THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST

 "Stupid postal service!" Melissa Clark yelled out. "so I knocked down a
few post boxes! Big deal!"
  "On a world where the postal system isn't someone to cross," the prisoner
next door said.
  "There you go again!" Melissa yelled. "Talking about your parallel
worlds! Enough of this! I'm getting out!"
 "No one escapes the postal service," the prisoner said. "your trial is
tomorrow."
 "Ahh!" Melissa screamed.
 The door in the hall swung open. The guards headed for the sound of the
disturbance. They opened the cell to find Melissa still on the ground.
 "Hey!" the big guard said as he walked over to the body. "Wake up!"
 Melissa's eyes opened. "Melissa's not here right now..."
 The foot came out of nowhere and hit the guard in the stomach. He bent
over in pain. Melissa jumped up.
 "...but leave your number...oh, forget it," Melissa said. She punched the
guard in his face. He fell to the ground unconscious.
 Melissa turned to the second guard and smiled.
 "Stay right there!" the guard ordered.
 "Or what?" Melissa challenged. "You're going to hit me? A poor,
defenseless WOMAN? You wouldn't, would you? TOO LATE!!"
 Melissa made it over to the guard before he could react. he met her fist
and his teeth flew.
 "Later, fellows," Melissa said as she left the cell.
 "Hey!" the prisoner said. "Let me out!"
 "No dice, lady," Melissa said. "I don't need the psychobabble."
 Melissa ran out before the prisoner could say anything.

  "So where are we meeting Randy and Brown?" Melissa asked.
  "In front of the Dominion," Richard said. "Maybe if you were paying
attention rather than observing culture."
 "Maybe you should," Melissa said. "It might help you out someday."
 "What's going to help me out is that I adapt quick," Richard said.
 "Idiot."
 "There she is!"
 Melissa and Richard turned to see several policemen heading toward them.
 "Stop right there, Clark!" One policeman shouted.
 WHAT IF YOU DISCOVERED NEW WORLDS? WHAT IF YOU COULD FIND THESE WORLDS
WITHOUT LEAVING YOUR EARTH? YOU'RE THE SAME PERSON AND IT'S THE SAME YEAR,
BUT EVERYTHING AROUND YOU IS DIFFERENT? I FOUND A WAY TO TRAVEL TO PARALLEL
WORLDS!!!

 SLIDERS: ALTERNATE SPIN
 EPISODE 7-THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST
 (first part)

 "Run!" Melissa yelled.
 Melissa and Richard started to run. They made it to a corner. The
policemen were in hot pursuit.
 "Separate!" Melissa said.
 "What?" Richard said in disbelief.
 "I'll see you at the hotel!" Melissa said. "Go!"
 Melissa started to run down a street. She made it to an alley and jumped
behind some trash cans. The footsteps of the policemen sounded near her,
but faded away.
 "Oh, look at that!" a voice behind Melissa said.
 Melissa turned to see that she face herself.
 "It must be my lucky day," the double said as she approached Melissa.

 "Where are they?" Randy asked.
 "Do not worry, Mr. Heim. "I am sure they will turn up," Professor Brown
said.
 Randy looked over at Professor Brown. It had been a week since they had
slid from a highly advance world where Randy's secret journey had split the
sliders. At least, brown was talking to him now. Melissa still did not say
a thing to him.
 "Hey!" Richard yelled as he ran to the Dominion's doors. "Is Melissa
here?"
 "We thought she was with you," Brown said.
  "We got a case of mistaken identity," Richard explained. "We had to do
the separate game."
 "There she is!" Randy said.
  Melissa approached slowly.
 "Melissa, hurry up!" Richard said. "You're going to miss the slide."
 Melissa looked at the guys like they had never met.
 "It is time," Professor Brown announced. He aimed the timer and pushed
its button. The vortex opened near the Dominion's door.
 "Come on!" Richard yelled to Melissa as he ran by her. He jumped into the
vortex. A whir sounded off signaling that he's gone.
 Professor Brown ran pass Melissa and jumped into the vortex. Randy didn't
seem to notice the whir. He noticed that Melissa looked at the vortex with
her mouth open.
 "Are you okay?" Randy yelled at Melissa.
 "Uh...yeah," Melissa answered back.
 "Come on then!"
 Melissa looked at Randy with a strange look. Then she looked at the
vortex. She ran for it and jumped in.
 Randy ran for the vortex and jumped into it.

 The vortex opened in Golden Gate Park. Richard came flying out of it. He
landed with a thuck on the ground.
 "God, I hate that wormhole," Richard mumbled.
 A whir sounded and Brown came flying out. He landed next to Richard.
 "It's a new record," Richard said. "You didn't land on me."
 A whir sounded and Melissa flew out. She knocked Richard down as she
landed on him.
 "Grrr," Richard growled.
 Another whir sounded and Randy landed near the fallen couple. The vortex
closed behind him.
 "Is everyone okay?" Randy asked.
 Richard glared at Randy. "Am I ever?"
 Melissa looked around at her surroundings. For one second, she was in
front of the Dominion escaping the police. Now, she was in a park. This was
too much.
 Melissa passed out.

 Melissa repeated the same thing that she said for an hour.
 "You have the wrong girl!" Melissa yelled. "I'm not even from around
here!"
 "That's what I've been saying for the last two years," said a voice next
door. "I told you you wouldn't escape."
 "I'm telling you...I'm not Melissa," Melissa said. "At least...not of
this..."
 Suddenly, a door opened as two guards walked down the hallway. Behind
them was a black woman in a businesslike suit with a suitcase. Her hair was
back in a ponytail. Her face was serious.
 "So are you going to open the door in this century?" the woman asked
sarcastically.
 The guards opened the door. The woman walked in and looked at Melissa.
 "Hello, Miss Clark," the woman said. "I've been assigned to defend you.
My name is Diana Davis and--"
  "I didn't do it!" Melissa said.
 "Well according to one...Conrad Bennish, Jr.," started Diana, "as well as
others you vandalized several post boxes in some suburbs. If convicted of
breaking the Jones Mailing Act of 1989, you will be sent to death row and
trust me...for mail crimes...once you go in, you never come back out."
 "I can't believe this!" Melissa said. "They're just mailboxes!"
 "Where have you been?" Diana asked. "After the mailmen rebelled against
the injustice that we call disrespecting our mailmen, the lobbied. They got
their act passed and BANG! We have a mailing system not to be crossed and
you crossed it!"
 "It wasn't me!" MElissa protested.
 "Oh, what was it?" Diana countered. "A double from another dimension?"
  Melissa grinned. "Good guess."

 Randy continued to look through the newspaper at the campus library. He
still had no clue if they were home or not. their trip to the Dominion
revealed nothing.
 "I found something."
 Randy turned to Professor Brown. His look said it all.
 "I am sorry, Mr. Heim," Brown said. "I hoped too this was home."
 "I'm sorry, Professor," Randy said. "I'm sorry I invented this machine!
I'm sorry you and Melissa got mixed up in this. I'm sorry about Daniel!
I'm sorry!"
  Randy looked up to see several people stare with annoyed eyes at him. He
had not realized that he was yelling.
 "I think...now it is time for me to apologize to you," Brown said. "I
have been bitter and jealous about you and this situation. It reminds
me...a little too much...of a time when I thought like you did. Arturo's
ideas impressed me. But...I grew up. I hope you will never lose your
ability to dream and created wonders. No matter what...do not stop
dreaming."
 Randy smiled. "Thanks, Professor. I promise you...we ARE going home."

 "So you feel...disorientated?"
 "Yes," Melissa answered. "It's a whole new world for me. No psychos.
Just a calm atmosphere."
 "And you're still not happy?"
 "I'm with three total strangers who...even though they are the only one's
I know...are strangers."
 "So what do you want to do?"
 "Have fun actually. New worlds brings new possibilities."
 "I agree. You should try this new approach to things and see where it
leads--"
 The phone rang. Melissa watched the therapist pick up.
 "Yes?" she answered. she grinned. "Quinn, hi. I know! I know! Our
anniversary is tonight."
 Melissa looked around the room as the therapist talked on the phone. Her
name was Wade Mallory. She had a few awards on her walls. several books
were on the shelves. Melissa could see a picture on the desk of a tall guy
and a little boy. It must have been her husband.
 "Okay," Wade continued. "I won't be late. See you soon." She hang up
and looked at Melissa. "That was my husband. Sorry about the
interruption."
 "I need to go," Melissa said. "Thanks for the counselling."
 "If you need more time--"
 "I'll be fine." Melissa grinned. "Don't worry."
 A new world with new possibilities...

 "I still think this is crazy," Diana whispered to Melissa the next day as
they entered the courtroom. "This idea is just so far-fetched."
 "It's possible," Melissa answered.
 Diana stopped in her tracks. "Oh, great!"
 "What?" Melissa asked.
 "Well, if it isn't Diana Davis," a red-haired woman said as she
approached. "Still defending mailopaths or just can't take a REAL case?"
 "Gee, Beckett, what coffee did you drink this morning? Bitch or
bitchy-er?" Diana countered.
 "At least, I didn't knock my mail box over. What was your excuse? 'I
tripped and fell on it, sir.' I'm surprised they didn't take your license
to practice."
 Diana's face turned red. "THAT was an accident...unlike you sleeping with
Rickman. What was your excuse, Maggie? 'I tripped and fell on his--"
 "COURT IS NOW IN SESSION!" the bailiff yelled out. "JUDGE HARRIS
ADJOINING!"
 Melissa recognized the dark-haired girl who walked up the stairs. In
another world, she was Nicole, one of Richard's ex. He really loved her.
 "Stand up," Diana instructed.
 "How do you plea?" Harris asked.
 Melissa looked at the judge. "Not guilty, ma'am...by reason of me not
being from this world."

 "The Spinning Top?" Randy said. "I never heard of it."
 "There's not one on our Earth," Professor Brown replied. "I know the name
unfortunately. I can only hope he's not here."
 "Who?"
 Before Brown could answer, a figure stopped in front of them.
 "What took you so long?" Richard asked. "Come on in."
 "Where's Melissa?" Randy asked.
 "You have to see it for yourself," Richard replied. "I didn't believe it
either."
 The three of them went into the club. Randy felt his jaw drop as he saw
her. She was on stage singing with the blues band. The song...Fever.
 "Well, she has a killer set of pipes," Brown commented.
 "I'll say!" Richard replied. "I thought she couldn't sing a note."
 Randy frowned.
 "She can't," he replied.

 "I call my first witness...Professor Maxmillian Arturo," Diana said.
 Melissa looked at the Englishman who entered the courtroom. Brown knew of
a Professor Arturo back on Earth. Again, he had been the head
of a foundation on one world. Everywhere he seem to be respected.
 "Tell us, Mr. Arturo," Diana asked, "do you know the defendant?"
 "I've never had the pleasure, Miss Davis," Arturo answered.
 "Yet she knows of theories introduced by associates of yours."
 "Anyone can pick up Scientific American or go to a library, miss Davis,"
Arturo commented.
 "Is there a point to this questioning?" Maggie asked annoyed.
 "I'm wondering as well," Judge Harris said. "Get to the point, Miss
Davis."
 "Arturo, do you think there is a possibility that the defendant is right?"
 "Yes, I do," Arturo said.
 Diana looked over at Maggie. "Your witness."
 Maggie stood up and approached Arturo. "So you think Miss Clark could be
right, Mr. Arturo?"
 "That's what I just say," Arturo said.
 "How could you?" Maggie asked. "It's not like we have the tech to create
a way to a parallel world."
 "Miss Davis asked me if it was possible that Miss Clark was correct. She
did not asked me if I had a way."
 "Do you?"
 "No."
 "I rest my case," Maggie continued. "It can't be done. If Mr. Brilliant
has not done it--"
 "You blistering idiot! Just because someone has not be created does not
mean that it cannot be created."
 "Then why haven't you created it, Professor," Maggie challenged.
 "Come down, Mr. Arturo," Judge Harris ordered before Arturo could say
anything.
 "God, what a short temper," Maggie muttered.
 "Short temper?" Arturo said. "Perhaps if you would use your brain--"
 "No further questions, Judge," Maggie said.
 "You can step down now, Mr. Arturo," Judge Harris ordered.
 "I will have your license, Beckett!" Arturo barked.
 "That's what they all say," Maggie said. She looked at Diana.
 "Next witness?"
 "I call Conrad Bennish, Jr. to the stand," Diana said.
No one walked in.
 "Give me a minute," Diana said. She ran out the door.
 Melissa looked over at Maggie. She gave a big smirk to Melissa. Melissa
glared at her.
 There had to be a way out of this.

 Three songs later, the crowd clapped as Melissa bowed.
 "Come on, Egghead," Richard said. "Get the grim look off your face.
Clap."
 Randy looked at Melissa bow. She moved like Melissa. She talked like her.
 However, Melissa can't sing...
 "Thanks, girl!" Rembrandt Brown, the owner, said as Melissa headed off the
stage. "Let's hear it for her one more time."
 Melissa headed for the three guys. She hugged Professor Brown and
Richard. Randy kept his distance.
 "Good show, Melissa," Brown said.
 "You brought the house down," Richard added.
"Let's hear for my favorite girl in the world...I did marry her after
all...Angie Warren-Brown!" Rembrandt said on the stage. He headed off as
Angie headed on.
 "What did you think, Randy?" Melissa asked.
 "When did you start talking to me, Melissa?" Randy countered.
 "I'm just trying to have fun," Melissa said. "I didn't know it was a
crime!"
 Richard gave Randy an annoyed look. "Yeah. What's the deal, Egghead?"
 Melissa grabbed Richard's arm. "Who cares? Let's go and see if there's
something sweet at the bar."
 Randy stared at Melissa coldly. She gave him the same look. She and
Richard vanished into the crowd.
 "Mr. Heim, that was uncalled for," Brown said.
 "I think it was," Randy said, "because I don't think that we slid with the
right Melissa."

 "What was that all about?" Richard asked Melissa.
 "I don't know," Melissa lied.
 Melissa looked back at Randy and Professor Brown. She was going to have to
deal  with Randy now. There was no way around.
 "So what will it be?" Gomez asked.
 "You again?" Richard asked.
 "Do I know you?" Gomez asked.
 "Is there a problem?" Rembrandt asked as he walked over to the counter.
 "No, sir," Richard said. "We just need a drink."
 "Do you have the proper gunplay ID?" Gomez asked.
 "I'll deal with this, Gomez," Rembrandt said. "The group in section B
need another round."
 Gomez gave Melissa and Richard a once over. Melissa gave him a cold look
as he left.
 "You must be new to California?" Rembrandt said.
 "You could say that," Richard said. "It's just a week stay."
 "It might be good if you leave tonight," Rembrandt said.
 "Oh?"
 "Without gunplay ID, you're not a citizen. Anyone who's not a citizen
gets prison or worse."
 "What is gunplay ID anyway? Are we all United--"
 "Shh!" Rembrandt cut Richard off. "Are you trying to get us shot?"
 Melissa looked around at the other people. Most didn't seem to notice. A
few looked in their direction. Melissa just gave an innocent smile.
 "What did I say?" Richard asked.
 "U.S.," Rembrandt whispered. "California is a totally separate state and
all citizens are required to have a gun at all times. Non-gun sympathizers
of the U.S. usually wind up dead."
 Rembrandt put a hand on Richard's shoulder as he gave him a drink. "My
advice? Find a gun or hit the road before someone finds out. You kinda
stick out at times."
 The crowd clapped as Angie finished her song.
 "So where's my no-account husband going to get up here and sing the Java
Jive with me?" Angie asked.
 Rembrandt grinned at Angie. "That's my girl!" He looked at Richard and
Melissa. "Be careful. Gomez has no tolerance for new people."
 Rembrandt headed for the stage. Richard looked toward Melissa.
 "We should warn the others," Richard said.
 "And spoil our fun?" Melissa said. "No! The egghead...Randy...would just
say we have to leave."
 "Sounds great."
 Melissa frowned at Richard. "I thought...when did you start listening to
Randy? He control you now?"
 "NOBODY controls me. Not anymore."
 "Good. Go have some fun."
 Richard shrank into the crowd.
 Melissa grinned. Mr. Brown may have been trying to help them, but he just
gave her an idea. She walked over to Gomez.
 "Gomez," Melissa said, "I need your help."

 "The first day of one of the weirdest trials in Californian history has
ended. No one knows how Judge Harris will rule until the rest of the
witness--"  "Could you turn that off please?" Melissa asked as she sat in her cell.
 "Is it disturbing?" the prisoner asked in the next cell.
 "What do you think?" Melissa countered.
 "I warned you that there was no escape."
 "God, shut up! I'm not from here!"
 "I've said that for years now," the prisoner said. "I used to be in a
position of power once. A scientist. Then I lost it all."
 "What happened?" Melissa asked.
 "People like you," the prisoner replied. "When I get free, I'll make them
pay."
 Melissa looked out the window into the night. She had hoped that she
would make it back home to her family, college, and even her job at the
Student Union. She never thought she would be stuck on a world in a prison.
 "You're being silent," the prisoner commented.
 "I wish I was home," Melissa said.
 "You're never go home at all," the prisoner said.
 "Yes, I will," Melissa countered, "or I'll die trying."

 TO BE CONTINUED ______________________________________________________