"Some people
might say you are jealous," Brown said.
"What?" Randy
said. "Of the thief? No. Besides Melissa and I are just
friends."
"Most of the
good relationships start out that way," Brown said. "I
think maybe you should
ease up on Mr. Hall. I am not his biggest fan, but
he is here like us.
Is it not punishment enough?"
Randy headed
for his room. "I tried to extend an olive branch. He
burned it. As far
as I'm concerned, he's just dead weight I have to deal
with."
Randy slammed
his door.
Professor
Brown scratched his head. Over the last few weeks, Randy and
Richard have become more
at odds with each other. He suspected it had a
little less to do with
the blame of who caused them to slide and more to do
with their feelings for
Ms. Clark. Maybe it would be wise to get home
before this came to an
explosive head.
Brown headed
for his room to prepare for dinner. He stumbled for a
second. The room
spun in front of him. He grabbed onto the couch to
balance himself.
the room started to come into focus now. A few moments
later, Brown could stand
up straight again.
Brown touched
his forehead. It felt warm to his touch. Maybe he had
eaten too many cream puffs
at lunch with Ms. Clark and Emma. He was sure
that he would be fine with
some rest.
He had dinner
to go to though. His rest would have to wait.
THE NEW SLIDERSS EPISODE 2: CHANCED MEETING (second part)
The taxi dropped
the foursome off at the Dominion Hotel. Randy looked
through his pocket for
money.
"No need,"
the taxi driver said with a thick Russian accent. "You a god.
No need."
"Thanks,"
Richard said.
The taxi drove
off down the street. Randy frowned at Professor Brown.
"I don't think
I can put up with this," Randy said.
"Why not?"
Richard asked annoyed. "What's wrong with people doing what
we want for a change?"
"We're not
gods," Randy said.
"You two can
argue your points all night," Melissa said as she wrapped
her arm around Professor
Brown's arm. "Me and the Prof are going to wine
and dine."
Before Randy
or Richard could say a thing, Melissa and Professor Brown
had entered the hotel.
"How about
we act civil?" Richard asked.
Randy ignored
Richard and went into the hotel.
"Or not,"
Richard finished.
There was a
knock at the door.
"Yes?" Anya
said.
The door opened.
It was Emma.
"The Tashlytes
are here," Emma announced.
"Is the black
one with them?"
"Yes, Priestess."
"And Tara?"
"She's in
the dining hall unaware."
"Good.
This should be an interesting night."
Randy sat at
the table. On his left was Professor Brown. On his right
was Melissa. Tara
was across from Randy. Beside her was Nicole. Emma and
her friend Anya was on
Tara's right. Everyone was eating their dinner.
Tara had said it was the
latest delight in San Francisco.
"Well, it
is nice to see you, Ms. Anya, in a...together condition,"
Professor Brown commented.
"Thank you,
Tashlyte," Anya answered.
"Please...call
me Darnell."
"Okay...Dar...nell."
"So how did
you do it?" Melissa asked.
"Oh, it's
a little trick I learned while I was in Egypt," Anya answered.
"Egypt?" Melissa's
eyes lit up. "Wow."
Randy frowned.
Richard was looking at Nicole with puppy dog eyes. Nicole
was looking at him the
same way. He wondered if he should leave Richard
there. It was his
choice after all.
"May I be
excused, Priestess?" Nicole asked Tara.
"Yes, Nicole,"
Tara answered.
Nicole left
through a door. Randy noticed that she paused for a second.
Then she left. A
few moments later, Richard stood up.
"I'll be back,"
he said. Then he left.
"God, that
was obvious," Melissa whispered to Randy.
"Jealous?"
Randy whispered.
"No.
I like Nicole."
"You have
been quiet, Tashlyte," Tara said to Randy.
"I have a
lot on my mind," Randy said.
Professor
Brown coughed.
"Are you all
right, Darnell?" Anya asked Brown.
"I am fine,"
Brown answered. Randy looked at Professor Brown. He did
look a little sickly.
"Professor-"
Randy started to say.
"Mr. Heim!
Hush!" Professor Brown barked.
Randy let
it go. If the Professor did not want to talk about it, it was
his choice.
"I have a
question, Priestess Tara," Randy said. "How would you react if
I told you we were ordinary
people and not gods."
Randy felt
all eyes were on him.
"What do you
mean?" Tara asked.
Before Randy
could answer, Professor Brown's face fell into his bowl.
Randy looked over at Professor
Brown.
"Professor?"
Professor
Brown did not get up.
"Professor!"
Randy grabbed
Professor Brown and layed him down on the floor. Melissa
and Anya were over his
shoulder.
"Someone,
get an ambulance!!"
"Emma!" Anya
barked.
No one noticed
the smile on Anya's face.
"What do you
think?" Nicole asked.
"It's quite
a sight," Richard replied as he held her in his arms.
They were
standing on a balcony. From it the two of them could look down
at the lights of San Francisco.
The city was busy tonight. It was also
breathtaking.
"I can see
my mother's house from here," Nicole said.
"Hmmm." Richard
had not noticed. He was busy smelling Nicole's hair.
"She's been
keeping Brandon since I became Atten," Nicole said.
"Hmmm."
"That's the
name I chose for our son."
Richard stopped
smiling Nicole's hair. His voice was shaking. "S-Son?"
"Yeah," Nicole
replied. "When I first became pregnant, you demanded I
get an abortion.
A baby would interfere with your life. I refused, and you
left me." She turned to
look at Richard. Her eyes were full with fear.
"You are coming to take
care of us now, right? You're ready to accept
Brandon now, right?"
"I--"
"Richard!"
Richard and
Nicole turned to see Melissa running toward them.
"There you
are!" Melissa said. "The ambulance's here! We got to go!"
"What?" Richard
said dumbfoundedly.
"What happened?"
Nicole asked.
"Professor
Brown collapsed," Melissa explained. "Come on."
Melissa sat
on the couch next to Emma. Tara and Nicole sat in some chair
across from them.
Anya was at the front desk talking to a nurse. Richard
was nowhere to be found.
Randy finally
came out of Professor Brown's room. Melissa felt a surge
of hope.
"Any change?"
Melissa asked.
Randy shook
his head. "None."
"So any idea
what happened, Tashlyte?" Tara asked.
"Right now...just
call me Randy."
"Very well...Randy.
Any idea?"
"Maybe you
could tell us, Priestess?" Anya said as she approached.
"Dinner was your idea.
People will frown that a Tashlyte died while you
were Priestess."
"He's not
going to die," Randy said.
"Perhaps,"
Anya said. "Still...someone must be punished."
"She's right,
Priestess," Emma said to Tara.
"What do you
suggest, Anya?" Tara asked.
"Well, you
do know the punishment for harming a Tashlyte..." Anya said.
Tara looked
down. Melissa could not see her face. "Yes. Death."
Randy's eyes
widened in shock. Melissa was sure that her eyes were the
same.
"What?
You're kidding!" Randy said. "You can't do that!"
"It's the
law...Randy," Anya said. "Emma, take Tara back to the hotel.
She will be burned at dawn."
"Wait!" Melissa
said.
The woman
ignored her and Randy. Emma took Tara away. Nicole followed
close behind. Anya
looked at Melissa and Randy with a cold stare.
"I am sorry
for this situation," Anya said. "I promise you that justice
will be served."
"But isn't
this a little harsh?" Melissa asked. "I'm sure it's just
indigestion."
"I'm sure
you Tashlytes mean well, but it's the law," Anya said. "I will
see you in the morning."
Anya left
before they could protest more.
"We have to
do something," Melissa said.
"We will,"
Randy said. "I want you to find Richard. I think we should
stay close for the next
few hours."
"What about
you?"
"I'm going
to find out exactly what happened to the Professor. Something
just doesn't add up and
I'm going to find out the truth."
This was the
fourth floor that Melissa had looked through. She turned
the corner. There
was the cafeteria down the hall. She walked through the
double doors. There
were several doctors and nurses hanging out. Richard
was sitting in a corner
by himself. A cup of coffee was untouched in front
of him.
"There you
are!" Melissa said as she approached Richard. "We-"
"You were
right. All Richard Halls are jerks," Richard said.
"As much as
I like to hear you admit you're wrong, I'm lost," Melissa
said. "What are you
talking about?"
"On our Earth,"
Richard began, "I got together with Nicole, we had fun,
and then she got knocked
up before we got to college. I felt I would be
missing out on a lot of
life so I told her to get an abortion. She did, and
she never forgave me for
it so we went our separated ways."
"Oh." Melissa
said.
"I didn't
want her to go," Richard said. "I loved her. She loved me.
In
the end, I was a jerk and
it destroyed our love.
"On this earth
though I had another chance. The Richard here had left
Nicole when she refused
to get an abortion. So now I have Nicole...and
our...my unborn son."
"But it's
not yours," Melissa said. "It's Nicole's and this Earth's
Richard."
"He left her,
Melissa!"
"And?
You think you could do better?"
"Well...I
am a god now."
"For how long?"
Melissa countered.
"What do you
mean?" Richard asked.
"I'm not going
to argue with you," Melissa responded. "Look. I'm sorry
about you feeling guilty
for your past. You felt that you're weren't ready
then, and I feel that you're
not ready now. It's just your guilt. Deal
with it...later.
We got to go."
"Excuse me,"
Dr. Welles said. "Who are you and what are you doing?"
Randy pushed
his glasses up and pulled his doctor robe closer to him. He
stiffened up and turned
to look at Dr. Welles.
"Ms. Welles,
I am your replacement," Randy lied. "Sister Anya sent me to
look over the Prof-the
Tashlytes' medical records."
"Firstly,
it's Doctor Welles," Dr. Welles said. "Not Ms. Welles. You
might as well just call
me Wade. Obviously, you have a fear of a woman in
charge. Secondly,
Priestess Tara is in charge of replacements for the
Tashlytes."
Randy took
a breath and stared coldly at Dr. Welles. "Obviously, you do
not know much about law,
DR. Welles. Tara is responsible for a Tashlyte
being hurt. The law
dictates that Anya takes her place. Do you know what
that means?"
Dr. Welles
frowned. "Yes, Doctor. I do."
"According
to the report," Randy continued, trying to hide his grin, "a
poison was introduced into
the Tashlyte's' body. However, there was no
trace of the poison in
his food intake."
"That is right,"
Dr. Welles agreed.
"Any idea
how the Tashlyte got the poison introduced into his body then."
"I thought
that maybe someone had injected him, Doctor, but there were no
signs of any injection.
Given that there are traces of the poison on his
lips, there are two possibilities.
One: the Tashlyte was forced to take
poison. That doesn't
fly because he collapsed in front of a lot of people.
Two: someone have
to have kissed him."
"Thank you,
Dr. Welles," Randy said. He couldn't hold back his smile.
"You're welcome."
"So will the
Tashlyte survive?"
"He should
be up and about by morning," Dr. Welles said.
Randy hugged
Dr. Welles without thinking.
"Hey!"
"I'm sorry,"
Randy said. "It's...well, it's just great to see that the
Tashlyte will survive."
Dr. Welles
smiled. "Yes, it is. Listen, I'm about to go on break, would
you like to join me?"
"Thank you,
but a good doctor's work is never done," Randy said.
"That's okay,"
Dr. Welles said. "It's just you reminded me of someone I
used to know."
Randy grinned.
"I get that a lot."
Melissa stared
at Richard from across the waiting room. He sat with his
head in his hands.
A string of
her black hair fell over her eyes. She pushed it back into
place. She could
believe that Richard would be the kind of guy who would
want a girl to get an abortion.
Heaven forbid he couldn't have his fun.
She couldn't believe that
he really cared after doing it.
"Melissa!
Richard!"
Melissa turned
around. Randy was heading toward the two of them.
Melissa frowned at Randy.
"I got-" Randy
started.
"Are you forgetting
something?" Melissa asked while tapping her nose.
Randy frowned.
Then he touched his nose. He blushed while he took off
his glasses.
"Sorry," Randy
said. "It slipped my mind."
"So what did
you find out?" Melissa asked.
"Did you see
anyone kiss Professor Brown yesterday?" Randy asked Melissa.
"Yeah," Melissa
answered. "Anya did when she first saw us."
"And now she's
framing Tara," Randy said. "We have to stop her."
"How?"
"We have to
take away the one thing she wants," Randy said.
"Which is?"
"Her power.
We have to prove she has none."
"What?
I know what I saw."
"I bet I can
prove she's just a clever conwoman or scientist."
"But?" Melissa
frowned.
"We have to
reveal that we're not gods."
"No!" Richard
yelled as he stood up and faced Randy. "I can't let you do
that."
"Why?" Randy
said annoyed.
Richard just
folded his arms. Melissa just sighed. Are these two ever
going to get along?
"Randy, it's
complicated," Melissa said.
"Is it so
complicated that Richard's willing to let an innocent woman
die?" Randy asked.
"I got things
to do before you reveal the truth," Richard finally said.
"Okay," Randy
said.
"How long
until the slide out?"
Randy pulled
out the timer. "Five hours."
"That's enough
time," Richard said. "I'll meet you at the Dominion."
Before Randy
or Melissa could say anything, he was gone.
"Where is
he going?" Randy said.
"To make amends,"
Melissa answered. "So what now?"
Randy gave
Melissa the timer. "Stay here with Professor Brown. Whenever
he wakes up, meet me outside
the Dominion."
Richard felt
a grin spread across his face in spite of himself. It was
simple to find Nicole's
mother's house. No one could refuse a god.
Richard knocked
on the door. He had heard...
Nicole opened
the door. She grinned when she saw Richard. Richard
looked into Nicole's happy
face and felt a pain in his heart.
"Richard...how
did you find me?"
Richard attempted
a smile. "Well, I am a god after all. I have my
ways."
"Come on in,"
Nicole said. "Brandon's sleep, but I am sure that he won't
mind his father watching
over him."
Richard walked
in. The living room was homely...in a clean sense. It
matched Nicole well at
the moment. Her hair in a ponytail as she walked in
a robe, Nicole was lovely
in Richard's eye.
The two of
them entered a darkened room lit only with a bright
nightlight. In the
center of the small room stood a crib. It was decorated
with roses.
"I gathered
them from the Meditating Gardens," Nicole said as if she read
Richard's mind.
Richard looked
at her for a second. God, she was so beautiful.
Richard looked
into the crib. Looking comfortable as could be was
Brandon. His thumb
was in his mouth as he slept. A few strings of brown
hair grew from his small
head.
Nicole grabbed
Richard's hand and held it. Richard looked down at
Brandon. His flesh
and blood. Not really, but he had hoped to stay. He
could make up for his mistake
and have Nicole and his child back. Fate was
a bitch.
Richard moved
away from Nicole. He walked over to the nearby window. He
looked at the various houses.
They were full of families who belonged here.
He did not and he
was foolish to think he could.
"I'm not a
god," Richard mumbled.
Nicole frowned.
"What are you mumbling about?"
Richard turned
to look at Nicole. "None of us are. You're going to find
out anyway so...we're not
gods. Me and my friends are travellers from a
parallel Earth. I don't
understand the hows or whys, but that's the truth."
To be concluded...