The Best of All Possible Worlds

by Richard D. Parker

  Then with little warning another bubble popped into existence not five feet in front of the boy. Inside there was a solid looking gray stone wall lit by a set of flaming torches. To Somers it looked very much like a scene from an old Dracula movie, or perhaps a King Arthur tale.

  “Your name please?” the boy asked and Somers turned his eyes from the medieval scene floating in space before him.

  “Scott…” He stammered. “Scott Somers.”

  “Travel Scott,” the young man said and motioned for Somers to move through the space where the bubble existed.

  Somers hesitated for a moment, very afraid. “Travel,” Arnot repeated and it took all of Agent Somers’ courage and training to move forward and through the bubble.

  †

  “She’s gone!” Arnot blurted quickly as his father stepped through the bridge from Noble Island. It was very late, past midnight but no one in the arriving party showed any sign of being sleepy.

  “Avigail?” Gwaynn asked as Samantha clutched his arm. He took a cursory glance at the strange man standing alone in the background and frowned.

  Arnot nodded. “It was her idea. She wouldn’t let it go after the dreams began…” he explained, talking very fast as if he wished to get the entire episode over as quickly as possible.

  “Gone where?” The High Tarina Nystrom asked. She, along with Tar Kostek and Tar Myson, had also come through the bridge with the royal party. Everyone was now staring at Arnot and it was making him decidedly nervous. Tears came to his eyes which surprised Gwaynn. Arnot, even as a little boy had never been overly emotional or weepy.

  “The other side…Galen’s world,” Arnot answered his voice growing softer as he finished the sentence.

  Samantha sucked in a breath, her mind flooded with memories of that long ago morning when Tar Nev somehow created a powerful connection between worlds.

  “It couldn’t be,” she said coming forward to comfort her son. “She must be playing a joke on you…on us,” she added and a touch of anger entered her voice. Avi was going to get it when they found her. She wasn’t yet too old for a sound beating…especially if she thought a prank like this was funny.

  Arnot shook his head. “She’s gone…and Vio and N’dori,” Arnot insisted, and the mention of the Solitary’s name gave Samantha and the others pause.

  “N’dori…and Vio?” Gwaynn asked and again Arnot nodded.

  “But it was Avi’s idea. Avi found his world,” he explained. “We were to go together…but then Vio found out…and N’dori. They came along out of curiosity, I think…and to protect us.”

  “I didn’t think even N’dori…” Tarina Nystrom began but was interrupted by the High King.

  “Where did this crossing happen?” Gwaynn asked, frowning and suddenly very worried.

  Arnot gulped and took a deep breath. “Near Northpoint…Avi said it was where Nev crossed over,” he answered and Gwaynn’s heart fell. ‘His daughter was gone,’ Arnot was telling the truth.

  “Impossible!” Samantha insisted again and looked to her husband for reassurance, but his expression was like a slap in the face.

  “It’s different there,” Arnot explained quietly. “It’s thin…you can feel it can’t you father?”

  Everyone looked at Gwaynn who remained silent for a time…but then he slowly nodded. “Yes…I’ve felt it on occasions.”

  “We have to go!” Arnot insisted. “We may be able to help them…bring them back!”

  “No!” Samantha blurted very loudly and everyone turned to her. “It’s too dangerous for you to go,” she added, moving over to hug her son tightly.

  But Arnot took no notice of her touch because his father was looking at him very strangely.

  “Why are you here?” Gwaynn asked abruptly.

  Arnot did not answer.

  “Gwaynn!” Samantha said sharply and began to hug Arnot even more tightly.

  “Why Arnot? Why are you here telling us this? Why are you not with her?”

  Arnot swallowed and shrugged off his mother’s arms. He tried to meet his father’s gaze but failed and dropped his eyes to the ground. “I was with them…helping them, but when the bridge opened I was blown backward…the force of the wind…by the time I got control it was too late. I was too far away and they just stepped through, and then the bridge was gone. He…” Arnot continued nodding toward the strangely dressed man standing apart, his back to a wall. “He was blown over into our world…like Lynn.”

  Scott Somers could not understand the conversation taking place in front of him, but he knew what a nod was and stood up taller when the man who was the obvious leader of the group looked his way. The man was definitely the father of the young man from the field; the two looked very similar. Somers met the older man’s eyes, which were dark and cold. He recognized the look. It was the look of a soldier; the look of a killer. Somers returned the gaze with his own hard stare. He’d fought in Afghanistan and could not easily be intimidated by just a look. Somers, however, did not move while under the other man’s gaze and found himself relieved when he finally looked away.

  “Father…” Arnot began softly. “I…I know where they went. I can find it again. I’m sure of it. I’ll be able to feel if it’s right.”

  Samantha made to clutch at Arnot again but then pulled back without touching him; instead she stared at her husband with a mixture of hope and horror.

  Gwaynn frowned. “Could you create the bridge?” he asked his son with a touch of wonder.

  Arnot did not hesitate. “With help I’m sure I could,” he blurted with more confidence than he felt.

  Gwaynn’s frown deepened and he turned to the High Tarina Nystrom. “I need to find the Solitary Nyx. Will you help me?”

  “Of course,” Nystrom answered, “but Nyx has not left the island in over two decades.”

  Gwaynn nodded. “But she’s strong. She was a good friend to Nev and she was always very kind to me.”

  “We’ll leave at once,” Tar Myson answered for the High Tarina. He felt incredibly energized by the astonishing spin the night had taken. ‘Galen’s world,’ he thought with barely controlled excitement, suddenly he felt like a first year student again.

  Gwaynn smiled at his old friend and gripped the Tar’s shoulder. “I thank you,” he added and then turned to the Speaker Sorbello.

  “Zebs…we need Monde…and Jess na Massi…tonight if they will come,” Gwaynn said suddenly feeling as if together they might somehow be able to cross over and find Avi.

  “Of course M’lord,” Zebo replied and moved off in order to concentrate more easily.

  After everyone melted away, Samantha placed her short arm on Arnot’s back and guided him toward his father.

  “I go if you go,” she told Gwaynn in a tone that told him she would broach no argument over the matter.

  Gwaynn smiled sadly and put one arm around his wife and another around his son, “Yes…if Arnot can show us the way, we will go find Avi as a family.”

  XVII

  “Everything that we are is written in our DNA.”

  Dr. Christine Dawkins

  May 7th 2015 Old Earth

  “I have to pee,” Christine said weakly and nudged her brother awake very early the next morning. Galen and the strange women were still sleeping inside the enormous metal shed. Adam kicked the door in the previous night without even the slightest hesitation. He shot a federal agent; breaking into an old shed at a gravel company probably wasn’t going to tip the scales against him any further. The shed was large and filled with all manner of vehicles and equipment, ostensibly from the gravel company and it smelled of oil, grease and dust. The floor was filthy but it was well used and seemed to be relatively free of rodents, bugs and spiders. The shed was far from ideal but it was dry and well hidden.

  Adam and Avigail found a few large tarps near the back of the building and hauled them up toward the front and laid them out in a relatively open space. Eventually they all lay down to rest. Adam slept close to his sister’
s side, in an attempt to keep her warm, while the strange beautiful woman slept on her other side.

  Galen was sleeping almost before he hit the tarp, but as Adam stretched out by his sister he was sure he would get no sleep that night, too many strange things had happened to him…most of them utterly horrible. But despite this fact, Adam did not dwell on the nightmares of the day; rather his mind kept flitting back to the woman who lay not two feet away, only his sister’s body between them. He played out the scene in the pavilion over and over again from the moment Paula was shot to the impossible way they moved to this cliff face in Illinois, and through it all his thoughts always returned to Vio; the way she looked and the way she moved; but especially the way she’d smiled at him when he handed her a peach.

  ‘Who is she?’ He wondered. Galen had referred to the women as guardian angels, but Adam could hardly make that leap of faith. The two women, though extraordinary, seemed normal enough, plus Adam had never heard of an angel that carried a pair of swords.

  ‘Avigail claims to be a princess. Perhaps Vio is royalty as well,’ and while he considered the thought, surprisingly he grew drowsy and fell into a calm, deep sleep, at least until Christine woke him. She was weak and needed help getting outside. Adam helped her to a sitting position, mindful of her shoulder and then led her around the side of the building and left her there but after Christine struggled one handed with the button on her pants for over a minute she called him back to help. Despite being a doctor she was slightly mortified to do so, but her need was greater than her pride.

  “Turn around,” Christine insisted and Adam was more than obliged to do so.

  “I can’t believe I slept,” Adam commented and stretched his back, trying to ignore the sound of his sister passing water. He was getting too old to be sleeping on the ground like that.

  “Adam, I’m shot and Paula’s dead!” Christine hissed loudly at him as she struggled to pull up her jeans. In this however, she refused to ask for help. Adam listened to her struggle for a long while before turning around to help her. And though half her butt was still showing, what truly shocked Adam was that Christine was using both her hands in the attempt to pull her jeans up over her hips. Granted, she was using her left arm gingerly, but she shouldn’t have been able to move it at all with a broken shoulder blade. He moved over quietly and firmly pulled up her pants.

  “Adam!” She complained, but she was only slightly embarrassed as he knelt before her and buttoned her jeans.

  “How’s your arm?” He asked, very curious.

  Christine moved it slightly and grimaced. “Sore, but I don’t believe there’s any permanent damage,” she told him and then when he continued to stare at her. “What?”

  “Vio…the strange woman, told me your shoulder blade was broken,” he replied.

  Christine moved her arm again, this time a bit farther.

  “She’s mistaken. The bullet must have missed anything vital,” she reassured him, but Adam remained unconvinced. From his time in Afghanistan he knew something about wounds. His sister had been shot with a high caliber bullet. It would have passed completely through her unless it hit something hard…unless it hit bone, but the bullet was still in her. Something didn’t add up and Adam thought he knew where the problem was, but for now he kept it to himself.

  Christine had little memory of the previous night and had no idea at all as to how they arrived here in the woods. She was wearing Adam’s shirt since hers was ruined with blood.

  “What are we going to do? We can’t go to a hospital; they’re required to report all gunshot wounds.” Christine asked, clearly panicking. She pulled out Adam’s button down shirt to examine her wound, but it was wrapped up tight. ‘Nice dressing,’ she thought and forced down the desire to remove it and check on the bullet wound further. She shook her head in dismay, her mind darting about like a humming bird surrounded by feeders.

  Adam, who was in a plain white undershirt, stared at his sister a moment. He was at a complete loss. He had absolutely no idea where they would go from here.

  “I have no idea. Who are these women and how did they get here?” He hissed back.

  “Adam, what do we do?” Christine asked again, all but ignoring his questions for which she had no answer. She stared at him in the gloom of the early morning, her expression demanding and unforgiving.

  “Christine…I don’t know,” he answered growing angry. “Those men…back at the pavilion, they were federal agents. Galen’s ‘angels’ killed most of them and the rest will be coming after us…not to mention the FBI and probably every state police officer in the bi-state area. We have little money, no car, a fugitive clone and two sword carrying crazy women who are probably from another planet. Forgive me if I don’t know what we’re going to do.” His voice rose as he talked but it did not quite reached the volume of a yell.

  Christine glared at him. “Galen’s not a clone, he’s an engineered human being,” she corrected.

  “Oh my mistake,” Adam replied sarcastically, “then I guess everything will be just dandy.”

  They stared angrily at one another for a moment, and then Christine burst out laughing. Without knowing why Adam found himself joining in and before either realized it they were clutching at each other and laughing crazily. It took several minutes but finally Adam regained a bit of control. He pulled back as his sister finally settled down.

  “I’m shot,” Christine said her voice tinged with disbelief. She glanced down at her shoulder again and this time pulled at the wrappings to examine the wound.

  “Vio removed the bullet. It almost went completely through,” Adam informed her, but still omitted his suspicions. In the east, the sky was just beginning to show the first hint of dawn.

  “It hurts,” Christine admitted, “but I can move it.” She showed him by lifting her arm once more and again grimacing in pain.

  Adam shrugged. “You were shot…bleeding badly. I thought you were going to die, but Vio was amazing. She wrapped your arm. Galen never left your side. He loves you Christine…like a mother.”

  Christine smiled at her brother, happy with the thought despite the horrific nature of the circumstances. “Vio?” She asked and was surprised when her brother blushed slightly.

  “The older angel,” he answered. “Here,” he added and fished the metal object from his front pocket. He handed the bullet to his sister whose eyes went wide when she saw the size of the thing.

  “Wow, that’s big,” she commented, feeling the weight.

  Adam nodded. “Rifle bullet…a high caliber range rifle.”

  Christine frowned. “But why would the agents tell us to surrender then start gunning us down with a rifle?”

  Adam shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I’d say that the federal agents were not the only people at the pavilion, and not the only ones who want us dead.”

  “Great,” Christine said and noticed it was getting lighter in the east. “What should we do?”

  “Quit asking me that for starters,” Adam replied but before she could retort he continued.

  “We need money,” he said. “Whatever we do we need money. We have to go back for the bag at Paula’s. And we should get the car,” he added.

  “Paula!” Christine murmured and had to fight down a wave of tears. She failed and cried hard for several minutes before she regained her composure. “Paula’s dead!” She told Adam and shivered. “Do you think they will be watching the apartment?”

  Adam shrugged again. “Maybe…but like I said, the dynamic duo in the shed killed most of the agents. There was at least two still alive when we left but they were both wounded. They might not have enough men to keep an eye on the place.”

  Christine considered this a moment and then frowned. “Adam, how did we get here?” She finally asked.

  Adam was about to answer, when in the distance they caught sight of a pair of headlights moving through the forested hills, clearly heading in their direction. They both stared at the lights for a long moment before Ad
am reached out and grabbed his sister by the arm.

  “I’m hoping you’re about to find out,” he said and pulled her to the shed. “Galen…Galen,” he said loudly. “Wake up! It’s time to move.”

  †

  Vio woke to the man’s voice…Adam’s voice. Avigail told her his name the previous night, whispering in the dark as they started the small fire. She bolted awake almost immediately, and though she did not understand what he was saying she could sense the urgency in the tone of his voice. She sat up quickly and found the strange, handsome man staring at her. She had to resist the urge to straighten her hair. She blushed; her face still warm from the slightly erotic dream of him.

  ‘What must I look like, sleeping all night on a dirty floor,’ she thought, then stood and began to brush the dirt and grime from her cape. This world was strange. The building was strange…a building of metal, hard metal, like a sword.

  Galen hopped to his feet, still shirtless and wrapped in Avi’s cape and said something to the stra…to Adam, then without hurry he bent and helped Avigail to her feet. Even in the darkness of the shed, Vio could see the flush of happiness on the girl’s face and she wondered if her own feelings were so transparent.

  ‘Adam,’ her mind said to her.

  ‘Adam,’ it repeated.

  ‘Adam.’

  ‘Adam.’

  ‘Adam.’

  Vio shook her head in an attempt to regain control of her thoughts, mercifully Galen turned to her but before he could begin Adam interrupted him, the urgency even greater than before, and after he finished Galen turned back toward Vio.

  “Someone is coming; we need to go,” the young man explained and Vio noted that there was no sign of panic in his voice.