by Adam Moon
“I guess we were just lucky.”
The officer called over his radio. “I need back-up.”
Before he could give his location, Henry beckoned everyone closer. He nodded over his shoulder at the diner and they all knew he wanted them to rush inside so he could transport them away from this strange world.
But Neil had one last question for the officer. “If a person is to live by so many laws, how can there be free will?”
Henry visibly shuddered and a grunt slipped from his lips. Engaging the overzealous cop in any way would not end well for them, he knew.
The officer let the radio drop to his side. The smile that crept across his face had pity in it. “The happiest person doesn’t need to worry about choices or will. Happy citizens can simply wake up in the morning and follow one rule after another until it’s time to go to bed again. The ideal life is one where we are born and we obey until the moment we perish. It simplifies the chaos. You should know this. You all should.”
Neil pointed over the officer’s shoulder and said, “Well, that guy’s not wearing a patch either.”
The officer turned and they all bolted for the diner door. Neil was about to say that he couldn’t believe his trickery worked when the officer started to fire on the building. Henry used his dimensional device to jump before anyone got hurt, but they were all painfully aware that they’d just doomed Larry to a life of misery on that overly lawful hell-hole of a planet.
Sandy asked, “Can we go back for Larry?”
“We might accidentally get back there but it’s doubtful. He made his choice. I told you people that this is serious. I hope you believe me now.”
Steve, the cook, stared out of the windows absently and mumbled, “We should jump again. Maybe if we jump around a lot really quickly those dog-faced dudes won’t be able to catch up to us.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Henry said, with little conviction, like he was barely sure of it himself.
Kara asked, “How are they able to find you?”
“They must be tracking the device. I don’t really know.”
“Well we can’t ditch the device so I guess we should get ready for them pretty soon, right?”
Henry said distractedly, “I’m going to see if I can get this thing open. Maybe it doesn’t automatically reset. Maybe it has a reset switch.” He wandered off to a distant booth and cradled the device in his hands, inspecting it.
Kara whispered to Neil, “He doesn’t know a damn thing about that device. He’s not telling us everything. He says he’s waiting for it to reset, but it probably already did. He said it still works, but that it lost all of the information that had been manually input into it. That’s what we call a reset.”
Neil stared at Henry’s back. Kara might be right, but he wasn’t about to confront Henry about it in case he lost his temper and left them behind. Henry was graciously trying to get them all home. Neil would hate to jeopardize that by overreacting based on nothing more than a teenage girl’s theories.
He whispered to Kara, “Would you mind befriending him? If he’s really taking the device apart, and he doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing, it would be nice if someone was there to stop him from making a mistake.”
She winked and sauntered over to him, slinking into the opposite bench before he could object. The moment she arrived, He got fidgety.
He said, “This is very delicate. I need privacy, please.”
Kara yawned and leaned further back. “I’ll be quiet.”
He shook his head but he didn’t force the issue.
The world outside the window was so bleak that none of them stared at it for more than a few seconds at a time. The sight actually made Neil wince, like it hurt his brain physically. The ground out there was no more than sand, tan and fine like powder. But what made it painful to witness was the building right in front of them, toppled over and sandblasted smooth. Someone on this planet had evolved enough to build structures and then something had happened that had brought civilization to its knees.
When Stacey pointed a thick, sun-bleached bone out to her husband Jack, Neil took Kim by the hand and sat at the counter to get away from the terrible sights. Sandy and Steve joined them. Steve didn’t bother settling into a seat, though. He asked, “Who wants some coffee?”
A few people said they did until Neil said, “Where are you going to get the water from? The faucets won’t work. And how are you going to heat it?”
Steve shrugged. “I had two pots warming before we left. Hopefully they didn’t tip when we went to that ocean world. Do you want some?”
“In that case, yes please. We should dig into some food soon too, don’t you think?”
“Lucky for you, I prepped a bunch of the food already. We should eat it before it spoils.”
Henry looked over his shoulder as if he wanted to advise them to ration their food but Neil said loudly, “Let’s eat. I’m starving,” because he was already sick and tired of Henry’s endless rules.
He overheard Kara ask him, “Why are you scouting other worlds, anyway? What’s the point? I mean, I get the scientific aspect, but you said your people already sent probes decades ago. Why do you need to be here in person?”
Henry turned from her and hissed, “You said you could be quiet,” but Neil added forcefully, “No, please take a minute to explain what it is you were doing in our dimension. I think we have a right to know.”
Henry huffed aloud and put the device back in his pocket. “I’m scouting other worlds for a better place for my people. We are in need of a better Earth to colonize.”
“What’s wrong with your Earth?”
“Like many Earth’s in the multiverse, ours has been ravaged by the effects of overpopulation. Many years ago my planet was home to over eighty billion people. The emerging societies made all the same mistakes that the established ones made centuries ago, polluting the land and air and sea in the pursuit of progress. My ancestors ruined my home so my generation is in search of a better one to start over.”
The speech sobered the room.
Valerie asked him, “How many are left of your people?”
“Less than half a billion.”
“What happened to the rest?”
“Starvation took out most of them but when the population started to rebound, they knew something had to be done to stop another population explosion so social reforms were used first and when they failed, they resorted to outright genocide. My Earth has been through hell and back. All we want is the chance to do it right this time, on another Earth.”
“Have you found one that suits you yet?”
“We’re not desperate enough just yet to accept any old Earth. If that time comes, the choice will be easy. Right now we have time to be choosy so I’m looking for a utopia with all the right ingredients for a fruitful life for my people. I haven’t found it yet.”
Neil listened to his tale like a child hearing his first bedtime story, but like a child, he didn’t know if he could believe it. Something about Henry was both innocent and corrupt at the same time and Neil couldn’t put his finger on it.
Henry tried to stand up when his thigh bumped the edge of the table, depressing the button on the device in his pocket. The building vibrated and they were transported again.
He fished it from his pocket and stared at it like it was poisonous.
Kara said coyly, “You sure are careless with your device. Maybe you should hand it over to someone a little more responsible.”
He shot her a vicious look and stormed off, mumbling over his shoulder to everyone else, “Sorry about that.”
Neil was just glad to be gone from the dead world but when he looked outside, he wasn’t so sure they had upgraded. The wor
ld was lush with foliage of all colors. But the flora was alive with rustling animals they couldn’t yet see.
Henry sidled up to him and whispered, “I think I damaged the button when I hit it off of the table. It’s stuck.”
“Are we safe here until you get it fixed?”
“I don’t know this world so I couldn’t tell you.”
“I thought you knew all the worlds. You said your people sent probes.”
“They did but I don’t recognize this place. Maybe it has changed since the probes visited or maybe it’s a world we missed during our exploratory missions.”
Neil was starting to side with Kara; something was off about Henry’s story. All of it. But before he accused the guy, he wanted to be sure and so far he only had a hunch, based on nothing but intuition.
Neil said, “I’ll make sure the windows and doors are sealed shut while you work on fixing it. There are animals out there but they seem to be more afraid of us than we are of them.”
“That could be a mixed blessing. If they’re smart enough to keep their distance, then they could be smart enough to successfully attack us if they so choose.”
“I’ll stay vigilant. You get to work. Let me know if you need some help.”
Neil looked at Kara and then nodded towards Henry. Kara knew he wanted her to spy on him while he worked so she got up and followed him to the counter where he placed the device. He pried at the button with the tips of his fingernails but it didn’t budge. He said to Kara, “If you’re going to shadow me, at least be helpful. Find me some tools.”
Neil walked to the windows and looked out. A creature as big as a bus smashed through the jungle towards them. It looked like an oversized black rhino but its head was proportionately too big and it had no horn. Neil backed away in sheer fright. If it was coming for them, they were screwed. It smashed right into the diner and caved in the front door with its massive head. Valerie yelped like a scared puppy as the walls shuddered. The creature backed up three steps and charged again, this time taking out some of the surrounding walls. Small, furry creatures started to pour in through the now wide open doorway as the behemoth backed up for another charge.
Animal Infiltration
✨
NEIL YELLED, “We need to go. We don’t want to end up trapped in here with that thing.”
Henry was trembling as he pried at the button with a butter knife.
Kara held her hand out just as the giant creature careened into the building again so Henry handed it over to her. She put it down on the countertop and whacked it with a wooden spoon. As soon as she did, the outside world vanished, replaced by a darker, ominous one.
Half of the giant creature had teleported with them, leaving its back half behind. It twitched for a full ten seconds and then it bled out. It smelled like raw sewage and even as it died the look of hatred was evident in its eyes.
Kim shrieked but before Neil reacted, Sandy ran to her, swatted something small and furry from her back and then brought her foot down on it. One of the little creatures that had poured into the diner had traveled with them.
Neil said to everyone, “Make sure we don’t have any more unwanted passengers.”
Henry and Kara started to struggle over the device until Neil stepped in and shoved Henry away, saying, “She’ll hold onto it for now. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out when we’re in danger and need to leave.”
“Give it back to me. You fools don’t know what you’re doing.”
Kara snarled, “I was thinking the exact same thing about you. I’m starting to doubt if this even belongs to you.”
Henry ignored her accusation. “I’m the only one here who can fix it.”
Neil grabbed him by the shirt collar and brought his face close to say, “You’re wasting our time. Help the others cleanse the room. We brought creatures from the last world with us. You’ll get your device back later.”
Henry looked away from him like he was breathing poison. Then he wilted and traipsed off in search of angry furry creatures to eradicate.
They heard the sound of a frying pan smashing against a hard surface and then Steve’s voice called out, “They’re all in here. They’re eating the food.”
Everyone filed into the back with a blunt weapon in hand, no one noticing the dangers that awaited them out there in the world. When they were sure they were done, they came back out into the main dining room, sweaty and a little shaken. The creatures put up a fight but in the end they finished them off.
When it was clear they were no longer in danger Pam asked her husband, Jim, “What do you think happened to that man, Larry? Do you think he’s okay?”
Jim shrugged. “I wish him the best but he’s on his own now. He knew the risks.”
Henry snapped, “He chose to leave us. Chances are that he’s already dead. Exotic pathogens alone might have snuffed him out. It’s best to forget that he even existed.”
Neil shot him a dirty look. “Your response is why it’s safer to let Kara hold onto the device. It’s becoming clear that you look at us the same way we looked at the furry creatures we just killed; like a dangerous burden.”
“You need to understand that you’ve just taken control away from the only person in this room who knew what he was doing. I can’t be responsible for what happens next.”
Kara wiggled the button until it popped out. Then she said, “I knew you were full of shit when you said that you wanted to open the device up to reset it. If it was disabled and now it works, that means it automatically reset already. I don’t think you even know how this thing works, do you?
Jim nearly chided his daughter for her language but the room was too tense already. He’d be sure to chastise her later, though.”
Henry stared right through Kara but he was momentarily speechless. In that moment, everyone knew she was right about him. He was an imposter of some sort. But was he dangerous? Had he lied to them to protect himself or to endanger them? No one knew and Henry wasn’t talking.
Finally he whispered to Kara, “Do you really think it already reverted back to the factory presets?”
“If it didn’t then it wouldn’t work, would it?”
He shook his head. “You might be right. If that’s the case then we’re even more screwed than I thought. I hoped I could reset the thing to get us home. I guess that’s not even a possibility anymore.”
Neil sat down at the nearest booth and said to Henry, “I think you have some explaining to do.”
The windows lit up like a nuclear bomb had been detonated and then the building shook. They turned to see another bolt of lightning gash through the sky, splitting it in half. Basketball sized hail started to fall right outside. Sandy yelled, “There are tornadoes everywhere out there. We need to leave.”
A mangled black shrub flew through the damaged doorway and then a dirty young woman rushed inside. Everyone panicked at the sight of her but before they had a chance to get her out, the building teleported them to another world.
The Wild Woman
✨
THEY BARELY HAD TIME to register where they’d jumped to when the dirty, nearly nude woman made a bee-line for Henry. He shrieked like a girl and tried to run but she was too fast for him. She pounced on his back and clawed at his shirt like an animal. Neil’s initial instinct was to rush forward and help him but he stopped himself from interfering if only to see where the altercation would lead. There was mania in the woman’s movements, like she knew Henry was a threat, and given recent revelations, Neil wasn’t sure she was wrong.
She ripped his shirt off completely and then jumped off of him. He tried to cower but he couldn’t hide what was on his back. A perfect blue circle marked his lower back, as large and round as a dinner plate. It was mottled
with green hues and light browns, like it was natural rather than a tattoo.
The woman screamed and rushed him again but Jim reached out and held her. She was too strong for him so Neil helped. They held her tight until her struggling slowed. When it was clear she’d given up, they slowly loosened their grip but as soon as they did, she sprang back to life. She quickly reached into the waistband of her dirty, torn shorts and pulled something out which she brought up to her lips. Then she blew into it and something shot out of the other end, right at Henry.
They saw the dart protruding from his chest for just a moment before he crumpled to the floor in a heap. Neil and Jim grabbed the wild woman again but this time she didn’t fight them. In fact, she seemed almost serene now that Henry was down.
Kara and Sandy rushed over to the fallen dimensional jumper and checked for signs of life. Sandy spat, “He’s dead. He has no pulse. She poisoned the poor man.”
Neil snatched the blow gun from her hand, dropped it at his feet and stomped it flat. Then Kara came over and patted her down, finding a dozen more darts hidden all over her clothing.
The woman finally spoke. In an aristocratic English accent she said, “I’m so sorry I had to do that but you have no idea how dangerous that man was or else you’d have killed him long before I got here. He was one of the blue-backs. Where is his device?”
Neil said to Kara, “Get over by your parents.” Then he turned to face the English wild woman. “His device is too dangerous to simply hand over. To say we can’t trust you would be an understatement.”
She hung her head. “Forgive me. I forget my manners these days.” She pointed to Henry’s dead body. “Ever since his people exploited my world to the point of utter ruin, I’ve been living the life of a huntress in the wild. Those who tried to maintain their humanity died long ago. The only survivors were those of us who were willing to adapt.”
