Special thanks to NewUniverse (they change their pseudonym every few days), MrDrP, gerbilHunter, and Bobtrumpet for their reviews!
Thanks to everyone for reading!
Grande-sized thanks to MrDrP for beta-reading this chapter!
I.
"This doesn't seem right."
With growing suspicion, Mr. Paisley looked over the ginormous crate that had just been delivered to his manor's foyer. For weeks he had been eagerly anticipating the delivery of what he had been led to believe was the rarest of Cuddle Buddies. A one-of-a-kind prototype for a hybrid species that was never released, this 'Buddie' didn't even have a name. In fact, from the small pixelated jpeg the online seller had provided, it wasn't even clear what two animals made up the plush mashup. Now that it had arrived; however, he was beginning to have his doubts on the verity of those claims.
The millionaire collector had not been unduly concerned when the package first arrived. In the past he had received his rare plush acquisitions in containers much larger than the items themselves. Most aficionados of his elite circle knew that there was no such thing as too much safety packaging when transporting such precious items. That said, Paisley could not remember ever having received a package this large. It was seven feet tall, four feet wide and three feet deep. Furthermore, when one took into account the fact that the delivery team needed a forklift to bring the box into his home, it became obvious that not all the extra space could be taken up by packing peanuts.
With the box standing straight up, the team began to pry open the lid with crowbars. As they did so, Paisley found that rather than being overcome with giddy anticipation, a sensation of dread was engulfing him. "No, no, not right at all," he mumbled to himself.
The lid crashed to the floor, and an avalanche of foam kernels flowed out, partially revealing the crate's contents. Paisley reflexively squeezed his Warion (walrus-lion Cuddle Buddie) in his right hand much more tightly than he normally would have. The figure inside matched the picture all right. However, what had seemed intriguing and unconventional on his computer's screen was disturbing and monstrous in real life. Not to mention imposing in size.
Then he noticed that it was holding something in its right hand … or claw.
"A gun!" he exclaimed. "Why would it have a gun?"
"Beats me," the team's foreman shrugged as he held out a shipping invoice for a signature.
Paisley weighed the option of not signing and, thus, refusing shipment. After a moment's hesitation, he scribbled his signature and bid the deliverers a good day. They had already gone to so much trouble in bringing it into his mansion. Besides, he was willing to bet his vast Netscape shares that even if he returned the item, there was no way he would ever get reimbursed the large sum he had paid for it. The return address was for a post office box in the middle of London, and he only knew the seller by his online handle of 'tgi1968.'
After he was left alone, Paisley went back to packing for his trip. There was a Cuddle Con in Go City that weekend, and he was taking a flight that very evening from Middleton Airport. Although it wasn't even noon, Paisley felt suddenly compelled to leave for the airport as soon as possible.
As he struggled to close his bulging suitcase, it occurred to Paisley that he should have asked the delivery men to move the figure into his vault. The McHenry Laser Grid had been installed a little more than a week earlier and would prove a formidable deterrent against anyone trying to steal his exorbitantly-priced faux Cuddle Buddie. Indeed, Paisley knew first-hand how formidable the MLG was. In fact, if it hadn't been for the intervention of that young Possible girl, he'd currently be in the hospital rather than jetting off to a convention.
Then an odd thought occurred to him. Perhaps it was a good thing the figure wasn't in the vault. For some reason, the notion of a thief pilfering his latest acquisition filled the obsessive collector with a powerful sense of … relief.
He shook himself free of this strange fantasy and opened his cell phone to call the airline. As he began to dial, he heard a faint beeping noise. It reminded him of the rapid beeps a regular phone gave if it had been left off the hook for too long. In fact, he reflexively opened and closed his flip phone a few times before he realized the sound wasn't coming from it. By the time he realized his mistake, the sound had grown louder and seemed to have increased its tempo.
Following the noise to discover its source, he found himself back in the foyer. There, lying on the mosaic tile floor a few yards from the crate was a silver sphere about the size of a grapefruit. The beeping seemed to be emanating from it. As he noticed a trail of packing peanuts from the orb that led back to the open box, the sound increased to an almost painful pitch.
Mr. Paisley was in the act of covering his ears when the sphere began to levitate from the floor. Transfixed, he watched it rise until it was some ten feet in the air. Something stirred in the corner of his right eye. He blinked and slowly turned his gaze in that direction … back to the figure in the crate.
At least the volume of his scream provided a momentary respite from the incessant drone of the sphere.
II.
From a distance it appeared that Kim was spending the evening of the Tanabata festival alone in a mostly empty restaurant. She was sitting in her booth at Julian staring at her tablet, wearing earbuds, and occasionally taking a forkful of her meal and a sip from her water glass.
However, there were telltale signs that her meal wasn't a solitary one. For one thing, to her right there was a half-empty plate of Sashimi paired with an empty glass. Furthermore, a certain naked mole-rat would jump onto the table every few minutes to nibble from a rice ball that Kim would have at the ready. Finally, the cacophonous snores emanating from her lap dispelled the illusion that she was unaccompanied on this Sunday July night.
Karin Maaka leaned slightly into Kim's line of sight and gave her a small wave.
Kim smiled at her friend and removed her earbuds.
"Do you think he would like a refill on his soda?" Karin asked, indicating the sleeping form of Ron Stoppable that lay outstretched along the booth's seat, his head resting on a napkin draped across his girlfriend's right thigh.
Kim shook her head. "He's completely wiped. He's been making so many trips recently between his campus and Tokyo. Three this week. I'm actually surprised he lasted as long as he did."
"Are you two planning on filling out a tanzaku tonight?" Karin asked as she took away Ron's plate. It went without saying that the waitress would be preparing him a 'doggie bag.'
"Already have," Kim smiled. "We just need to hang it up. Probably on the way home."
"Good. Hey, are you watching your movie?"
"Yeah," Kim nodded.
"Oh, I still haven't seen it."
"You should, Karin. It's really cute." Then the obvious occurred to Kim. "I'll get you a copy and drop it off the next time we're in."
"That would be great, thanks, Kim!"
If it had been anyone other than Karin catching Kim watching the movie based on her life, it would have been so embarrassing.
Although she had only known the young woman a little over two years, she had quickly become one of Kim's closest friends. Karin was so genuine and … well, innocent that it was very easy for Kim to relax and just be herself around her. Hence, the reason why she had no qualms with Ron using her as a pillow in a semi-public setting. If the restaurant had been packed or if Karin had not been their waitress, that so wouldn't be happening.
Kim went back to watching the movie. Although it hadn't been a blockbuster, she knew it was way better than the film Jimmy Blamhammer had wanted to make back in high school. For starters, it was a smaller production and explicitly made for children. To this point, it avoided the Hollywood tradition of having teenagers portrayed by twenty-something (and, often, thirty-something) adults. Instead, the lead roles were given to actors who were the same age Kim and Ron had been when they had started high school.
Although the casting decisions had pleased Kim, they did cause some unfortunate controversy at the time. A vocal minority on social media had complained that the lead actress looked "too young" to play her. And then there were those on the skivvy fringes of the internet who were outraged that the fifteen-year-old actress wasn't sexy enough. Kim had pushed back hard on the armchair critics and the pervs, and then visited the set to let the actress know that she had her back. Forming a close bond with the teenager had been very rewarding. What Kim had liked most about the production was the director's decision to side-step CGI effects and invite Rufus to play himself in the movie. The little guy had a great time, and Ron couldn't have been more excited to carry a movie star around in his pocket.
As for the movie itself, it hadn't exactly set the world on fire. However, it was cute and fun. And that was what Kim wanted right now. Some light entertainment to take her mind off … things.
Okay. Fine. To take my mind off the Lorwardian sitch.
Fortunately, the aliens had not played any part in the film's plot. But they had been featured in a video released online to promote the movie. A video that proved to be the one sore spot from the entire experience for Kim.
Warhok and Warmonga had been depicted as clownish blowhards. And that so rubbed Kim the wrong way. Although most of her foes were freaky, by and large they were not all that menacing. The Lorwardians had been lethal exceptions to this rule. On two separate occasions, their technology had come mere seconds away from destroying the planet. Although she could see the studio's point-portraying them realistically was not conducive to a kid's movie, she also believed making them look like inept fools was a mistake. It only gave the false impression that the Lorwardians were harmless. To Kim's mind, the smartest move would have been to not include them entirely.
As she was musing on this point, a slice of cake suddenly appeared next to Kim's elbow.
"On the house," Karin replied to Kim's questioning glance.
"Thanks, Karin, but why? I'm not even done with my dinner."
"You looked a little down, so I thought I'd bring it now. No big!"
As she watched her friend walk away, Kim reflected on how shy and self-conscious the young woman used to be around her. She looked at the cake and recognized it as the same recipe she had been served the night the two had first met. Kim sighed. The kind gesture was having the opposite effect as intended. It only reminded Kim of Karin's secret. The secret that she and Ron were destined to keep for the rest of their lives.
The secret that, through a cruel twist of fate, they now had to keep from Karin herself.
A sudden rapping sound shook Kim from her melancholic daze. She started, looked up into the eyes of Captain Harkness, and a second later turned deep crimson.
Oh no.
Unfortunately, the reason for her embarrassment had nothing to do with being caught watching 'her' movie. When Harkness had rapped his knuckles on the tabletop to get her attention, the sound had woken Ron who proceeded to bang his head on the underside of the table.
"Whoa," Ron said as he sat up in the booth, rubbing the top of his head. "What's going on, KP? Oh, hey, Jack."
"Hey, Ron," Harkness said with a wave.
Kim was mortified. It didn't take much imagination to guess how Harkness might interpret Ron's sudden appearance. Still, whatever snark was about to be delivered had to be faced. She took a breath and raised her gaze to meet his. Surprisingly, he wasn't wearing a mischievous expression. Instead, there was … kindness reflected in his features. Which was both a relief and somewhat foreboding.
"Ms. Possible, can we talk?" he said with an undercurrent of urgency in his voice.
"Certainly."
As Harkness made to slide into the seat opposite Kim and Ron, Karin approached the table.
"Is everything all right here?"
"Yes, everything's fine, Karin," Kim smiled.
"Ok." She turned to face Harkness. "Hi," she managed with some effort.
"Hi, to you, too. Miss-?"
"I'm married," Karin cried and quickly hurried back the way she came.
Harkness presented Kim and Ron a puzzled, innocent look.
"As if," Kim said, rolling her eyes. "There's no way you aren't aware of the vibe you give off."
"Fine," Harkness said. He was wearing his 'kind' face again, and Kim was definitely getting a sinking sensation.
"Bad news?" she asked simply.
"Yes."
"What's going on?" Ron asked, putting his arm around Kim's shoulder.
"The Lorwardian chatter has intensified. And although we still don't know for certain what any of it means, our contact did catch two words in English."
After a beat, Kim asked, "My name?"
Harkness nodded. "Which is why I'm here to offer you sanctuary at our nearest safe site."
Kim's reply was instant. "Thank you, but no thank you,"
"You should reconsider."
"I am not going into hiding, Captain."
"Ms. Possible, they're coming for you. All three of us know that. You'll be a sitting duck unless—"
"Unless I go underground for who knows how long. And, even then, how do we know that your agency's 'safe site' is Lorwardian-proof."
"Torchwood," Harkness explained softly, "has acquired various technologies of alien origin over the years that—"
"I'm not going to stop living my life, Captain," Kim said in a tone that was more heated than she had intended.
"Look, Jack," Ron said after a moment of tense silence, "Kim isn't going to do this."
Harkness sighed. "So what are you going to do, Ms. Possible when a Lorwardian tripod crashes on your doorstep?"
This statement did give Kim pause. Up to that moment she had framed the scenario in her imagination as if it would be just like the last time—a tracking beam aimed at her and only her. What if the Lorwardians dropped a tripod in the middle of her neighborhood? Or on campus? How many people could be injured or even worse if that happened? Maybe hiding wasn't such a bad idea after all.
"Jack," Ron said, interrupting Kim's train of thought, "when these guys invaded the first time, there were all kinds of early signs, right? They tagged every golf course in the world at least a week before they arrived. Satellite signals went wonky, etc., etc. We'd have some warning."
"All that's true, Ron," Harkness conceded, "but what if they've learned that announcing their first visit was a mistake and try a more covert scheme?"
"Wait a minute," Kim said. "If you can monitor their communications, you can probably determine how far away the source of those communications is. Right?"
"Yes," Harkness admitted. "It isn't exact, but we have a pretty good idea how far away the source is."
"And I imagine you can also tell if a Lorwardian force was in the neighborhood?"
"Yes." Harkness said, making it clear that he did not like the way the conversation was headed. "The range is about one AU away. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less."
"Can you alert us if and when that happens?" Kim asked.
"Technically, yes," Harkness said, his voice growing strained. "However, by that point, they could be on top of you in only a couple of hours, 90 minutes. That's not enough time to get you secured at one of our sites."
"Maybe not," Kim said. "But it is enough time for us get out of town. So, no one else gets hurt."
Harkness smiled and looked at the table. "But what keeps you from getting hurt, Ms. Possible?"
Kim patted Ron's hand on her shoulder. "We'll have each other's back."
Harkness closed his eyes and shook his head. "You're making a mistake."
"Perhaps," Kim admitted. "But it is ours to make."
No one spoke for almost a full minute.
"If it makes you feel better," Kim said finally, "I believe you should make your offer to Drakken."
"Why?" Harkness asked. "He hasn't been mentioned at all."
"Not that you know of," Kim said. "When I first encountered Warmonga, she was calling Drakken 'The Great Blue.'"
"'The Great Blue'?" Harkness raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know," Kim explained, "some whack ubermensch from their mythology, I suspect. And then when they invaded, they called Drakken the 'deceiver' because they knew he wasn't that guy."
"And either one of those handles could have been in the chatter," Ron offered, "and you'd never know because …"
"Because they were in Lorwardian, right." Harkness sighed again. "Was really hoping not to have to visit Drew again." Then he smiled, "The scar is definitely not worth the accompanying baggage, and I don't think his partner likes me all that much."
He reached over and gave Rufus a scratch on the back of his head. "I really wish you'd reconsider."
"I know," Kim said. She felt Ron place his right hand in hers under the table. "But, we'll be okay."
"Well, the best of luck to you two. I sincerely hope you never hear from me again." As he slid out of the seat, he mumbled something under his breath.
"I'm sorry?" Kim asked.
"No, no, it's nothing," Harkness said. "I was just thinking about someone who could really help in this situation. Unfortunately, this person is not easy to get a hold of. A friend of mine used to have a direct line, but that hasn't worked for years."
"A direct line to who?" Ron asked.
"The Doctor," Harkness replied. "I'd say more but, well, … complicated." He smiled, gave a salute, and was gone.
For a full minute, Kim and Ron sat in stunned silence.
Finally, Ron spoke. "You might as well say 'Jinx' now, KP."
Instead, she squeezed Ron's hand tightly, released it, and then tapped her Kimmuncator's screen.
"Hey, Kim," Wade Load's image said. "What's up?"
"Wade, I need you to look up someone called The Doctor."
"Ok. Is this person a medical doctor or a secret agent that just uses that as an alias?" Team Possible's tech guru asked.
"Well, Wade," she sighed, "up until two minutes ago, he was only a dream."
III.
"What's going on? Why have we landed? Why all this fuss?" The Doctor hurried into the Tardis's console room, nervously twining his hands together.
"No idea, Doctor. The Tardis just landed unexpectedly," Zoe Heriot replied.
The Doctor adjusted a few knobs and threw a switch on the center console. "Are you certain that neither of you touched anything by mistake?"
After a moment, the Doctor and Zoe turned to look at Jamie McCrimmon who was down on his knees in a far corner of the room, with his back to them.
"I can feel your stares," he said crossly in his thick Scottish brogue. "But I didn't touch anything!"
"That is odd," the Doctor said with concern. "If she truly landed by herself, that is very odd indeed." Then he furrowed his brows. "Then why did you scream?"
"I didn't scream," Jamie said crossly over his shoulder. "I might have yelled out in surprise, but—"
"Jamie thought he saw a monster," Zoe replied with a slight roll of her eyes.
"The scanner's not even on, Jamie," the Doctor interrupted after glancing at the Tardis's main viewing screen.
"He said he saw it inside the Tardis, Doctor," Zoe explained.
The Doctor gave the console room a dubious onceover to verify that his first impression it was monster-free had been accurate. "Really, Jamie?"
"No, no, it's a wee little thing," the young highlander explained with exasperation. "Why do you think I'm down here? I think I've got it cornered."
"What does it look like?" the Doctor asked, stepping behind Jamie's hunched form.
"I didn't see it," Zoe explained.
"No, you think I imagined it," Jamie griped.
"Well, it was how you described it, Jamie."
"Please, what does it look like it?" the Doctor asked again.
"Like a brain with teeth."
"A brain with teeth." The Doctor said thoughtfully.
"Aye, a wee one"
"Move aside, Jamie. I believe I can handle this." He patted his companion on the back. Reluctantly, the young man scooted out of the way.
"Let us see now," the Doctor said crawling into the tight corner and lowering his face to the floor. After a few moments, he announced, "Yes, yes, I see what you mean, Jamie. That was a more or less apt description of our visitor."
"See! What did I tell you, Zoe?"
"Apt, if wholly inaccurate," the Doctor continued drolly.
Zoe favored Jamie with a smile.
"It's all right don't be frightened," the Doctor spoke softly.
"I told you, I didn't scream," Jamie protested.
"I was talking to our visitor, Jamie," the Doctor huffed. Then he continued in a gentle tone. "No one's going to harm you. That's right, little fellow. Come on out. Show yourself."
The Doctor slowing got to his feet a moment later. He held his hands together as if they contained something precious.
"What is it, Doctor?" Zoe asked, craning to see.
"This, Zoe," he replied as he slowly opened his hands, "is one of the most fascinating creatures in the galaxy. A mammal that lives in a hive-like society."
"Like bees?"
"And ants. These little fellows even have queens."
"But what is it?" Jamie asked, eyeing the little pink blob with borderline disgust.
"A naked mole-rat. Juvenile, if I am not mistaken."
"Ah, you're putting me on. That's not what they're called. And where did it come from?"
"They are called that, Jamie," the Doctor said rolling his eyes. "And it comes from one of the oddest planets I have ever visited in my travels."
"Which one is that?"
"Yours," the Doctor said, shooting the young man a look.
"Fine, but how did he get in the Tardis?"
"Now, that is a good question. Shall we ask him?"
Zoe and Jamie exchanged confused looks.
"So, what is your story, little fellow?" the Doctor addressed the little pink blob.
The creature began squeaking and making chittering noises with its oversized teeth.
"Really?" the Doctor said after a moment. As the creature continued, he rejoined with a couple of "Oh, dear's" and one "I say!". Finally, after the creature ceased, the Doctor said solemnly, "Well, we will see what we can do."
"Doctor?" Zoe asked hesitantly.
"Yes, it appears that when we landed, the Tardis, inadvertently, materialized around young Rufus here. Apparently, we caught him in mid-jump."
"Rufus?" Jaime asked.
"Yes. He has lost his human, and we're going to help find him."
"Were you just talking to that thing?" Jaime said pointing his finger just a few inches from Rufus's nose.
"Of course!" The Doctor snapped, slapping Jamie's finger away. "Weren't you even listening?"
"You can speak its language, Doctor?" Zoe asked, tentatively reaching out to pet Rufus on the head.
"Yes, I am fluent in most languages, my dear," the Doctor assented. "Well, at least, most civilized languages."
"You said that it said that it got caught when we landed. Where have we landed?"
"'Rufus', Jamie, not 'it.' But, again, a good point. Zoe could you turn on the scanner, so we can have a look?"
After Zoe turned the appropriate knob on the console, the screen on the wall slowly revealed a room with a bed and a desk.
"Hmm. I was expecting something a little more African," the Doctor said after a moment.
"African?" Jamie asked.
"Yes, naked mole-rats thrive in the savanna. The earth isn't all highlands and lochs, you know."
"It looks like a regular bedroom," Zoe said. "A little antiquated, but not much different than my chambers on the Wheel."
"Yes, let us go out and have a look around." The Doctor pressed a button, and the large Tardis doors that formed the room's left wall opened.
The trio exited the Tardis and tentatively began to explore the room. After a few moments, the Doctor sat on the bed with Rufus and thoughtfully examined all four walls of the loft.
"Why did she bring us here?" the Doctor half-whispered to himself. "There's got be a reason."
"Well, you always claim the Tardis has a mind of its own," Jamie said as he picked up an odd-looking stuffed toy from the bed. "Maybe it just wanted a nap." He carelessly tossed the toy back down so that it rolled off the side.
The Doctor ignored him and continued to study the room in silence for some time. "There is something very curious about this room," he said finally.
"What, Doctor? Everything seems normal to me," Zoe said as she looked over the devices on the desk. "Turn-of-the-century in style, but normal."
"There is no entrance," he pronounced with some gravity.
"What do you mean? The door's right there," Jamie said waving his arm to indicate its location.
"That's the bathroom, Jamie," the Doctor said without looking. "How does one get in and out of this place?"
"Why don't you ask your little friend?" Jaime said with an unsubtle dose of sarcasm. "I'm sure he'll know."
"Quite right." The Doctor looked to the mole-rat who was now perched on the edge of the bed. However, before he could speak, Rufus began sniffing the air excitedly. Then he began shaking.
"What is he doing, Doctor?" Zoe asked.
"I'm not sure." The Doctor went to stroke the top of Rufus's head to calm him, but before he could, the little creature sprang from the bed and ran back into the Tardis.
"Ow!"
Kim was seeing stars. Metaphorically, at least.
"KP! Are you okay?" Ron urgently.
"Yeah," she said, rubbing the top of her head, "fine. Just hit my head on … something."
They had been climbing the spiral staircase for a long, long time. Although she wasn't getting tired or winded by the climb, Kim was starting to lose heart. She had expected to see something, anything at the end of her flashlight's beam eventually, but, over the last five minutes, the sense of optimism that formed a main pillar of her personality had started to crumble. There was no question of ending the search, but she had begun to doubt that climbing these stairs was the best way to find Rufus. In fact, she had just lowered the flashlight and turned to ask Ron what he thought they should do when her head smacked into … whatever it had just smacked into.
She raised the flashlight which revealed that what she'd hit was a piece of wood. About a foot wide and maybe five-foot long, it looked like a shelf. A shelf that certainly had not been there seconds earlier. Its sudden appearance, however, was not the only strange thing about it. It also seemed to be suspended in mid-air. She traced its edges with the flashlight's beam. All around it was the endless void. And that was when Kim made the chilling observation that the rows of stairs that only moments before towered vertiginously above them had vanished right at the point where the 'shelf' hovered. All at once, the universe seemed to only contain this magically floating shelf above, the dozens of rows of stairs beneath, and the two of them in between.
"Duuuude," Ron said. "What is up with this place?"
"I know," she agreed. "I'm starting to feel like Alice."
"Huh?"
"In Wonderland, Ron."
"I hate that book," he said crossly. "And now were IN it!"
At first, Kim wanted to tell him to stay focused on their ferociously weird predicament, but when she recalled the reason behind Ron's anger, she smiled. Although she didn't particularly like Lewis Carroll's Alice stories, she didn't dislike them, either. Ron, on the other hand, absolutely despised them. As he had explained to her during a sleepover back in 1st grade, this was because everyone in Wonderland was a jerk and mean to Alice for no reason.
"I know you hate it, Ron." She squeezed his hand. "But this is different."
"How?"
"Because we're here together."
"Yeah, … I guess so," he said with a smile she could hear.
A few seconds later she let go of his hand.
"Why did you let go?" he half-wailed.
"Calm down, Ron. It's just for a second."
Still directing the flashlight to the shelf, Kim tentatively raised her free hand and gave the piece of wood a slight push. It didn't budge. She then gave it a firm shove and felt it move slightly. When it did, a crease of light in a thin line along the shelf's left and front edges pierced the omnipresent void.
"Whoa!" Ron said, covering his eyes.
"Sorry, Ron." She let go of the shelf. It lowered back to its previous location, and the light disappeared. Kim thought for a second. "Keep your eyes covered, I'm going to try something." She pushed harder and the shelf raised even higher. The crease of light was proportionally wider, too. When she let go, the board went back to its initial position, and the light was swallowed by the void once again.
"I don't think this is a shelf, Ron."
"I thought it was more like a board."
"It's not that, either." She pushed even harder, this time against the left side of the object. "I think," she strained, "that … it's ...," and the object flipped on its right edge, "… a lid."
Light poured down onto them from an open space that now 'hung' in the same position as the 'shelf' had just seconds before. Kim stuffed the flashlight into her short's pocket. She grabbed Ron's hand, and, together, using their forearms as shields from the glare, they climbed up into the light.
Kim suddenly cried out as her right foot couldn't find the next step and she found herself tipping forward.
Fortunately, Ron was still holding her hand. "I got ya, KP!" With serious effort, he pulled her back and helped her regain her balance.
"Thanks, Ron. I almost ate it on the floor."
"What? There's a floor?"
"Yeah," she smiled, "there is!"
Once their eyesight got adjusted, they both carefully took the next doozy of a step onto that floor and found themselves in an odd … room.
All the surfaces were white. The wall to Kim and Ron's immediate left was honeycombed from floor to ceiling by circular 'openings' that weren't lights, exactly, but the light in the room seemed to emanate from them. The wall behind them was made up of panels with rows of various 'computer' instruments although 'computer' didn't seem like the appropriate word, and a large monitor. The wall across the room before them was partially 'open'—as if it were composed of two large doors that had been left slightly ajar (opening inward). Nothing but darkness, that reminded Kim of the place they had just left, could be seen in the space between the halves. The remaining wall was also made up of those circular 'openings' but also contained an opening leading to a corridor. The centerpiece of the room was a six-sided table covered with knobs and switches. And in the center of this 'table' was what looked to Kim like an oversized glass cake cover with a carousel of spinning mirrors inside. The 'cake cover' was pulsating with an eerie glow.
"What is this place?" She asked finally.
Ron shook his head. "It looks like something out of Captain Constellation … except, you know, not as slick."
They started to explore. For every odd object there was also a seemingly 'normal' one, too. In the corner next to the row of 'computer' panels, there was an old-fashioned coat rack. There was an ordinary-looking rocking chair in the opposite corner. A bookcase was next to the split wall. Finally, there was a long wooden trunk. It was from out of this last 'normal' article of furniture that they had climbed.
Kim got the sudden urge to double-check the trunk to make sure the stairs were still there, but Ron had begun to wave at her.
"Check this out, KP." He was pointing to the monitor.
On the screen was her room.
And there were people in her room. She couldn't see them, but two, maybe three, shadows were thrown across the portion of her bed and floor that were visible on the screen.
"I so don't like this, Ron." Her mouth was dry. She was starting to get frightened.
"Rufus!"
Ron's abrupt cry drew Kim's attention from the monitor. She turned and saw the little pink blob running through the gap in the 'split wall' and headed for the waiting arms of her best friend.
"Hey, buddy!" Ron gave his pet an excited, yet sufficiently gentle, squeeze, and then kissed him on his small, veiny head.
Although she reflexively winced at the kiss, Kim found that she couldn't contain her relief, either. She ran to Ron's side and began to stroke Rufus behind one of his little nub-like ears. Her relief was short-lived, however. She heard voices coming from the gap in the left wall. Turning her head quickly to the monitor, she saw that the shadows in her room were gone.
"They're coming, Ron." She tugged at his sleeve. "We've got to go!"
"Huh? Who's coming?"
She pulled him toward the trunk. "Come on!"
They ran back to the trunk, but the lid was closed. The voices were growing louder. Kim lifted the lid quickly, but when she looked inside, her heart sank.
"Uh-oh." Ron said.
The stairs and the void had been replaced by the wooden sides and the wooden floor of a normal, empty trunk.
To be continued ...
