Date: 9/20/2000
From: SouthernSlider

Oops. The math teacher can't count. That's what I get from staying away from the subject for a few years. The previous chapter was (9). Today's is (10). Duh!

Hey, no fair. I get three posts in a row? You're slacking off now, folks. Hop to it. Talk to us. You can't just lurk around soaking up everyone else's posts, you have to do your part. Okay, lecture over, on with the story.
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United We Slide, Divided . . . We Disappear

Chapter Ten

Quinn urged the taxi driver to move faster, irritating him more with every passing second. When they finally arrived at the hotel, he flipped the driver a ten, barely covering
the fare, and ran inside.

“Aloha to you too, buddy!” yelled the driver as he sped off mumbling about his ten-cent tip.

Quinn could find no news about his brother, but the clerk said Sgt. Willis would be in touch. His best bet was to sit tight right here in the hotel until he heard from the
man. Quinn clenched his teeth in impatience, ordered a room, and wrote down the hotel phone number before turning to leave. He instructed the clerk to take messages and he
would call in periodically. There was no way he was going up to his room, just to sit around and wait. His next stop would be the small airport.

When nothing newsworthy turned up there, he located the nearest phone booth to call the hotel. No news. Then he decided to call the mainland and see if Remmy and Maggie had returned. Nothing there either. He was striking out at every turn. What now?

***

Kelly drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, placing her chin on top of her knees. She sighed as she stared out at the waves crashing, then
lapping around the rocks below. Should she or shouldn't she? She knew she would never believe her own story if she hadn't lived it. Why should she expect him to believe it?
But, at least, he couldn't get away from her. She took a deep breath and released it, then began.

"Colin. I'm not from this world," she blurted out.

"What?"

"I'm from a parallel world. Now I know that sounds crazy . . ."

"Kelly, I . . ."

"Please, hear me out," she said, holding up her hand to halt his words. "Neither is Conie. And my name isn't Kelly Waters, it's Kelly Welles.

Colin's heart stopped. Did she say 'Welles'? This was beginning to be way too bizarre. He must still be dreaming . . . halluciating.

"Kelly . . ."

"Please, Colin. Don't interrupt. Let me tell the whole story before you comment. Please."

He closed his mouth and laid his hand on top of hers. "Go ahead. I'll say nothing more until you have finished."

"My sister has -- or had -- a boyfriend who was very scientific. He invented things -- or discovered them; I'm not sure which. One day, she didn't come home. Conie
-- who is Conrad Bennish, by the way, not Conrad Barrett -- couldn't find his friend, my sister's boyfriend, either. We discovered a basement full of equipment in his home,
which Conie said was some 'bridge' thing that would allow one to travel to other worlds. We finally concluded that's what happened to Wade, my sister, and Quinn. They must
have used the equipment to travel around the multiverse, and never returned, or at least, not by the time we left to look for them."

"I can't believe this," he whispered to himself more than to Kelly. He shook his head.

"I know it sounds so . . . sci-fi. But it's true, Colin, I swear it. Anyway, Conie also found his physics professor missing and surmised that he must have gone along for
the ride also. He and I spent a year researching and working in Quinn's basement. After pouring over Quinn’s notes and a lot of failed attempts, he finally came up with a timing device that opened a vortex to another world. After a lot of soul-searching and arguing with Conie, he convinced me we could travel to other worlds, and find Wade and Quinn. But after two years of world-hopping and coming up empty we became frustrated and careless. The timer got fried, somehow. He had to build a new one, but the coordinates to our homeworld were wiped out. We've not been able to go home. We never will. We went from one world to the next for a while, and finally decided to settle down on this one. It' almost identical to ours, and we've made a life here for ourselves with our music.
We had to change our names, because, in all probability there are doubles of us on this world. We discovered them on other worlds almost immediately when we started
traveling." She took a deep breath then continued.

"There's so much more to tell, but that's the gist of it. Now, you can tell me what a lunatic I am, but I promise you, every word is true."

Colin smiled and squeezed her hand. Kelly noticed the look in his eyes. It didn't look at all like one of disbelief. In fact, it was more like relief. She half frowned at his
reaction.

"Now would you like to hear an even more unbelievable tale?" he asked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You're just going to give me your story now, and not even question mine? Just like that? What is this -- see who can make up the most ludicrous story? I'm not playing
a game, Colin. This is for real." She found herself almost angry at his lack of astonishment.

"I am not playing either, Kelly. I am Quinn's brother."

She stared at him, only for a moment, then jumped up and headed back to the beach. He ran after her, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around. They both lost their balance and teetered precariously at the edge before regaining their balance.

She glared at him, hurt that he would make light of her outpouring. "Quinn doesn't have a brother, Colin."

"On a parallel world, yes, he does," Colin said softly. His sincerity made her freeze. She looked into the depths of eyes as crystal blue as the sea that surrounded them.
He was telling the truth; there was no playful mocking. He saw her acceptance of what he had said and led her back to the rocks.

"Now will you listen to my fantastic tale?" She nodded in silence.

He spent the better part of an hour explaining every detail he could think of about sliding, and how Quinn had discovered him. After a few minutes, when he didn't
mention Wade, he could see the question in her eyes. It was time to fill in some details.

He couldn't bring himself to give the complete story -- not about Wade, or the big fight between himself and Quinn -- so he just told her they had become separated, and were looking for Wade, the same as she had been. She was worried, he could tell, but seemed to accept his words. He knew someday she would have to know the whole story,
but it was going to take him some time to work up the courage to give it to her.

“This is so bizarre, Colin. What are the odds that we would meet up like this?” she said after absorbing all that he had told her. About the same as finding Wade, he
thought, only now his brother was lost to him as well. and that raised the odds considerably. If only they had found Kelly earlier in the slide, that whole scene with his
brother might have been avoided. Now he and Kelly were doomed to live the rest of their lives separated from their siblings and their home worlds, possibly even from the civilization on this one.
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SS

You know...

Date: 9/20/2000
From: DieselMickeyDolenz

Not telling her the whole truth about Wade is going to bite him in the arse.

Another fascinating chapter, SS. Keep on writin'.

DMD

Loverly...

Date: 9/20/2000
From: Robin14334

...as usual! :-) Keep 'em coming, sistah!

~Robin

Original URL http://www.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/1095/2851
Nominated by DieselMickeyDolenz