Aisha, Kyle and Gunther sat in their bosses office in the middle of the day.
Kyle was busy looking at his smartphone with his earbuds in his ears, while Aisha had her right foot over her left leg and she was filing her nails. Meanwhile Gunther was the only one who seemed to be interested in what the boss had to say.
"Will you two pay attention?" Their commanding officer barked
"Oh, huh. What's up boss." Aisha answered.
"What's up is I have two subordinates who are about to get reprimanded if they don't start taking these meetings more seriously."
Aisha reached up and took one of Kyle's ear buds out.
"Kyle the boss is barking orders at us again." She said to him
"What was that!?" He scolded her
"You're on thin ice Agent Karimi, you and that no good team leader of yours."
"Yes sir, sorry sir."
"Um chief, I was working on some alternate Timeline stuff so can you tell us why you called us in here?" Kyle asked
"This mission is of the utmost importance. Two teenagers have gotten lost in Timeline D-40."
"The post apocalypse Steampunk timeline?"
"Sure if you want to associate it with literary genres. Your mission is to make sure you get them out dead or alive."
Aisha rolled her eyes
"Might as well tell the parents they're dead." She said without a hint of empathy in her voice
Gunther then nudged her
"Ouch!"
Kyle stood up and saluted
"We'll make sure we find those bodies chiefly. Wait, no I mean-" He gaffed
"Just get the hell out of here and find those damn kids!" The chief barked back.
The trio disembarked from the room and headed to the lab.
Aisha sat down on her computer and typed out the coordinates for their Warp Pad.
"The kids used the warp pad designation thirty three forty one. I'll do a coordinate search." She said
Once she had done the search she found the coordinates on the computer.
"Warp Pad Thirty three forty one is
At coordinates 32.3547° N, 89.3985° W, in the year 1865, in Timeline D-40." Aisha said
"Those are the coordinates for the Mississippi River." Kyle blurted out
"They must be on a steamboat."
"Great now we can go get those kids now that we know they're safe." Gunther said
Kyle threw a triangular prism one the ground, the three sides then opened as they fell to the ground and they all gathered around it. In a flash they were transported from the lab and onto a paddle steamer in the humid southern summer.
The ship was filled to the brim with passengers. Many of which adorned blue army uniforms and held muskets.
"Judging by the large number of military personnel onboard this ship I'd say the American Civil War has just concluded and this ship is northbound." Kyle said
"Can someone explain to me why this is an alternate Timeline? Everything looks the same." Gunther asked
"Well some other Time Rangers were fucking around in the buonic plague days and forgot to disinfect themselves when they came to the American Civil War. Those spreading the black death to the late 19th century." Aisha explained
"This timeline is rampant with people going mad from plague." Kyle said
"Wow, that does sound unsafe. We better find those kids and go." Gunther said in a panic
"Pssh, the plague victims aren't gonna get us on a ship." Aisha scoffed
# River Embankment
Off in the distance watching the sunset down the river was an unpleasant surprise. Was Abbey Alpine, one woman driven mad by the plague and around her was a horde of other victims driven mad by the plague. They raised their butcher knives and all smiled as Abbey stood on a tree stump.
"Soon my plague rats. We shall sacrifice the healthy to God. We shall be cleansed!" She shouted
The crowd cheered around her.
# Sultana
Back aboard the battleship the trio had changed into era appropriate clothing. Aisha wore a nice white dress, while Gunther dressed like a regular union grunt, and Kyle had chosen to disguise himself as a high ranking union officer.
They walked through the ship, navigating through a crowd of blue coats and other passengers. Eventually they reached a small break when they got to the ballroom of the ship. They saw a small opening where two teenagers were dancing. One was a male dressed in an era appropriate tuxedo while the other was a young girl dressed in a white dress.
They twirled around and around both smiling and laughing.
"Wow, those kids are good." Aisha said
"My lady, may I have the next dance?" Kyke asked her
"Maybe later."
As the two leaned in to kiss Gunther spotted a warp pad in his pocket.
"That's them." He whispered to Aisha and Kyle.
The three then forced their way through the crowd and Kyle walked up to them and grabbed both of them.
"You two!" He said
The young man then brushed off Kyle's hand
"Get off of my wimp." He said
Gunther then grabbed both kids. The young man tried punching and kicking but it was so futile. Gunther was too strong.
"We got the kids, now we can go." Aisha said.
The rest of the crowd looked at them in shock as Aisha threw the warp pad down.
"What are they doing?" One soldier asked
"Is this sorcery?" A woman pondered
Just as the warp pad opened on the ground the sun disappeared below the horizon for the final time. The darkness had consumed the sky.
Just as the darkness had fallen on the landscape a large fireball rocked the ship. Everyone was thrown to the floor and the warp pad flew out of sight. The young man landed on his warp pad, crushing it.
As they got up the ship was full of smoke and people rushing to and fro.
The lights were flickering and a orange glow permeated the side of the ship. Gunther and Kyle rushed over to the starboard side to see the paddle had been blown up. Scorching hot flames spread like hot butter across the deck. However the worst had yet to come. In the dark waters they could make out what looked like hundred of fish swimming towards the boat.
"What the hell are those things?" Kyle asked
The first few reached the deck and then the threat was made clear. The ship is rapidly being swarmed by plague victims with knives. The two men rushed back, Being trampled by the rowdy crowd. The plague victims climbed upon the decks and began plunging their blades into anyone and everyone they could. Hot dark crimson liquid coated Kyle's coat. Some of the soldiers tried to fight back but they were mercilessly cut to ribbons in the confusion. Kyle crawled to Aisha who was still on the floor holding into the two teenagers.
"How are the kids?" He asked
"I don't know! How are you two?" Aisha asked
"Get us out of here!" The teenage girl cried
"What's going on?" The boy asked as he held his scared girlfriend ever so tightly.
"What are your names?" Aisha asked
"My name's Connor and my girlfriend's name is Layla!"
"Well we're gonna try to get you out of here!"
The heat from the flames began to overwhelm the kids, simultaneously the floors began to fill with blood. To make matters even worse the ship began to develop a list. Gunther rose up and used a pair of six shooters to fend off the plague victims.
He fired all twelve shots in rapid succession, downing several enemies. Aisha reached for the gun of a slain soldier and aimed up and then fired on another plague victim. Kyle took out his pistol and stood up. He held Aisha up there after. Half of her white dress was drench med in blood.
"Alright team everyone take up a firearm." He said
Layla and Connor took up rifles from the bodies on the ground.
More plague victims began to crawl onboard the doomed vessel as the crowd of folks got slimmer and slimmer
"Alright everybody! Follow me and shoot anyone with a knife." Kyle said
"Mmm, I like it when he takes charge." Aisha said
The group instantly became a target for the plague victims. They were instantly swarmed by dozens of them and they unleashed a solid sea of hot lead. The encroaching enemies were shredded. They then slowly moved up the staircase.
A plague victim threw his knife and struck Connor in the back. Layla was quick to defend her man and instantly shot the attacker through the stomach
They then continued their advance up the stairs. Aisha was now holding Connor who was beginning to lose blood quickly.
"He's gonna need medical attention." Aisha said
"Dammit, I wish we still had our warp pads." Kyle said
They continued up the staircase, then the power then shut off. Getting to the second floor they found the healthy people had now devolved into the same animalistic violence as the plague victims. Soldiers were firing their guns at one another and stabbing each other all for the chance to get a lifeboat. One man had completely lost his marbles and began feasting on the brains of a soldier who had been shot through the head.
One group of guys got on the lifeboat amid the fighting and dropped down into the water. The lifeboat was then swarmed by the plague victims in the water and the men were dragged below.
Some of the rioters looked over and saw the group.
"Aye, look at those guys! Two women, and a wounded man. Kill them." The man said. As he said that a plague victim managed to climb up to the second floor from the outside. He grabbed a man by the throat and they both fell overboard.
"Kill these men!" Kyle shouted
Everyone mag dumped their weapons into the crazed crowd. Riddling them with bullets. Just then the plague members began to rush up the stairs bloody knives in hand. The gang rushed up the staircase again to get to the top of the ship. The moment the bus busted through the ceiling the ship took a huge large and collapsed onto its side. They broke onto the roof and instantly fell sideways. The ship then began to roll over. The group climbed through the ship's side as it rolled over. The ship then settled upside down and began to sink faster. Once they made it to the top they were shocked to witness what looked like the end of the world.
Off in the distance were ironclad ships which were on fire and also sinking. Connor fell to the ground, his face planted into a green sludge on the bottom of the ship's hull.
"Connor." Layla said as she knelt down and held her lover in her arms. The water grew ever closer and so did the enemies.
The trio stood over the two kids firing away at their guns. A few mere moments later they were standing on a small circle that was still left above the water line. Kyle fired his gun a few more times. He then realized it was futile and turned the gun on himself. He pulled the trigger only to hear a click. He then threw his gun.
He then embraced Aisha for what he believed would be the final time.
No one cares to say anything as the final part of the boat fell below the waters of the Mississippi and then were left floating in the water with the plague victims quickly closing in on them. Kyle closed his eyes right as he saw one plague victim lunge at him with a knife.
He anticipated the sharp pain in his thigh but it never came. When he opened his eyes he was now back at HQ. Still holding Aisha tight. Gunther was over Connor providing CPR while Layla looked at him in frustration. Both of their parents then rushed in with the chief and medical crew behind them.
"Oh my God what happened to my baby boy!" Connors mom shouted in horror as she saw her son's pale face and he was covered in blood.
"I bet that she devil had something to do with this!" Connor's mom shouted through tears as she pointed towards Layla.
"How dare you blame my daughter for this!" Layla's mom shouted back
The medics evacuated Connor who at that point was unresponsive and quickly rushed him out of the lab.
The chief looked back at then and said
"Good work crew." As he walked out
Kyle and Aisha looked into each others eyes
"That was close." Aisha whispered
"Hey, c'mon. Let's get out of these clothes." Kyle replied.