The
Infinite Mind
by Pam
Froman
Disclaimer: Sliders does not belong to me
(duh!) and I in no way claim ownership over it or it's characters. I
do, however claim ownership over the characters and concept of this
story which originated out of my twisted little brain. So, with all
due respect, please don't sue. I am poor and I live in L.A. which
means I have a very high rent on my apt. :)
Author's Notes: Uh oh you're saying. What is
this? Well, it's a little story that's been lurking in my brain so
I've decided to start posting it here. (And unlike some of my other
stories, it will hopefully not end up being 30 + pages!) :) It is set
right before the third season of Sliders before The Rules of the
Game. Enjoy, and please send feedback (Feedback good...munch munch)
to wadesdiary@yahoo.com
Part 1
A
tiny woman with short blond hair sat in a cracked booth of a diner
called Mel's. Her name was Dawn Welles, and she'd never felt more
alone in her life.
All around her, people were laughing,
talking, or engaging in telepathy, Dawn thought miserably. The cheery
vibes made life feel so easy. But life had never felt easy for Dawn.
Not since they'd taken her fraternal twin away to be a drone.
She reflected on her coffee cup. The doctors
had told her worried parents that she was blocked by the trauma of
Wade being taken away. They said that her normal "abilities" would
return in time. But they never had returned.
And truthfully, if they were what had caused
Wade to be taken from her 10 years ago, she didn't want them back.
They could keep their telekinesis...their P.K.....their E.S.P. Give
them to the next baby that didn't pass genetic testing. Give them to
Wade so she could come back.
And now someone else was gone too, thought
Dawn miserably. The only person who'd viewed her as normal, despite
her blocked "abilities." The only person she'd ever told about the
day they took away Wade. She wiped a strand of her hair out of her
blue eyes, and a tear slid down her nose. "Where did he go?" she
whispered softly. "I need him." He was gone. Simply vanished without
a trace. She'd tried everything to find him. Even Logan, his sister,
who possessed seer level sensing, hadn't been able to tell her where
Colin was.
"If only I knew why he left then maybe I
could understand," she thought sadly. "Maybe I could understand why
he left me here alone."
With a last glance at the untouched coffee
mug, Dawn brushed the tears from her eyes. She laid a dollar on the
table and stood up slowly. The she turned, and walked out of the
restaurant.
Elsewhere in San Francisco, a disruption of
space time was occurring. Leaves whirled as an unnatural wind rustled
and a blue ripple formed in the sky.
Wade Welles flew out of the vortex and
rolled to one side. She watched as Quinn Mallory, her best friend,
and the undeniable object of her affection, came shooting out after
her, only to land face first in the grass.
Wade giggled and said, "I give that landing
a 3.4. Very poor execution." Quinn rolled his eyes at her and groaned
as he moved over to her side.
Professor Maximillian Arturo followed
Quinn's example when landing, but he wasn't quick enough at rolling
out of the way, and as he tried to rise Rembrandt Brown, their last
companion, collided into him knocking him face first into the grass
again.
Wade and Quinn laughed merrily at the
familiar sight of the portly professor in such an undignified pose.
It was a scene they'd seen repeated endless times over the past 3
years.
"I say Mr. Brown," said the professor
irritably, his voice rather muffled by the grass, "Must you use me as
your landing cushion after every slide?"
Remmie held his hands up in protest. "Hey
relax professor!" he said, winking slyly at Wade who bit back a grin
with effort. "You cut a presence that's hard to miss!"
The professor bristled, but anyone who knew
him knew that he wasn't really angry. "What are you implying Mr.
Brown?" he said, standing up to his full height and patting his
stomach. "At least I have tasted the finer pleasures in
life."
"C'mon guys," said Quinn, breaking up the
after slide banter. "Maybe this is home." The others looked at him
dubiously as he shrugged and checked the small cellphone like device
that he held in one hand. "We have 74 hours and change to find
out."
Wade smiled at Quinn and linked her arm
through his. "C'mon guys," she said. "Let's explore!"
"Miss Welles," the professor huffed. "Before
we go gallivanting off into the unknown I suggest we do some
research. He pointed to Bernie's newsstand, which stood about 100
feet from where they were.
"OK," conceded Wade. She eyed Quinn
mischievously and shouted, "Race ya!" as she took off
running.
Quinn yelled back "Hey no fair cheater!" and
he took off after her.
The professor and Remmie eyed each other and
shrugged.
"Ah...youth," remarked the
professor.
Part 2
Panting from their race, Wade and Quinn
entered Bernie's newsstand laughing with exhilaration.
"Hah!" said Wade teasingly. "I
won."
"'Cause you cheated," shot back Quinn with a
grin that showed he really didn't care whether she cheated or
not.
He picked up a newspaper from one of the
stacks of neat piles that lay in orderly rows along the shop. A quick
glance at the headlines confirmed they they were indeed not
home.
"Hey Wade," said Quinn, motioning for her to
come over to him, "check it out." He pointed to the lead story in the
San Francisco Chronicle.
Wade read the headline out loud.
"Anti-psychics raid genetic preservation clinic. 3 dead." Her
forehead crinkled in confusion. "What the heck is an anti-psychic?"
she whispered softly to Quinn, hoping that the proprietor of Bernie's
wouldn't hear.
But to her surprise the clerk spoke up.
"They're freakin' terrorists that's what. Any normal person knows
that."
"Um yeah..." said Quinn. "Well we're not
really from around here."
"That much is obvious," said the clerk
rudely. "Your thoughts are bouncing off the walls. It's driving me
nuts. Didn't you ever get trained to tune them out?"
Quinn stared at the clerk in surprise.
"You...you can read our thoughts?" he asked.
The clerk narrowed his eyes suspiciously,
"Sure...can't everybody? I mean except for the drones that is...but
they're just mentally retarded so they don't count."
Wade pulled Quinn by the arm. "We'd better
get out of here -- now," she thought hastily. "Oh of course," she
replied cheerily to the clerk, while doing her best to keep her mind
blank. "C'mon Quinn let's go...NOW."
Quinn allowed himself to be pulled outside
of the newsstand, and they soon rejoined the Professor and
Rembrandt.
"So my boy," said the Professor. "What's the
good word?"
"Well," said Quinn, his eyes darting
nervously around the park grounds where they stood, "we're definitely
not home."
"Yeah," piped up Wade. "They read minds here
guys. Sort of like Oracle world."
"Yeah," said Quinn. "But why do I get the
feeling that this world is much more nasty?"
Dawn walked slowly along the streets until
she reached the entrance of Golden Gate Park. For some reason, she
felt an irresistible urge to go in and take a short walk around. And
though Dawn's trauma had blocked her abilities, she was no fool. She
never ignored intuition.
"A walk will do me good anyway," she said
quietly. "Maybe it'll clear my head."
She entered the park and began to walk among
the flowers, hoping the feeling of deja vu would pass her by after
each bend in the road.
But the feeling of recognition wouldn't
leave her. "Damn it!" she said angrily. "I don't need this today!"
She was so busy storming against the games her mind was wreaking on
her that she almost missed the cause of her mental unrest.
There, outside of Bernie's newsstand, was a
woman whose face she would have recognized in a hundred years. It was
her twin. It was Wade.
Dawn's mouth dropped open in shock. "How can
Wade be here?" she thought in confusion. "She's a drone...they don't
ever let them out!" And who were the men that she was with? One of
them looked awfully familiar...but Dawn couldn't process why. She was
too in shock at seeing her sister.
Timidly, she approached the small group.
"Wade?" she said, her voice brimming with uncertainty.
Wade turned from the conversation she'd been
having with the guys to see a petite blond woman addressing her. She
didn't recognize her, but something about her struck her as familiar.
"Uh oh," she thought. "She knows my double." She glanced at Quinn,
who gave her a slight shrug.
"Yes?" she finally replied.
"Wade!" cried Dawn joyously. "It is you! But
how did you get out?" Her words bubbled forth in exhilaration, but
stopped short when she saw the questioning look in Wade's eyes. "Oh
my god," thought Dawn. "She doesn't know me!"
Part 3
"Wade!" said Dawn, shaking from the shock of
the encounter. "Don't you know me?" Her eyes roamed her sister's
face, hoping for any kind of spark of recognition.
Wade bit her lip nervously. She didn't know
what to say. If she was honest and said she didn't know this
girl...well it would obviously crush her.
Dawn watched the play of emotions on Wade's
face. She could sense the confusion in the other girl. Tears sprang
from her eyes. "Wade...you really don't know me." she whispered
sadly.
"I...we..." began Wade uncertainly, for
there was something about this girl that made her feel strange and
uneasy. It's almost, thought Wade, like I'm feeling a connection. But
that's nuts!
"Is there some way we can help you
Miss...um...Miss," said the Professor interrupting Wade, and putting
a hand on Dawn's shoulder.
Dawn looked up at the large man who was
smiling so kindly at her. "My name is Dawn," she said, breathing
shakily. "Dawn Welles. And you...whoever you are...have already
helped me beyond measure by saving my twin," here she indicated Wade,
"from the drone camps. I've been trying to find her for over 10
years."
The four slider's eyes widened in shock at
this revelation.
"Twin?" said Wade weakly. My god! she
thought in shock. She glanced at Quinn. He too was clearly taken
aback by the news. But that explains it, her mind insisted on saying.
That explains why I felt like I knew her...even though I don't. We're
twins! Briefly she thought of her *real* sister Kelly back home, and
a twinge of guilty sadness overcame her.
"Dawn," said Quinn, his blue eyes wide in
shock. Suddenly he saw Wade's face, Wade's mannerisms and Wade's
expressions all within this girl who he didn't even know. It was
disconcerting to say the least. "There's something we need to explain
about us...and about Wade."
Dawn's eyes narrowed when he spoke.
Something about him was so familiar...
They were interrupted by the sound of a
large pealing siren, tuned at a frequency high enough to make their
ears bleed.
"What is that god awful sound?" shouted
Remmie, clutching his ears.
Dawn's face went white. "Drone police! C'mon
we've got to get out of here...now!" She clutched at Wade's hand and
began leading her down the path.
"Wait! I..." said Wade, glancing back at
Quinn, who was also clutching his ears in pain.
"Hurry!" said Dawn, not
listening.
"Mr. Mallory, I think we'd best
follow...er...Miss Welles here. My ears can't take this noise much
longer!" said the Professor.
"C'mon you guys! They'll sense us if we hang
out here any longer!" Dawn shouted.
Frightened by Dawn's demeanor, the Sliders
began to slink through the crowd out of the park.
A few minutes later, a black van pulled up
to the spot where they were just standing. A man got out of one of
them.
<<I'm picking her up.>> he
thought to his compatriot in the van.
<<Good.>> came the response.
<<She can't hide from us this time.>>
The first man pulled out a nasty looking gun
from his holster and loaded a dart into it. He began walking, eyes
darting over the crowd of people that Dawn and the Sliders had just
disappeared into.<<Tranquilizer ready.>> he thought.
<<Wait.>> thought the man in the
van. <<She's not alone. And I'm picking up a very strange
aura...>>
The man with the gun frowned.
<<Yes...>> he thought. <<I'm getting it
too.>>
The man in the van frowned. <<Better
take care of all of them...they must be drones she hasn't placed
yet.>>
<<Yes sir.>> thought back the
man, who was now out on the streets, swiftly tracking aura colors
with his mind to see where the Sliders' trail went.
<<Don't disappoint me Jenkins.>>
thought the man in the van. <<She's
valuable.>>
<<I won't sir.>> Jenkins thought
back hastily, and continued walking down the street.
Part 4
The sliders rushed through the street,
following the tiny blond woman who held fast to Wade's hand. Wade
could hear the Professor struggling to keep up the pace behind them.
But as she looked back, she didn't see anyone. There was no mass of
angry people, no police squad...it was just normal everyday people,
roaming the hilly streets of San Francisco. She watched Dawn in
confusion. "There's no one there," she thought. "But she looks
terrified."
"Hurry!" Dawn said, still pulling her
along.
"Where are we going?" said Quinn, running
just behind them. They were in a very familiar neighborhood to him.
In fact, they were about two blocks from his house...or rather, where
his house would be if this was home, he corrected himself.
"Sanctuary," Dawn said.
"And what...what...the devil
is...Sanctuary?" shouted the professor in between gasps.
"Sanctuary from the mind abductors! Don't
you know anything?" said Dawn.
<<I've got a lock on them sir. She's
trying to get to Sanctuary.>> thought Jenkins.
The man in the van folded his hands.
Yes...of course that 's what she would do. It's what he'd always told
her to do.
<<Take her.>> he
thought.
Jenkins concentrated of the five running
figures. Two multiminds? he thought in confusion. There's only
supposed to be one with that mind pattern!
<<Sir?>> he thought.
<<Yes>> came the irritated
response.
Jenkins shut his eyes. <<The strange
pattern that we thought was drones? It's not. She with another
multimind. And I can't take two of them!>>
<<Two? That's impossible! The only
other is with us already...>> thought the man in the van. He
twisted his fist into the seat cushion, causing an indention in the
fabric.
<<Sir? What do you want me to
do?>> thought Jenkins uneasily.
The man in the van sighed. <<Take the
one that's easier to get and tranc her. We can identify the other
afterwards.>>
<<Yes sir.>> replied
Jenkins.
"Almost there," thought Dawn in relief. She
could see the house up ahead, gleaming like a beacon of safety.
"Sanctuary," she said, and pointed at a quiet looking house with a
gate in front.
"Oh my god!" said Quinn.
"Oh man...this gets weirder and weirder."
said Remmie.
"Mr. Mallory...isn't...that your house?"
said the Professor in a low voice.
"Yes," said Quinn. "But god knows what it is
here."
Jenkins closed his eyes and placed his
fingers on his temples. <<Almost there.>> he
thought.
Wade was starting to not feel very well. "It
must be all this running," she thought.
"Guys..." she began.
"C'mon," said Dawn with urgency in her
voice. They were almost to the front gate of the house.
"Guys...I think I'm going to be sick,"
continued Wade.
"No!" said Dawn, pulling her harder now.
"No! No!"
Wade was feeling lighter and lighter. She
felt floaty even. The sensation was a little like being
tipsy.
"Wade!" Quinn said, fear in his eyes. "Wade
look at your arm!"
Wade glanced down though her dizziness.
Everything looked fuzzy. Then she finally got a clear picture of her
arm...and she could see through it!
"Quinn!" she screamed, fear mounting in her
heart. "What's happening to me?!"
"Wade!" Quinn, yelled out. He went to grab
her arm...and it passed right through.
Dawn
was sobbing now. "Got to...get in the house..." she said, still
trying to pull Wade and clutching only empty air.
"What is happening to her?" Quinn demanded
angrily.
"Quinn!" Wade screamed again...and then she
was gone.
And the last thing she heard before the
darkness was Quinn screaming her name in terror.
"Waaaaadddddddeeeee!"
Part 5
Wade awoke to find herself bound up in a
moving van. Her friends were nowhere to be seen. "What happened?" she
thought groggily.
A voice answered her unspoken. question.
"We're taking you to your new home Wade. It is Wade isn't it? We're
very interested in you...especially where you came from."
She looked around and saw the man in
question. He'd read her mind! "I'm not going anywhere with you!" she
said defiantly. "I'm a person! I have rights!" She tried her best to
keep her mind blank...but her thoughts kept coming. No matter what
she did, she couldn't clear them. "What's wrong with me?" she
thought, frightened at her lack of ability to work her
mind.
The man moved to sit next to her. "We've
given you a drug called Lycothen," he said casually. "Basically what
it does it allows us the keep your thoughts centered on any direction
we implant in you. You won't be able to clear them." He leaned closer
to her, and his breath brushed against her cheek, causing tiny hairs
on her neck to rise. "And I mean any suggestion," he whispered, his
hand reaching down to touch her knee.
Wade shivered in undisguised fear.
"Quinn...oh god Quinn you have to help me!" she thought
frantically.
The man smiled. "You are calm and happy
Wade," he said.
A feeling of dizziness hit her. "No!" she
thought, but already peaceful, cheerful thoughts were invading her
mind. "Rainbows, birds, love," was all she could squeak
out.
The man touched her knee again, and this
time, to her rational dismay, she didn't feel disgust or loathing.
She felt..."calm and happy."
Moving forward, the man went to kiss her
neck. She watched his lips approach with a sense of detachment, like
it was a movie scene, not actually happening to her.
Suddenly the man froze.
"Jenkins...what are you doing to our guest?"
said a voice from the driver's seat.
Jenkins glanced fearfully at the man in the
driver's seat. He'd let his intentions slip out, and the boss had
heard them.
"You will not touch her. Is that understood?
Come drive here...NOW!"
Jenkins scurried up to the driver's seat,
while the man came back to sit with Wade. The new man gazed at Wade
with, if she wasn't mistaken, wonderment in his blue eyes. He touched
her arm gently.
"You ok?" he asked, concern in his
face.
"For being kidnapped...sure I'm just
peachy," she replied sarcastically.
His eyes narrowed. For a moment she thought
she caught a glimpse of his real thoughts, but just as swiftly the
mask was on his face again. "You have no idea how special you are,"
he said. He stared meaningfully at her. "We need you."
She frowned...something about his eyes. It
was then that it clicked.
"He has Quinn's eyes!" she thought. But the
man in front of her wasn't Quinn!
"What happened to her?!" Quinn yelled,
forcefully grabbing Dawn by the shoulders and spinning her harshly to
look at him. Worry marked his angry face.
Dawn was still sobbing. To have found her
twin for so brief a time...only to have her taken away again...it was
too much. She felt the pain of separation all over again.
"Please get in the house," she said
bitterly. "As you've just seen, it's not safe here. I can explain
everything inside."
Remmie glanced at Quinn...the kid looked
like he was gonna blow his top. He walked over and patted his
friend's shoulder. "Q-ball c'mon man...we'll find Wade...let's get in
the house before any of us do a vanishing act too."
"I quite agree Mr. Brown." said the
Professor. He spoke in a lower tone, and glanced at Dawn. "We don't
know what...or who we are dealing with here. Perhaps Miss Welles here
can help us."
Dawn shook her head. It was hopeless...she
knew that much having searched the drone camps for 10 years. But as
she glanced at Quinn's worried eyes, she felt a sense of familiarity.
Suddenly it clicked. My god! she thought. He has Colin's eyes! And
with that the decision was made for her. She couldn't turn her back
on the reminder of Colin's eyes. And she didn't want to lose
Wade...not again.
"I'll tell you what I know. Maybe it will
help us," she said.
"Good because we only have two more days to
do it." said Quinn.
Dawn looked at him dubiously. "Why do you
only have two days?"
They'd reached the front door of the house
now, and Quinn watched in amazement as Dawn placed a palm on the
front door and a keypad came out. She began typing in some sort of
command.
"Dawn," Quinn said "You may not believe
this...but the reason we have to leave in two days is that we come
from another universe. We're sliders. And our Wade...well in our
universe she doesn't have a twin."
Dawn stared at him,
uncomprehending.
"Mr. Mallory!" the Professor hissed. "Must
you spout off every secret in two minutes time?!"
"She needs to know the whole truth if she's
gonna help us save Wade Professor," Quinn replied shortly.
Remmie nodded. "Q-ball's right
Professor."
Dawn took in a deep breath. "So you're
saying that I never found my Wade at all," she said.
Quinn nodded, his blue eyes gentle now.
"Yes," he said softly.
Tears formed in Dawn's eyes. "I still want
to help," she said, belief in this crazy story starting to form.
"She's still Wade...and maybe my Wade will know how much I miss
her."
"Thank you my dear," said the Professor,
patting her slender arm. "Now I suggest we'd best get inside." He
nodded in the door's direction.
"Oh...yes," replied Dawn, distracted. She
punched a final command, and to the sliders' amazement a door slid
open that led into the ground. Dawn smiled shakily.
"Welcome to Sanctuary gentlemen," she
said.
Part 6
The three sliders followed Dawn into a room
filled with electronic equipment. Quinn touched a wall in wonderment.
It was coated with a strange metal that he'd never seen
before.
"Voice identification please," said a
computerized voice.
"Dawn Welles," replied Dawn.
"Identification confirmed...surveillance
patterns activating," said the computerized voice.
"Woah," said Remmie. "Is this a Star Trek
rerun or what?"
"What's Star Trek?" asked Dawn, her face
curious.
Quinn sighed. "Never mind that...what is
this place Dawn?"
Dawn was busily punching in a keyboard.
"Recent mind abductees please," she said to the computer. "Identify
Wade Welles." Pictures began flashing across the screen. "Searching,"
said the computer.
She turned to Quinn. "My world prizes
psychic abilities above all else," she said. "They test all children
for them." Her expression became sorrowful. "If the children don't
have them, they send them to what we call a drone camp at age 15." A
tear trickled down her cheek. "That's what happened to my sister,"
she whispered.
Quinn nodded in understanding.
"My boyfriend Colin and I saw the injustice
that was happening in our world," continued Dawn. "We wanted to stop
it...the drone camps are no better than concentration camps. In fact,
that's what they were modeled after. Plus, I wanted to find Wade. So
we set up Sanctuary...the hub of the anti-psychic movement."
She gestured around the room. "The mind
abductors have no power here, because the walls are coated with
Lycothen."
"Lycothen," mused the Professor. "Isn't that
a mind altering drug?"
"Yes," said Dawn. "But my boyfriend was a
quasi-inventor of sorts, and he wanted to make sure our movement
remained secret. So he melded the drug into a metallic form, one
which even the most powerful psychic couldn't penetrate."
"Was?" said Quinn. "Where is your boyfriend
now?"
Dawn looked down, and a shadow fell over her
face. "He disappeared four weeks ago," she said.
The van pulled up in front a stark white
building. Wade felt the blue eyed man haul her up over his shoulder,
but the drug made it impossible for her to resist. "Who is this guy?"
she wondered, frightened at the view of the lab-like building in
front of her. "What do they want with me?"
"All of your questions will be answered in
time," said the blue eyed man. "But first we have a few to ask
you."
He began walking towards the building,
carrying her effortlessly. Jenkins followed behind, holding some kind
of tranquilizer gun in front of him. Wade shivered as she looked at
his menacing eyes.
They reached the front of the building.
"Voice identification please," said a computerized voice.
"Harvey Jenkins," said Jenkins. The door
cleared for a moment and he stepped through.
"Colin Mallory and guest," said the blue
eyed man.
Wade stiffened at the name.
"Oh my god..." she whispered softly as they
stepped through the door.
Part 7
Still under the influence of the Lycothen,
Wade watched the blank white walls move past her passionlessly as
Colin walked down the hallway. Her thoughts were a mixture of shock,
fear and emotion. This man....this man who was holding her hostage
was some kind of alternate relative of Quinn's! At the same time she
had this thought, she knew she was betraying herself. After all, the
man could read her mind.
They turned down an empty looking corridor
and approached a small room to the left. From her vantage point, Wade
couldn't tell what the room contained.
Colin opened the door to the room. A
hospital-like scent greeted Wade's senses, and she scrunched up her
face in distaste. She could hear, though not see, the beeping of a
heart monitor and the sound of a respirator.
"Can you please put me down now?" she asked
timidly.
Colin said nothing, but he did pull over a
chair with his free hand. Gently, he placed her in it, and began
tying her hands and feet.
"I'm sorry to have to tie you like this," he
said. "But we can't have you going anywhere right now."
Wade looked over his shoulder at a still
form laying in of the two beds in the room. She couldn't see the
prone figure's face.
"You'd like to see her?" asked
Colin.
Wade nodded mutely, though she had a
disturbing feeling she wasn't going to like what she saw.
Colin moved her chair by the bed, and gently
rolled the unconscious girl over. "She's been in a coma for many
years," he said. "The doctors think she's brain dead."
Wade gasped and shut her eyes.
She was looking at herself.
The
computer was still searching through pictures of mind abductees. It
had not yet located Wade. Quinn glanced at his watch and sighed. It
was late. Everyone else had gone to sleep in the house long ago. He
buried his head in his hands, and rubbed his tired eyes.
"Where are you Wade?" he thought
disconsolately. "I've got to save you."
A tear made its way down his his face and he
brushed it aside angrily. Once again, his friend's life was in
danger.
All because of him.
"Stupid, selfish idiot!" he thought to
himself. All he wanted right now was to know Wade was
safe.
His thoughts were interrupted by Dawn's
entry into the Sanctuary.
"Go to sleep Quinn," she said gently. "You
won't help Wade by torturing yourself."
Quinn blew out a frustrated breath. "I
know...but this waiting...it's driving me nuts!"
Dawn walked over to Quinn and put a
reassuring hand on his arm. "We have a good chance of catching her
before they get her to the drone camp," she said.
"And if they take her to a drone camp?"
asked Quinn bitterly.
Dawn said nothing, but her eyes gave away it
all.
"We won't find her if they get her to a
drone camp will we?" whispered Quinn.
Dawn shook her head sadly. "They kind of
make drones...disappear."
Quinn shut his eyes. "That can't happen," he
said. "I'm not leaving this world until I find her."
Dawn nodded in understanding. "I know," she
said. "Get some sleep Quinn...you can't do her any good down
here."
Quinn didn't respond, and sighing, Dawn
headed back up the stairs to the main portion of the
house.
Quinn slept fitfully in the chair he'd
occupied all evening. His dreams were full of Wade's face.
She was running in the grass ahead of him,
just beyond his reach. He could hear her merry laughter. Try as he
might, he couldn't touch her. She was always just beyond arms
length.
"Catch me Quinn!" she said with the
mischievous smile he knew so well. "Catch me!"
Running faster now, he tackled her to the
ground.
The scene changed. He lay in the desert, and
Wade was nowhere to be seen. In his arms, he held a silver necklace
with her name.
"Wade!" he cried out fearfully. "Where are
you?"
He spun around. No one was there. He was
alone.
"Waaaaaadddddeeee!" he screamed out in
fear.
The sound of his own cries broke him out of
the dream, and he lay huddled in the chair, shivering and
sweating.
"Wade...." he whispered.
Two identical figures slept in twin beds in
a small laboratory-like room. One, her hands tied to the bedposts,
thrashed restlessly in her sleep. A cry of "Quinn" could occasionally
be heard from her lips.
The other made not a sound. But when her
double cried out, something extraordinary happened, though no one was
there to witness it. One of her fingers moved of its own
accord.
Part 8
It was four am when Quinn awoke to the sound
of the computer's monotone voice.
"Positive match identified. Please confirm.
Positive match identified. Please confirm."
He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
Blearily he looked at the screen until it kicked in. The damn thing
had finally located Wade!
"Guys!" he called out. There was no
response. "GUYS!!" he shouted louder.
Remmie's drooping head peaked down the
stairs. "Man Q-ball you could wake the dead with that voice o'
yours," he said. His expression turned to worry. "What's up? Did the
computer find Wade?"
Quinn nodded impatiently. "Where's Dawn?" he
asked.
Remmie stifled a yawn. "She's sleeping
Q-ball what do you think?" He smiled reassuringly at Quinn. "We'll
get Wade back, don't you worry." He turned and motioned for Quinn to
follow him up the stairs. "C'mon we'll go wake everyone
up."
Wade woke from a restless sleep to find that
she was still tied to the bed. She shivered as she realized she was
no longer alone in the room with her unconscious double. Jenkins
stood in the corner, watching her with leering eyes.
Wade watched, horrified, as he walked over
to her double's bed, and began casually caressing her lifeless cheek.
"Hello honey," he murmured to her still
form.
"Don't touch her!" Wade cried, and then
instantly regretted it as his gaze casually razed over her own prone
form. It was then Wade realized how helpless she really was.
"Don't .." she whispered, as he began
advancing towards her menacingly.
"I know she thinks you know. I'm the only
one who knows," he said in a low growl. "I know what you think about
too."
"Do you see him when you look at me?" he
said, and Wade blinked, because suddenly, Quinn's face was in front
of her.
"Quinn?" she said, uncertainly, and he
smiled.
His hand reached out to touch her hair, and
the vision faded. It was Jenkins touching her! Wade drew back,
trembling in revulsion and fear.
A familiar voice interrupted the
caress.
"Jenkins...I told you not to disturb our
guest."
Jenkins turned toward the voice and to
Wade's surprise, his eyes were full of fear.
<<I didn't mean to sir...I
swear!!>> he thought fearfully.
<<Yes. You did.>> was the stark
response.
Colin Mallory stepped from the doorway of
the room and walked over next to Wade's bed. "And for that my friend,
you will have to pay."
"No! Please sir!" Jenkins cried out as Colin
placed two fingers on Jenkin's forehead. Wade watched, terrified and
fascinated, as Jenkin's eyes rolled back into his skull and he
slumped to the ground.
Dawn raced down the stairs to Sanctuary
after Quinn and the Professor. Remmie followed close
behind.
The computer was still chirping away,
"Positive match identified. Please confirm. Positive match
identified. Please confirm."
Dawn walked to the console. "It's her," she
said with a smile. We've got you Wade, she thought happily.
"Well," said the Professor, still rather out
of breath from their run downstairs. "Where the devil have they taken
her?"
Dawn frowned. "Identification confirmed,"
she said in a clear voice. "Location."
The picture on the computer screen whirled.
After a few seconds it stopped and a picture of a plain, white lab
building came in place of the blurred picture of Wade that had
presided on the screen a minute before.
"Cranial Institute?" Dawn, said in
confusion. "That can't be right."
"What can't?" asked Quinn. He was itching
for them to get out there, now that they'd pinpointed where Wade
was.
Dawn looked at the three men who were
glancing at the screen with worried faces. "They usually take drones
to a genetic preservation clinic before shipping them out to the
camps. That's where we intercept them," she said
uncertainly.
"So?" said Remmie. "That place sure looks
sterile to me."
Dawn's frown grew deeper. "The Cranial
Institute isn't a genetic preservation clinic," she explained. "It's
a lab...where they perform radical experiments on the brain."
She turned to Quinn, whose face had gone
white. He watched her silently, his mind filled with fear.
Dawn's voice was tight, and her eyes blazed
with a painful fire. "The Cranial Institute is the group of
scientists that started the drone camps in the first place back in
the 30's. Their goal is to force mankind to the next step in
evolution...through forced brain surgery, genetic separation of the
drones and tons of other horrible acts." She shook her head. "And the
sick thing is, is that they hold so much power in our government,
nobody even protests all the horrific things they do."
"Preposterous!" exclaimed the Professor.
"And just what, pray tell, would they want with Miss
Welles?"
"What they want is her brain," said Dawn
angrily. "But it's why they'd want it that I don't
understand."
Part 9
Wade stared mutely from her chained position
on the bed. She was in utter shock. Jenkin's body lay in a still
huddle on the floor.
Colin turned away from Wade and faced toward
the door.
<<Dispose of this>> he thought
stiffly, staring at the body. Two orderly-looking men entered the
room at the request. They picked up Jenkin's body by the shoulders
and quickly dragged it out of the room.
Colin
smiled at Wade then, but she felt no warmth from it. The man was a
killer. No show of kindness could change that fact. And yet...he had
just saved her from a most probable assault at the hands of Jenkins.
Wade shuddered as she looked at her unconscious double. Was Jenkins
the reason she lay there like that?
Colin wandered over to her double's bed and
answered her thought out loud. "No, he's not the reason she's in this
state."
Wade sighed. She'd nearly forgotten Colin
could read her mind. She felt scared to speak, but finally she
managed to squeak out. "Then...who?"
Colin stared at the bed. His expression
hardened. "She keeps herself in this state. Out of pure selfishness
and spite."
Wade felt stunned at the admission. But the
statement was ludicrous. "What?!" she said. "Nobody can MAKE
themselves be brain-dead."
Colin turned and looked at her. His eyes
were lit with a strange glint. "She can." He stepped towards her.
"And so could you, if you'd been here as long as she has."
Wade had no answer for this. She had no idea
where she really was after all.
Colin fondled his chin thoughtfully. "Tell
me Wade. You already know I can read your thoughts. Tell me about
Quinn Mallory. Tell me about sliding."
Wade felt defiant. "I don't have to tell
anything to a...a...killer!"
She tried to keep her mind blank. "Think of
the ocean," she thought. "The nice, peaceful ocean."
To her surprise, Colin didn't grow angry at
her outburst. His eyes actually appeared sad. For a moment, he
reminded her of Quinn. God she wished he was here right now...stop it
Wade! she thought angrily at herself. Think of the ocean!
Colin spoke softly, and his tone was almost
kind. "I'm sorry you had to see what I did to Jenkins. But he's been
obsessed with our Wade for a very long time. He didn't know I knew
it, but he had these fantasies about her...dark fantasies. His skills
as a mind abductor were superb, but he'd become a danger to our
mission." Before Wade could ask "what mission," Colin continued. "I'm
sorry Wade. I can't tell you that." His expression darkened. "I'm
sorry about a lot of things when it comes to you."
Wade didn't know what to say to
this.
"Tell me about sliding Wade," he said
again.
Wade scrunched her face in irritation. She
wasn't going to feel sorry for him! So what if she sensed he was
telling the truth! "I'm not telling you anything," she said. "You'll
just have to read my mind."
Colin nodded. "As you wish," he said, and
shut his eyes.
Wade suddenly felt herself drowning in
memories. She had no control over her own thoughts! She felt detached
from herself, like someone was playing her life for an audience.
Suddenly she realized therewas an audience. Colin was
literally invading her mind. She struggled against her restraints.
"Get out of my head!" she screamed. "Get out!" But the tumult of
images didn't cease.
Colin smiled as he learned the answers he'd
been seeking. Wade's screams didn't bother him. His mission would be
fulfilled...and sooner than he's thought. For with Wade on the line,
he knew he no longer had to try to abduct Dawn against her will. She
would come to him.
"And then, she will know why I've done what
I had to do," he whispered.
"Is everybody clear on the plan?" asked
Quinn anxiously. It had been a day and a half since he'd last seen
Wade, and now armed with the knowledge of where she was, he was
feeling very frightened he might lose her.
"If they've touched her I swear I'll kill
them," he thought angrily.
"Crystal Mr. Mallory," said the Professor.
"You and Miss Welles here will try to gain access through the front
entrance of the Institute, while Mr. Brown and I sneak in through the
service door."
Dawn smiled reassuringly at the group. "One
of our groups is bound to get in," she said. "And just for a little
back up...I've got this." So saying, Dawn pulled out a large
syringe.
Remmie's brow furrowed. "What the heck is
THAT girl?" he said.
Dawn smiled sweetly. "It's a little drug
called Arconquin-XZ," she said. "It will keep our thoughts
cloaked."
Remmie backed up a step from Dawn. "Girl if
you think I'm sticking that needle in my arm...you got another thing
coming."
Dawn's smile grew wider. "Oh Remmie, YOU'RE
not going to have to stick it in your arm."
Remmie's face relaxed a bit and he chucked.
"Good girl. I hate needles."
Swiftly, Dawn pinned down Remmie's arm and
jabbed in the needle.
"OOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!" Remmie cried
out.
Dawn looked up at the others innocently. "I
never said I wouldn't stick the needle in his arm."
Despite his worry, Quinn bit back a smile.
Then he took his turn with the needle. The others followed
suit.
20 minutes later, the foursome stood outside
the gates of the Cranium Institute.
Quinn turned to the Professor and took out
the timer. He held it out to his mentor, who looked at him with
serious eyes. "If I don't make it back...slide without me."
He looked down for a minute. The Professor
started to protest, but Quinn interrupted. "I'm not leaving here
without her Professor."
The Professor nodded in understanding. Then
he said softly, quoting Hamlet, "Now cracks a noble heart."
He patted Quinn on the shoulder. "Good luck
my boy," he said. "But keep faith. We shall find her...and all slide
out of this wretched world...together."
Quinn watched in silence as Remmie and the
Professor stole off around the back side of the building. When he
could no longer see them, he turned to Dawn.
"Now what?" he said.
She pointed to two people who were heading
towards the building.
"Them." she said. "That's our way
in."
Part 10
Colin and two orderlies pushed a tied and
gagged Wade into a room filled with medical instruments and operating
equipment. Wade surveyed her surroundings apprehensively. Charts of
the brain lined the walls, some covered with markings. A desk stood
against the corner, and Wade could make out two framed pictures, but
she couldn't tell who they were of.
Colin motioned for the orderlies to strap
Wade down on what looked very much like an operating table -- except
for the fact that it had four cuffs to hold her down by the wrist and
legs. Wade struggled, but the men totally overpowered her, and soon
had her strapped down.
She looked up. Above her was a weird looking
metal contraption, which had a series of lights flashing in and
out.
Colin walked over to the table where she lay
and the two orderlies left the room. He carefully began removing her
gag. Wade tried to move her head away from her touch. He made her
sick. She felt utterly violated. His mind assault had felt worse than
a physical attack. It was like...he'd emotionally raped her
soul.
"Welcome to my office and laboratory Wade,"
Colin said pleasantly. Wade avoided his eyes, turning her head away
to face the wall. A better view, she thought sourly.
"You are probably wondering why I've brought
you here," Colin continued in the same pleasant tone. "Well, now that
I know that you are a genetic match for our Wade, it's time to bring
you up to what her level of mind capabilities would have been." His
face hardened for a minute, but then shifted back to the benign half
smile. "Of course she no longer matters now that you're
here."
"You see Wade," Colin continued. "You are a
very important person for the welfare of my world." He walked over to
an instrument panel by the table and began to press some buttons.
"Our Wade understood this; yet she still selfishly put herself in
that coma state which you observed."
The light panel above Wade's head began to
descend.
"Please..." Wade whispered. "Please don't
hurt me. I don't understand...why are you doing this?" Tears began to
form in the corners of her eyes, and one slowly fell down her
cheek.
She felt Colin brush the tear away, and
shuddered at the contact. His little kindnesses actually terrified
her more than if he'd simply been awful. They showed her that inside
this man resided a person who could have made better
choices.
"Wade," Colin said seriously. "I am going to
free your mind of its conscious barriers. It is necessary for the
mission. It will be painful, but it must be done."
"Why!" cried out Wade. "Why do you have to
do this?"
"Because," said Colin, staring at her with
what looked like almost a tender expression, "once you are at your
full mental status, you will become what we call a
multimind."
The lights moved closer. "Then you can join
with another multimind and make the ultimate sacrifice: Die to save
the innocent drones of our world."
Wade screamed then, both from the sudden
pain that flooded her senses, and from what Colin had just
said.
Dawn and Quinn stepped behind the two
orderlies who were moving toward the front door of the Cranium
Institute.
"Now!" said Quinn, and they both rushed the
two from behind.
"Hey!" said the orderly, as Quinn swiftly
punched him out. Dawn meanwhile dispatched her orderly with a swift
choke hold to the neck. Both were soon unconscious.
Quinn stared at the orderly Dawn had brought
down, as they began dragging them to a spot hidden with some bushes.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side," he said, taking the
orderly's lab coat off and putting it on.
Dawn shrugged. "Self-defense classes can do
wonders," she said. "Although I usually don't have the element of
surprise like that."
When both of them were dressed like
orderlies, they tied and gagged the two men. Then they walked over to
the front door of the Cranium Institute.
"We need to override the voice
identification system...and quickly!," Dawn whispered to Quinn,
putting a hand on his lips. Quinn followed her gaze over to a small
panel in the doorway of the wall. He took the instruments they'd
brought with him from his pocket, and unscrewed the panel.
"Simple," he thought. "I'll just uncross
these two connectors...there."
The door slid open and the two stepped
inside the stark white building.
"Oh to be reduced to such levels of
indignity," moaned the Professor to himself." He was dressed as the
laundry service man that he and Rembrandt had tackled a few minutes
before. "I should be shaping young minds...not pushing this infernal
cart! You are heavy Mr. Brown!" A muffled voice came from the cart
filled with towels that he was pushing towards the service entrance
for the Institute.
"Geez professor at least, phew! At least
you're not stuck in the dirty laundry."
The Professor nodded. "Take heart Mr.
Brown," he said. "We'll have you smelling April fresh once we find
Miss Welles."
He produced the key card he had stolen from
the same laundry man. Placing it in the card holder the back door
slid open.
"Child's play," said the Professor, and he
rolled the cart -- and himself -- through the door.
Part 11
Quinn and Dawn crept quietly among the stark
white halls of the Cranium Institute. Peeking around a corner, Quinn
whispered to Dawn, "Where do you think they're keeping
her?"
Dawn thought for a minute. "From what I
know," she said. "I think maybe she's upstairs. That's supposed to be
the place where they keep the...er...patients." The last word was
pronounced with a decidedly sarcastic flair.
Quinn nodded. "Let's go then," he said.
Something troubled him however, and he began to voice it as they
walked toward the stairs. "Dawn...doesn't this place feel a little
too empty to you?" Dawn turned to answer, but was stopped by the
sudden appearance of four armed guards facing them from either
direction.
"Um...not anymore," she said in a dejected
voice.
Wade sat shivering in the chair, a
heightened sense of awareness flooding her senses. Her face was wet
from crying and her head felt numb. But the pain had finally stopped,
and for that, she was blissfully grateful. She blinked, and vaguely
saw the figure of Colin through her blurred vision. Suddenly she
heard voices. She shook her head a little. No...she distinctly heard
voices -- and one of them was Quinn! She heard Colin too. <<Are
the prisoners secured?>> he was saying. <<Yes
sir.>> came the reply. <<Good. Bring them
here.>>
Suddenly the voices ceased.
"Quinn," she cried weakly. "Quinn, where are
you?" She looked frantically around, but the only person in the room
was Colin. She glared hatefully at his backside.
<<You must understand Wade,>>
thought Colin. <<This is for the best.>>
Wade blinked again. Had she heard him in her
mind? "My god," she breathed. "What did you do to me?"
<<You are at your full potential
Wade.>> Colin thought. He still faced away from her, and when
she looked closely, he seemed to be shivering slightly.
Colin looked at her then, and she stared in
his eyes. "He's troubled by his own actions," thought Wade. "As well
he should be." She knew Colin could read her thoughts but she didn't
care.
"How dare you," she said fiercely. "Who are
you to play God with my mind? Who are you to decide that I will
die?"
Colin came closer to her and touched her
arm. She simply glared at him. "Wade, you don't understand," he said
softly, his eyes pleading for forgiveness. "I'm sacrificing here too.
But this is the only way to save the drones. It is the only solution
my government would accept to dismantle the camps."
Wade stared at him stonily, and Colin
continued. "When you join with the other multimind, the vibrations
given off by your shared energies will bring the drones into full use
of their minds! They'll be normal, like the rest of us! No more
camps! No more death."
Wade laughed bitterly. The man's idealism
was twisted, she could see it. "Except me and the other 'multimind'
as you call her or him...who is it anyway?"
Colin looked down, and Wade watched his
eyes. To her surprise they were filled with an intense longing. A
picture filled her mind.
"No..." breathed Wade.
"The other is my love," said Colin
sadly.
The Professor and Remmie crept along a
deserted hallway.
"Man this place creeps me out," said Remmie
softly.
"I quite agree Mr. Brown." said the
Professor. "After all Dawn did say these 'drone camps were modeled
after our own Nazi concentration camps. I daresay their science is
similar to the horrific experiments that were performed by the Nazi's
as well."
Remmie gave a low whistle. "I sure hope not
Professor," he said. "I hope Wade is okay."
The Professor patted Remmie on the shoulder.
"Not to worry Mr. Brown," he said with false heartiness. "Miss Welles
can hold her own...even with me!"
Suddenly they heard footsteps coming around
the corner.
"Quickly Mr. Brown!" said the Professor
urgently. "We must hide!" Remmie didn't argue, and the two of them
bolted to a doorway that was at the end of the hallway. Remmie opened
the door and both of them ran in.
Not bothering to observe his surroundings,
the Professor peered out of the tiny window in the doorway and
watched as two lab technicians walked by, then stopped to have a
conversation in the hall.
"Blistering idiots," he muttered. "Well it
looks like we are stuck in this alcove for a while Mr. Brown...Mr.
Brown?" Turning, he he saw Remmie pointing at the hospital-like bed,
mouth open. He looked like he was in shock.
"Pro...Professor...please tell me...that's
not...who I think it is?" Remmie asked, his eyes filled with
fear.
The Professor opened his mouth then shut it
again. His eyes were filled with pain. "Dear god," he said...and then
in a broken voice, "Wade...what did they do to you?"
Part 12
Quinn and Dawn struggled against their
bindings. Their hands and feet were tied, and they were being pushed
through a corridor that felt like it stretched for miles.
"Let us go!" Dawn said fiercely, but the
orderly pushing the her ignored her pleas.
Finally he stopped outside of a
doorway.
<<Sir?>> he thought to the
occupant of the room.
<<Bring them to me. I'm ready.>>
came the stark reply.
The Professor knelt,crouched by the bed
where the unconscious figure lay. Remmie wiped a tear from his eye.
This time, the Crying man had a reason to cry, he thought in despair.
"Pro...Professor?" he said uncertainly.
Arturo waved him away with an impatient
shake. "Very interesting," he murmured, holding the limp wrist which
fell from the bed. Around them, the heart monitors bleeped in a
steady monotone.
Remmie glanced at his friend in shock.
"Interesting!" he shouted. "Wade is lying there like...like some
kinda vegetable and all you can say is interesting?!"
Arturo faced Remmie with a red, irritated
face. "I say 'Interesting' Mr. Brown because I am quite fairly
certain that the girl in this bed is NOT our Wade!"
Remmie stared in shock. "Huh?" he
said.
"To the best of my knowledge Mr. Brown, our
Miss Welles did not have a drone camp tattoo on her upper forearm."
the Professor continued smugly.
"So that means that this girl is...Dawn's
Wade!" Remmie said in relief.
"Precisely Mr. Brown," said the Professor.
"And perhaps we can help her."
"How can you live with yourself?" said Wade
softly. Colin was facing away from her, looking at the framed
pictures that graced his desk. With her newly enhanced mind
abilities, Wade felt...or rather "saw" what they were. One was a
picture of Dawn, smiling innocently at the camera. The other was a
picture of Colin and Dawn, holding each other in front of an
amusement park ride.
"I wasn't supposed to love her," Colin said
flatly. "I was there to ascertain if she was in fact a multimind. I
was a fraud."
Wade blinked. "You were a plant?" she said
incredulously.
Colin nodded.
Wade shook her head. "How could you?" she
whispered.
But Colin's answer was interrupted by the
sound of a door opening. Two orderlies led two struggling figures in
the room.
"Wade!" said Quinn, catching sight of her
strapped in the chair.
"Quinn! Dawn!" said Wade in despair. They'd
captured them too!
"Colin?" said Dawn, confusion and shock in
her face. "What? How? You've been here...this whole time? Have they
hurt you?"
Colin didn't answer, but Wade could hear him
mind speak to the orderlies. <<Strap her to the other chair. As
for him...secure him to the stretcher, and shoot him with Lycothen.
Then leave us.>>
<<No!>> thought Wade.
<<Yes sir.>> replied the
orderlies in unison.
Dawn's look turned from shocked worry to
betrayal as the orderly moved her towards the chair next to Wade.
"Colin!" she screamed. "What are you doing? Help me!"
"Let them go!" shouted Quinn, struggling as
his orderly prepared a needle with Lycothen. The orderly stuck him
with the needle and Quinn's body went limp.
"You feel calm and happy Quinn," said Colin
sharply. Quinn relaxed on the stretcher, a bleary smile plastered
across his face.
"I like to slide..." Quinn slurred.
"Wade...love...good."
Dawn locked her blue eyes on Colin's own, an
accusing, hurt stare in her eyes. "Colin," whispered Dawn.
"Why?"
"I'm sorry my love," replied Colin shortly,
sadness tinging his eyes. "This must be."
Part 13
The Professor studied the charts hanging
from Wade's double's bed intently.
"Hmmm," he muttered to himself.
Remmie watched the unconscious girl. "What's
wrong with her Professor?"
"Well, according to these charts Mr.
Brown...she's keeping herself in a petite moire." He frowned.
"That's impossible...damn fools,"
Remmie looked confused. "A peteet more-wha?"
he said.
"It means 'little death' Mr. Brown. In other
words, a coma," the Professor explained. "But these witch doctors
seem to think that she's imposing the coma-state on herself." He
smiled superiorly. "Of course, that is impossible."
"Well," Remmie said slowly. "I don't know
Professor. They do some funky things with the brain on this world.
I'm not gonna discount anything."
"Hrmmmph," was the Professor's sarcastic
reply, and he went over to the door. The two lab technicians were
still chatting. "Aren't those two idiots off yet hmm? My word, dilly
dally in some other hallway!"
Remmie knelt by the bed and took the
unconscious girl's hand. "I want to try to help her Professor. What
can I do?"
Arturo looked irritated. "Mr. Brown there is
nothing..." he began but stopped at the look on Remmie's face. "Very
well..." he said resignedly. "Most coma patients are treated by being
spoken to. They can hear what we say. You might try to tell her
something that she will respond to. Though I highly doubt it will
work."
"I'm still gonna try," said Remmie. He
watched the familiar face of the girl on the bed. "Wade," he said
tentatively. "Wade, can you hear me?"
The Professor walked over and watched the
scene with a disinterested expression. "Speak normally Mr. Brown.
She's in a coma...not deaf," he said.
Remmie glanced back at the Professor. He
wasn't taken aback. He knew the older man was acting unusually gruff
because he was worried about their own Wade -- it was the Professor's
way to try and cover painful situations with sarcasm and
anger.
"Wade," Remmie said again, louder this time.
"Dawn misses you Wade. She's here."
"My word," said the Professor . He was
watching a screen monitoring the girl's brain wave pattern. At the
mention of Dawn's name, a spike interrupted the zig zagging line that
continuously flowed on the screen.
"What?" asked Remmie.
"She responded to Dawn's name. Say it again
Mr. Brown." said Arturo.
Remmie turned back to the lifeless
girl.
"Wade," he said urgently. "You need to wake
up. Dawn needs you. Dawn misses you."
Remmie kept repeating the phrase over and
over. At each mention of the name the spike rose higher on the
monitor until the brain wave patterns cascaded.
Finally, Wade Welles, twin sister to Dawn
Welles, slowly opened her eyes to view two very astonished
men.
"Where...where...is Dawn?" she said weakly.
"Where is my...sister?"
Dawn watched Colin in misery. Her life felt
like it was literally going down in flames all around her. Her
love...the man she'd trusted for five long years was a fraud. All the
planning to liberate the drones...every ideal he'd espoused...tainted
by his association with the Cranium Institute.
Colin walked over to her to prep her for the
machine which, according to him, would make her a "multimind."She
glared at him, fire eating her eyes.
Colin Mallory stared at her. She was still
so beautiful, he thought miserably. He remembered when he'd first
gotten the assignment. He was supposed to seduce her...make her trust
him. Then he was to find out about the brain pattern...that was when
they had just started the research on Wade.
And he had done it. Done the job to
perfection in fact. But he hadn't counted on the fact that Dawn's
soul was as beautiful as her face...or on the fact that he would fall
so hard and deeply in love.
She hated him now. He knew that. But he felt
the purity of his chosen path. Two lives were nothing compared to the
thousands they would save. Dawn wanted to save the drones. Surely she
would see that his was the right course...the only way to achieve
then end of the camps.
Because when it came down to it...when he'd
been told to bring her to the Institute, he'd done it without
question. His sacrifice didn't matter in the face of the mission. He
believed that!
So why were his hands trembling as he
fumbled for the controls to the machine?
And why was his heart splitting as he
watched Dawn's accusing glare -- and Wade's mocking one?
Dawn looked away from him then. She locked
eyes with Wade and they shared an unspoken moment of
comfort.
And Colin flipped the switch.
Part 14
Dawn felt pain flooding every tendril of her
senses. It was like her skin was being torn from her body, and then
reattached in all the wrong places. Her mouth opened to scream, but
she found she couldn't make a sound.
Colin couldn't look at her. Instead he
walked over to his desk.
Wade watched Dawn's pain helplessly from
across the room. "I have to do something!" she thought miserably. But
she couldn't...could she? Colin usually sensed her every move. But
now...he looked like he wasn't even paying attention.
Quinn lay listlessly on the stretcher next
to her. But the drug was wearing off a bit, and she could see he was
able to think more clearly. He began to struggle against the ties
that held him.
"Wade," he hissed, glancing at Colin. "He's
distracted by Dawn's pain. He's not paying attention to us! We've got
to try and make a move!"
Wade nodded. It was true. Colin was at the
far corner of the room, staring at the pictures on his desk, while
Dawn writhed in agony in the machine. Surely he wasn't listening to
their thoughts.
Nevertheless, she felt afraid. Afraid of
what that machine had done to her mind. She could feel the power
residing in her, and though she knew that all it would take was a
simple thought...she was afraid of how that very same thought might
change her.
"Okay," she whispered hesitantly. "I'm going
to try and untie you...that machine...he put me in it...and it gave
me some kind of mental powers Quinn!" The last part of her sentence
was almost a cry of muffled agony.
Quinn's eyes burned with anger. He wanted to
kill Colin. He'd hurt Wade! But he swallowed it down, because he knew
Wade needed his encouragement, not his outrage.
"You can do it," he whispered. "Just
concentrate."
"Er...hello Wade," said the Professor to the
girl who was now sitting up on the bed. The girl was glancing at
Remmie and himself warily now. "I am Professor Maximillion Arturo,
and this is my friend Rembrandt Brown."
"Where is my sister?" she asked again, more
forthright this time. If these were more of those doctors, trying to
get her to participate in their insane experiment...
"Your sister is with a friend of ours
sweetheart," said Remmie. "You see the doctors here took our other
friend, and your sister is trying to help us get her back. She
doesn't even know you're here."
"No," sighed Dawn's Wade, relaxing a bit
more as she sensed the truth of the man's story. "She couldn't
know."
"Those fools are still outside," said the
Professor, taking a quick glance through the doorway window. "Won't
they ever stop blathering? How are we to help Quinn and Dawn
find...er..." he stopped, not wanting to have to explain the whole
sliding concept to Dawn's Wade. "How are we to find our friend if we
can't even leave this blasted room!" He paced irritably, while Remmie
began to question Dawn's Wade.
"Why are you here Wade?" asked Remmie. "Dawn
told us they'd taken you to a drone camp."
Dawn's Wade laughed bitterly. "Oh those
idiots did at first," she said. "That is, until they reexamined my
tests and found out my mental capacities were just dormant, and my
real psi reading was off the charts."
"That was when Colin Mallory brought me to
this place," she said, spitting out Colin's name in disgust. "The
damn fool was so idealistically blind, he didn't even realize the
government was using his project for their own purposes."
"Colin Mallory?" the Professor thundered.
"You mean Dawn's boyfriend Colin? The one who's been missing for four
weeks?"
Dawn's Wade nodded sadly. "He wasn't
missing. He's been here, reviewing his tests on her. He'd come in
here and speak to me. He didn't know I could hear him." She shook her
head angrily. "He just had to get into her head. Couldn't leave her
alone. That bastard's been lying to her for five years!"
She laughed sarcastically. "He wants to use
the multimind program to free the drones. Very noble and all that
right? But the government has other plans for me and Dawn. They want
to use our minds as a weapon...to destroy the drones...and of course
kill us and Colin in the process."
The Professor and Remmie stared at her,
openmouthed.
She shrugged. "I found out three years ago.
I even tried to tell him. But he just wouldn't listen. So, I just
went to sleep. That way if they killed me, at least they wouldn't get
to use my mind. But I guess they just kept hoping I'd wake
up."
"Woah," said Remmie. "We've got to get outta
this room Professor. If that's all true, then Dawn and Quinn are in
more danger than we thought."
The Professor stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Wade my dear," he said. "Do your abilities allow you to implant
suggestions?" he said.
Dawn's Wade's eyes sparkled as she read the
thought on the tip on the Professor's tongue. "Yes!" she said
excitedly. "That's a brilliant idea!"
"Yes," said the Professor smugly as a wide
smile crossed his face. "I know."
Part 15
Dawn's Wade opened the door to her room
silently, as the Professor and Remmie followed closely behind. Once
in the hallway, however, her stance abruptly changed, and she strode
confidently past the two lab technicians, who merely gaped at her in
shock.
Before they could say a word, however, she
spoke. "You see her when you look at me," she said, silently
projecting an image of the woman she despised more than any of the
other doctors...the one who had leaked out the government's plan for
the Welles twins. The Professor had told her, after all, to project
the person with the highest authority. And Logan Mallory was probably
the head scientist in the camp...and the most heartless.
Dawn's Wade snorted softly to
herself...after all, Logan was the one who'd devised the plan to use
the Welles twins' minds to get rid of the drones...and kill her own
brother.
The two techs blinked as she walked by, then
stood at full attention.
"Hello Logan...uh...I mean ma'am," stuttered
one.
"Thank goodness. Low-level techs," thought
Dawn's Wade. If they'd been high-level, they probably wouldn't have
fallen for her ruse. As it was, she couldn't break the image by
speaking. So, she projected an image of Logan nodding her head
haughtily, while suppressing a grin..
The Professor and Remmie grinned at each
other knowingly. It was working!
"Come Rembrandt," said the Professor, his
eyes twinkling. "To the lab."
Wade concentrated on the rope that held
Quinn's hands in position. But she was untrained in the mental
arts...and unsure of how to use her so called multimind.
She narrowed her eyes, picturing the rope
unraveling as she concentrated harder, and as she watched, the rope
began to slowly loosen.
"I'm doing it!" Wade thought
exuberantly.
Which was a mistake.
Colin, distracted as he was by Dawn's
ordeal, clearly sensed Wade's gleeful thought.
He turned and faced her, his eyes cold. Wade
saw the knowledge of her actions reflected in his face, and drew in a
deep breath of fear.
Colin turned then, and approached Quinn, his
hand outstretched. "I'm afraid your friend Quinn here is giving you
the wrong ideas Wade," he said sternly. "I will have to eliminate
him."
"NO!!" screamed Wade in horror, as she
struggled against the bonds that held her to the chair. "Don't you
touch him!"
Quinn watched Colin approach, his mind
reeling. But then he felt the ties on his hands. They were still
loose from Wade's attempt to untie him! Frantically he struggled to
pull his wrists free -- and escape Colin's deadly touch.
"Colin...please," came the weakened voice of
Dawn from across the room. Tears were flowing openly down her cheeks.
"If you ever loved me...you won't do this!"
Colin hesitated, looking back at her, his
face pained.
Quinn saw his chance. He finally got his
hands free, and leaped out of the chair, connecting his right fist
into Colin's turned cheek.
Colin staggered back, clutching his face.
"I'll kill you!" he sputtered.
Quinn faced him defiantly, his fists raised,
despite the fact he knew he was no match for Colin's mind
powers.
Dawn wept, silently now.
Suddenly the door swung open to reveal the
Professor, Remmie and...Wade?
Quinn blinked in confusion. Dawn gasped in
shock. And Colin spun around to face the intruders.
"You!" spat out Colin, scrunching his
expression into a look of twisted hatred.
Dawn's Wade looked at him, her face calm and
unruffled. "Hello Colin," she said evenly.
Part 16
Colin glared at Dawn's Wade, who watched him
calmly as the Professor and Remmie lurked behind, ready to spring on
him.
"Selfish bitch..." he spit out. "You decided
to wake up."
Dawn's Wade stood and stared at him stonily.
"I came for my sister," she said.
Colin laughed. "Of course you did. The
Project...the lives you could save...they've always meant nothing to
you!"
Dawn's Wade's face grew harsher, "Logan's
played you from day one Colin. And you're so damn thick you don't
even realize it."
Dawn watched her sister. Shock permeated her
brain...and then anger...more anger than she'd ever felt in her life.
She felt it bubbling inside her like a volcano ready to burst. Logan,
her supposed friend, and Colin, her lover...had *lied* to her all
this time?
"That bastard!" she fumed. "That liar!"
After all, it was one thing for Colin to simply betray her...she
could almost forgive that because she knew he pursued a course of
action he believed to be right and true. He was twisted in his
belief. But the belief itself was a noble one. Saving the drones was
a course she had, after all, pursued for years. But the fact that he
had obviously hid his knowledge of Wade from her...when he knew...HE
KNEW...how it had killed her daily to think of her sister in a
camp!
And Logan...where did she fit into all of
this?
Dawn could clearly remember the day she'd
come to Logan, trying desperately to find Colin after his
*disappearance.* "Nothing," Logan had said, after trying to sense
him, and she'd believed. Dawn shook her head. "HOW was I so
gullible!" she thought reproachfully.
That was when she felt her sister's mind
touch hers. <<You couldn't have known Dawn.>>
<<I...I believed
him.>>
<<He was a plant...sent to determine
your mind pattern...he wants to save the drones. But Logan has other
plans.>>
<<What?>>
<<She wants to use us as a
weapon...merge us to destroy the drones, kill Colin...and when we've
outlived our usefulness...to kill us.>>
Dawn felt the powers of her mind bubbling up
with her anger. They felt tangible, and ready to surface.
Her sister's thoughts hit her one more time,
hesitant this time.
<<He did love you
Dawn.>>
<<That>> thought Dawn darkly.
<<makes it worse.>>
<<Then join with me. Merge on our own
terms. We can defeat them together>> came the voice inside her
head.
<<Yes>> replied Dawn, the heat
of her anger flashing in her eyes.
And the fusion began.
With Colin distracted by Wade's double,
Quinn took the opportunity to untie Wade.
She stood up, exuberant to be free of the
chair, and threw her arms around him.
"You idiot," she said softly admonishing him
through her worried tears. "He could kill you."
Quinn held her tightly. "I'm not gonna let
him get near you," he said, gazing fiercely at Colin.
Suddenly, Wade's face looked cloudy.
"Something's happening Quinn...I can feel it!" she
whispered.
Evidently Colin felt it too, because he took
a step backwards away from Dawn's wade. "Noooo!" he yelled. "You
can't join yet! The Project! It's not time!"
But Dawn and Wade's double did not heed his
protests.
A light emanating from their foreheads
enveloped both their bodies. It swirled, clouding the view of the two
girls, until neither one could be seen.
Then, sparks of light began to flow between
the two pulses of energy. Back and forth light, like some crazed
fireworks display, growing ever closer and ever faster, the two
energies shifted and focused in on each other.
Quinn stared at the display openmouthed. He
was too shocked even to move from what he knew was a dangerous
position.
The Professor broke him out of his reverie.
"Mr. Mallory..." he hissed. "I suggest we help our young friends?" He
gestured to Colin and the chair that Wade had just been sitting in.
In unison, all three male sliders moved
towards Colin. Before Colin realized what they were doing (his
attention completely taken in by the joining), they had tackled him
and strapped him into the chair that Wade had so recently
occupied.
"Good show Mr. Mallory," cried the
Professor.
Remmie stepped behind Quinn. "Let's see that
turkey get out of that trap," he quipped.
Quinn smiled, as he looked at Colin's
enraged face.
"Fools!" Colin cried. "Do you think you can
hold me in this!" He shut his eyes for a moment. With that one of the
straps on the chair broke off.
The smile on Quinn's face faded.
"No brother...but I can," said a feminine
voice from the doorway.
Colin gaped...frozen in the
chair.
A tall, brown haired woman smiled viciously
at the huddling sliders. "I see you have nearly performed my tasks
for me."
Wade held tightly to Quinn's hand, as they
stepped back. A name flashed in her mind, and she gasped. "It's
Logan!" she said, her worried voice betraying the fear they all
felt.
"This just keeps gettin' better and better,"
muttered Remmie sarcastically.
Part 17
Logan smiled at the figure of her brother,
who lay in the chair, a look of confusion plastered on his face.
Meanwhile the bodies of Dawn and her sister had completely merged
together. They stood, one figure softly glowing, features
indistinguishable, making no comment as Logan waved her hand and
allowed her brother to stand for a moment.
"Logan...?" said Colin in confusion...and
more than a little fear. He knew his sister. She could be ruthless. A
thought crossed his mind, and he looked at the figure of the
multimind glowing softly to his right. "Was Wade right? Was Logan
operating on her own agenda?"
Logan laughed again, louder this time. She
completely ignored the huddling sliders as she addressed her brother.
"Brother dear, you played right in my hands. The multimind is ready.
Ready for the destruction of the drones."
"No..." whispered Colin, with a look of
realization.
"Oh...yes," responded Logan.
"Oh my god. She was right. No! Dawn!" said
Colin, and he sprang in front of the glowing multimind. He held his
hands up, drawing on a reserve of strength he didn't even know he
had, and sent a force of wind into Logan, blowing her hard against
the wall, and knocking her unconscious for a moment.
Colin turned to the sliders. "Get away! Get
away now! I can't hold her!" He knew he was a dead man. But it was a
sacrifice he was willing to make.
The multimind began to swirl.....sparks of
light flying, blinding the sliders. It was growing brighter, and
hotter in the room, and Wade could barely distinguish where the light
was coming from.
The Professor and Remmie ran out the door.
Quinn started to pull Wade out of the room. But Wade looked at the
multimind that had once been her double and her alternate twin. "We
can't leave them!" she protested. "No!" For she realized what they
were about to do, and tears began to stream down her
cheeks.
"We can't do anything Wade!" Quinn shouted.
"Go!"
She felt a presence touch her mind. Dawn's
voice spoke to her. "Go...Wade. Perhaps we will meet again
someday...until then go...get to Sanctuary."
Her double's voice joined with Dawn's and
Wade felt a feather light touch. "Live in peace...without the burden
of your mind."
Dimly Wade realized that her double had just
closed her off from the powers that Colin had released.
Mutely, Wade allowed Quinn to grab her hand
and run out of the room.
They ran down the hallways of the Cranium
Institute, ducking to avoid guards until they finally ran out the
door. Alarms were screaming within the Institute, and people were
running around in chaos.
Quinn held tightly to Wade, as they followed
the Professor and Remmie into the street away from the
Institute.
Suddenly a bright flash filled the sky, and
a deafening roar hit their ears in a rush.
"Hit the deck Mr. Mallory!" shouted the
Professor, as he dove for the nearest bit of shelter he could
find.
Quinn dropped into a roll, grabbing Wade to
him and sheltering her with his body.
Another explosion sounded. Then another. The
sky was lit up with the flames coming from the burning remains of the
Cranium Institute. Quinn watched it burn with round, saddened eyes,
holding tightly to Wade. He realized what it meant. The Cranium
Institute was gone. But so were Dawn and her sister.
"Two minutes to the slide Mr. Mallory," said
the Professor with a flourish. "And I will be so very incredibly
happy to be off this hellhole of a world."
"You're tellin' me Professor," remarked
Remmie.
Quinn didn't answer. He was watching Wade,
who was holding a picture of a younger, laughing Dawn, looking very
full of life. He walked over to her and put a hand on her
shoulder.
"There was nothing you could do," he said
softly.
Wade shook her head sadly. "She sacrificed
herself. All for the powers of her mind." She put the picture in her
pocket. "I'll never forget that," she said.
Quinn nodded as the timer beeped, and the
Professor activated the vortex. He wouldn't forget it
either.
He grabbed Wade's hand and the four
interdimensionial travelers leaped into the next world.
The vortex closed with a whooshing sound,
leaving the remains of Sanctuary quiet.
But only for a moment.
Suddenly three etheral forms floated into
the room. Their features were indistinct, but their voices
weren't.
"Voice identification please," said the
computer, detecting a new presence.
"Dawn Welles," one figure said with an
unearthly smile.
"Wade Welles," said the other laughing
merrily and twirling brightly across the room.
"Colin Mallory," said the last, as it merged
to make contact with the first spirit form for a brief
moment.
"Time to say good-bye to the drone camps,"
said the first figure serenely.
The three figures joined hands...and
disappeared.
Pictures began to light up the computer
screen. "Prisoner #16256 freed...Prisoner #16257 freed," the computer
spouted. Lights began flashing, and the endless stream of numbers
continued on and on.
The End
Ok...I know this story was a little
scifi...thanks to everybody who stuck with it!
Take me back to the
stories!