Episode 7: "Unstuck Reality."

Rembrandt yawned loudly, rubbing his red eyes. He had been staring at the computer screen for a long time now and needed a break. Getting up he looked over at the others on the table, they were all in deep concentration, as they browsed through the files that they had downloaded from the Kromagg timer. They had been searching through the list of worlds, using the computers in the local library, in the hope that they could find an Earth advanced enough to help Diana in her research to separate the Quinns.

As he looked over at Mallory he could see the sullen expression that was on his face. His usual cheerful smile had gone and he had been quiet for some time now. Remmy knew that he must be thinking about something very important. "You ok Mallory?"

Mallory lowered his eyes for a moment before speaking. "Yeah. I'm ok. Just been thinking about things. If Quinn and I will ever separate, and if Diana and I will ever see home again…"

"I know how you feel." Sighed Wade. "It took us almost three years before Quinn could finally get us back home. And when we finally did to see it … to see it like the way it was. You just can't give up hope, because you will see it again, it just might take a while."

Diana looked up from her console. "I am positive that I am close to finding a way to separate Quinn from you. Dr Geiger was telling the truth when he told us that you are linked like Siamese twins but I still think that the bond can be broken. I just need that world so that they can help me complete my research. Not to mention that they will have the necessary technology needed to carry it out."

Maggie slowly smiled. The prospect of getting Quinn back was brighter than ever.

"Come on." Rembrandt called to Mallory. "Looks like you could do with a break as well."

Nodding he stood up. Together with Remmy he left the library, and they stepped outside for some fresh air, while the others continued to look through the files.

"Ugh…"

Colin Mallory fell onto his knees and held his stomach tight. A pain erupted through his entire body almost paralysing him and driving him unconscious. As he opened up his mouth he spat out a thick trail of blood and wiped the remnant away with his sleeves. He could hear the many voices of people all around him, concerned about his condition, unsure of what to do.

He lifted up his head, sweat falling down the sides of his face, and tried to tell them that there was nothing that they could do. There was nothing that anyone could do. The siren of an ambulance drifted along with the wind, but he knew that it was useless, the process had already started.

The crowd suddenly gasped in shock as they saw Colin begin to shift slightly out of phase with everything. Strange energy particles danced along his body, causing the shifting to get worse, until they heard him scream out in pain. The next few moments happened so fast that they could hardly comprehend what had happened. One moment he was on his knees, phasing in and out of reality, and then the next something seemed to pull at the very genetic makeup of his body. A bright flash of light shone out … and he was gone.

In this out of phase state Colin could feel the very matter of a vortex all around him. He could feel its energy, its raw untapped power, as it coursed through his entire body. As the pain continued to get worse, another light engulfed him, and when he finally opened his eyes he found himself in the middle of a street. The pain slowly subsided and his body returned to its normal state. He had been pulled into another dimension.

Finally collapsing, his head hit the hard ground, and he lay there crying in pain as blood seeped out of his nose. There was no point in seeking medical attention, as it would not be long before it started again, and he was pulled from this world. Colin slowly closed his eyes. This was his reality, being pulled from one world to the next, as the 'unstuck' state slowly ripped him apart…

What if you found a portal to a parallel universe?

What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds?

Where it's the same year

And you're the same person

But everything else is different

And what if you can't find your way home…

Starring: Cleavent Derricks as Rembrandt Brown

Sabrina Lloyd as Wade Welles

Kari Wuhrer as Maggie Beckett

Robert Floyd as Mallory

And Tembi Locke as Diana Davis

… Sliders!

Colin slowly opened his eyes. Light droplets of rain had landed on his face, rousing him into consciousness. Trying to move his aching body, he quickly turned to his side, as he felt vomit rush up into his throat and through his mouth. He waited until it had passed before spitting out the last of it and looking around at his surroundings. He found himself in an alleyway, up above the dark clouds were beginning to release their stored water, and he could see people rushing to get indoors before it got worse.

It suddenly hit his mind that he did not remember arriving here. But this was not the first time that something like this had happened. While he was unconscious he must have still been pulled from that other world and thrown into this one. His body still hurting he realised that it must have been recent. Pulling himself over to a puddle that was forming Colin gazed at his face.

His normally clear skin now looked weary and dirty, dark bags hung under his bloodshot eyes, and a few premature wrinkles lined his face. As he moved his scruffy brown hair out from his eyes he could see a few white strands in them. It was obvious what was happening to himself. The 'unstuck' state was slowly killing him. Every time that he was pulled into another dimension it caused the pain to increase and soon it would not be long before he could not endure it any longer.

He had pieced together what had happened to him some time ago. He worked out that during the slide another vortex had purposely intersected with their own. The resulting effect caused his body to shift out of normal phase, and he had become 'unstuck'. He had also come up with a theory to reverse it. If he could only get his hands on another timer and opened up a vortex while he was being pulled, out of phase through dimensions, it would realign his body. But finding another timer was impossible. His time on each world so erratic that there was not enough time to even search.

As he lay there on the ground he ignored the rain that poured heavily all around him and tried to gather his thoughts. He still held a faint hope that Quinn would somehow save him, but that hope faded with every slide.

"Uh… come on Colin. Think!" He forced himself up onto his feet and tried to focus through the throbbing pain in his head. "There has got to be another way!" But try as he might Colin was not able to come up with an alternate course of action. As the tears came to his eyes he slumped back down onto the floor. "Quinn! Maggie! Rembrandt! Where are you?!…"

He sat there for a long time, the tears streaming down his face, and as the familiar pain grabbed a hold of him he screamed out, vanishing once more into the multi-verse.

The pain seared through his entire being, indescribable, soul destroying. He continued to scream out as he was dragged through the multi-verse and pulled towards another dimension. As he opened up his eyes, he could feel himself slowing phasing onto this new Earth, his body temporarily regaining its normal physical state.

It took him a long time to recover. His breathing became normal, his body feeling solid once more, but the pain was still present, reduced to a minimum. He began to cough uncontrollably and it seemed to weaken his already frail body structure.

"Over eight different worlds in the course of a few hours. It is getting worse…"

Wiping away the sweat and blood from his face he slowly stood up and tried to walk. He could see the glances of passer-bys, dismissing him for just another drunk, as he tried to find somewhere to help clear his head. He stumbled through the busy streets and finally found a Café. He sat himself down in the seat, and closed his eyes, trying to regain his strength.

"What would you like?" He heard a female voice that seemed to be directed towards him.

"Coffee, black, no sugar please."

"It will only be a moment." He heard her walk away.

Colin waited until the coffee arrived before reopening his eyes. He sipped at the hot substance and then once again let his thoughts wonder. As always they returned to his friends. No matter how worse his condition got Colin continued to think about them. He missed them so much, more than he could put into words, and he could not believe that after finally finding his brother they were separated once more. He also had no idea what had happened to them after that dreaded slide. If they were still all right, trying to somehow find him in the multi-verse, or if some other fate had befell them.

Colin sighed. "It is time to finally accept it. I am never going to ever see them again. I only have a few slides left in me…" The sudden pain seemed to emphasise his words. "I have to stop wasting what time I have trying to find a way to survive … and try to find a way to say goodbye."

The waitress returned to his table, and screamed out in shock, dropping the glasses she was holding, causing them to shatter on the ground. She witnessed the sight of Colin shifting in and out of phase before screaming out in pain and finally vanishing in a bright light.

"Are you ok?" Colin looked up to see a beggar looking over at him.

As the pain continued through his body, Colin took a step forward, but the pain was crippling and he fell to the ground. "Ugh!…"

"I … I have some aspirin?"

Colin looked over at the vial that the man passed to him and he scanned the label. It looked pretty safe. Normally he would not have accepted it but the pain was so fierce that he had to take some of the aspirin. He rested for a long time and then made himself get up once more after wiping away more blood from his face. As his feet held on the ground he thanked the man and made his way down the street.

Colin stumbled along the pavement in a daze, and walked onto the middle of the road, falling onto it. "… Quinn, Maggie, Rembrandt … I will never forget you…"

Rembrandt turned to Mallory. For the last few hours they had been getting some rest and were now heading back to the library. "Mallory, there is something that I have been meaning to say to you for some time now."
"What is it Remmy?"

"As you know it took us over three years to finally make it back home. Three years of sliding continuously. I don't have to tell you that it took its toll … on all of us." Rembrandt thought back to those times, years ago, and of the Professor. "What I'm trying to say is that if you ever get the chance to go home again: take it."

Mallory shook his head. "I could never leave you guys."

"But that chance might not come back again. You have to take it. You and Diana should. Take it and rebuild your lives."

"And what if that time happens before Quinn and I are separated?"

Rembrandt fell silent. "The others and I will keep sliding and try to find a way. Once we find it we will slide back for you."

"And what about the timer? You'll need Diana to deal with all the problems."
"I … I haven't figured it all out yet."

Mallory smiled. "I appreciate what you're trying to say Remmy. I do want to go home, but given the chance, I still wouldn't. I came on this journey so that you could find a way to separate Quinn from me and I won't stop until that has been done. After that? Who knows, maybe then I will start thinking of going home."

Rembrandt smiled and then followed after Mallory. He suddenly stopped when he saw a man in the middle of the road fall onto his knees in pain. His hands were on his head, as if trying to keep it together. With a scream he started to shift in and out of phase with everything. "What the hell?!" The man looked up in pain and that was when Remmy saw his face. "Colin?!" He rushed over to him, but as he reached out, his hands passed right through him. "Huh?!"

"Rem – Remmy?" Colin forced out through the pain.

"Colin! Don't try to speak. I'll get you some help."

Remmy stepped back as Colin screamed out loud. His body seemed to be pulled apart by something and then he vanished in the bright light that appeared. When the light faded there was not a trace of him. He had gone. Turning to look behind Rembrandt saw the others running up to him. "It was Colin … he was … in so much pain!"

Diana stepped forward. "The effects of the 'unstuck' state. It must have been tearing him apart!"

"Colin…" Mallory struggled to find words.

"Is there a possibility that he is still alive?" Asked Maggie.

Diana shook her head. "From the looks of things he could not have survived any more of it. If only we had found him sooner…"

"There was nothing that we could have done."
"… I could have tried to build a containment field and anchor him in one dimension or…"

"Diana." Mallory placed his hands on her shoulder. "He would have been pulled from this dimension long before you had a chance to build it. There was nothing anyone could have done…"

In another dimension…

Amanda Mallory slowly looked out of the window and at the war torn world that was before her. She could see the signs of battle far out on the outer perimeter of the city. The Kromaggs were growing bolder with each passing day. But it would not be long before they had to call off the attack and retreat until reinforcements could arrive. At least with the Slide Field up they could not gain any help from their counterparts on other worlds.

"Amanda, something is trying to pass through the Slide Field!"

Amanda quickly went over to the technician and glanced at his screen. "Can you identify the quantum signature?"

"Not possible. For some reason the signature is fragmented. All I can tell you is that it is human." He turned to look at her. "Also from these readings the gateway is different than usual. I'm not even sure if it is a vortex at all but it has the same properties. Shall I let it through?"

She thought for a second. "Ok. I want you to start de-fragmenting that quantum signature as fast as you can."

"Right."

"Taylor, I want you to backtrack the signal and find out the co-ordinates of the world that it came from. John, re-route the gateway into the main holding cell and alert security to meet me there right now." Amanda turned and quickly left the control room. As she ran down the steps, taking two at a time, she let the hope rise up inside of her. This had been the first vortex activity in months that had tried to form on Kromagg Prime and she was almost positive of what it could mean. It had to be them! But she had to be careful; it could also be a Kromagg trick.

She arrived at the holding cell to see the security personnel armed and aiming at the cell where the gateway was being re-routed to. They all tightened their grips on their weapons as they saw a point of light appear. Human screams echoed from the point of light and she took a step back when she saw a man shifting in and out of phase, and in deep pain.

"Amanda, this is Rick." As Amanda stared at the form that was trying to phase onto this dimension she turned to the speaker on the wall. "We have de-fragmented the quantum signature … it is that of Colin Mallory!"

"Uh!" Amanda let out a sob and placed her hand over her mouth as the technician told her the news. She could not believe it. It was Colin … her son.

"From what I am picking up: his body is in some kind of out of phase state."

Amanda looked up. "The 'unstuck effect'?"

"It could be. Once he has phased in, the Slide Field should keep him anchored here."

"Rick … I want a medical team down here right now!"

"They are on their way."

Amanda moved away from the speaker, and motioning for security to get back, she ran towards her son. "Colin!"

Colin cried out in pain as his body slowly returned into its normal state. As he opened his eyes he could not believe that he was looking up at the face of his mother. He tried to speak but he only brought up more blood. As the pain caused him to black out he faded into unconsciousness.

"Colin!"…

The Sliders decided to wait until the slide before they performed a small ceremony for the passing of their friend. They travelled through the gateway, emerging onto the new world, and then turned back to face the swirling silver blue vortex.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. That saved, a wretch, like me. I once was lost but now am found. Was blind, but now, can see…"

As Rembrandt continued to sing, the others stood beside him, and one by one they each threw a flower into the gateway. They did not know where the flowers would end up, in a kind of symbolic gesture, to the life that all Sliders led.

"In a way I will always think of you as my own brother." Said Mallory. He threw his flower into the vortex last and then it closed. "I know that Quinn will miss you so much. And all of us will never forget you…"

The group slowly walked away to confront the new earth that lay before them. As a tear fell from Mallory's eyes he could not be certain if they were his own … or Quinn's.

End.