by Nigel G. Mitchell
The morning sun just began to cast a shimmering haze over Golden Gate Park when the wormhole formed. It seemed as if a gnarled oak tree collapsed on itself, turning into a circular blue hole in space. One by one, the Sliders popped out of it onto the grass. When all four of them were free, the wormhole closed again with a sucking noise.
Rembrandt staggered to his feet, clutching his stomach. Arturo yawned and stretched as Quinn stood, looking at the timer in his hand.
"How long we got in this world, Q-Ball?" Rembrandt asked.
Quinn looked down at the display, and closed his eyes. "One minute, eight seconds."
Wade just began to sit up, but at his words, flopped back onto the grass. "Aw, man, not again."
Rembrandt held up his hands in mock surrender. "I can't take much more o' this, guys. I mean, I've really had it. We been slidin' nonstop for two days."
Quinn stretched, trying to work the kinks out of his back. But he was so tired that he could barely lift his arms. "It's just the way it is, Remmy. For some reason, the windows have been a little short lately."
"A little short," Wade said from the ground. "Quinn, in the last two days, we haven't been in any world for more than two minutes. On the last one, we were only in it for three seconds. No time to eat, no time to sleep...oo, I'm so tired."
She closed her eyes, and spread her arms out on the grass.
Arturo sat down on a park bench, breathing heavily. "I must concede with the others. Though I am aware that the time between our windows of opportunity is supposed to be random, this is becoming a rather dangerous turn of events. If we don't get a chance to at least drink or eat something, we could perish. Perhaps in the next world, we should investigate if the timer is malfunctioning."
Quinn tapped a few buttons on the timer to perform a quick diagnostic check. "I wish I could, professor, but we never have time. I'll need at least fifteen minutes to take this thing apart and put it back together again. It could just be a lousy coincidence."
Rembrandt leaned against a tree and slid down the trunk to the ground. "Well, come on, guys, can't we at least stop to take a nap?"
Quinn gently kicked his foot. "Come on, you know we can't. If we miss the slide, we're stuck here for thirty years."
Rembrandt looked around at the trees and cobblestone sidewalks in the park. "Well, maybe this is home, you ever think o' that?"
"We don't have time to look around. If this isn't home, we'd be stuck here. Now come on, everybody, the next slide is in ten seconds."
Wade groaned, and sat up to glare at Quinn. "Slave-driver." She began pushing herself to her feet.
Rembrandt slid up the tree-trunk, leaning his head back against it, as if trying to squeeze every ounce of relaxation he could out of the moment. When he stood, Rembrandt staggered away from the tree, then looked out at the fairgrounds nearby.
"Can we at least slide somewhere else?" Rembrandt asked. "I'm gettin' sick o' the scenery around here."
Quinn aimed the timer at the point where it had materialized in this world. "No time to go sightseeing, Rembrandt. Look on the bright side. With the amount of sliding we've done lately, we should be glad we can land on grass instead of concrete."
Quinn pushed the button on the timer.
The wormhole formed with a hollow roar. As the winds from its interior blew back Quinn's clothes, he turned to the others.
"Okay," he yelled over the noise, "who goes first?"
The roar of the wormhole turned into a loud screech. Quinn looked back at the vortex buckling and twisting like a flag being manipulated by a stiff breeze.
"What's happening to it?" Wade asked.
Quinn shook his head. "I dunno."
The wormhole's distortions grew faster and faster. Then one side of it seemed to explode. Like a cell dividing, the wormhole suddenly turned into two wormholes, side by side, their sides touching. The winds which poured from the wormhole had doubled in strength.
"What's the deal?" Rembrandt asked over the whine of the vortexes.
Quinn looked down at his timer, which beeped furiously. "I dunno. You think this has something to do with the shortened windows, professor?"
Arturo opened his mouth to speak.
The wormhole on the left flashed with light. A slender woman came flying out of it. She landed on the grass next to Wade, rolling on impact, until she came to a halt.
The woman looked exactly like Wade.
She winced, then said, "Oh, man, what a ride."
The second Wade opened her eyes. She looked up at Wade. Her eyes widened in shock and amazement.
The left-hand wormhole popped again, spitting out a black man who looked like Rembrandt. He landed on his feet, but the momentum caused him to go sprawling.
"Man," the other Rembrandt said. "I thought these were supposed to be soft..."
Then he looked up at the Rembrandt Quinn knew. His mouth fell open. He looked at Wade, then back up at his double.
"What," Rembrandt2 stammered. "What's goin'..."
Quinn felt like something snapped inside him. The shock of what he was seeing was overridden by the realization that their wormhole was only going to be
open for a few more seconds.
"Let's go, guys!" Quinn yelled. "Everybody into the wormhole!"
Wade looked at the two wormholes, looking from one to the other, breathing fast. "Which one?"
The wormhole on the left flashed and shot out an Arturo wearing a set of gray overalls. He collided with the alternate Rembrandt. The two of them crashed to the ground.
"Mr. Brown," the second Arturo roared, "how many times must I ask you to stay out of my way when I..."
Then he caught sight of the other group staring down at them. His eyes widened in horror at the sight of Arturo.
"Good heavens," Arturo2 whispered.
Quinn tried to stay focused. These Sliders were coming out of the wormhole on the left. So...
"The right," Quinn said. "Everybody into the wormhole on the right!"
Wade ran towards the wormhole and threw herself into it. The flash of light that followed carried her away. Arturo followed, then Rembrandt, who only paused to give his double a thumbs-up.
Quinn ran towards the wormhole. As he jumped into it, he caught a glimpse of another person exploding out of the wormhole on the left. It was a second Quinn. As the mouth of the tunnel closed behind Quinn, enveloping him in hyperspace, Quinn's last view of their former world was of the second group of Sliders watching him go, their jaws hanging open in amazement.
* * *
Quinn came flying out of the wormhole into a park bench directly in front of him. He only had time to throw out his hands before he crashed into it. Quinn tumbled over it to land on the grass in an ungraceful heap.
Quinn lay where he was, groaning. He looked up at the sky, turning from gold to blue as the sun rose. Rembrandt leaned into his view.
"You okay, man?" Rembrandt asked.
"Yeah," Quinn sighed. "I just need to lie down for a minute."
Wade's head slid into view beside Rembrandt. "Quick, Quinn, check the timer. How long before the next window?"
Quinn closed his eyes and groaned. As he held the timer in front of his face, a sense of dread tingled through his body. He was just as tired and hungry as the others, and hurt a little more than he let on. The thought of having to do another slide in his condition made the idea of getting stuck in a world of monsters for thirty years sound good.
Quinn forced himself to open them and read the timer's display. His heart skipped.
"Fifty-two minutes," he whispered.
"What?" Wade asked.
Quinn sat up, his eyes locked on the glowing numbers. "We've got fifty-two minutes in this world. Well, fifty-one and forty-two seconds to be exact, but..."
Rembrandt threw up his fists in the air. "Yes! Thank you! We got some time on this world!"
Wade threw herself into his arms and the two of them danced a little around the park. The professor slumped into the park bench and closed his eyes. Quinn closed the timer's lid, almost caressing it, he was so happy.
Rembrandt broke away from Wade's embrace to lean against a tree. "Man, all I wanna do in this world is take a nice, long nap."
Wade ran over to Quinn. "Not me. I gotta get something to eat. I am starving with a capital 'S.' Come on, no time to lose."
Wade took Quinn's arm and began pulling him to his feet. Quinn winced as his leg sent out waves of pain in protest.
Arturo stood, rubbing his hands together. "An excellent suggestion, Miss Welles, and I know the very place, if it exists in this world."
Quinn brushed off his jacket with a free hand. "I think we should try to make sure this isn't our world. Or try to contact my double here. Maybe he can help us."
Wade winced. "Oh, I thought we weren't gonna do that anymore, not after that Sorcerer guy botched up."
"I know it's a risk, but I'd still like to try."
Rembrandt shook his head. "I'd rather get some shut-eye at the Dominion. Maybe we should split up."
Quinn folded up the timer and tucked it into his pocket. "You're right, Remmy. Okay, we'll take a cab, it's faster. We'll drop you off at the Dominion, then go to the professor's place. Professor, you and Wade can eat while I check on my double in
this world."
The four of them charged off through the park to Lincoln Way, a street running alongside Golden Gate Park. A taxicab was parked on the curb, the driver reading a newspaper. Wade, Arturo, and Rembrandt climbed into the backseat while Quinn circled
around to the passenger side. He leaned in to speak to the large driver.
"You know how to get to the Dominion?" Quinn asked.
"I believe so," the driver said in a deep, gruff voice. "I mean, I am a cab driver. It is my job to know how to get there."
"Great." Quinn climbed into the passenger seat.
The inside of the cab smelled of pine trees from an air-freshener hanging from the mirror. He buckled himself in, then looked at the driver, who was folding up his newspaper. Quinn lunged back in shock.
The driver looked exactly like Professor Arturo. The only difference was that he wore a gray shirt open at the collar, and a gray cap.
The driver shifted the car into gear, then looked at Quinn with a curious frown. "Is something wrong, young man?"
Quinn looked back at the others. They all were looking at the driver with amazement. Arturo settled back in his seat and shrugged. Quinn realized his point. Either the driver hadn't noticed Arturo or the resemblance hadn't registered. There didn't seem to be any point in drawing attention to it.
Quinn forced a lopsided smile at the driver. "Uh, no. No, nothing. Nothing at all."
The driver grunted, then began to drive away from the curb.
Quinn settled back with a grin on his face. Seeing their doubles in other worlds was something he was still having trouble getting used to.
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