Sliders: Have a Nice Day (6 of 6)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

Arturo began to breathe faster as the men came towards him with their syringes. One of them yanked down the shoulder of Arturo's coat to expose his arm. Arturo began to struggle, but the cuffs and ropes held him fast. He could only grit his teeth and wait for the inevitable.

"You shall not prevail!" Kenny was screaming. "The young shall topple your empire and rescue us from destruction!"

For the first time, Thomas' smile flickered in confusion. "What is that old man babbling about?"

Sliders: Have a Nice Day (5 of 6)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

Crazy Kenny led Arturo through the dark and shadowy park. Occasionally, they passed other visitors to Golden Gate Park who gave them cheerful greetings. Kenny always ignored them and Arturo began to do likewise. The people didn't seem to notice or care, anyway.

Kenny finally led Arturo to a stream running through the park. Kenny crawled underneath the rocky bridge to a large shanty made of planks of wood. Arturo followed him inside.

Arturo's first thought was that it was the home of a madman. The bed was just a grimy blanket folded over and stuffed in a corner. The walls were literally papered with news clippings about seemingly unrelated topics. One was an article on the rising numbers of the depressed in America. Another was an advertisement for a home water-filtration system. A third was just a big picture of the classic "Have A Nice Day" smiley-face. A large X had been drawn over it.

Sliders: Have a Nice Day (4 of 6)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

Arturo stared at David and Quinn, who smiled back at him. "You...you what?"

"We wanna stay here," Quinn said. "This place is great. These people are so friendly and happy that we just...feel happy, too. David never had loving parents until now. And I never had a father in my world. So what's the point of leaving? We may never have it so good again."

"You can't be serious," Arturo said. "After...after all we've been through and done..."

"Hey, professor," Rembrandt said. "Lay off 'em, man. If they wanna stay, why can't we let 'em stay? As a matter of fact...I wouldn't mind hangin' around here myself."

Sliders: Have a Nice Day (3 of 6)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

The cab dropped them off in front of Quinn's house, a pleasant building that Arturo had grown quite fond of over the past few years. Heaven knew they'd seen it often enough. He was glad they knew for sure that they weren't home. The squeaky-gate test Quinn had invented had grown tiresome, not to mention annoying.

Arturo walked beside David Mallory up the front walk. David's eyes were wide and his walk unsteady with excitement. It was his first time seeing a double other than Quinn, and Arturo knew from experience that it could be quite nerve-wracking.

They climbed the front steps. David clenched his fists, looking up at the others in turn before reaching out and pushing the doorbell.

Sliders: Have a Nice Day (2 of 6)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

Arturo steeled himself as they walked onto the open streets of San Francisco. The first thing that caught his eye was how clean the streets were. Not even a cigarette butt lay in a gutter. And everyone was smiling. Everyone.

As a young woman passed the group, she gave each of them a cheery grin. "Good afternoon. Nice to see you."

Rembrandt gave her a half-hearted wave. "Uh, yeah. Nice to see you, too."

When the woman had moved down the sidewalk, a man in a well-tailored suit walked past Quinn. The man stopped and clasped Quinn's hand firmly.

Sliders: Have a Nice Day (1 of 6)

What is Sliders?

by Nigel G. Mitchell

The following story is part of the Fifth Slider serial, a Sliders fanfiction series created by David Pesqueira that introduces a fifth slider to the group. The events described take place a little before and immediately after the end of the first FS story, "Silent Voices." If you haven't read that story, I'd recommend that you do before reading this one.

There's also a major spoiler of "Double Cross" in this part of the story, so if you haven't seen that episode, be warned.

As usual, Maximillian Arturo struggled with a bout of nausea as he sailed through the Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky Bridge that connected alternate dimensions. The walls of the wormhole twisted and bounced him through the endless void. Colors, the likes of which no rainbow had ever shown, flowed around him in a river of light.

The scientist in him was always thrilled by sliding - the wonder of discovery, the rush of knowing that he was doing something only a handful of people had ever done. But the human in him sang with terror at the prospect of what lay at the end of their journey.

Sliders: Underground (2 of 2)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

"Oh, man," Quinn said. "Don't move, Wade. It cut you."

"We must disinfect it," Arturo said. "I doubt this cave is very sanitary."

"Disinfect it with what, professor?" Rembrandt asked. "This ain't exactly Walgreen's down here."

Quinn ignored them, focusing on the injury. He was trying to remember his first-aid training in health class. The wound bled a lot. That meant he needed to stop the blood. With pressure. That was it.

Sliders: Underground (1 of 2)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

The following story takes place sometime during the second season between "In 

Dino Veritas" and "Post-Traumatic Slide Syndrome."

Quinn crawled along the grass of Golden Gate Park, his face inches away from the soil. He couldn't find what he was looking for, but he knew it was there. He could see other people in the park out of the corner of his eye, staring at him, but Quinn ignored them. He focused only on the ground beneath him. It had to be there. It had to...

Then he saw it. A small stone about the size of a bead.

Sliders: Double Trouble (4 of 4)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

What is Sliders?

The new Rembrandts didn't seem surprised by the fact that they had materialized out of thin air. They wandered around the hotel room, watching TV, looking out the window, waiting in line for the bathroom, and pouring themselves glasses of beer. And more Rembrandts popped into existence. The formerly empty hotel room became crammed with duplicates of Rembrandt.

"Man," Rembrandt whispered. His eyes were almost perfect circles as he looked at Quinn. "What's goin' on, Q-Ball?"

"We're not sure," Quinn said. "But I'll explain in the cab. The slide's coming, and I don't think we wanna get stuck in this world for the next thirty years."

Sliders: Double Trouble (3 of 4)

by Nigel G. Mitchell

Wade said to Arturo, "So the thing about Lottery World is when--"

The waitress interrupted them with three plates of pancakes balanced on her arms. She set the dishes down in front of them. "Here you go. Three Fruity-Nutty Flapjacks. I'll get your 'to go' order in a second. Back in a jiffy."

As she walked away, Arturo picked up his knife and fork and began to cut into his pancakes. "Ah, now, Miss Welles, you are going to learn what noble heights the simple pancake can achieve."