Excerpt: Eight Days

A faint whine split the air: the molecule-excitor in Jacky's hands was being charged slowly as she gently squeezed the trigger. Apparently her nerves were on end; she'd hunkered down under the brush of a tree. The other members of her party had done the same, almost blending into the pale trees.
Everything exploded.
Fay ducted instinctively, rolling under the tree by Jacky. She found herself looking straight into Jacky's eyes.
There was a moment when everything made sense: why she knew this woman, what was going to happen; how this was all going to end.
There was a hollow crash.
Jolted from her strange reverie, Fay found the world around her thick with clouds of dust and rotten wood splinters. Somehow, she was back in that "real" version of the sim, and the fibers were thick in her lungs. She coughed heavily, and she heard someone behind her doing the same.
Ducking between a fallen tree (her former hiding place) and the ground, she saw a soldier half-trapped beneath a log. Still coughing madly, Fay unthinkingly shoved her shoulder under the log and helped to free the soldier, who scrambled out from beneath it.
Jacky's wide eyes, dark, looked at Fay a moment.
"You..." she said, vague recognition flickering in her eyes.
Surprised, Fay coughed, then asked, "You know me?"
Jacky shook her head. "What's a civilian doing out here? You speak English? Where do you come from? No – never mind, it doesn't matter. Get out of here. You'll get yourself killed." She coughed.
Fay shook her head obstinately. "I'm fine."
"Get out of here!"
"Fine," Fay said. She didn't want to argue. "What just happened? Is that the Cantonese?" Fay threw a look over her shoulder, as though expecting to see legions of enemy Cantonese loom out of the dusty air.
Jacky laughed, then went into another coughing fit. "Cantonese? What Cantonese?" Jacky's tone was filled with sarcasm.
"What?" Fay asked.
"Have you been in space? The Cantonese never invaded Vietnam."
"What?" Fay asked, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Where are you from, kid?"
"I'm a United, just like you."
Jacky stared at Fay. "And you don't know what's going on?"
"We're here because Canton took over northern Vietnam. We're here, fighting for Vietnam's freedom... right?"
"Bullshit," Jacky said bluntly. "We're here for minerals. And if anyone's listening, I don't give a fuck if I get reported. I'm imagining United civilians randomly appearing in the forest, saving me. I'm crazy. It doesn't fucking matter."
"Shut up!" Daniel hissed. Fay jumped and turned to look at him. Daniel was sliding from his pastel reality into theirs, through the slit in the air. "Do you want to get yourselves killed? Is that it? Huh?"
"I'm as good as dead, and I'm crazy. Great," Jacky said sarcastically.
Daniel jumped as the next keening filled the air.
"Idiots!' he muttered, grabbing a handful of air and yanking hard.
With a jerk, Jacky and Fay found themselves in the pastel virtual reality.
"I am going crazy," Jacky muttered after a long moment of dazedly looking around.
"No," Daniel replied frankly, "and I just saved your lives, just so you know. Both of you."
A shatter. Muted screams.
Silence.
"Fuck," Jacky decided, looking shaken. "You saved me? Do you know what just happened?"
As though reciting from a history textbook: "Your command just died to ensure the victory of the United States of America in the Cantonam War. When you get home, they will be able to find evidence that you were, in fact, here (as opposed to abandoning your post), and then they will proclaim you a national hero. Congratulations, Jackylin May O'Neill."