Date: 9/29/2000
From: SouthernSlider

Good morning, all. Ah, glorious Friday. The weekend on the verge of blossoming. I hope you are giddy with anticipation of that wonderful time of the week.

Thanks for keeping us going yesterday, DMD. Sorry I had to skip out on you for two more days. I will try to be more consistent and post this on a daily basis, if at all possible.
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United We Slide, Divided . . . We Disappear

Chapter Thirteen

Quinn was totally exhausted when he plopped down on the bed. It had been a long and fruitless day. If only he had gotten an earlier start with the airplane, they would
have had more time to search . . . more outer islands could have been covered. As it was, he was left to wonder another night about whether or not his brother was even alive. He let his mind wander in and out of worse-case scenarios.

When he could take no more doom-and-gloom thoughts, he picked up the phone and asked the operator to dial the Dominion Hotel.

“Yes, Mr. Mallory. Your friends were here, but they had to leave. They did leave you a message, though,” the clerk said in response to his question.

“Read it to me, please.”

“Are you sure? It might be private, sir.”

“It will be fine. Just read it,” Quinn said. He knew he sounded short with the man, but he was tired and irritated. The man would just have to get over it or die mad.

“Yessir.” was his short, clipped answer. “Arrived yesterday, but had to leave today on business. Will return ASAP. Keep us posted. We will do the same. -- Maggie.
Any response, sir?”

“Just tell them, ‘No luck yet, but not giving up. Will be here until successful.’ They will be back, so hold my room for them.” He hung up the phone before hearing the
clerk’s response.

As the night wore on, Quinn lay there replaying the last few days in his mind. His hateful words to his brother kept echoing in his ears until he thought his brain would
explode.

He drifted in and out of sleep with Wade’s and Colin’s faces floating in his subconscious. Even the professor showed up, pointing an accusing finger and ranting in
his loudest British accent.

***

Colin laid another twig and dried palm frond on the fire to keep it blazing through the night. He checked on Conie, saw there was still no change, then turned his attention
back to Kelly. Her skin was still very warm to the touch, but he hoped it wasn’t wishful thinking to believe it wasn’t as warm as earlier.

He shifted his weight then lay back, putting his hands behind his head. Kelly moaned, and he jerked his head around to observe her. When there was nothing more,
his eyes drifted to the stars overhead, and his mind to Quinn.

The dreadful scene began to replay over and over again, like a video tape in an infinite loop. It never changed. Quinn grew angry, then himself. He said things in
frustration that he knew wounded his brother deeply. Why? Why did he let himself get so provoked?

His mind’s eye watched as he stormed out of the hotel for the hundredth time, then he rose to check on Kelly again. When he was convinced she was all right for the moment, he took off walking down the beach.

The sand beneath his feet was still warm from the day’s sun even though it had been many hours since the sun’s last rays had kissed it. The rush of ocean water to his
right was suddenly noticable and soothing. He tried to concentrate on the rhythm of each wave turning over rushing to land. Climbing on the rocks where he and Kelly had
semi-bared their souls, he closed his eyes to let the sounds and smells penetrate to relax his weary mind and body.

What now? Where did he go from here? He had depended so on his brother to walk him through the worlds so different from his own that he wasn’t sure he could function in this foreign land alone. And it wasn’t simply some haitus that would eventually come to an end. This was forever. This was his world now. And Kelly was his only link to sanity. Could she keep him grounded? Would his hidden knowledge
about her sister turn her away from him? Would her world turn upside down like his had? Too many questions; not near enough answers.

Kelly tossed and turned on her make-shift bed. Wade’s face materialized in front of her. She reached out to her sister, but Wade didn’t respond. Her image retreated and
disappeared. Kelly was tossed to and fro, flipping head over heels. She was in a wind tunnel of sorts. She felt like damp clothing being tossed around in a dryer. She was out of control, spinning around and around, growing dizzy and out of focus.

“Wade! Wade! Come back, Wade. Please come back.” she yelled in her delirium. Wade came face to face with her, but she couldn’t reach her, couldn’t grasp the hand that was being held out to her. Someone was behind her, pulling her away. Quinn. Quinn held on to Wade’s hand and pulled her into the tunnel. It closed, and Kelly was left standing alone in a void; nothingness pulled at her soul.

“Kelly! Kelly, wake up. You are dreaming.” Colin gently shook her to bring her out of the nightmare she seemed to be having. She stirred and gazed at him through
hooded lids.

“Quinn. Bring her back, Quinn,” she said.

Colin sighed and rocked back on his heels. “If only I could, Kelly. If only I could bring everyone back,” he said in a whisper.

“Bring her back,” she repeated then fell silent.

Colin felt her heated skin and decided to try a method on his world for bringing a fever under control. He lifted her in his arms and carried her toward the ocean. It
wouldn’t be as chilly as the mountain spring water on his world, but maybe it would be cold enough to bring her body temperature down just a little. The sun was just trying to
push itself over the horizon and the cool night air was still hanging around. Now would be the coolest part of the day.

He waded in until he was almost chest-high in water, then lowered Kelly until only her head was above water. It was decidedly chilly, so Colin felt this might just work. He left her there for several minutes then lifted her out. A few minutes later he repeated the process. After spending a good thirty to forty-five minutes alternating her between the cool water and air, he returned her to the camp.

Stripping her of her soaked clothing, he covered her with green palm fronds and went to hang the clothing to dry. He did the same with his clothing and returned to sit by
the fire and wait out the results. He hoped it worked. And he hoped Kelly wouldn’t be too upset that he had to remove her clothing. Would she understand that he hadn’t done it for lacivious reasons? Could he ever get the image of her lying there naked out of his mind?
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I leave you with that image until tomorrow. Or maybe Sunday. Depends on whether or not I can get here before my beloved Dawgs take on the Hawgs. Can't miss kick-off.

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SS

Oh, yeah....

Date: 9/29/2000
From: DieselMickeyDolenz

The image of Chase Masterson lying naked in the sand? I can live with that for a loooooooooooooong time. ;)

Diesel
 Mickey
  Dolenz

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