The air hung thick with something sickly sweet that Lieutenant Drew knew all too well was the smell of death.
Sweat trickling from her hair to her forehead as she crouched low behind a crumbling stone wall, the jungle air doing little no effort to cool the fire in her lungs as she breathed quietly.
Around her, the men of her platoon were observing in controlled chaos. Some were reloading rifles with practiced ease, their faces grim but focused. Others were scanning the treeline, their eyes narrowed, searching for any sign of movement.
"Anything, Miller?" Winter calls out , her voice hoarse from shouting over the din of gunfire and explosions.
Miller shook his head, his eyes wide with fear, "Nothing yet, Lieutenant. But I got a bad feeling. Like they're just waitin' for us to make a move."
Winter swallowed, her gut twisting with the same unease. They'd been pinned down for hours, taking occasional fire from an unseen enemy. The location itself seemed to be against them, the huge trees and dense jungle providing perfect cover for the Japanese soldiers.
"Alright, listen up, " Lieutenant Drew said, her voice on the edge of caution, " We can't stay here all day. We need to find a way to break through. Sergeant Davis, you and Johnson take point. See if you can find a flank. Miller, keep those eyes everywhere."
Davis, a veteran with a permanent scowl etched onto his face, nodded curtly. "You got it, Lieutenant. Let's move, Johnson."
As Davis and Johnson crawled forward, Winter took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She knew this was a suicide mission. The odds were stacked against them, and they were outnumbered and outgunned. But she couldn't let her men see her fear. She had to be strong, had to be the leader they needed her to be.
"Drew, this is Baker," crackled the voice from her radio. "We're taking heavy fire over here. We need reinforcements, ASAP."
Winter's jaw tightened. Baker's company was just a few hundred yards away, but it might as well have been on another planet. They were completely cut off.
"Baker, I copy," Winter said, her voice steady despite the knot in her stomach. "We're pinned down here, but we're working on a breakthrough. Just hold tight."
She knew it was a lie. They weren't going to break through. They were going to die here, in this godforsaken jungle, fighting a war that seemed to have no end. But she couldn't tell Baker that. She had to give him hope, even if it was a false hope.
Suddenly, Winter spotted movement behind those large trees. Squinting her eyes, she realized it was a Japanese soldier, moving cautiously, avoiding to be seen by them. She immediately recognized the armband, to her delight he was a medic, but his helmet had fallen off, revealing his face. Her platoon desperately needed a medic, cause their own had been taken out hours ago. Weighing the risk, she made a decision.
Cautiously, she approached the medic, her weapon lowered but still ready. "Hey! Stop!" she called out in a smooth japanese language. "Medic! We need help!"
The Japanese medic froze, his eyes wide with surprise and fear. He hesitated, then slowly reached for his medical bag.
But then, someone from Winter's platoon shouted, "ENEMY!"
Realization dawned on the lieutenant's face. It was a mistake. A terrible, fatal mistake.
She tried to yell, "STOP! MEDIC!" but her voice was drowned out by the roar of gunfire.
It was too late.
A bullet slammed into her chest, the impact throwing her backward. The Japanese medic beside her, got his chance and shot her too, straight in the chest, making her fall to the ground.
Her vision's blurring as the realization of what just happened crashes over her. The medic, the one she was trying to save, the one she thought could help her men, had shot her.
Betrayal, sharp and bitter.
She coughs harshly - thick, wet, and feels a warm trickle on her chin. Blood. So much blood. The jungle sounds - the gunfire, the shouts, the screams - fade into a dull roar.
Through the haze, she sees the medic standing over her, his face showing fear and regret. He's saying something, but she can't make out the words. Is he apologizing? Is he gloating?
It doesn't matter.
Lieutenant Winter Drew had failed to protect her own country
But then a beeping sound was heard in the background.
Winter's eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the softness and warmness of the mattress on her back. Followed by a few gasps echoed in the room.
"Call the doctor! Our baby's awake!" a woman's voice cried out.
Winter blinked, disoriented.
Where was she? Who were these people crowding around her? This wasn't a hospital, not like any she'd ever seen.
And the faces staring down at her were... completely unfamiliar.
A young girl, barely more than a teenager, stepped closer to the bed, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. Her eyes wide open.
"Oh my God! Unnie's eyes are BLUE!" she gasped.
The lieutenant, confused and struggling to make sense of her surroundings, tried to sit up. But a sharp, searing pain ripped through her legs and ribs, that made her collapse back against the pillows.
"Easy there dear..." the woman said, her eyes almost teary. "Don't try to move too much."
Winter stared up at her, her mind racing. "Where... where am I?" she managed to croak out, her throat dry and scratchy.
The woman's brow furrowed, confusion crossing her face. She responded, but her words were in a language Winter didn't understand.
"I... I don't understand..." she responded with a growing panic. "Can you speak English?"
The woman's eyes widened slightly, glancing at the middle aged man standing on the other side of the bed, "You... you speak English?" the woman asked, her own English halting and accented. "You are home, baby. You are safe now and baby... you were in a racing accident. A very bad one. You hurt yourself."
"Racing accident?" Winter repeated, the words sounded foreign on her tongue. "What kind of racing? I... I don't remember any racing."
The teenage girl from earlier stepped forward, her face flushed with anger, " You almost killed that poor girl Yu Jimin. What are you even thinking?!"
Yu Jimin. The name echoed in Winter's mind, unfamiliar and yet... somehow, a faint of recognition flickered within her as her heart started beating uncontrollably.
Who is Yu Jimin?
Then, a flood of images crashed over her - the jungle, the gunfire, the terrified face of the Japanese medic, the searing pain in her chest. The war. It all came rushing back, pushing the strange girl and the unfamiliar name to the back of her mind.
"No..." She gasped, her eyes wide with panic. "No, it wasn't a racing accident. I was... I was in a war. There was a medic... a Japanese medic... he shot me! I remember everything!"
She reached out, grabbing the woman's hand, her grip tight. "You have to believe me! It wasn't a racing accident. I was a soldier! There was a war! Where am I? What's going on?"
The woman's face softened, her eyes filled with pity. She gently stroked Winter's hair, her touch soothing. "Shhh, baby. It's okay. You're confused. The accident... it must have made you forget things. Made you remember things that aren't real."
"But it is real!" The lieutenant insisted, her voice rising in desperation. "I remember the war! I remember the medic! I remember dying!"
The woman exchanged a worried glance with the man. "Just rest, baby... there's no war..." she lightly rubs Winter's back. "You need to rest. The doctor will be here soon, and he'll make everything better. Just close your eyes and try to relax."
Winter stared at her - at those strangers in front of her. Her mind's still puzzled. They didn't believe her. They thought she was out of it. The war, the medic, the death... it was all real.
But how could she convince them when they were so convinced she was being delusional? And... who was Yu Jimin?
Lieutenant Drew Winter a navy commander, a brave soldier, a hero, who came from another year, another era, 1932 - was now in the Modern World, year 2021.