Date: 05/??/01
From: SouthernSlider

Chapter One

The sliders popped out, one by one, and started to roll.  They continued their
journey down a grassy hillside until the land leveled off.   Maggie punched
Remmy in the arm as soon as they came to a stop.

"Ow!"  he yelled, grabbing his arm as if he had been mortally wounded.  "What
did you do that for, girl?"

"Oh, how quickly we forget.  For laughing, you nitwit!"  She jumped up and
moved out of his reach.

Everyone else scrambled to their feet, dusted themselves off and began scanning the area.  Quinn checked the timer, and issued his standard announcement, "Four days, and change, guys."

"Doesn't look too bad from this angle,"  Remmy observed.

"How often have we mistakenly made that judgment?"  Maggie pondered as she
surveyed her surroundings.  But, at first glance it did appear Remmy was right.

They had obviously landed in a park.  Benches all around, narrow walking and
jogging paths criss-crossing the grass, fountains, people sitting on blankets
sharing picnic food, a game of volleyball in the distance, a boy sailing a Frisbee in the air, his dog jumping with precise timing and catching it in its teeth.

"Let's just keep our fingers crossed that everything stays as normal as it
looks now,"  said Quinn.  Somehow, he didn't think it would.  It never did.

They walked around until the fringes of the park gave way to streets,
sidewalks, and buildings.  Finding the Chandler hotel in a matter of minutes, they asked for and received their usual suite, then settled in for a while to catch their collective breaths.

"How about a beer and some food?"  asked Quinn after a short time of lounging
about.  He wasn't one to just sit on his tush when there were places to be and
things to see.  A twenty-something college student was always eager to check out the scene.  And, he wanted to see if he could find out about this world.  Was it going to be as normal as it appeared?  "Anybody with me?"

"I am, brother."

"Me, too,"  added Remmy.  "You coming, sweetheart?"

"Might as well.  No fun up here by myself.  I could have stayed on that other
dead-end world."

Down in the lobby and through to the bar, everything was the same old, same
old. They all felt they could walk through the place blindfolded and never bump a stick of furniture along the way.  The place seemed to be identical on every world lately.  Even down to the carpet and upholstery on the chairs and sofas.

Grabbing the four remaining stools at the bar, they all ordered the usual
liquid refreshment, then grabbed menus to figure out the meal of the day.  The TV playing in the distance had been ignored until Quinn heard the announcer say something about time.

He wasn't sure why it caught his attention -- maybe because he was thinking
about time when they had entered the wormhole -- but he did stop his perusal of the menu to listen to what the guy had to say.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.  Today only, specials on certain times.  You may
delve back into your past or someone else's for as low as $49.95.  Get your time today.  Only one to a customer, of course, but someone in your family can have their time for half price if you call within the next thirty minutes.  That's right, buy one, get one half off in the span of a half hour.  This promotion won't last long, so get off your duff and give us a call.  123-555-1800.  That's 123-555-1800.  All credit cards accepted.  Delivery will be sent as soon as your credit card has been verified.

"Q-ball?"  Remmy called out.  "Q-ball!"

"What?"  Quinn pulled his eyes from the screen when he faintly heard his name.

"Are you going to order, or not?  The lady's waiting."

"Oh, yeah."  Quinn frowned as he returned his attention to the menu.  Not
wanting to hold up the order any longer, he called out the first thing his eyes fell on. His mind didn't really care what his stomach had.  It was too busy trying to soak in what the TV announcer had been talking about.

Time.  It had been on his mind lately.  And what did that guy say?  Delve back
into your past or someone else's?  Did that mean one could go back in time on
this world?  Is this a world of time travel?  Suddenly his mind craved food more than his stomach did.

"Guys, you go ahead and eat.  I've got to run an errand."  He jumped up from
the stool.

"Now, Q-ball?  What about your food?"  Remmy asked.

"You eat it.  I'll get something later,"  he called out.  "See you back at the
room."

"What the heck was that all about?"  Remmy took another swallow of his beer as he frowned over Quinn's sudden departure.

"I don't know.  He was the one who was so hungry.  What happened?"  Maggie
asked.

"Maybe it was the television,"  Colin offered.

"What?  What was on the freakin' TV that made him disappear?"

"I do not know.  But I saw him staring at it intently right before you summoned
him to order his food.  I was so busy deciding what meal I wanted, I did not pay attention to the screen."

"Oh, great.  That's all we need,"  Maggie griped,  "Quinn off on some
wild-goose chase, and we don't even know why or where.  What if something happens to him? We don't know how long he intends to be gone or anything.  And we know nothing about this world.  Why, anything could happen, and we would be in the dark.  Doesn't he have any consideration for us, if not for himself?  Now, we have to go and try to find him.  I knew something would . . ."

"Girl, will you take a breath?"  Remmy interrupted her little tirade.  "He's a
big boy.  If it were something dangerous, he wouldn't have just taken off.  He
probably saw an ad for something he wanted and ran to the corner drug store to get it.  He'll be back before we can finish our meal."

Remmy dug into the ribs, covered in the best sauce he had ever tasted, the
second the waitress sat the plate in front of him.  He ignored Maggie's surly glare as he nibbled the meat from the bone.  Maggie rolled her eyes in disgust at his lack of concern.   He and Colin exchanged understanding worried glances.  They were both concerned, but they weren't going to get too bothered about it just yet.

 

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