The Return (Alternate Dimensions Book 5) Page 5

  If I had learned anything from my previous time in this universe, it was how to spot alternate routes of escape. I couldn’t exactly run out of here with the civilians. I’d be caught before I could even blink. My eyes scanned the room and in a far corner is where I saw my exit.

  Without breaking my stride, I pushed my way past the dozen or so still-fleeing people and dove straight through a laundry chute.

  Or at least it’s what I assumed was a chute judging by all the towels on the floor around it. If I was wrong, I would find out pretty soon.

  I hurtled down the slick, high polymer tube in pitch black. It was almost enjoyable, kind of like a thrill ride. Or at least it was until I reached a sudden drop off.

  “Crap.” I hissed to myself before I fell straight down.

  I was sure this was how I was going to die, which would be awfully anti-climactic considering everything I had gone through to get here, but instead I crashed into something soft and mildly smelling of mildew.

  I still couldn’t see anything, so I felt around on my hand and knees. I was on some sort of file of fabric that I could only guess to be damp towels from the hot spring above. There had to be some sort of exit, right?

  I explored around all the edges, but I couldn’t finally anything. Growing more desperate, went to stand up, only to slam my head into the ceiling.

  But, instead of just solidly whacking me in the skull, it raised a little and a sliver of light illuminated the small space.

  Oh. Was it that simple?

  Reaching up, I pushed again -this time not with my head- and managed to lift the slab a couple of inches and push it to the side.

  I was blinded for a moment, but still able to clamber out of the cramped space. Once my eyes got their mojo back, I saw I was in some sort of utility room.

  Alright, I could work with this.

  I rifled through the area for clothing, hoping for a uniform or some sort of lost and found. Unfortunately, I came up empty. Nothing but towels and cleaner to be had.

  Panic started to rise in me so I took a step back. I just needed to think. I didn’t have anyone chasing me, no giant mutant creatures breathing down my neck. I could relax and look at the situation objectively.

  It only took a couple of seconds for me to get it, and I quickly started stripping. I hoped there wasn’t any sort of hidden cameras in here, because they were certainly getting a show.

  I kept my boy shorts and bra on, but slid the straps off my shoulders and tucked them into my cups. Going back to the bin I had crawled out of, I grabbed a towel near the top and wrapped myself into it.

  “Don’t think about it,” I urged myself, “don’t think about it.”

  Once the scrap of fabric was secure, I pulled out another one to cover my distinctive hair. Where was a wig when I needed it? I smiled to myself, then I crept over to the door. Cracking it open, I peeked through to see it was some sort of employee hall, complete with reminders to smile and that patrons were of top importance.

  No one was around, thank goodness, so I headed down the length, eyes peeled for an exit.

  I spotted what I was pretty sure was an employee entrance and hustled towards it. I was almost within arm’s reach of the know when suddenly it opened towards me. I jumped back, with nowhere to run I stared with wide eyes as a ners-roona in a crisp uniform stepped in.

  “Oh!” They yelped, clearly just as surprised to see me here. “May I help you?”

  “Someone accosted us in the bath!” I cried shrilly. “I went to find my clothes but I got a bit… turned around.”

  “So that’s what the security alarm was about.” The alien made a chittering noise and nodded their head. “Here, follow me, Miss. I'll take you back to where it's safe.”

  “Thank you! What's your manager's name? I'll make sure to leave a customer compliment!”

  “No need. Let's just get you out of here. This way.”

  They walked past me to the other side of the hall. “Um, shouldn't we go that way?”

  The nesr-roona shook their small head. “Nope. That'll lead you to the employee locker room.”

  “Oh. Whoops. We definitely wouldn't want that.” I followed along, playing the part of ditzy spacer who enjoyed public bathing. We journeyed a good way down the corridor before coming to a heavy door with several latches on it.

  “Here we are.”

  “Why is your exit so heavily guarded?”

  “Well we usually try to keep patrons out of our back of house facilities. A kid got in here about fifty years back and caused all sorts of damage before an employee found them. Then the owners were sued for not having a safe enough environment for customers.”

  “Yikes. I get it then.”

  They finished turning the latches and opened the door for me. I stepped through, only to be shoved harshly mid-stride.

  “Hey, what's you issu-”

  But the door was already slamming closed.

  Well, that was definitely not good. I got to my feet and looked around. I was in a completely bare room. There were a couple of blankets then what looked like a few lengths of chain.

  “This was not the warm welcome I was expecting. What was that phrase?” Oh right. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

  Looked like this was a good time to call in some back up.

  Chapter Five: Cross Dimensional SOS

  I closed my eyes as I sat in the center of the bare room, focusing my mind despite the rampantly spinning thoughts that wanted to know what was going on and why had I been trapped. Had the employee figured out who I was? Or was something more nefarious going on? I couldn't say. But no matter what the reason, I knew that I needed to get out of here ASAP.

  But I wouldn't exactly be able to do that on my own. Gone was my massive strength, or any of my abilities, really.

  I steadied my breathing and thought back to the memories I had only recently re-acquired. Specifically, all the memories I had tied to Jyra. I tried to remember how we used to contact each other, the way we would send a signal across dimensions that we wanted to speak to each other.

  There was a certain feeling to it, like reaching into sand to find a smooth pebble. I stretched out my mind, searching for that same sensation.

  And I found it. Nestled somewhere far in the back recesses of my mind, I flung out the net that I had once handled so easily. It spread across an expanse that was technically much shorter than the distance it had to travel when I was a child, but no easier.

  It was in that blind search that I felt a response. The smooth stone, so to speak. Like silvery, shimmery water, it slid down my spine, and I felt the universe parting for us.

  “What…what’s this? Andi! Am I dreaming?”

  I opened my eyes and smiled brightly. Sure enough, something like a window opened in front of me, and I saw Jyra standing in the middle of a lab, wide eyes staring at me in total shock.

  “Nope, not this time.”

  “But you’re-” Her breath hitched and I could see her pupils dilating. “You’re dead!”

  “I got better.” I said with a shrug. “It’s a long story.”

  “I am sure. And where exactly are you?”

  “Um, that I don’t know. I landed in some sort of bath house-”

  “Landed? What do you mean?”

  “I mean that I fell face first after tearing through the dimensions again to find you. We don’t have time to go into detail, but basically, I was transported back to Earth so I had to find you from another dimension to help me come back. I had to run as soon as I arrived because people started screaming for Councilman, then an employee offered to help me, but instead of helping me they locked me in this room.” I gestured to the small space around me. “And here we are.”

  “You came back? After everything you went through, you came back for me?”

  “Of course,” I said with a smile. “We didn’t spend all that time searching for each other just to have me throw in the towel when things got rough.”

  “You literall
y had your heart ripped out in front of me.”

  “Yeah. That’s what I would classify as rough.”

  The door opened behind her in the translucent representation of her side of the conversation. It was Bajol, dressed in his usual, plain clothing. “Jyra, who are you talking to?”

  “Andi.”

  I recognized the expression that crossed his face. It was the same one my court-ordered therapist used to wear when I told him about Jyra’s latest scholastic experience. “He doesn’t believe you.” I observed.

  “Jyra, I know this has been hard on you, but Andi is gone.”

  “You’re right.” She observed, raising her eyebrow at me.

  “Tell him that when he first went digging around in my head, he had an intern with him who was more terrified than I was. Probably they’re first day, right?”

  She turned and repeated that to the doctor.

  “How could you know that? The only person who was there was…”

  “Exactly. She’s found her way back to our dimension but had been taken captive and locked in a room.”

  The seirr’s eyes went wider. “Normally I would argue the possibility of this for a little longer, but after everything I’ve seen, I think I’ll take you at your word. Can she describe the room to you?”

  “No need. I can see it myself.”

  “Perfect. Can you tell where she is?”

  “No. It’s a completely empty room.”

  “There are some chains behind you that you can’t see.” I offered.

  “Chains?” She echoed. “Let me see.”

  I focused and the shimmering wall shifted to the far partition, allowing her full view of the room. Even through the half-there distortion that came from visiting, I could see the color drain from her face.

  “Slavers.”

  “Are you sure?” Bajol questioned, his expression just as agast.

  “Believe me, if there is one thing half-kin have drilled into them, it’s how to spot the signs of those who peddle sentient flesh. They must use the bath house as a way to find new wares. The commotion is the perfect opportunity to whisk someone off and blame whatever criminal that caused the incident.”

  “Diabolical.” I muttered. “So how do I get out?”

  “Why not punch through the door? Or even teleport out? If you can feel where I am enough to call me, can you not just make yourself appear here?”

  “About that…” I murmured, looking sheepishly to the side. “I kinda don’t have any abilities anymore.”

  “That is unfortunate.”

  “You’re telling me.”

  Bajol let out a slight guffaw and we both shot him a look. He blushed when he caught the expressions and stammered out an explanation. “Sorry! I was just thinking that you have a terrible habit of being locked up every time you travel here.”

  “The kicker is that I was in custody on earth too.”

  “At least one thing is consistent.”

  “I have to say, Jyra, you’re handling this pretty calmly. I thought you would be a bit more overjoyed that I was back from the dead.”

  “I will save the joy for when you are safe and sound. For now, I will focus on your rescue. You’re going to have to wait for them to come take you. Do not fight them. If it seems like you’re going to get away they will kill you outright rather than risk exposure.”

  “Alright, well that’s good to know.”

  “They will take you to a ship, but I cannot guarantee they will keep you conscious, so you will need to pretend to faint. You must remain awake long enough for me to find the name of the ship. That’s all we need, Andi. And then we will come and find you.”

  “No matter what?”

  The look of determination sent chills up my spine. “No matter what. Summon me when they arrive for you. For now, I need to prepare a rescue.”

  “Yes ma’am. I like it when you get all bossy with me.”

  “Good. Because there will no doubt be many more directions.” I nodded and closed my eyes to end the visit when I heard her call me again. “Oh, and Andi?”

  “Yes?”

  “We’ve almost found a cure, so if you don’t live to see it, I’m going to be very disappointed.”

  “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

  With that, I cut the connection with us, feeling my muscles give out and tip me onto my back.

  All I had to do now was wait.

  *

  I had been under the impression that slavers would have a tight schedule that they would have to follow, but it took what I reckoned was three hours for those assholes to come and get me. Granted, they probably had to wait for all the hubbub with any council men above to end before they could cart me anywhere.

  There were two of them, one a tall, overly muscled man who looked like he had steroids provided to him from birth, and then a strapping moorieree that wore obnoxiously golden bracelets on each of their four arms. Swallowing harshly, I reached for Jyra as best I could.

  As luck would have it, she answered before the slavers could even take a step inside the door, popping into existence behind them. She was somewhere different this time, but I couldn’t quite tell where. Not that it was important.

  “They are armed.” She stated calmly. “Pretend to me terrified. It will help them underestimate you. Maybe bed a little. Those in power love to have the inequality in position emphasized.”

  I nodded and worked some tears up. “Please,” I whimpered, looking up at them from where I was laying on the floor. “I don’t know what I did but I’ll pay for any repairs. I didn’t mean to inconvenience anyone!”

  “Give me your hands.” The human growled.

  I obeyed, throwing my arms above my head. “I didn’t steal anything! I swear!”

  “You are doing excellent.” Jyra said passively, looking at their belts intensely. “You always did have a knack for acting.”

  I wanted to agree, but I had to play my cards close to my chest. Instead I let my breath catch as they slammed a pair of high-tech shackles around my wrists. If I wasn’t mistaken, they were remarkably similar to the ones the Councilmen used on us when we were first captured on the black-market ship. That was an interesting factoid that I would tuck away for later. Maybe after we saved the universe from Genesis I could look into corrupted government officials participating in the slave trade. Just like Guinevere and Anya.

  I just hoped our story ended on a better note. But if anyone had to die, I was glad that it would be me.

  “What are you doing?” I asked shrilly as I was yanked to my feet. “Where are you taking me?!”

  “Shut up!” The moorieree snapped, grabbing a hock of my hair and yanking me down to their face level. “Give her the injector.”

  “Injector?” I gasped in horror. “Please, no! I’ll do whatever you want! I’m just afraid of needles, so I-”

  “The human is pulling it out.”

  I heaved a dramatic gasp and let my eyes roll up into the back of my head before collapsing into a heap.

  “Shit, are you serious?” I heard the alien ask from my position back on the ground.

  “She did say she was scared of needles.”

  “Stupid off-worlders. These station lovers are so weak, I think planetside gravity would crush them.”

  “Spacers are our biggest customer, so I wouldn’t complain. Come on, help me get her into the travel pack.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Grab her head, I’ll get her feet.”

  I made sure to stay as limp as a noodle as they hoisted me up. It was such an alien feeling to be toted around like a little kid, but I made sure I didn’t break character.

  “They’ve got some sort of luggage that they’re about to put you in. Don’t be startled.”

  I would have heaved a sigh of relief at the info, but that would have given me away so I stayed silent. They did indeed slide me into something hard, and cramped, making sure to tuck my legs so my knees were tight against my chest. If I hadn’t lost several inches of muscle from dying
, I wouldn’t have fit at all.

  The case closed around me and I was lifted once more. It wasn’t comfortable, that was for sure.

  “I am still here.” Jyra whispered from the outside. “I know you cannot answer, but I can see just fine despite you being contained. If we ever have time, I would love to study the physics of how these visitings work.”

  I totally had a sarcastic quip ready for her, but alas it couldn’t be verbalized. Instead I just had to sit and listen to the two as they navigated to wherever they were going.

  It was certainly loud, with dozens of different voices and dialects drifting past my ears. My brain scrambled to translate them, but there were so many in such a short span that lines were getting crossed.

  The journey seemed to take ages, but in reality it probably was no longer than a half hour. Most likely the fact that I couldn’t see was exacerbating the egregious walk. But eventually, just when I was starting to overheat, I heard Jyra again.

  “You’re here! I have the name, Andi!” I pumped my fist what little I could. “I can feel your excitement. Fascinating. This is where I must leave you now, but do not worry. As you said earlier, I didn’t rip apart time and space to let you go so easily.

  “Oh, and Janix says hello. Well, more than hello, but I did not feel about relaying that part directly.”

  This whole not saying anything was really starting to get to me, but before I could give in, I felt Jyra disappear, leaving me with only the box and my two escorts.

  Fantastic.

  I didn’t have much time to mope, however, as I heard the hatch of a ship open and a ramp begin to descend.

  “Arvol!” I heard the human bellow. “Is that two travel packs I see?”

  “Nah, it’s just one and all that inbreeding finally caught up with you.”

  “Hilarious. I’m guessing it was a good haul?”

  “Pair of runaways that were headed to colony space. Too young to have much of a record so it won’t be an issue to scrub ‘em. You?”

  “Some spacer girl who was slumming it in the bath house.”

  “Nice. Make sure to test her for diseases thought. You know the type of lifeforms that like to skulk around there.”