Slideways

by Jeffrey Grode

  “Multiverse?” Jack asked.

  Ben nodded. “There could be an infinite number of parallel universes at play.”

  “Why have you made contact?” Ben-Gen stepped closer. His hazel eye stared at Ben’s, but the glass eye focused upon the portal watch. The eye clicked as if snapping pictures.

  “I’m from a world called Earth,” Ben said. “Jack is from another called Terra. I want to take him home, but our beacon is down. Do you think I could take Jack home to Terra using your signal?”

  The glass eye refocused. “It may be possible, but you may have to travel here first.” Ben-Gen blinked his natural eye. “If it doesn’t work, you might be stranded here. You wouldn’t like our world.”

  “Why?” Ben asked.

  As Ben-Gen waived his human hand, a silver ring flashed on his wedding finger. “Industrialization, mechanization, warfare . . . we’re exhausting the last of our natural resources with little regard for the planet. We live underground and are running out of food and water. In a year, it may be only the bots who survive.”

  Ben-Gen’s glass eye blinked rapidly. “Could you open the portal wider? I’d like to take a closer look at your portal device.”

  Ben swallowed. “We have to go.”

  Ben-Gen frowned and held up his left hand. “When your signal returns, may I bring Frau Lora and our baby to visit you? Please?”

  “We really have to go. Sorry.” Ben shut down the portal, and the bright laboratory lights winked out. Should he have at least offered to help Ben-Gen and his family? Meeting his cyborg doppelganger had been cool, surreal, and little scary, but he didn’t trust the metal half.

  “That was amazing,” Lori said from the darkness. “He looked like you, Ben.”

  Ben jumped. “Shit. How long have you been there?”

  “Since you explained ‘multiverse’.”

  Ben nodded. “What do you think we should do?”

  “I’d pass on visiting their planet,” Lori said. “Not sure if you should trust him. Sounds like the entire population of their world has a good reason to visit Earth.”

  “Yea. I was thinking the same thing.” Ben wished he could have met Frau Lora and the baby. Was Frau Lora actually Lori’s doppelganger? He shook his head. Sometimes you have to save yourself before you can help others. “I’m going to wait for GranPat’s beacon. At least for now. Erde could be a last resort.”

  “How’s the party?” Jack asked Lori.

  She shrugged. “Most of them left. They’re downing a shot of tequila and beer at each party site, and then flashing to the next location. The reservoir was number one of five.”

  “Sounds kinda dangerous to me,” Ben said.

  “Yea, well they have a designated driver for each car,” Lori said, “but you’re right. It’s stupid.”

  “Who stayed behind?” Ben raised an eyebrow.

  “Trudy and Ruth. They saw you guys bolt.” Lori smiled at Ben. “Trudy won’t leave without seeing you.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Ben blushed and hoped Lori didn’t notice. He’d asked Trudy to homecoming, but she and Rouge had played him. Right?

  Lori hooked her arm through his. “C’mon, Benzo. She’s not going to bite.”

  A picture of a smiling raccoon came to mind as Lori led him back to the fire.

  Patsy drove to Carmichael through the Terran twilight. Her fingers squeezed the steering wheel as she pictured the mess CSD had left behind in her house in Carlston. Both her front and back doors had been smashed open and the contents of every room had been dumped on the floor. If CSD had taken Jack, she wanted him back along with reparation for damages. Baum had better pay her for her trouble, or she would sue the Commonwealth.

  Patsy thought of the reward and scowled. Just who was this ‘Ben’ CSD searched for and why did they want him? Did he steal something valuable from her father’s work? Why would he go to her house, or involve Jack? Did he look like her Ben?

  As she drove, Patsy tried to remember Ben’s face. Her left tricep muscle twitched followed by an itching sensation. She recalled a little boy, a younger version of Jack, but she couldn’t quite picture his face. Why was that?

  She scratched her arm vigorously and felt the nodule under her skin. She remembered putting away all of his pictures in a box in the attic. She didn’t want, or need, any reminders of that terrible day. Ben was gone. End of story. She pinched the irksome nodule and the implant sent a painful arc of electric current to her temple. Damn migraine again.

  She recalled a time when she’d been smothered in sorrow. The sad, sad time after the accident. Was Johnnie around then? She’d thought he was a good man, but he was just a good liar. He wasn’t around enough during the sad afternoons. Sundays had been the worst.

  Johnnie couldn’t help her. Instead, he helped himself to some copper haired tart from work. Patsy dredged up memories of her depression, going to the hospital in a panic, and being unable to breathe. She’d been drowning under wave after wave of sorrow and loss, and yet breathing and dying at the same time. Ben dead, Johnnie gone . . . she’d just wanted to die.

  Daddy had visited her at the hospital. He brought in a tall research doctor who insisted she try a new experimental implant. Some kind of a test. They had said, “Help yourself and the Commonwealth.”

  Johnnie had asked questions and didn’t want her to get the implant. Why had Johnnie been there anyway? He didn’t care about her. They were s-e-p-a-r-a-t-e-d and Ben, my sweet Ben, gone.

  Patsy had overheard her father in the hallway, “Look at her, Johnnie. She’s wasting away since the accident. We have to turn this around so she can be there for Jack. You’re not. What do you say?”

  “I’m just not sure.” Johnnie said. “What about the side effects?”

  “We have to try something. This implant is revolutionary and will help her survive. My team helped with the design.”

  Johnnie surrendered, and Dad signed her name on the disclaimer. The doctor made the arrangements and the Commonwealth paid for the hospital costs. What was her doctor’s name?

  When she’s finally woke in the hospital, she felt reborn. She was hungry and thirsty. The back of her upper arm tingled and she wanted to go home. She knew she’d lost a child, but it was time to move on and stop living in the past. They needed her back at work. She had a million things to do. Doctors bothered her with all sorts of silly questions. They finally signed her release. She went home, cleaned house, and life continued.

  Events and memories coalesced. The doctor’s name was Dom, or Lom, or . . . Baum. The same Doctor Baum she’d spoken with from CSD? Yes. Goresakes! He’s hunting Patrick and Ben now. Her migraine intensified and she thought her left eye might explode.

  As Ben, Jack, and Lori reached the fire trail above Reservoir Park, Trudy rushed toward them.

  Lori let go of Ben’s arm.

  “Bean! Where on Earth have you been? I was worried about you.” She gave Ben a quick hug, and then held his hand. She wore his brother’s Grover Cleveland football jersey.

  He blushed again. After three steps, Ben wiggled his hand free. He felt uncomfortable holding her hand in front of Lori and Jack, but for different reasons.

  Jack turned to Lori. “Race you to the picnic grove, or are you too tired from your run this afternoon?”

  She smirked. “Just try to keep up.” Lori exploded into a sprint. Jack chased her down the hill laughing like a mad man.

  Trudy found his hand again and squeezed. “Why did you run off?”

  “Just being careful. We weren’t sure who you all were.” He pulled his collar up to hide his hickey.

  Walking back to the picnic grove, guilt ate at Ben’s conscience like a worm inside a peach. He wanted to do the right thing, but would it be more, or less, honorable to break his homecoming date with Trudy? He liked Ruth from Terra more, had left her on fairly good terms, but wasn’t sure if he’d ever get back to Terra again. His life was here, on Earth.

  He frowned. I can’t just forget Ruth and go out with Trud
y. Can I? If he did, was he worthy of Trudy’s trust? Or Ruth’s? Or anyone else’s? He remembered how Mom had slapped him on Sunday. He let go of Trudy’s hand.

  “What’s that face for?” Trudy chided. “I thought you’d be happy to see me.” She stopped and searched his eyes.

  “I am happy to see you.” The FBI would have been much worse. Ben looked around. “Is Rouge here?” His face grew serious.

  “Yes, why?”

  “Sunday morning I woke up with a nose ring and my body covered in dark makeup. Did you think that was funny?”

  “What?” Trudy looked surprised. “Ben, the last time I saw you, you weren’t wearing makeup, but . . . I stayed in the car while Rouge helped you walk to the house. Ohhh. Sorry. I didn’t know. Please don’t be mad at me.” She sounded sincere.

  “Okay, I believe you.” His face cooled down and he squeezed her hand. “Apology accepted.”

  Ben and Trudy ambled down to the party and Brandon raised his can of Bud in salute. Jack sat next to Brandon as if they’d been friends all their lives. Lori fished two cold bottles of water from the cooler and handed one to Jack. Rouge leaned against her car in the parking lot twenty yards away.

  Ben released Trudy’s hand. “I need to speak with Rouge.”

  Her eyes opened wide. “I’ll come with you.” She grabbed his arm.

  He caught her hand in his and disengaged. “No. Thanks. It’s okay. I’ll be right back.”

  Ben walked toward the car. Rouge’s Goth makeup made her look like an ethereal creature in the moonlight. Angel or demon? It felt surreal because he could see Ruth’s features below the paint. Even more so, because his Ruth on Terra had been very kind to him.

  “What do you want?” Rouge crossed her arms.

  “Smearing me with makeup last Saturday night was fucked up. You made me look like a fool.”

  Rouge dropped her arms to her side. “Yea. Seemed pretty funny at the time.” She sighed. “But I was a fool for drinking too much. It was wrong and I’m sorry.”

  He had a pile of pithy things to say to Rouge. Hateful words clamored to spew forth, but he held them in check. Her face looked sad and hopeful at the same time and reminded him of another Ruth. The one he’d hurt.

  “Apology accepted.” Ben offered his hand to Rouge and smiled. There was something . . . magical about forgiveness.

  Her forehead furrowed. She shook his hand, but didn’t let go. “Are you still going to homecoming with my sister?”

  “Yes. I still don’t remember asking her, but I try to keep my word.”

  “Good. She likes you. She really is a nice person once you get to know her.” Rouge let go of his hand.

  Ben tilted his head. “Maybe you are too.”

  Rouge smiled and walked back with him to the fire.

  Jack’s eyebrows rose as he saw them approach.

  Ben gave him a thumbs up, as Trudy joined them.

  “We need some music here,” Lori said, “For such a beautiful night.”

  “I’ve got one,” Trudy said, as she looked at Ben. She found Moondance by Van Morrison on her smartphone, cranked the volume, and sang along. “Well it's a marvelous night for a moon dance, with the stars up above in your eyes . . . Can I just have one more moon dance with you my love. Can I just make some more romance with a’ you, my love.”

  Ben took Trudy’s hand and they danced. Her eyes smiled at him. How free he felt, if only for a moment, but one he would always remember.

  Lori pulled Brandon to his feet. She looked happy too.

  Jack offered Rouge his hand and she obliged. They all danced around the fire, as sparks crackled and popped into the night air.

  Chapter 40

  Patrick woke in the middle of the night in Betsy’s bed and walked down the hall to the bathroom. He couldn’t believe he’d slept with her. It had been so many years. She was wonderful, and kind, and alive. Was this what he really wanted? He glanced in the bathroom mirror and grimaced. What have I done?

  Were his feelings truly for this woman, this doppelganger, or for his deceased wife, Betty? He knew the answer in his heart. Maybe her feelings were but transference as well. She must miss Albert, but Patrick didn’t want to think about him right now.

  Last night they’d used her bedroom radio to hide any noise they made. If CSD had listened, they would only know she was home. After their lovemaking, they whispered beneath the sheets as the music played.

  Betsy confirmed she’d met Ben, he had his own portal watch, and Albert had been captured by CSD on Earth. Patrick described his stay in Carlston, the bank visit, and his abduction and escape from CSD. She was surprised to hear Ben had used the portal watch to spirit himself and Jack to Earth.

  He told her about Patsy’s peculiar interest in finding a boy named Ben, and expressed his fear her daughter had been recruited as a CSD informant. Betsy frowned, but wasn’t surprised. She promised to call Patsy in the morning.

  Patrick scrubbed his hands, walked back down the hall, and climbed back into her bed. The bedspread covered everything but her face. Just like me Betty, God rest her soul.

  Betsy slept well, but Patrick’s mind locked on Ben. His grandson had fled Terra and may be safe at home. As long as the beacon functioned, he could cross back and forth with Jack. Not only had Ben outsmarted CSD, he’d operated the portal watch without directions. Hah. The directions!

  He slipped out of bed, dressed, and snagged the black pouch. Feeling the weight of the portal watch within, he crossed the hall to the guest room, and turned on the light. After studying the device’s schematics and directions, he couldn’t help but smile. He’d no idea the device offered so many functions. Albert was indeed brilliant. But you were holdin’ out on me.

  Patrick turned the letter over and saw a postscript from Albert - Patrick, if you’ve gotten this far, I may be dead or captured. If so, please take Betsy to Earth, and destroy the beacon. Use my solar chip to start a new life and a better world. I trust you in this, my friend. God help us all.

  Patrick’s face grew hot. Albert had trusted me. Last night’s affair felt even more a betrayal. What would his Betty say when he finally found her through the veil of death? He hoped his wife might understand and forgive him.

  Morning light found Ben on the ridge above the Reservoir Park. Birds chirped to greet the burgeoning glow of daybreak as the stars disappeared from the sky. His dry mouth tasted like shit. Jack slept peacefully. Everyone else had gone home.

  Earth grew brighter as morning arrived. He shimmied out of his sleeping bag and felt the cool morning air. He dressed, walked to the forest, and spritzed the base of a large pine tree like a wolf marking his territory. Could I outrun a wolf if I had to? Ben walked a little quicker back up the ridge.

  “Morning, Benzo.” Jack slipped out of his sleeping bag and dressed.

  “Sleep alright?” Ben knelt and packed his gear.

  “Not really. Woke up at o’shit-thirty worrying about Pop-Pop. You sure your friends will give us a ride?” Jack stood as he dressed.

  “Yep. I trust them.”

  “Good. I’ll trust them too, “Jack said. “It’s just strange for me to see Brandon and Lori together.” He dug into the pack for a granola bar and removed the wrapper.

  Ben nodded. “I know what you mean. Just accept that your world is different from mine. They’re a couple here. Let it be.” He maintained eye contact. “Did you see Ben-Gen’s hand last night?”

  “Yea. Metal. Bad luck, huh.”

  “No. The human hand. He wore a wedding ring.”

  “Ahhh. He said something about a family and Frau Lora.” Jack said as he chewed his granola bar. “You think she’s Lori’s doppelganger?”

  “Different world, brother.” Ben smiled slowly. “Odds are there’s some universe where Ben gets the nice girl.”

  Jack choked on his food.

  Ben smirked. “You okay, Bro?”

  Jack coughed. “Yea. Sore subject.” He caught his breath. “I’m worried when I go away to school, Lo
ri will end up with someone else. I don’t want to let her go. Last night, when I saw her with Brandon, it felt like I’d already lost her. I was glad when they left for the night.”

  “I understand, but get over it.” Ben shrugged. “Brandon is driving us to Carmichael today. You know he’s a good guy.”

  “Yea, well, good for him.” Jack brushed his hands together.

  “You know I’m right,” Ben said.

  “Okay. Okay. Let’s find our grandfathers so I can jump home.”

  Ben frowned. How could he break the bad news about Albert?

  Jack sighed. “What now?”

  “Something Dad said yesterday.” Ben met Jack’s eyes. “He told me the FBI raided a CSD warehouse in Carmichael.”

  Jack looked hopeful. “They found Pop-Pop?”

  “Maybe.” Ben put his hand on Jack’s shoulder. “The place caught fire. He might have . . . died in the fire.”

  “Oh, God, no.” Jack’s face colored. “Wait. You said ‘maybe.’ Are they sure?”

  “I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”

  Jack swallowed. “Okay.” He let go of Ben. “We’ll find him either way, and take him home. But if I find out some fuckbanger killed him . . .”

  Shit. “Let’s hope Albert’s okay.” Ben lowered his head and felt the river of sadness swell within him. If Albert’s dead, it’s only because he took the time to save me.

  A pick-up truck spun gravel as it roared into the parking lot below.

  Ben shook off his thoughts when he recognized the blue truck. “They’re here. Let’s go to Carmichael.” Ben grabbed his pack and hustled down the ridge. Jack followed close behind.

  Betsy had enjoyed a wonderful night in bed with Patrick, and surprised at how receptive he became at her touch. Last night he hungered for her, yet this morning he seemed reserved and almost sad, until she brought him to his senses, and hers. What a morning. Life was good.