Richard Hall ran up the stairs in front of Randy Heim. He turned around to glare at Randy. Randy met the glare head on.
  "'Run into the building' he says," Richard mocked. "'They won't have much room to move' he says."
  "I didn't see you having much of a problem with it," Randy said. "Then again you would do anything to stay alive, right?"
  Richard's face became darker. Randy no longer cared though. He had enough of Richard Hall.
  Randy heard panting behind him. He smiled as he saw Melissa Clark and Darnell Brown come into sight.
  "Mr. Heim, I really wish you had thought of a better way for us to hide," Brown commented.
  "Ditto," Richard added.
  "It's time!" Melissa yelled. She aimed at the nearest wall. A light flashed on the timer as it opened a vortex. The wall melted as a blue vortex took its place. Melissa quickly jumped into it.
  "That sneak!" Richard yelled.
  "Here's another!" Brown yelled as he jumped for the vortex.
  Richard jumped in after Brown.
  Randy started to jump in, but a head poked out at him. He turned to look. Any other time he would have love to observe the...spiderwasps. As several more crawled up the stairs, Randy knew he was glad he had no time.
  The buzzing increased as more spiderwasps flew around the corner. They charged at Randy. He jumped for the vortex.

  Randy fell onto the cold ground. He looked around. He saw Melissa, Brown, and Richard. He also saw several guns aimed at him.


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 9: THE MALLORY CHRONICLES

  "Feeling any deja vu, Egghead?" Richard asked.
  Randy heard the whir from the vortex. He fell to the floor quickly as spiderwasps flew into the room. The men opened fire on the spiderwasps. The spiderwasps attacked the armed men.
  "Run!" Randy barked to the others.
  As Randy made it to his feet again, he realized he was on a steel platform. His eyes took in the room quickly. There were computers and tubes. He thought he saw a printer.
  He saw a door and ran for it. He made it at the same time that Melissa made it. He grabbed her and ran through.
  "They didn't-" Randy started.
  "I'm fine, Randy," Melissa said. "What happened?"
  "I don't know," Randy replied. "It looked like that was a lab of some kind."
  "You could say that."
  Randy turned around. A middle-aged man walked toward Randy and Melissa. He wore a robe like the guards they had just encountered. He also wore a gold medallion.
  "It is our lab here at the San Francisco Center for Technological Advancement," the man said. "My name is Charles and I believe your name is...Randall Heim. Are you going by Randy?"
  "Uh...yeah," Randy said. "How did you-"
  "Duck!" Brown yelled as he came diving through the door. Randy got to the floor just in time as a few spiderwasps shot out. A laser hit one of them. The others flew down the hall pass Charles.
  "God! It's going to take days to get all of those spiderwasps," Charles said. "Your group couldn't have transmoded through an utopia world."
  "Transmoded?" Brown muttered. "What-"
  Richard jumped out of the room. A spiderwasp flew out of the room. Richard knocked it back into the room.
  "I hate those things," Richard said. He saw Charles and frowned. "Who are you?"
  "Better question," Randy said, "how did you know who I was?"
  "Simple answer," Charles said. "I know several of your doubles."

  Melissa stared down at the various crowds in the city. The city seem to be quite busy. there were all kinds of people wandering about. She spotted herself in the crowd. She looked away into another group to see that there was another of her.
  "Doubles?" she mumbled.
  "What?" Randy asked next to her.
  "You're right, Melissa," Charles said. "The square below is full of various doubles that are passing through our world on their different journeys."
  "Unbelievable!" Brown exclaimed. "You mean to tell us your people know about sliding."
  "Not only do we know of...sliding," Charles said, "We embraced it. God sent his messengers to us to deliver this gift."
  "Messengers?" Randy muttered. "I don't think it's all like that. I just wanted to impress my professor and-"
  Charles laughed. "You do not surely think you were the only person who thought of your idea, do you?"
  Melissa looked at Randy. His jaw dropped.
  "So Egghead isn't as smart as he would like to think," Richard said. "Keep talking, Chuck. Who else has invented it?"
  Melissa glared at Richard. She would rather hit him upside his head, but she knew better. He was still recovering form some injuries a few world back.
  "Maybe later," Charles said. "I think maybe your group should explore a little. Everything is open to you. Our shops. The library of journals. Our observation towers. Everything." Charles left the platform without another word.
  "He is very generous," Brown commented.
  "Yeah...too generous," Richard said.
  "He seems nice to me," Melissa said. "If he wanted to kill us, he would have already did it. What do you think, Randy?"
  Randy gave no reply. He was staring off into space. Melissa walked over to him and touched his shoulder. Randy jumped.
  "Hey! What?" Randy managed.
  "Is something wrong?" Melissa asked. "We were just debating whether Charles can be trusted."
  "I don't know," Randy admitted. "I think I would like to check out that library of journals."
  "So would I," Melissa admitted.
  "Meanwhile, I think that I'm going to check out the locale."
  Melissa saw Randy's expression sharpen. "I don't think that's a good idea."
  "I think it's a good thing I don't listen to you," Richard countered.
  "I think it's about time you did," Randy shot back.
  "Guys!" Melissa cut in.
  "I think I will go with Mr. Hall," Brown said. "Maybe we can find some useful information from our doubles."
  "Right on, Proper!" Richard cheered. "Nice to know SOMEONE is thinking of the big picture."
  "The big picture?" Randy yelled. "The only person you care about is yourself. And if someone gets in your way-"
  "Let us head off, Mr. Hall," Brown interrupted. He turned to Melissa. "We will meet back here tonight."
  Melissa nodded. She turned to look at Randy. He and Richard seem to be having a standoff.
  "Anytime, Egghead," Richard said.
  "Mr. Hall..." Brown cautioned.
  Richard stormed off the platform. Brown followed close behind him. Melissa touched Randy's cheek.
  "What was that about?" Melissa asked.
  "Nothing," Randy said flatly.
  "I don't think so," Melissa continued. "You have been riding Richard a lot lately. What gives? You and I both know Chloe drugged you on that..."
  Melissa quickly looked behind her. She mentally kicked herself. There was no goateed man watching her. It was all in her mind.
  Randy grabbed Melissa and drew her into a hug.
  "I'm sorry," Randy said. "I didn't mean to remind you of that world." He looked into Melissa's eyes. "It's taking me a while to recover. We all are."
  "Not Brown," Melissa said. "He seems to be just fine."

  "It is quite a sight, is it not?" Brown asked as he looked up. "So much life...underground. I wonder why that is."
  "Maybe we can ask Chuck later," Richard said as he glanced around the square.
  "Maybe," Brown said. Then he looked squarely at Richard. "Until then, what are you hiding?"
  Richard's face wrinkled up. "Excuse me?"
  "You know what I am talking about," Brown said. "The more I see you and Mr. Heim around each other, the more I know you two are hiding something."
  "Maybe Egghead is," Richard said. "Ask him."
  Brown stepped in front of Richard's way. "I'm asking you."
  Richard stared Brown up and down. He grinned. "Look at you! Using contractions. Getting tough. That's the Brown I like."
  "Do not test me," Brown threatened.
  "You're going to kill me?" Richard challenged. "I don't think so. You'll feel guilty. Can't have that."   Brown said nothing.
  "Good," Richard said and started to walk pass Brown. "Now how about-"
  A hand grabbed Richard's neck. He jerked to the left. His face hit brick as he was penned to a wall.
  "You want to know something," Brown whispered in Richard's ear. "On that last world we saw Mr. Heim's parents, Jared attacked Heim. He was about to kill him. I killed Jared in cold blood. As you can see, I am not losing sleep over it. Think anyone will miss you?"
  Richard's body felt soft in Brown's hands. In fact, he felt like he could snap Richard's neck. He could just let him fall to the ground like a bag of clothes.
  "Now is that anyway to treat an obviously hurt person?"
  Brown turned around. The man who stood in front of him...was himself. He looked how Brown looked when he was stuck on that world for three months. He grinned.
  "Wow. You're another of my...savage doubles," Brown's double said. "Good. That's going to make this fun."

  Randy and Melissa entered the cafe. There were several people at a desk chatting. Randy headed over to them.
  "Excuse me?" Randy said. "Is this the right address?"
  The group stopped talking. One of them looked at Randy.
  "The library of journals?" the guy said. "Go straight to the back. Look for the woman with the old hair."
  A girl glared at the guy. He shut up.
  Randy looked at Melissa. She just shrugged her shoulders. He headed to the back.
  A woman sat at a desk in the back of the cafe. Her blonde hair was starting to gray in places. She looked up at Randy and Melissa and smiled.
  "Hello," the woman said. "You must be the newbies. Welcome."
 "Newbies?" Melissa said.
 "How do you know?" Randy asked.
 "For one, you're not matched...yet," the woman said as she put down her magazine. "For two, they always have to come here eventually. Charles loves to read about all of your adventures." She walked over to a set of double doors and threw them open. "Walk in. The computer will mark you."
 Randy looked over at Melissa. She looked as surprised as he did.
 "Don't worry," the woman said. "It's not going to zap you or anything."
  Randy walked through the doors. The woman was right. He did not feel anything. melissa followed behind him.
  The woman walked through the door. She moved over to a computer on Randy's right. She stared at the screen in shock.
  "Oh." the woman said.
  "What's wrong?" Randy asked.
 "It's...it's just that your group's point of origin matches up with..." the woman paused. "It matches up with the original inventor of transdimensional travel's point of origin."
  "Who is that?" Melissa asked.
 "His name," the woman said, "is Quinn Mallory."

 "There you go," Amanda Mallory said as she gave tags to Melissa. "There's tags for you and the other two as well."
 "How do you know-" Melissa started.
 Amanda grinned. "There has almost always been four since the beginning. At first there was my son...I mean Quinn Mallory, Wade Welles, Professor Maximillion Arturo, and Rembrandt Brown. Then there was more as doubles figured the equations out. You are from the template world."
 "Wow," Melissa exclaimed. She had been encountering doubles of those names for some time now. To think she wasn't a double and...
  Melissa looked over at Randy. He was gone again into his thoughts.
 "I'll just leave you two alone with the journals," Amanda said. "So which of you will be writing down your tales?"
 "He is," Melissa gestured toward Randy.
  "Remember," Amanda cautioned. "The journals stay here. You can read them though." Then she was gone.
  "Randy," Melissa said, "snap out of it."
  "It was all for nothing," Randy said finally.
 "What?" Melissa said.
 "All of this," Randy said gesturing with his hands. "I thought I was the first to do this on our world. Now..."
 Melissa hugged Randy. "It's okay. Great minds just think alike. Besides...obviously something happened because Quinn never went public with it on our world. Don't you want to know what it was?"
  Randy looked at Melissa. "Yes. Maybe...maybe he even left a way...for others who got lost to get home."

  Melissa made it back to the tower later that night. As she waited on the elevator, she thought about all the stories she read in Quinn's journal that day She was very intrigued by what she read so far. Quinn's group had been to a world where the '70s was very much alive, where England still ran things, and where smarts was more important than brawns. They had already encountered the spiderwasps, too. That led to Quinn trying to knock one off of Professor Arturo's back and...
  Melissa grinned. He tried and hit the Professor on the head. She could see that happening.
 She made it off the elevator. She made it to the platform where Brown was waiting. As he stepped into the light, Brown's bruises became very visible.
  "What happened to you?" Melissa asked.
  "Let's say that I ran into a double," Brown said.
 "Looks like he kicked your butt."
  "Well...he did."
  "So...where's Richard?" Melissa asked as she changed the subject.
  "I...don't know," Brown admitted. "While my double...I don't know."
 "I don't look forward to telling Randy that," Melissa said.
 "Neither do I," Brown replied. He paused. "Do you trust Richard?"
 Melissa stared at Brown. His face was unreadable. "I used to date him. I can't just not trust him. Why?"
  "You haven't noticed?" Brown asked. "The tension between Mr. Heim and Mr. Hall ahs gotten to the point where-"
 "-they seem ready to kill each other?" Melissa finished Brown's sentence. "Yeah. I've noticed. I think they're hiding something."
 "As do I," Brown agreed. "Something happened a few worlds back. I think we should get to the bottom of it."
 "Yeah," Melissa said. "You deal with Richard and I will deal with Randy."
 Brown turned away from Melissa. "I do not think that is a good idea."
  "Why?"
 "I...threatened him today."
 "Oh."
 Brown leaned on the landing. He refused to look at Melissa. "Miss Clark...I could have killed him."
  Melissa walked over to the landing. She leaned next to Brown. She looked at Brown and smiled. "Richard brings that out in everyone. The point is...you didn't kill him. You are in control."
 Brown looked at Melissa. She looked very concerned. "I'm...I am not sure that I can...or if I want to."
  Melissa hugged Brown. "I think you will do the right thing."
  "So did I miss something?"
  Melissa looked away from Brown. Richard stood in the doorway. He stared at the scene with some interest.
  "You didn't miss anything," Melissa said. She handed Richard the tags. "Amanda gave me these. I'm heading back to the library of journals to read with Randy."
 "Who's Amanda?" Richard asked.
 "A double of Quinn Mallory's mother," Melissa explained. "She runs the library." She looked at Brown. "It's full of journals by other sliders. Randy and I are reading Quinn's journal to see if he left hints on how to get home. There was a Quinn on our world who figure out sliding. In fact, he's responsible for how this world works."
  "Unbelievable!" Brown exclaimed.
 "I bet Egghead isn't taking that well," Richard said.
 "Don't worry about it," Melissa said flatly. Then she smiled. "Just keep having fun. Find us when you get a motel."
 "We will," Brown said.
 Melissa headed for the elevator. She was not sure if she should leave them alone. She knew she would have to trust Brown's judgment...no matter how fallible.

  Randy was just beside himself. He was fascinated by Quinn's journals. They contained all kinds of things about various worlds. Some of the worlds were worlds that he and the others have dropped in on. On the other hand, the fact that Quinn had beaten him to the punch annoyed him. He thought he was being original, but...
  "Find out anything, new?" Melissa asked.
  "Let's see," Randy started. "There's a world where dinosaurs still exist...truth collars exist...the mob runs things...and a world that had a group of sliding invaders called the Kromaggs."
 "The Kromaggs?" Melissa muttered in surprise.
  "I don't know. They sound like that thing we encountered on Dr. Smith's world," Randy said. "The thing whom cells were mixed with Chad Owens' cells. The only difference being these Kromaggs sound like they look like apes. The one we saw...just looked kinda human. At least the manta ships are the same."
  "Interesting," Melissa said. "Any luck on a way to get home?"
 "Not yet," Randy said. "Quinn's group aren't having any luck at all either. There were a couple of worlds, but not really. One even had an Azure bridge."
  "Maybe you should just skip ahead," Melissa said as she went to a book shelf and got a book.
 "Maybe," Randy agreed. "Maybe I should start with when he first got here and-"
  The book shot out at him and hit him across the face. Randy fell to the ground and everything went black.

  "I'm happy to see that you showed up."
 Brown looked at his double as he entered his apartment. "Well, you did not give me much of a choice."
  "Well, I don't like it when a harmless person is attacked."
 "I assure you: Richard...Mr. Hall is not harmless."
  "Sit," the double ordered. "Then tell me why you changed your speech."
 Brown looked around the room. It was full of all kinds of African artifacts. The sofas and couches were decorated with African rugs. Brown chose the sofa to sit on. His double chose the couch.
 "Well?" his double asked.
 "It is my choice," Brown said. "Informal talk is for lesser people than I."
  "You mean people like Mr. Hall?"
 Brown nodded. "He is rude and does crazy things."
 "Is that a crime on your world?"
 "No, but-"
 "Then do not be so judgmental. I bet you have a grudge against Rembrandt, too, huh? Why don't you get over it?"
 "I think you should mind your own business," Brown said flatly.
 "All I'm saying is that Rembrandt was probably-"
 "Get to your point, Mr. Brown, or I'm gone!" Brown snapped.
  "My point is...something traumatized you so much that you became a mean, lean, killing machine. I've seen it in so many of my doubles who pass through here. I want to do something about it. So let me help you."
 Brown stared at his double. He looked totally different from the one who he met on Other world. He was very...nice.
 "So...where do we start?" Brown asked.
  "First...call me Dee," his double said. "That should avoid confusion. Second...what's bothering you? Is is life? Is it Rembrandt? Is it Debra?"
 Brown stared at Dee. "How about...all of the above?"

  It was like a buzzing in her ear. As it became louder, Melissa opened her eyes. She tried to move, but her body hurt all over. As she sat up, Melissa thought about nicknaming this world Bruise World.
 She was on some kind of ledge. She looked down to see water from the Pacific Ocean hitting the rocks below. She looked up and saw she was on the side of a cliff.
  Melissa rubbed the back of her head. It ached. She started to remember how she got here.
  She was heading back to the library of journals. She wanted to see if Randy had figured out anything. She heard a sound behind her. She didn't see anything so she went back to walking. That's when everything went black.
 "I'm so going to have a migraine," Melissa said aloud.
  She tired to stand up. She fell back to the ground. Her left leg was in pain.
  Melissa sighed helplessly. Maybe everyone will figure out where she was. As she looked over the ledge, Melissa prayed they would find her soon. The water was rising.

  Randy managed to wake up. His face really hurt. He could do nothing for it though. He saw his surroundings and snapped awake.
  He was in a motel room. All around was various journals. He headed for the door. He had to tell someone what happened.
 He opened the door. Charles stood there frowning. Behind him was two of the robed guards.
 "Mr. Heim, what do you think you're doing?" Charles asked as he gestured behind Randy.
  "This is not what it looks like," Randy explained. "Someone who looks like Melissa attacked me."
  "A likely story," Charles said simply.
 "It's the truth," Randy said
 "There is only one thing to do then," Charles said.

  Randy watched as Charles put the tape in the VCR. The screen was full of static. Charles pushed the Fast Forward button and stared at Randy.
  "The library of journals is one of two places that we monitor," Charles explained. "People are peaceful for the most part here so there is really no need for guards."
  The screen had stopped showing static. Now it was showing yesterday at the library of journals. Randy saw when he and Melissa first showed up. He also saw when Amanda Mallory went home for the day. He saw Melissa leave again. Then...nothing. Finally, the tape just stopped.
 "It looks like you lied," Charles concluded.
 "No, I didn't," Randy said. "I've been set up by someone who knows their stuff."
 "Take him away," Charles told his guards. "We will execute him tonight."
 Randy felt his jaw drop again. "What?"
 "The journals are our life," Charles said. "To attempt to steal them is THE worst thing to do. The only reward is death. Take him."
 "No!" Randy protested. It was too late. The guards had him held down fast.

 Richard came out fo the store with a smile on his face. He had managed to get a black leather jacket for next to nothing. People seem to prefer brown robes to what his world would think was fashion.
 "Did you hear?"
 "Yeah, I can't believe it. What was he thinking?"
 "Well, he just go there yesterday. He might not have known."
 "Doesn't matter. No one takes from the library of journals. It's everything we are."
  Richard frowned. He had slid in yesterday. He turned to the two voices behind him. The two girls looked up.
  Richard put on his best smile. "Hi."

 Brown felt nothing. He thought about his journey. He was a professor once. then he became a leader. Now he was...what was he?
  "Just calm down," Dee said. "Continue to feel the calmness."
 Brown slowly breathed out. He pushed the thoughts away. He just focused on the part of him that felt calm.
 "Okay, think about all that has happen," Dee continued. "Do it slowly. Don't let anger stop or control you."
 Brown breathed in again. He thought about how he and Richard were trapped on one world for three months. He did not know whether Mr. Heim would find them or not. Then he saw Debra die...sweet, spirited Debra. He felt his anger flow into his mind as he thought about Debra being hanged. Something he would not have to see if Mr. Heim had not invented his machine. Now he was traveling to parallel worlds with no direct way home and with a group of people who did not get along. He was weary to get home.
  Brown opened his eyes. Dee watched him from the sofa. Brown got up from the couch.
 "What's wrong?" Dee asked.
 "I think I should go," Brown said. "It's been a while and I am sure that Randy and the others-"
 "Do you notice it?" Dee asked.
  Brown stopped talking. He realized it as well. He was talking informally. It did not make him uncomfortable at all.
 Brown smiled. "Yes...I noticed." He sat back down on the couch. "I know that i was angry at Randy for...experiencing horrors that I should not have had to see. I blame him for this...conflict that I feel within me. However...I can control this. It's my choice."
 Dee smiled. "And your choice is..."
  Brown smiled. "My choice is...to take back control. I will not let my passions get in the way of my intellect again."
 "Sounds like a good idea," Dee said. "Don't forget all of your passions though. You'll miss out on a lot."
 "I won't," Brown said.

 Melissa woke up again. Something kept wetting her face. She remembered where she was. Her eyes opened to water heading toward her.
 "Ah!" Melissa shrieked.
  Melissa tried again to stand up. Her leg filled with pain as she put weight on it. She fell back down to the wet ground.
  She looked up at the cliff. The top was way too far to climb. She was not even sure her leg could stand it.
 "Help!" Melissa shouted.
  There was no answer. The water just continued to rise.

 Richard did not have far to look. The head of t his town had put Randy in the square. He was chained to a rock there. Several people gave out stares to them.
 "I still can't believe he did it," someone whispered near Richard.
 Richard grinned. Egghead looked like he was scared. He had it coming.
  Richard looked away from Randy. Melissa caught his eye. She vanished into the crowd.
 He headed over to the crowd. There was something off about that Melissa. In fact, he had not seen Melissa in a while.
 Richard made it through the crowd. He saw no sign of Melissa in it. He turned a corner into an alley. Someone turned a corner in the back of it.
 "Melissa?" Richard said.
 He ran down the alley. He turned the corner and found the street deserted.
 "Huh?" Richard muttered.
 Richard scratched his head. Maybe that was just a double of Melissa's. There was doubles of everyone here. Then again...he had not heard from Melissa or Proper. With Egghead in trouble, they would usually be around.
 He had to know where they were.

 Brown walked through the crowd. He looked about and smiled. Maybe life was not as bad as he thought. Maybe there was still wonders in it.
  "Professor Brown?"
 Brown turned around. Melissa ran up to him.
 "There you are!" Melissa said. "Randy's in trouble!"
 "Calm down," Brown said. "What happened?"
 "SHE happened."
 Hands grabbed Melissa from behind. Brown looked behind her to see the hands belonged to Richard. Brown grabbed Richard.
 "What are you doing?" Brown asked.
 "Watching your back," Richard answered. "She's not our Melissa."
 "What?"
 "Look at her tag. It doesn't match ours."
 Brown looked at Melissa's tag. Richard was right. This woman was not their Melissa.
 "Now that we're on the the same wavelength," Richard said, "maybe she can tell us where Melissa is."
 "Yeah, right," Melissa's double said. "As if I'll take the wrap for all of this. Don't think so, sweetcakes!"
 Melissa's elbow shot out and hit Richard in the side. He fell to the ground. Melissa headed down the street.
 "Are you okay?" Brown asked.
  "Just...great," Richard replied.
 "Find Mr. Heim," Brown instructed. "I'll catch her." He headed after Melissa.

  Randy thought about it. He went from being the only guy on his Earth who knew about sliding to being second-best. He had never been that in college. He beat out Bufford constantly. Now someone beat him out. He hated it.
 Thanks to Quinn, he might just die here.
 Charles headed toward Randy now. Several of his robed guards were behind him. Bringing up the back was a hooded man. He was carrying an ax.
  Whispers shot up from the various people around the square. Randy ignored them and tried to break free with his chains. They did not move.
 "It has been a while since anyone has tried to steal from the library of journals," Charles began. "However, it cannot be ignored when it occurs. Much knowledge has been revealed because of the many travelers who have transmoded into our life. That is knowledge that has been used to ensure that our way of life learns on now that the earth has betrayed us." Charles stood over Randy now. His glance was like daggers to him. "This version of Randall Heim has decided to flaw...something t hat his others would not have done. He tried to take the knowledge from us. He must pay for that."
 "I didn't do it!" Randy shouted. "I've been-"
 "Silence!" Charles barked. "We will not be swayed by your lies." He gestured for the ax-wielder. "You must pay for your crime."
 The hooded man headed for the rock. He looked down at Randy for a second. He looked like he was pondering something. Then he raised his ax up.
 Randy closed his eyes. He did not want to see it coming. He did not even want to think about it. He just focused on Melissa. He focused on the fact that he would never get the chance to show her how much he was changing. He would never get the chance to show her that he loved her.
 The ax cut through the air. Randy felt his eyes close tighter. There was a click and harsh gasps. Randy opened his eyes.
 The ax had hit the chains. It broke them. Randy was free!
 He looked up at the hooded man. His hood was gone. Randy stared at Richard in surprise.
 "You...saved me?" Randy managed.
  "Proper wanted me to," Richard mumbled. "It wasn't my choice."
 "Of course," Randy said. "What now?"
 "Now...we run," Richard said.

  Melissa Clark had to take a lot of back roads to lose Brown. She did it though. Now she was in the tower.
 As planned, the lab was deserted. Everyone would be at Randy's execution. No one would think of looking here for her.
 "Did I get here in time?" Melissa asked as she walked through the door.
  Logan St. Clair looked up from the console. "Yes. Did anyone follow you?"
  "No," Melissa replied. "Now they'll be too busy saving their friend anyhow to worry bout little ole me."
 "We can hope," Logan said.
 "So any luck with those journals?" Melissa asked. "Did you get a lead on that Quincy guy?"
 "Quinn! His name is Quinn!" Logan snapped.
 "Whatever," Melissa said. "What happened?"
 "Let's just say I know he's still alive," Logan replied. "And...there are aliens out there." She pushed a button. "The people here have made excellent use of the various knowledge they're learned from sliders. There's a field here designed to draw sliders to this spot. It's also the only way they can leave." The platform lit up. "Time to go. I hope you got your revenge. I'm about to get mine."
 Melissa grinned. "Yeah...no one's going to find my double on that ledge. No one."
 "You'll be surprised."
 Melissa turned away from Logan. Brown stood in the door.
  Logan glared at Melissa. "I thought you lost him?"
 "I thought I did," Melissa said. She pulled out a gun. "I can correct that mistake."
 Brown looked at her with a smile. "You can try."
 Melissa aimed at Brown and fired. He dotted to the right. Melissa's bullets just hit the wall.
 "Do you hear that?" Logan asked.
 Melissa paused for a second. She heard it. It was like bees buzzing.
 "Now you've done it," Brown said.
  Several flying bugs flew out of the darkness. Melissa gasped and ducked as they flew at her.
 Logan also fell to the floor. She glared at Melissa.
 "You see what you did!" Logan barked.
 "As if I knew!" Melissa shot back.
 Melissa looked up to see where the bugs were. They had turned around and were now heading for them again.
 "Run!" Logan barked.
 Melissa got up and dotted for a corner. She looked to see if the bugs were following her and hit a wall. She hit the floor. Hands grabbed the gun quickly.
 "Now...I do not think you are going anywhere," Brown said as he stood over her. "Now where did your friend-"
 "I'm gone!"
  Logan ran for the platform. Melissa realized it was humming like an engine. She ran after Logan.
  "Wait for me!" Melissa yelled.
  Gunshots rang out. Melissa fell to the floor again. She heard sparks and looked the console. It was on fire from the bullets.
  A giant whir sounded through the room. Melissa saw the wind picked up. then the platform went dead. Logan was gone.
 "Damn," Melissa mumbled.
  A foot came into her vision. She looked up to see brown standing above her. He was an angry mother as he aimed the gun at her.
 "Where's Miss Clark?" Brown demanded.

  Randy ran through the alley as fast as his feet would carry him. Richard's footsteps were the only sign that he had that someone was behind him. He turned a corner. The mob was right there.
 "There he is!" someone yelled.
 Randy ran in the opposite direction. Richard caught up to him quickly. He glared at Randy.
 "I didn't have to do this much running before I met you," Richard said. "I wasn't shot at, either."
  Randy ran a little faster. He made it to the next set of buildings and turned into an alley. He glared at Richard.
 "I find that hard to believe!" Randy yelled. "You're nothing but trouble."
  The alley ended with a wall. Randy looked up. It was possible to chase over it.
 "Help me up," Randy said.
 Richard frowned. "Why should you go first?"
 "Fine. You go first," Randy replied.
 Randy kneeled on the ground He pushed Richard up and onto the wall. Richard looked down. Randy raised his hand up. Richard just laughed.
 "What are you doing?" Randy asked.
 "Letting you fend for yourself," Richard said. "I gave my all and they got you. What a shame."
 "You son of-"
 "Whatever, Egghead. Later."
 Richard vanished. Randy tried to climb the wall. It had no gripes for him to grab onto.
 A sound caught his attention. Shadows were appearing at the end of the alley. They walked into the alley.

 Richard turned the corner to find that no one was around. He smiled. That meant he was home-free. Sure Melissa and Proper would be bummed, but he would make sure they got over it.
  Richard turned another corner. The smile left his face. The crowd stood in front of him. They had recaptured Randy.
  "You did not really think you could run, did you?" Charles asked as he emerged from the crowd. "This is our world. We know it better than you."
 Richard shrugged his shoulders. "I had to give it the old college try."
 Charles gestured to the guards. "Take him. He shares his friend's face."
  "Or perhaps not."
  Richard grinned at the sound of that voice. He turned around. Brown headed toward the crowd. He was dragging a struggling Melissa.
  "I have the culprit here," Brown said. "She was behind the theft."
  "The tapes do not lie," Charles protested.
 "He's right," Melissa's double said. "Tapes can be manipulated. Crazy Lady...my associate Logan is great at manipulating things. We weren't even here two days and she got into your database, got her information, and played Mrs. Mallory like some flute."
  A woman started to sob. Richard saw her and assumed that the woman was Mrs. Mallory. He looked at Charles's reaction. Charles still looked surprised.
 Charles walked toward Melissa. "Why did you do it? We are a peaceful people."
 Melissa laughed. "It had nothing to do with your peaceful people." She stared at Randy. "It was about revenge. I met this group once. Managed to switch places with their Melissa."
 Richard stared at her. "You? You're the Melissa from Gunplay ID world? How-"
 "Logan St. Clair," Randy mumbled. He looked at Charles. "Let me go. We have to find her."
 "She is long gone, Mr. Heim," Brown said. "She slid out. To where I do not know."
  Melissa laughed again. "She's gone to get her revenge. Just like me."
 Brown tightened his grip on Melissa's arm. "Where's Melissa?"

  Melissa forced herself to stand. the water had made it to her ankles now. If she stayed any longer, she would be dead.
 Melissa reached up and grabbed onto a rock. She pulled herself up. She grabbed onto another rock. She pulled herself up a little more. She reached for another rock. It came loose in her hand. She slipped and fell back onto the watery ledge.
  Melissa grid her teeth. Her leg stinged like being poked by a sharp needle. She rubbed it so it would stop.
  The water continued to raise. Melissa just sighed in defeat. She did not want to die here. There was still so much to do. She had to get home. She had to graduate. She had not did enough in life.
 Something touched Melissa's ear. She jerked away from her spot. Her eyes focused on the rope that was lowering next to her.
 "Need a hand?"
  Melissa looked up and smiled. Randy and Brown were on the edge of the cliff. Melissa grabbed the rope and started to climb.

  'I lost them all. The Professor, I said, was shot by Rickman. Wade died trying to stop the Kromaggs. Remmy's...Diana and I never did figure out if he made it back to Earth Prime.
 'I made it here in hopes that by starting a...tower post so to speak, that...eventually Remmy will find his way here and read this. I am so sorry that I invented this machine. Please forgive me and hopefully my decision to randomly slide as penance will allow you and the others some closure.
 'I will never make it home again.'
 "That was sad," Melissa commented from the door. "Quinn had to know that Rembrandt did not blame him."
 Randy closed the journal. He looked over at her. "Did he? I'm not sure if you guys are mad at me for inventing a machine."
 "We're not," Melissa said.
 "Maybe you're not," Randy replied. He put the books back on the shelf. "This has been an interesting slide. We learned a lot about...my predecessor."
 "What do we do now?"
 Randy looked at Melissa. "I'm going to find him. I'm going to find Quinn Mallory."

 "So are you going to get out of here or not?"
 Brown looked at Melissa's double. She glared at him through the cell's bar. She had been there for hours now. She was ready to leave.
 "We made a deal, Proper," Melissa said. "I led you to Melissa, and you let me slide with you."
 Brown gave no answer.
 "No one knows Logan like I do," Melissa said. "She will stop at nothing to find this Mallory guy. She killed Dr. Smith in order to find Mallory. Can you imagine what she would do to you?"
 "Actually, yes I can imagine," Brown replied. "However, you are staying here."
 "What?" Melissa said in disbelief. "You can't do that!" You're...a good guy. You wouldn't let someone rot."
  Brown glared at Melissa. "Little girl, you don't know me at all. Remember that." Brown turned to walk away.
  "You know she's tracking you, right?" Melissa said. Brown stopped moving. "Yeah, she's using your timer to narrow her search down. Eventually, she will narrow your butts to the wall. She's brilliant."
  "She may be brilliant," Brown said, "but I'm better. I'll take care of Logan."
 Charles came into the room.
 "So are you ready?" Charles asked.
 "Yes," Brown said.
 "Wait!" Melissa yelled. "We had a deal!"
 Brown stared at her. Melissa stepped away from the cell door.
  "I lied," Brown replied. Then he was gone.
 Charles stared at Melissa. "We also lied. We are not sparing you. As soon as the travelers are gone, you will be executed."
 Melissa felt her jaw drop. What? After all that she had been through. Her homeworld. Meeting Logan. The manta ship. She felt that she was a very lucky girl.
 Now her luck had run out.
 "No!" Melissa screamed.

  "There you are!" Melissa yelled. She ran to the lab door and hugged Brown. "I was starting to worry."
 "I just had to take care of a few things," Brown said. "I'm worried though. Your double told me some interesting things about her partner. I can only hope that when I took out the console, Logan got...displaced."
  Melissa also frowned. "And if she didn't?"
  Brown also frowned. "Then we got a very dangerous woman on our hands."
  Melissa looked over at Randy and Richard. They looked like they were deep in conversation. She wondered what they were talking about.

  "Your plan didn't work," Randy said.
  Richard glared. "I'm sure there will be another chance."
 "You're not even pretending now," Randy said. "You are out to get me."
  "You said there's another guy out there who knows sliding from our world. WE don't need you," Richard said.
 "What we don't need," Randy said, "is someone who wants to sell us out."
 "Just you. I like Proper and Melissa."
 "When I'm done, they won't like you."
 Richard corked an eyebrow. "Meaning?"
 Randy stared Richard down. "The gloves...they're off."
 "Anytime, Egghead."
 "Is everything okay?"
  Randy turned to Melissa. He managed a smile. "Great now. Are you ready?"
  "Yeah," Melissa replied.
 "You do know we're going to have trouble," Brown commented. "According to Melissa's double...Logan has messed with the timer at some point so she is tracking us."
 "It's just something that we'll have to deal with on the next world," Randy said. He looked over at the technicians. They were still working on the console.
 "It looks like I made it just in time."
 Randy saw Charles enter the lab. He smiled as he approached the sliders. Randy just folded his arms.
  "I...apologize for the misunderstanding," Charles said.
  Randy kept his arms folded. "You know...for a society that has no limit...you should be more open-minded. Not everyone has an agenda."
 "I will remember that in the future," Charles replied. He stared over at the technicians. "I think they are ready."
  "Great," Richard said. "Let's get going."
  "Step onto the platform," Charles instructed. "Aim for the wall."
 As everyone headed for the platform, Randy grabbed Melissa's arm.
  "Melissa, wait," Randy said.
  "Don't worry," Melissa said. "It only hurts when I jump up and down."
 Randy grinned. "I'm glad to hear that."
 The platform started to hum.
 "Mr. Heim," Brown cautioned.
  Randy looked over at Richard. His face was frowning up. Randy looked back at Melissa. She was looking concerned.
 "There's something I have to tell you," Randy said as he led Melissa onto the platform. He aimed the timer. "Chloe didn't drug me. Richard did."
 "What?" Melissa managed before Randy turned on the timer.
 The platform lid up like a light bulb. A giant whir sounded through the room and the sliders vanished.

THE-END


 

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