Sliptime

by Jeffrey Grode

  SliPtimE

  A Brothers of the Multiverse Novel

  Book Two

  JEFF GRODE

  Books by Jeff Grode

  Brothers of the Multiverse Novels

  Slideways, Book One

  Sliptime, Book Two

  These books are available at Amazon.com.

  SLIPTIME

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover art by Ms. Casey L. Williams (Nominee for the prestigious Sophie Kerr literary Prize). The cover’s background photography credits go to NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team.

  Grode, Jeff

  SLIDEWAYS / Jeff Grode

  Copyright 2018

  ISBN-13: 978-1718609440

  ISBN-10: 1718609442

  To our children and grandchildren who are our hope for the future. May your lives be brilliant and filled with love, kindness, patience, and commitment.

  Acknowledgements

  Hail to all of the science fiction, epic fantasy, and spy-thriller writers who followed their dreams and entertained and inspired insatiable readers like me.

  Thanks to my alpha readers Miss Bettye, Diane, and the Cricket-writers of Howard County (Joann, Kim, Deb, and Rick), and the MWA and ESWA of Maryland, for their seminars, wisdom, critique, advice, support, and inspiration.

  Special thanks to Judy Reveal of Just Creative wRiting and Indexing Services for an expert copy edit, and Casey Williams for her fantastic cover designs. I appreciate you all.

  What Came Before –A Synopsis of SLIDEWAYS,

  Brothers of the Multiverse Novel, Book One.

  Ben Fuller is a fifteen year old boy in Carlston, PA, who feels responsible for his brother’s death. Jack accidently died while saving Ben’s life two years ago. Ben’s parents, John and Patty, refuse to discuss the matter and become angry whenever Ben mentions Jack’s name. Ben’s grandfather, Patrick, loves Ben and speaks openly about Jack, much to the discomfort of his daughter and her husband.

  Patrick is a scientist who works long hours in his basement laboratory, and understands grief. His wife, Betty, had died six years ago from cancer. He yearns to speak with her again, and builds a communication device that might one day pierce the veil of death.

  Lori is Ben’s best friend. He’s had a silent crush on her for years, but she’s dating his friend Brandon. Ben makes a drunken fool of himself at a high school football party, and an embarrassing video emerges on line. Ben feels even more humiliated after he learns he’d asked Lori’s cousin, Trudy, to homecoming while smashed. He wants to leave town.

  Patrick arrives for Sunday dinner, but isn’t quite himself. He seems surprised to see Ben, and asks if Jack will join them for dinner. Ben is mortified. John believes Patrick has a touch of dementia. John asks Ben to stay overnight at Patrick’s home in Carmichael, PA, to ensure his grandfather honors his medical appointment. Patrick is known to be stubborn.

  Early the next morning, Ben finds Patrick in the basement lab surrounded by machinery and blinking lights. A portal to another place appears where once had been a concrete wall. The elderly scientist confesses he’s not Ben’s grandfather, but Albert, Patrick’s doppelganger from a mirror world called Terra. Albert believes Patrick is either missing or has been taken.

  Law enforcement agents from Earth and security agents from Terra search for Patrick and Albert respectively. Albert is captured on Earth, while Ben is forced to flee to Terra with Albert’s ‘portal watch’—a teleportation device which opens doors to worlds in a parallel universe.

  Ben meets Albert’s wife, Betsy, and discovers Patrick has been kidnapped by Terran’s Commonwealth Security Division (CSD) while on Earth. CSD brought Patrick to Terra, but when they realized he wasn’t Albert, they released Patrick on Terra.

  Patrick left Carmichael to search for a spare portal watch in Terra’s version of Carlston. Ben wants to find his grandfather and take him home. When Betsy tells Ben Jack’s doppelganger is alive on Terra, Ben becomes ecstatic and desperate to see Jack.

  CSD agents hunt Ben and his portal watch. Ben eludes capture as he travels from Carmichael to Carlston. He meets Jack and Jack’s father, Johnnie, who is divorced from Jack’s mother, Patsy.

  Ben realizes Terra and Earth are imperfectly mirrored worlds–similar, but different. Terra is cleaner and greener, after making fantastic use of Albert’s invention—the S-41K solar chip. Homes, cars, and offices, are completely powered by the chip which significantly increases solar energy storage capacity. Doctors on Terra use medical implants to correct human maladies more so than pills.

  Ben learns his Terran doppelganger—the other ‘Ben’, had died two years ago, and Jack feels responsible for not saving his brother. Though thrilled to see Jack, Ben is later surprised and annoyed when he realizes Jack’s girlfriend is Terra’s version of Lori. Ben has reason to suspect Jack’s mother, Patsy, may be working with CSD to capture him. Despite his growing anxiety, Ben becomes enamored with Ruth, Terra’s version of Trudy’s older sister, and sleeps with her. Jack blasts Ben for his lack of caution.

  Over time, Ben and Jack discuss their guilt regarding their brothers’ deaths. They examine their mutual fears, hopes, and the void their brothers had left behind. Step by step, they begin to act like true brothers, and Ben becomes more confident.

  As CSD agents raid Jack’s home, Ben and Jack are forced to escape via portal without Patrick. Their portal leads to Ben’s house on Earth. Patty is astonished and elated to meet Jack, although she’s still reluctant to talk about her deceased son when Ben broaches the subject.

  When Patty asks Ben to open a demonstration portal, Ben realizes his grandfather’s beacon signal is no longer transmitting. Finding a different frequency, he opens a portal to a dry and desolate world called Erde, a planet where man has utterly destroyed the environment.

  Still on Terra, Patrick finds a spare portal watch and a letter from Albert, but is captured by CSD. He’s beaten bloody, but manages to escape his captors. At Albert’s house, he finds the schematics for the S-41K chip and Miss Betsy. She is beautiful and he is smitten. He knows she’s Albert’s wife, but his longing for his lost spouse overwhelms his inhibitions. His feelings seem mirrored in her eyes, and he wonders whether she sees him, or her missing husband. He doesn’t care. They kiss and Betsy leads him to her bed.

  On Earth, Ben’s father, John, works with the FBI in Carmichael to find Ben and Patrick. The FBI discovers Patrick’s equipment, learns its purpose, and shuts down the beacon to protect national security. The FBI issues new orders to capture Ben and confiscate his portal watch.

  John discovers Albert has been wounded and is being held in FBI custody at the local hospital. John phones Ben and warns him. Ben asks John to restart the beacon so they can rescue Albert, return Jack and his grandfather to Terra, and bring Patrick home to Earth. Unfortunately, John is unable to reach the equipment due to tight FBI security.

  On Terra, Patsy arrives at her mother’s house looking for answers, and discovers Betsy had slept with Patrick. She berates them both. Patrick, concerned about CSD surveillance, leaves with Betsy. Patsy tags along. They drive to Holy Redeemer Cemetery where Patsy’s son, Ben, had been laid to rest. Patsy is confused. The medical implant she received after her son’s death for depression itches like the devil. She rips the implant from her arm with a metal nail file. Betsy is frantic and takes Patsy to the nearby hospital.

  Ben recruits Brandon and Lori to drive them to Carmichael. Now its Jack’s turn to feel awkward and out of plac
e when he sees Lori in Brandon’s arms. The FBI agents find their fugitives at a rest stop. Ben and his friends dash out the back door and lose the agents in the woods, but are later cornered on top of an abandoned fire watchtower. As the FBI agents climb the stairs, Ben is surprised to receive a call from Patrick on what turns out to be a secure portal watch frequency. No longer needing a fixed beacon, they escape via portal to Holy Rosary Cemetery on Earth, seconds before the FBI agents reach the top of the watch tower.

  Patrick leaves Betsy and his portal watch on Terra, and joins Ben on Earth. When Ben describes Erde, Patrick wants to see for himself. Through a small portal, Patrick observes Erdian troops consisting of men, robots, and cyborgs carrying laser weapons and massed for transport.

  Ben warns his father by phone and learns US Homeland Security’s Science and Technology (S&T) division will test Patrick’s beacon within the hour. U.S. National Guard troops are already on site for protection. Ben asks John to warn the FBI about Erde and advise them to stop the test.

  Patrick, Jack, Ben, and his friends enter the hospital subbasement and rescue Albert. FBI Agent Miller tries to arrest them, but is overwhelmed. Once Ben shows agent Miller the threat from Erde, Miller agrees to help. Jack and Albert portal to Patsy’s hospital room on Terra and Betsy rushes to Albert’s side. Miller unsuccessfully pleads with his superiors to stop the test.

  Patrick, Ben, Lori, and Brandon portal directly into Patrick’s basement laboratory. Patrick tries to cut the power, but the machinery is hardwired with redundant and remote power sources. The beacon hums, a portal opens outside, and the Erdian troops pour through the gap.

  The National Guard is outmatched by Erde’s invasion force. US tanks, aircraft, and soldiers are annihilated. An enemy drone destroys the command bunker. The carnage is visible on a large video monitor inside the lab. Ben hands Patrick a sledgehammer, but Patrick cannot destroy his creation. Ben, more confident than ever before, raises the sledge and destroys the beacon’s transceiver. The Erdian portal closes, but the battle ensues outside.

  S&T Director Caliban eyes Ben with a hungry look. He wants the portal watch. Caliban offers threats and then bribes, including a full ride scholarship. Ben smiles because he desires to attend MIT and become a physicist. His eyes roam from his grandfather to his father. Patrick grimaced, but kept silent. John nods and tells Ben to do what he thinks is right.

  Despite the fact he’ll never be able to visit Terra or see Jack again, Ben smashes the portal watch to pieces. Both Caliban and Patrick cringe. With the destruction of both the beacon and the watch, they can no longer open a portal. Earth is safe from Erde.

  Ben rushes up the basement steps and is surprised to find his mother aiming a laser at a deadly robot. She kills the robot and protects her family. She hugs Ben and apologizes for her inability to talk about Jack. She finally tells him Jack’s death wasn’t his fault and Ben believes her. Feeling better about himself, and his parents, Ben hopes Jack’s visit will help them heal.

  Months pass. Ben plays football, enjoys homecoming with Trudy, and joins Lori for a dance. He’s happy, but misses Jack and Ruth from Terra. Ben fares well in school and makes steady progress toward earning a college scholarship.

  At the breakfast table, Ben tells his parents he wishes his brother could have seen him play football. His mother and father agree and speak about their Jack without becoming angry or agitated. Ben’s parents have been seeing a counselor and are happier, as is he.

  Surprise visitors arrive for Sunday dinner. Patrick, Albert, Betsy and Jack enjoy a fine meal with Ben and his family. Patrick has used Albert’s schematics to create new medallion portal devices with scrambled frequencies. The families are able to travel between Earth and Terra without the danger of invasion. Of course, Ben promises to keep the medallions secret.

  Jack and Ben discuss their brothers and the guilt they’ve lived with since their siblings’ deaths. They agree their brothers would have wanted them to live good and happy lives. Ben, no longer feels fixated on guilt and death, plans his future. He takes a breath and knows everything will be okay.

  SliPtime

  JEFF GRODE

  Chapter 1

  The missing thing scritch-scratched through Ben’s subconscious on spiny legs without revealing its origin or purpose. A measure of sadness and guilt, both palpable and cryptic, worried his senses and left him unable to focus on his homework. He shook his head as if it might scatter his anxiety. Something wasn’t right. Something he couldn’t quite remember.

  Pushing his sophomore A.P. Biology book aside, he turned and let his eyes rove across his unmade bed, a pile of dirty clothes, and his football trophies. He studied a picture of Trudy holding his hand at homecoming, and compared it to his seventh grade picture of Lori. “Trudy you are nice, but Lori, you were the one who got away.” I’m over Lori, right? Ben shook his head and his gaze settled upon the empty wooden chair against the wall. Nothing particular spoke to his unease.

  He’d felt this way before, but couldn’t put a face on the beast. He shivered, either from the winter cold leaching through his bedroom window, or the possibility he could still be unhappy. After everything he’d gone through last summer, he still missed his true brother, Jack, who’d been dead for two and a half years. Now that his parents were willing to discuss Jack’s death openly, Ben and his family navigated the painful conversations, precious memories, and their promise of a hope-filled future. Even so, there had been no better therapy than meeting Jack’s doppelganger, alive and well—one parallel universe slide-ways on a world called Terra.

  Ben Fuller’s stomach growled. He glanced out the window into the cold night wondering when his parents would return home from the grocery store. Streetlight reflected off the crystal white snow piled in the front yard and higher along the sidewalk. Keiser Avenue had been plowed, but new snow clung to a three-inch base of ice. The temperature proved far too cold for salt to melt the frozen surface. Across the street, a man sat in a blue Toyota as tiny clouds of vapor puffed from the exhaust pipe. Ben narrowed his eyes, but the driver’s face lay within shadow.

  Returning to his homework, Ben plowed through his reading, but little to nothing stuck. Moving from his desk to his full-length mirror, he regarded his reflection. He’d grown taller and thinner since summer and let his brown hair fill out after football. The purple bruise above his right eye, an unfortunate reminder of Brandon’s flying elbow during wrestling practice, hadn’t faded yet. The Grover Cleveland High wrestling team had an away match tomorrow night at Cranberry High. Ben might have to wrestle last year’s district champion, Jim LaGreca. The bruise will make me look like a bad ass.

  Ben hoped to drop ten more pounds to compete at a lower weight class and increase his speed. He needed a competitive advantage at the sectional tournament. So far, he stood undefeated in area competition, but he wanted to win district, regional, and eventually state. If he could improve, he might earn a college scholarship for wrestling.

  As he stretched, he felt his medallion tug beneath his shirt. His grandfather, GranPat, or Patrick to others, had designed portal medallions for the family. Ben could teleport anywhere on Earth, or slide-ways to Terra, a world in a parallel universe and similar to Earth. In theory, he could visit his brother’s doppelganger anytime. Jack currently attended his first year at the University of Pittsburgh on Terra.

  Ben rarely used the silver medallion with its buttons, dials, and displays. He kept it secret from everybody outside his family. As far as the U.S. government knew, the only working portal watch had been destroyed in front of witnesses. Later, his grandfather had secretly created a portal medallion, an upgraded version of the portal watch.

  GranPat had otherwise been busily employed in Carmichael by the Homeland Security Science and Technology (S&T) team by day, and on a personal project after hours. Ben didn’t know the nature of the personal project, but wondered if GranPat still tried to break the veil of death to contact his deceased wife, Betty. Ben hoped to become a scientist like
his grandfather one day, but he would probably leave the afterlife alone. Maybe I should visit GranPat. It’s been awhile.

  Ben took a sip of water and sat back down to finish his homework. He peered at his assignment, but his eyes glazed over like the frost on his windowpane. After rubbing his eyes, he glanced back out the window and caught the man in the Toyota looking his way.

  Ben fumed. He’d had his fill of being spied upon, listened to, and chased by both the FBI and Terra’s Commonwealth Security Division over the past five months. Although CSD was no longer able to visit Earth after GranPat’s portal beacon had been destroyed, he’d seen FBI agents watching him and his family. Was the man in the car below an FBI agent?

  Ben’s fist slammed the wooden desktop causing his glass of water to ripple. He threw on a sweatshirt, donned his slippers, and rushed down the stairs and out the door. Gliding over the slippery sidewalk, he raced across the street to the blue Toyota. The car’s engine ran and the windows were fogged. Ben pounded his fist on top of the car.

  “Hey, you sonofabitch!” Ben shouted. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

  The driver jumped in his seat, put the car in gear, and sped down the icy street. Ben ran after him. The driver tried to stop at the corner, but the car fishtailed and crunched head first into a snow drift. Vhhheeeee. The tires spun on the ice as the man tried to back out.

  Ben stopped, put his hands on his hips, and watched the tires spin.

  The driver finally gave up and rolled down his window. “Ben! What is wrong with you? You scared the hell out of me.”

  “Mr. Panzinni?” Ben’s eyebrows rose. Mr. Panzinni is, or was, his neighbor a few doors down. He’d separated from his wife and moved out two months ago.