"Welcome back to Continental Groove! This is Daniel Peckin and for those just joining us we just had our dance-off. And who's going to win? Maggie, if you will..."
Maggie Beckett sashayed her way over to Daniel Peckin with an envelope. She gave it to him.
"Thanks, hon," Daniel Peckin said. He slapped her on the butt. maggie just giggled and sashayed herself back offstage.
"And the winner is...Melissa and Richard!"
The audience cheered as Melissa Clark headed for Peckin. Hands grabbed her before she could. She was turned around and stood face to face with Richard Hall.
"Oh, no you don't," Richard said. "We're tangoing out."
Before Melissa could protest, Richard was already leading her out to the stage. The camera were focused on them so Melissa just went with it. The audience cheered them on. Richard grabbed the trophy from Peckin. Peckin grabbed Melissa's butt.
"Of course, you'll be back next week," Peckin said to Melissa.
"I'll show you next week," Melissa said as she balled up her fist and aimed.
"They can't, sir."
Melissa stopped and watched as Randy Heim and Darnell Brown walked off onto the stage.
"They have another appointment," Randy said.
"Here we go!" Brown yelled as he aimed the timer. It turned on and formed a blue circle of light over the audience. They gasped as Brown jumped into the wormhole and vanished.
Randy jumped into the wormhole and vanished.
Melissa was right behind him.
Melissa fell out of the wormhole. She landed in Randy's arms. She looked into Randy's eyes and saw annoyance.
"Cutting it a little close?" Randy asked.
"We were just having a little-" Melissa started.
"Fun?" Randy asked. "What if-"
The wormhole whirred and Richard fell out of it. He landed on his feet. The wormhole closed behind him.
"Here. Hold that," Richard said as he gave the trophy to Randy. He grabbed Melissa.
"Great. Rain," Brown complained as rain drops started to fall.
Melissa looked around. They were walking on the Golden Gate Bridge. A girl was running toward them.
"Hey!" Melissa said.
The girl pushed pass Melissa. She ran to the edge of the bridge. Then she jumped right off.
"What?" Melissa started.
"What have you done?"
Melissa turned to find two men facing her. The blonde man was in a white suit. The dark-haired man was in a black suit.
"Where did you come from?" Richard asked.
"This is clearly the criminals, Agent Mold," the dark-haired man said.
Agent Mold grabbed Melissa. "No, I think it was just this one. You are under arrest..."
"What?" Melissa protested.
"You can't be serious," Randy said. "What's the crime?"
Agent Mold looked at Melissa. "Assisted suicide."
WHAT IF YOU DISCOVERED NEW WORLDS WITHOUT LEAVING EARTH? YOU'RE THE SAME PERSON AND IT'S THE SAME YEAR, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS DIFFERENT? MY FRIENDS AND I FOUND A WAY! NOW WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THE WAY HOME!
SLIDERS: ALTERNATE SPIN-SEASON 2
EPISODE 8: I, DEATH
Melissa woke up. She looked around to see where she was. She was in the motel room. She grinned.
It was all a dream, Melissa thought. No one died or got arrested.
She headed for the bathroom. After such a bad dream, a nice bate might make it go away. Melissa opened the bathroom and walked in.
A man stood near the tub. He wore a gray business suit. His hands were behind his back. He nodded toward the tub.
"I believe that belongs to you."
Melissa looked at the tub. The dead girl floated in the tub. The water was soaked with red. Her eyes glared at Melissa.
"This is your fault!" the girl screamed.
Melissa jumped out of her sleep. She looked around to see no dead girl. She was in a prison cell.
A guard glared at her. "Just what I need. Another junkie. Listen...I don't care what the President thinks. Drugs shouldn't have been legalized."
"It was just a bad dream," Melissa said. "I'm not on anything."
"Yeah, right," the guard said. "You have visitors."
Randy smiled as Melissa walked into the visiting room. She looked real tired, but she was at least alive.
She picked up the telephone next to her seat as she sat down. She managed a small smile.
"Hey, guys," Melissa said.
"Hi," Randy said. "You look tired."
"Bad dreams," Melissa said. "I can't think of anything, but that girl."
"It's not your fault," Randy said.
"Try convincing the nuts here," Richard said.
"I would think there was more people here," Brown commented.
"What?" Randy turned away from Melissa.
"Do you not find it strange that there are no visitors here?" Brown asked.
"Slow day?" Richard suggested.
"It doesn't matter," Randy said. He turned to Melissa. "We're going to get you out of here."
"I know," Melissa said.
A guard walked over to her place. "Time to go."
Melissa looked at Randy one last time. Then the guard pulled her away.
"I, for one, will head to the library," Brown said. "Maybe I can figure out something about what's going on?"
Randy looked at Brown. "Good start. I'm going to see where I can find a good lawyer."
Melissa made it through the next day somehow. Several guards glared at her. A few mumbled among themselves.
Assisted suicide must be a serious offense on this world, Melissa thought. Hopefully, she could find a way around it.
Later on, Melissa sat for dinner in the dining hall. She had gotten no visitors that day. It made her nervous.
"Can I sit here?"
Melissa looked up and into the eyes of a blond-haired man. He looked to be about Melissa's age. Before Melissa could answer his question, he sat down.
"I didn't say yet," Melissa said.
"Surely you don't want to be alone?" the man suggested. "If you haven't noticed, there are very few criminals in here."
Melissa just nodded. She had not really paid attention yesterday. Now it was a lot more obvious.
"Why is that?" Melissa asked.
The man looked at Melissa like she was insane. Then he shook his head.
"I forget sometimes how the world works," the man said. "I thought since I knew everyone knew." He looked around the room. Then he leaned in. "I'm Brandon Violet. You knew my sister Ami. She's the one who...died."
Melissa jumped up from the chair. "What the-"
"Sh!" Brandon hissed. "Don't draw attention to yourself. They're watching us."
"Why are you even talking to me then?" Melissa asked.
"I know you didn't do it," Brandon said.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I killed Ami."
Brown continued to look through the newspaper files. There was a thought trying to pop to the surface. He tried to ignore it, but it came to the surface.
The bloody face of Jared Heim came before him. He had killed him. It had been so easy.
"Professor?"
Brown snapped out of it. He looked away from he computer screen to see Randy looking at him. He managed a smile.
"Yes, Mr. Heim?" Brown said.
"Is everything all right?" Randy asked.
"I think it is just...slider lag," Brown said. "Did you find a lawyer?"
"Yeah. We meet her tomorrow. Where's Richard?"
"Trying to find us a place to stay," Brown said. "Maybe you two will get along better without Miss Clark around."
"I doubt that," Randy said flatly. He sat down next to Brown. "Did he ever talk to you about his past?"
Brown stared at Randy. His face was unreadable. "Some things here and there. Why?"
"I don't think it's safe to trust Richard anymore."
"Mr. Heim, stop!" Brown barked. "We four are all we have. I have had it up to here with you two feuding. You are not going to sue me for your vendetta."
"Oh? You'll help Thief Boy though?"
"Mr. Hall and I have already had a similar conversation. All I want is to get us home."
"Fine," Randy declared. "What did you find out?"
Brown mentally sighed. It was good to see Randy dropped the subject.
"It started with the President of this world dying under mysterious circumstances," Brown began. "His vice president took over. He was a dark horse."
"Dark horse?" Randy frowned.
Brown rolled his eyes. Then he realized where he got it from. He made a mental note to not do it again.
"It means that no one knew anything about him before he was elected," Brown continued. "No one knew a thing about his past. Family. High school he went to. Any affairs. Nothing was found. Everyone assumed that he was a good man since the President was.
"Then drugs were legalized."
"What?" Randy said.
"Overdoses occurred...society's outcasts and criminals mostly," Brown said. "I do not know...it seems like the new President...wants people to die."
"Isn't that a little far-fetched?" Randy asked. "What would he have to gain? How did this even come to pass?"
"I still have not figure that out," Brown admitted. "To make such a law would mean getting it through Congress. That would be an impossibility."
"Is it possible that the President could have information on various members?"
"Yes," Brown said. "Let me see if..."
The computer screen went black. Brown tried to type in more, but nothing happened.
"I think this machine has frozen me out," Brown said.
"Let's head out anyway," Randy suggested. "Hopefully, Richard has gotten a room."
Brown started to follow Randy toward the library door. He turned around to see that the computer screen had come back to life again. In fact, the computer hummed like it was downloading something. Brown turned back toward the door and walked out of it quickly.
Richard sat in the Dominion bar. He wasn't able to get a room here, but he was sure that Egghead and Proper would pop up to see if he was here.
Proper? The word seem so foreign in his head after months of not saying it. It was true though. The Brown he had gotten to know was gone.
Richard finished his beer. Brown was gone. The Professor was back. It was Egghead's fault. He wished Egghead had been killed a few worlds ago...
"Is this seat taken?"
Richard looked up to see a beautiful blonde sit beside him.
"Your usual, Chloe?" the bartender asked.
"Make it two, Hal," Chloe answered. "One for me, and one for Mr. Sexy here."
"That's real nice of you," Richard said. "Didn't your mother tell you not to talk to strangers?"
Chloe laughed. "You don't look like a mama's boy to me."
"I'm not...that's my twin," Richard said with a lopsided grin. "So what is a beautiful...babe such as yourself doing here?"
"In a bar?" Chloe asked. "I'm looking for a little bit of fun and it looks like I found it."
Richard felt a hand on his leg. He looked down to see it moving up on his leg. Chloe just grinned at him.
"Better be careful what you wish for," Richard said as he turned the stool to face Chloe.
"Here you go," Hal said as he placed two drinks in front of them.
Chloe reached into her purse and pulled out two pills. She dropped one in each of the drinks. Richard didn't know what to say. Finally, he grabbed his drink.
"What will we toast to?" Chloe asked.
"How about...a great night?" Richard suggested.
"And...to raising hell," Chloe added.
They toasted and drank. Then they kissed.
Melissa headed back to her cell. At least, the people who ran everything allowed their prisoners time to stretch.
"Melissa."
Melissa ignored them. A few moments later, Brandon walked beside her.
"I'm sorry," Brandon said. "I should have explained myself better."
"I don't even understand this place," Melissa said. "You just admitted to killing your sister though. In my eyes, that makes you a murderer."
"As I recall, you were there when she jumped off the bridge!" Brandon snapped.
"Quiet!" a guard in front yelled.
Melissa glared at Brandon.
"Sorry," Brandon whispered. "I know you didn't push her."
"Neither did you," Melissa admitted. "I see what you're trying to say. Why do you blame yourself?"
"I gave her the drugs," Brandon said.
Melissa frowned. "She was on drugs?"
Brandon nodded. "My friends and I...we like to do anything. I didn't have a problem with her doing them. I turned out okay."
"Oh, really? Why are you in here?"
"I'm a danger to society," Brandon said. "Long story."
The cells were coming up. Melissa looked over at Brandon.
"You have no time to tell it," Melissa said.
"Maybe another time," Brandon said with a smile. "You are still talking to me?"
Melissa grinned. "I guess I am."
"Later then," Brandon said.
Melissa watched Brandon move pass her. As she watched Brandon go into his cell, Melissa could not get the smile off her face. She hated this place, but it was good to have a friend here.
Brown came out of the bathroom to find that Randy was pacing still. He just sat on the bed.
"Pacing isn't going to get Mr. Hall here any faster," Brown said.
Randy stopped pacing. "He should have been there when we got there! Does he not care about Melissa at all?"
"Of course he does," Brown said. "I am sure he will get our note and meet us here."
"We can hope," Randy mumbled.
Richard saw the wall move. He blinked and it was back again. He laughed.
"What's so funny?" Chloe asked.
"Look at the wall," Richard said.
Chloe looked over at the wall. She hit Richard playfully.
"I hate you. You are seeing more than I am!" Chloe said. "What are you? A first-timer?"
Richard grinned. "That's for me to know and you...to get it out of me."
Chloe knocked on the door. She looked back at Richard.
"And I'm going to have a lot of fun doing that," Chloe said as she leaned in to kiss him.
They were so busy kissing that they did not hear the door squeak open. A footstep sounded like thunder. Richard pulled back from Chloe to see a guy with red hair glaring at them. He looked at Chloe. She looked at the red-haired guy and laughed.
"Hey, Devin," Chloe said. "Have room for one more?"
"Always, Chloe," Devin said. "Do you think it's a good idea to have him here?"
Chloe frowned. "Yes. What? Is Stuart here?"
Devin said nothing. Chloe grabbed Richard's arm. She led him into the apartment.
"Stu's just going to have to get over it," Chloe said.
Richard looked back over at Devin. His red hair seem to be morphing. It became red horns.
"Wow," Richard mumbled.
Chloe led Richard through a doorway. Richard looked around. A naked girl sat on the couch watching cartoons. Meanwhile a guy was over by the window. He was spinning techno on a turntable. Neither of them seem to notice Richard or Chloe.
"So...did we miss anything?" Chloe asked.
The girl on the couch looked up. She quickly grabbed a nearby cover. She managed a smile.
"Chloe...I...we didn't hear you come in," the girl muttered.
"Yeah," Chloe said as she threw her jacket on a nearby sofa, "I noticed."
Richard realized that the techno had stopped. He looked over at the turntable. The guy was shooting daggers at him.
"Hey! Wassup?" Richard waved at the guy. The guy said nothing.
"Stuart, you could at least say hi," Chloe said. Stuart glared at Chloe. "What's wrong, Stu? Therapy didn't go well?"
Stuart pulled out a few pills. "This is the only therapy I need."
"You better be careful with those Raltones, honey," Chloe said. "Ami was on those when she...had her accident."
"Ami..." the girl on the couch mumbled.
"Ally, this is Richard," Chloe said as he headed back over to the doorway. "Richard, this is my good friend Ally." She gestured to the turntable. "That's my friend Stuart."
"Friend. Yeah...right," Stuart said as he ate his pills.
"Don't start," Chloe said.
"Yeah," Richard added. "Chloe has moved on...to better things."
Richard started to kiss on Chloe's neck. Chloe giggled. Stuart's face turned red.
"You covered yourself up," Devin said as he walked in.
"We have company," Ally said.
Devin frowned. "So?"
"He's coming with us tomorrow," Chloe commented.
"Works for me," Ally said. "The more the merrier."
"Right on," Devin cheered.
Stuart's face got darker.
Melissa heard water. She was sure it was water. Tapping.
She turned over in her bed. She saw the water faucets over at the sink was dripping. It bugged her.
Her body felt like lead. She did not want to get up. The water continued to drip. It was not going away. It even seem to be getting louder.
She pushed up off her bed. The room seem to bob just to taunt her. She realized that she felt sick.
One foot moved forward. that was followed by another. That was continued by another. The sink seem to be moving away from her.
She finally grabbed the faucet handle. She turned it. The dripping water stopped.
Melissa sighed in relief. Maybe she could get some sleep now.
She turned around. The man was there. Blood flowed down his face. He grinned at her.
"You forgot something," the man said. He pointed.
Melissa turned around. The reflection in the mirror wasn't hers. It was Ami's bloody corpse.
Melissa jumped up and screamed.
"Quiet now!" a loud, gruff voice said.
Melissa stared about her. Sweat covered her body. She stared over at the sink. It was off.
"What's happening to me?" Melissa asked herself.
Richard opened the door to the motel. It was unlocked. He thought it was a good thing since he felt like crushing.
"Bed," Richard mumbled.
There it was. A nice, soft, EMPTY bed. He had been thinking about it all night. Okay, the last few hours he thought about sleep.
"It's good to see you got the note," a voice said to his left.
Richard turned ot see Randy emerged from the bathroom.
"Great!" Richard grumbled.
"Exactly," Richard said flatly.
"Where's Proper?" Richard asked.
"He's out trying to help Melissa," Randy said as he went to the refrigerator. "What about you?"
"I care about Melissa more than you do," Richard said.
Randy paused as he took out the sandwich. He glared at Richard.
"Yeah, right," Randy said.
"Really, Egghead," Richard said as he walked over. "I let Melissa have fun and be free. All you do is put chains on her."
Randy put the sandwich on the table. He continued to glare at Richard. For a second, Richard thought he could literally see smoke coming out of Randy's ears. He blinked and it was gone.
"Chains?" Randy said. "You're just mad because she doesn't want you."
"She's not with you either, Egghead," Richard said. "Maybe it's about time you remember that and move on!"
Randy's face became darker. "To you?"
Richard could literally feel the grin creep on his face. "Yeah. 'Cuz I can actually loosen up."
Randy went back to the refrigerator for something. Richard quickly pulled out a few Raltones and put them into the sandwich. He stood in front of Randy as Randy turned around.
"Jealous, huh?" Richard asked.
Randy just ignored him and headed for his sandwich. As he watched Randy bit into his sandwich, Richard smiled. Maybe he would loosen up after that.
Melissa continued to look around the cafeteria. There was just a handful of people there. None of them was Brandon.
Melissa just found an empty table and sat down. Some of her black hair fell in her face. As she pushed it back, Melissa thought about last night. She felt so sick. Hopefully, she would be out of here soon.
"Stop it!"
Melissa turned around in her seat. A man was throwing chairs everywhere. The guards ran into the room. A chair went flying at them.
"This isn't real!" the man yelled. He stared at one of the inmates. "You. Me. It isn't!" He pointed at thin air. "He's real! Don't you see him?"
Melissa rolled her eyes. Just what she did not need. A loon.
"Put the chair down, Martin," one of the guards commanded.
Martin stared at the guard. Melissa saw his eyes widen in disbelief.
"You don't believe me?" Martin asked. He turned to the thin air. "You did this, didn't you? You won't have me though. You won't have me!"
Martin ran for the doors. The guards were right behind him. They were closing in on Martin Melissa realized. She also realized that Martin was almost at the door.
Martin ran pass the door. He jumped at the window. As Martin's head hit the glass, the window tore to pieces. Shards of glass flew every which way.
The guards had stopped running. They stood like embarrassed parents near the window. Melissa realized that she had stood up.
"Beautiful and tragic, don't you think?" Melissa looked away from the window. the man stood in front of her. The man from her dreams. He grinned at her.
"Leave me alone!" Melissa barked.
Several inmates stared at Melissa. She glared back.
"What?" Melissa asked.
The guards were on her in a second. She struggled, but they had a firm grip on her.
"Who was that man?" Melissa asked.
"You're just as crazy as Martin!" a guard barked. "There's no one-"
"Back in the cell for you, missie!" another guard barked.
Then Melissa realized it. The man she had seen had not been there at all. She was seeing things.
Brown hummed to himself. He could not decide what to do. On one hand, this had been a great day for research. On the other hand, it was bad news.
There was one last thing that he had to do though. He typed in the name of the vice president in his search engine. The computer screen went dead for a second.
"Stupid computer,' Brown mumbled. He hit the side of it.
The computer came back to life. Brown's eyes widened at the results. There was no finds.
"That's impossible," Brown found himself saying. Then he mentally kicked himself for using a contraction.
He typed in the name again. Even if the computer could not find basic facts about the vice president, it should be able to find newswires. He pressed the ENTER key.
The computer screen went dead. Brown waited for it to turn on. He was about to hit it when the screen lit up again.
YOU KNOW TOO MUCH.
Brown jumped out of his chair at the message on the screen. He turned around. Agent Mold and his partner stood in front of him.
"It's right," Agent Mold said. "You DO know too much."
Before he could react, Brown found a gun's handle flying at his face.
Everything became dark.
Randy's eyes flew open. He felt the whole room move. As he hopped up and down, Randy realized that he was in a limo.
"I think he's up."
Randy looked to his left. A couple giggled there. Her boyfriend's hair was red as fire.
"Hey, Egghead! Has it hanging?"
Randy looked to his right. Richard was necking with a blonde.
His hands flew to his head. It was hot to the touch. He looked at Richard again. He saw horns.
The blonde grabbed Randy's hand. He noticed that it was really soft.
"Hi," the blonde said. "I'm Chloe. The other girl is Ally. The redhead is Devin. The guy over there is Stuart. Richard tells me this is your first time."
"First time?" Randy felt the words leave his mouth.
"Don't worry," Chloe said.
A hand touched Randy's face. His eyes dotted back to his left. Ally smiled at him.
"We'll take good care of you," Ally said.
Randy thought about how he could have wind up in the limo. He was arguing with Richard at the motel. Then...
Lips connected with Randy's lips. Ally crawled onto him. He liked the feeling and continued with it.
Melissa was real close to pulling her hair out. the room as dripping and it refused to stop. it was not even dripping water. It dripped blood.
"Melissa..."
"Not again," Melissa muttered. She covered her ears.
The floor started to get bumpy. One of the bumps rose from the bloody form. Melissa turned away, but the image was in her mind. She knew who it was anyway.
"Why don't you leave me alone?" Melissa asked.
"You know why," the man replied.
"I did not kill Ami," Melissa said.
A hand grabbed Melissa's face. It roughly turned her around. Melissa stared at the man as blood ran down his face.
"Then why do you see me?" the man challenged.
"Leave me alone!" Melissa barked.
"There's only one way I'll do that."
"What's that?"
"You have to die."
Melissa felt her eyes widened. "Excuse me?"
"You'll have to die...because the blood isn't going anywhere...and neither am I."
"No!"
A shoe went flying. The mirror over the sink broke into little pieces. They hit the now bloodless floor.
"It's already getting to you, huh?"
Melissa looked at the cell door. She looked at Brandon in confusion.
"Are you real?" Melissa asked.
"Yeah," Brandon said. "We need to get you out of here. You're getting like the rest of us."
"You mean...seeing him?"
Brandon nod.
"So you do see him? You haven't acted crazy since I got here."
Brandon raised one of his sleeves. Melissa stared at his arms. She could see the bandages on his waist.
"Trust me," Brandon said. "I've seen him. So do everyone in here? Why do you think there are so few prisoners here? They have all killed themselves."
"Why?"
"It's the drugs."
Melissa stood up. "What?"
"You don't know?" Brandon asked. "They've been drugging you since the moment you got here."
Melissa's eyes widened. "Huh? Why?"
"I got to go before the guards realize that I'm not in my cell," Brandon said. "I'm getting you out tomorrow."
"Why can't we leave now?" Melissa asked. "Can't we leave before..."
"Listen to me," Brandon said. "You have got to hold on. I know his grip is strong, but you can make it to tomorrow. Okay?"
Melissa nod.
Then Brandon was gone. Melissa felt a voice in the back of her head. It urged her to die.
Randy. He would help her. Tomorrow, she would be back around him and everything would be okay.
Tomorrow.
"I'll say one thing for him," Chloe said. "He seems to be having fun."
Richard just pulled Chloe closer. He looked down at the dance floor from the balcony. Randy was dancing with Ally and Devin. He looked like he didn't have a care in the world.
"So...you're just going to leave him here?" Chloe asked.
"I hate his guts," Richard said. "I got what I want from him."
"So that's a yes?"
Richard turned Chloe to him. He leaned in and kissed her.
"What do you think?" Richard asked.
"Maybe he'll just die from the Raltone in his system," Stuart suggest as he leaned on the balcony. "Wouldn't be the first one, right, Chloe?"
Chloe glared at Stuart. "Don't you have something else to do?"
Stuart glared at Chloe. "You know what?" He grabbed Chloe. "How about I do you right here and now on this balcony?"
Richard pushed Stuart away from Chloe.
"Back off, man!" Richard barked.
"You think she loves you?" Stuart asked. "She doesn't know the meaning of the word."
Richard grinned. "Who said I was looking for love?"
"Exactly," Chloe added as she hugged Richard.
Stuart's face started to wrinkle. Richard laughed at the sight. He looked like an old man.
"Is Stu in love?" Richard asked. "What's wrong? Don't like Chloe with a real man?"
Stuart stormed away. Chloe just laughed.
"He's just never going to accept that he's just a toy," Chloe commented.
"He had a great idea though," Richard said.
"What was that?"
Richard grinned. "We could just do it on the balcony right here and right now."
Chloe grinned. "I like how you think."
Brown woke up to find out two things. He was tied up to a chair was one. The other was that a light was in his face.
"Look, Agent Mold!"
"Thank you, Agent Pierce."
The figure of Agent Mold came into view. He grinned sadly.
"Well...Darnell Brown," Mold began. "According to our intelligence you are a professor at the university. Such a brilliant mind. Who knows what you could have gone on to do?" The grin left Mold's face. "Then you had to get nosy about the President."
"What's he got to hide?" Brown challenged.
"Hey!" Agent Pierce barked. "Our society is a good one thanks to him. We have no crime at all!"
"Yes...I noticed that," Brown said. "I also noticed that the legislative branch no longer exist. No wonder he has gotten away with so much. If anyone should get arrested for assisted suicide, it is he!"
"Heretic!" Pierce yelled.
"Murderer!" Brown shot back. "To purposely unleash drug unto society..."
"Actually...just Raltone," Agent Mold replied. "It has pretty much wiped out the criminal element. No good guys get killed and everyone sleeps happy."
"Sleep happy?" Brown said in disbelief. "What about the families of the dead?"
"They should have raised them to not take drugs," Pierce replied.
"You're not God," Brown said.
"Actually...we are here," Mold said. "And we have to get rid of you now. Pierce, the syringe."
Pierce came into view. In one of his hands was a syringe. Brown started to struggle, but he could not move.
"I'm going to really enjoy this," Pierce said. "I hate heretics."
Suddenly, the door swung open. Something clicked.
"Okay, Pierce," a woman's voice said, "That's far enough."
"What-" Pierce started.
The woman came into the light. Brown looked at the black woman who took aim at the two agents.
"Ms. Davis-" Agent Mold started.
"Don't 'Ms. Davis' me, Mold!" Diana Davis announced. "I was hired to represent him and his friends, the Firm of Davis and Welles never lose a client."
"Yes...NEVER."
Another woman came into view. Brown recognized her as Wade Welles from various doubles he had seen. She vanished again.
"We intend to win our case...by any means necessary," Wade said. She started to untie Brown.
"Are you okay, Mr. Brown?" Diana asked.
"I will be," Brown said as he stood up.
"You'll not get away with this!" Pierce barked.
"We just did," Wade replied.
Davis opened fire on the agents. They fell to the floor. Brown looked at Diana in shock.
"You...killed them?" Brown managed.
Diana shook her head. "No. They've just been shot with tranquilizer darts lacked with something I'm working on. They won't remember this encounter."
"That's good old Diana," Wade commented. "She's a genius."
"Let's go," Diana said. "I don't want them to wake up."
Randy could not get his thoughts together. It was almost like he had none. He opened his eyes. Colors shot pass his vision.
A hand touched his cheek. Randy thought it felt soft and warm. He saw that the hand belonged to a girl. What was her name? Oh, yeah. It was Ally.
"Having fun?" Ally asked.
Randy nod his head. He thought it was fun. He also thought he should be with someone else. Who was it?
"Isn't this fun?" Devin asked as he ran up.
"Yeah," Ally answered. "I think Richard's wrong. Randy seems like a lot of fun."
"He's not too dull," Devin said.
Randy felt himself being turned around. Stuart stood before him. He shook him.
"Snap out of it!" Stuart barked.
"Man, what are you doing?" Randy heard Devin say.
Stuart glared at Devin. "Do you always do what Chloe says?" He looked at Randy. "You got to snap out of it! Melissa didn't kill Ami."
Randy's sight became sharper. Melissa. He knew that name. She...she was his best friend. He loved her.
And...she was in jail for a crime she didn't commit. He had to save her.
"Melissa..." Randy muttered.
Stuart grinned. "That's good. Raltone can really mess with your head. Speed up the pulse. Cause you to see things. Maybe...a man who will force you to kill yourself. A man with a goatee."
Randy shivered at the thought.
"Ami saw the man. She jumped off the bridge to get away," Stuart said.
"Chloe put Melissa in jail to cover up her own tracks. She killed Ami."
It was floating. Melissa knew she wasn't in the clouds. She could not control her thoughts.
"Melissa..."
Melissa would not open her eyes. She would not stare into the eyes of the man. She would not deal with it.
"Melissa, it's Brandon."
Melissa opened her eyes. Brandon stood over her. Melissa gasped.
"Sh!" Brandon said. "I have a key."
"How?" Melissa said.
"Let's just say...I have connections," Brandon said.
"What about the guards?" Melissa asked.
"I'm going to cause a distraction," Brandon said. "We're going to flee during the riot."
Melissa looked over Brandon's shoulder. The man stood behind him. His stare was disturbingly calm.
There was a jerk. Brandon was back in her sight. He frowned.
"He's not there," Brandon said. "Just think that. You don't belong to him."
"Who is he?" Melissa asked.
"Actually, it's the President," Brandon said. "He goes by a different name. He goes by..."
"Death?" Brown asked.
"Yes," Wade said. "People who use Raltone frequently tend to show weird side-effects that eventually led to suicidal attempts."
"I don't really care who the President chooses to let die as long as it isn't a client," diana said while she was driving. "Melissa is a client so she's not dying."
"Would there be Raltone in the victim's body?" Brown asked. "Maybe-"
"Way ahead of you, Mr. Brown," Diana said.
"When you called us, I immediately checked at the coroner's office," Wade explained. "I got a blood sample."
"However, Raltone tends to fade out of the bloodstream quickly," Diana said. She smiled. "I managed to isolate some in the bloodstream."
Brown also smiled. "Good. You can prove that Melissa wasn't involved at all!"
"Yes," Wade said.
"We also can now prove who was," Diana said.
Randy still felt somewhat hazy. He made it up the stairs though. He looked to his left and right. The doors moved like they were melting. He found the one he was looking for. He opened the door and walked onto the balcony.
He barely registered Richard. His focus was on Chloe. His hands found his target: Chloe's neck.
"Egghead!" Richard barked.
Randy's hands tightened around Chloe's neck. She started to gasp for air.
"You put Melissa in jail!" Randy barked. "You killed Ami!"
"No..." Chloe spit out.
"Don't lie to me!" Randy yelled. "Stuart told me everything!"
Hands grabbed Randy's shoulders. They pulled him away from Chloe. In seconds, he found himself against the door. Richard was helping Chloe off the ground.
"I did not kill Ami," Chloe said flatly.
"Stuart said-" Randy started.
"Did Stu tell you Richard drugged you?" Chloe asked. "He did, you know. He wants to get you out of the way. He wants Melissa all to himself."
Randy looked at Richard. "You...what?"
"Yeah...he drugged you," Chloe said.
"Chloe-" Richard started.
"You low-life scum!" Randy said. "I knew you were hoping I would stop sliding when I was with my...parents. To drug me-"
Randy lunged at Richard. The last thing he remembered was the shocked look on Richard's face.
"I'm surprised we got in so easily," Melissa said.
"I told you I had connections," Brandon said. "There are my friends."
Melissa followed Brandon as he led her thorough the crowd. She was still seeing images, but she was feeling a little better.
"Devin! Ally!" Brandon yelled.
"Brandon?" Devin said in surprise. "Who's the babe?"
"We heard you...were dead," Ally added.
"This is Melissa," Brandon said. "As for where I've been...figuring out what happened that night."
Melissa watched Devin and Ally go very quiet. They must have really cared about Ami a lot.
"Hey, what-"
Melissa saw a guy with drinks in his hands stop walking. His face went pale as he saw Brandon.
"Brandon?" the guy said.
"Stuart," Brandon said coldly. Then he punched Stuart in the jaw. "You and Chloe...you are so sick! You killed my sister. I felt guilty and you not only took advantage of me, but you got this girl mixed up in it. I should kill you."
"It was Chloe's doing," Stuart said as he rubbed his jaw.
"You knew!" Brandon yelled.
Melissa saw that some of the crowd was watching them now.
"Why me?" Melissa asked.
"You were just there," Stuart said. "We thought it would be fun."
"For whom?" Melissa asked. "Do you know they drug people in there?"
"Duh!" Stuart said. "That's why we thought Brando here was dead."
"I'm not," Brandon said as he grabbed Stuart, "but someone else is. I have a couple of women who want to have some words with you."
"A couple of women who showed up."
Melissa turned to see who had just spoken. She recognized Diana Davis and Wade Welles. She also saw another figure with them. It was Brown.
"Melissa?" Brown managed.
"Professor Brown?" Melissa said. She ran over and hugged him. "I almost thought I would never see you again!"
"I thought that as well," Brown said.
"Nothing to see here, people!" Diana barked. "Move on!" She glared at Stuart. "As for you, you better tell us the truth about Ami's death or you'll wish you had jumped off that bridge."
"Not without a lawyer," Stuart said.
"What do you think I am?" Diana said coldly.
"Fine," Stuart said. "It's all her doing."
Melissa turned to see a blonde girl stopping on some stairs.
"Chloe?" Ally managed. "How could you?"
"Yeah," Devin added. "I knew you and Stuart played games, but...causing Ami's death."
"She shouldn't have been messing with Stuart," Chloe said flatly. "I won't apologize for that."
"You bitch," Melissa said. "I almost died because of you."
"You have confused me with someone who cares," Chloe replied.
"Confuse this!"
Melissa's hand flew out. Chloe's head went to the right as she was slapped. She grinned at Melissa.
"Oooh! There's some fire in there," Chloe said. "No wonder Randy and Richard are fighting over you."
"What?" Melissa said.
"Better get up there quick, honey," Chloe said as she grinned. "One of them might just die."
Melissa ignored her. She ran up the stairs as fast as she could. She had to stop them before she was too late.
Richard struggled with the hands that were aimed at his throat. Randy was over him. He couldn't kick him off.
"I've had enough of you!" Randy barked.
"That's just the drugs talking, Egghead!" Richard yelled. "Fight it!"
One of Randy's hands pulled away. Richard smiled. It looked like he got to Randy. A sock in the jaw told him otherwise. Randy kept punching.
Richard's last thought was that maybe he underestimated the Egghead. Then his mind went black.
Randy was enjoying himself. He had been wanting to punch Richard for a long time. Now he was doing it. Each punch was for each time Richard had made him angry.
"Yeah, go with it."
Randy looked to his right. A man grinned at him. The sides of his face were pouring with blood. Randy jumped back and hit the floor. The man continued to smile and bleed.
"Why did you stop?" the man said. "He would have made a great corpse."
"Randy?"
Randy looked to see Melissa running toward him. She hugged him. She felt cold to him so he shivered.
"Are you okay?" Melissa asked.
"Don't you see..." Randy started. He stopped.
The man was gone. Brown stood over Richard. He looked at someone Randy couldn't see.
"We need a doctor...NOW!" Brown yelled.
Melissa made it to the bathroom just fine. She smiled at that thought. She haven't really had any sleep on the last world. She had been so worried about Richard.
The water on her face felt good. She only wished that she could wash away all of her feelings. Randy had tried to kill Richard. He was slowly getting well, but...and she cared about Randy. He had been drugged by Chloe.
Melissa wiped her face. She stared into the mirror.
"You won't get away from me that easily," the man said.
He lunged at Melissa. She screamed.
"Melissa!"
Melissa jumped up. Hands were holding her as she screamed. She struggled, but the hands held her where she stood.
"Melissa, it's me! Randy!"
Melissa's eyes shut as light shined on her. She opened them to find that she was in a motel room with Randy. She stopped struggling and hugged Randy.
"It was just a dream," Melissa said.
"You're still seeing him," Randy said. "Diana said that we would experience a little bit of withdrawal."
"Do you think Richard's seeing anything?" Melissa said.
"I don't care what he's seeing," Randy said flatly. "He deserves it."
"What do you mean by that?" Melissa asked.
Randy shook his head. "Nothing." He started to get up.
"Randy, wait!" Melissa yelled. She blushed as she realized she had yelled. "Just...stay with me for a while."
Randy frowned. He looked like he was conflicted. Finally he just sat next to Melissa on the bed. He hugged her.
"I'm sorry that I didn't get to you sooner," Randy said.
"Just hold me, Randy," Melissa said.
Randy's arms held her tighter. Melissa looked over his shoulder. She held him closer.
The man was against the wall. He smiled right at her.
THE-END
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