fun messages later or if Awsten would be upset that he forgot, the door creaked open, crashing his train of thought. Had he forgotten to lock it? Someone Patty didn't recognise, but seemed to have similar head augments to Ben, walked in.

Patty sat up. "Can I help?" he asked, unsure what else to do.

"Eighty Three N," the stranger replied.

"Maxx?"

Patty glanced at Ben, surprised. "You know them?"

Maxx headed straight for Ben. "I'm taking you home, Eighty Three N."

"Maxx, what happened to you?" Ben sounded worried.

Patty got up and put himself between them. "Wait, what's going on?" he asked Maxx.

Maxx pushed Patty aside easily, but Patty moved back in front of him.

"Stop. What are you doing here?"

Maxx's expression remained neutral as he grabbed Patty's throat, squeezing hard.

"Maxx, stop! Leave him alone, he's just trying to help!"

Maxx was strong. Patty grasped his head in both hands, pushing his thumbs into his eyes. Maxx shoved him back into a wall and Patty's head slammed against it with a deafening clang. Head spinning, he dropped to his knees, a hand reaching back instinctively to check for damage. Maxx pushed him down and wrestled him onto his stomach, snaking an arm around his neck.

He tried desperately to gasp for air, tears springing to his eyes. Even as Ben's shouts faded with Patty's vision, his mind kept racing, afraid of what it would do to Ali and Foley to find his body like this.