Chapter 1:
Michael sat at his computer and was running the simulations for the test. He had stayed up the past three nights trying to solve the equation. He was having trouble creating the "Timer", which was the portal device he needed. He saw that Quinn had cannibalized a Motorola phone, but Michael wanted to use something a bit more modern, he took an iPhone and was turning it into the perfect timer.
"God damn it!" Michael shouted, as he tried to make the phone show the display for the portal.
"Dude, calm down, we're not even sure this stuff even works!" Sam said.
"It works, I know it does." Michael said.
"Whatever..." Sam said.
"I did it!" Michael screamed so loud, Sam fell off his chair.
"You did?"
"Yeah! All we need to do is set it for a half hour, that's all we need to check out this new universe. But we need to be in the Mallory house. Just in case."
"Okay." Sam said and they drove back to the house and slipped into the basement.
"You ready?" Michael asked.
"Yeah.. but what if it doesn't work?"
"We die. But if it does, we become... uh... what would it be called when you travel between universes?"
"Jumpers?" Sam suggested.
"No. That sounds lame. How about... Sliders?" Michael asked.
"Sounds good."
"Let's do it!" Michael said and aimed the timer at a wall. He pressed the button and a portal appeared as the room shook.
"It actually worked..." Sam said, staring at the portal.
"Let's go!" Michael said leaping in.
"Wait up!" Sam shouted, jumping after them.
They fell through the portal and were looking around at the strange "walls" of the portal. The journey was short, as they both landed on the floor. They looked around at a much more "lived in" room than they had left from. The door at the top of the stairs opened and a man ran down the stairs.
"Who the hell are you?" the man asked.
"Uh, we're travelers from another universe?" Michael said, hoping he would believe them.
"You got it to work?" the man asked.
"The timer? Yeah, it wasn't that hard, the equation was already solved for me." Michael replied. "I'm Michael Josephson, and this is my friend, Sam."
"Nice to meet you both, I'm Quinn Mallory." the man said.
"But didn't he disappear years ago?" Sam asked.
"In our universe, but in this one, he never completed sliding." Michael replied.
"Anyway, I'm happy to see that the theory actually works. Say, would you be willing to give me the solution to the equation?" Quinn asked.
"Sorry, I think we need a Prime Directive here, no cross contaminating the multiverse." Michael replied.
"Sure. I get it. I'd probably have the same idea in your place." Quinn said. If you'd like, you can come upstairs and look around. The wife's at work and the kids are at school."
"Oh, cool." Michael said and the three walked upstairs. They passed photos of Quinn with a woman, and three kids.
"So, those are your kids?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, there's Quinn Jr, Max, and Remmy." Quinn said. "Not sure why the name Remmy came to us, but it did. Wade does believe in the paranormal and astrology and that stuff."
"Wow. So, what did you do since you didn't invent sliding?" Michael asked.
"Well, I finished college and became a teacher. I retired a few years ago, I didn't like that I was stuck in one job." Quinn said.
"Really? What happened to your mom? In our universe, after you disappeared, she just sorta moved out." Sam asked.
"She moved into a retirement home. Not that spectacular." Quinn said.
"Oh, well this is interesting. I can't believe it actually worked." Michael said.
"Yeah." Sam said.
The timer began to vibrate and Michael grabbed his pocket. He pulled the timer out, and saw that they had two minutes left.
"Sam! We gotta go!" Michael said.
"It was... uh... nice meeting you, Quinn." Sam said.
"Yeah, have fun, sliding." Quinn said.
"We will. Thanks by the way." Michael said.
"Why?"
"You had the same equation. I'm sure in different circumstances, you would have invented it here too."
"Thanks." Quinn said.
Michael and Sam ran downstairs and Michael activated the timer. The portal opened again and they jumped through together. They landed back in the dark basement.
"That was fun, but let's not do that again for a bit." Sam said. "My stomach is a bit out of it."
"Yeah. I need to perfect this stuff first though..." Michael said.
"See you tomorrow," Sam said and left the basement.
"And now to grab more of these notes..." Michael said as the sound of a portal opening behind him made him turn around. A figure emerged from the portal...
"Who are you?" Michael asked.
The figure held his hand up and walked out of the portal as it closed.
"No... it can't be!" Michael shouted.