“Relax, my good friend,” spindoctor said to W.A. “Both Lexie and Ransom are fine. It’s a long story for both of them. We’ll fill you in. Why don’t you sit down again and have some breakfast?”
W.A. was too restless to sit. “Neither of you remember Sarah? Really?”
Spindoctor and Nekka both shook their heads.
A new thought occurred to W.A. He ran upstairs, and then came back down with the photo of him and Sarah at the museum. He showed it to his two friends.
After a moment of awkward silence, Nekka said: “Huh.”
“So she was your girlfriend, then?” spindoctor asked.
“Yes. She was at least that,” W.A. responded. “It’s funny, because when I woke up in the morning, it’s like I was expecting her to be next to me in bed, or in the shower. That would mean we’re married. But there were no wedding photos. And . . .” W.A. looked down at his fingers. No wedding rings, nor were there impressions on his fingers of where one had been. “There are other things that don’t add up either,” he said.
“So someone captured her in the night, and then wiped out our memories . . . but not yours. What sense does that make?” Nekka asked.
Finally, W.A. did sit down. Sitting helped him think sometimes. “Good point. But there’s definitely a mystery to be solved here.”
“Well, unsolved mysteries are what we’re all about, after all,” Nekka said with a smile.
“There’s a different thought that worries me, my dear young fellow,” spindoctor said to W.A. “What if our memories are just fine? What if yours is the one that’s been altered? What if there is no Sarah, or if there is, she’s someone you never actually knew? What if you’re the one that’s being tricked? Even on our world, an image like that can be easily Photoshopped.”
“That theory does kind of make more sense,” Nekka admitted.
“No!” W.A. exclaimed, pounding his fist on the table. “I know what I feel. I care about her too much for all of this to be false.”
“My dear boy,” said spindoctor, his voice lowered in a sympathetic tone, “one’s emotions are the easiest things for others to manipulate.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Nekka added, a strong tinge of pain in her voice. W.A. knew she was talking about her “brother” Tristan, but she didn’t mention him by name. She didn’t want to, and in this group, she didn’t have to, either.
W.A. picked up the photo again, which Nekka had set on the table. Could it really be true? All those years, all those memories . . .
“I have to know,” W.A. said quietly. “I have to know for sure.”
Spindoctor nodded. “I understand. And we’ll help, of course. But first, shouldn’t you have a little breakfast? I made the eggs, and I can make some pancakes too. Did you know that I excel in the culinary arts? Ask Lexie, the next time you see her. I made her quite a meal shortly after I met her. She asked me why I was dressed like the Pillsbury Doughboy!”
Nekka laughed. W.A. smiled. He wasn’t really in an eating mood, but maybe taking some time to eat and clear his head would do some good. He grabbed an empty plate from the table and put some eggs and toast on it.
___________________________________
Five months had passed since that first morning. During that time, W.A., Nekka and spindoctor searched diligently for Sarah, to no avail. They also had more adventures with other Rifter friends, though time and space considerations do not allow for the telling of those adventures at the moment.
It was now February, and W.A. stood outside in the back yard. W.A. had celebrated another birthday in the intervening months. He found it hard to believe that he was still Rifting at 36!
He was in a contemplative mood, and he was enjoying the nice weather. The Midwest states on this world had been hit with a terrible blizzard, and W.A. mused that if any of his doubles were still living in the Midwest (and assuming for the moment that weather patterns were the same on those other worlds), W.A.’s doubles were dealing with the worst of it in the Chicagoland area. The nice San Francisco weather, W.A. mused to himself, had to be one of the few perks of being abducted by Kromaggs.
Nekka stepped outside, a little concerned. “Ready to go, W.A.?” she asked.
“I am,” W.A. said, turning the timer over and over in his hand. “But you’re not.”
“Um . . . huh?”
W.A. turned and smiled. “You and spindoctor have done so much for me,” W.A. told her. “I can’t take advantage of your kindness anymore.”
“Taking advantage, nothing! This is what we do,” Nekka told him. “You’re not going anywhere without us, mister.”
“I second Nekka’s appraisal of the situation,” spindoctor said, appearing at the doorway, apparently having overheard the last little bit of the conversation. “There’s no reason to take off just because you’re starting to lose hope, my friend. You just need some encouragement, that’s all.”
“When is the last time either of you went to work?” W.A. asked flatly.
Nekka opened her mouth, but then closed it again. She honestly couldn’t remember. She looked over at spindoctor, who had been about to protest, but now had an embarrassed look on his face as well.
“It’s a rough economy,” W.A. pointed out. “You two should be working as much as possible. This place you have here—your wayward home—is a great idea. You have to keep it open. And to do that, you have to be paying the bills. You can’t keep living off of the money you have stored up.”
“But, W.A.,” Nekka protested, “The past few months have been just like old times, like back in the ‘90s. And back then was . . .” Her voice trailed off, embarrassed to say anymore.
“The best time of your life?” W.A. offered. Nekka nodded. “I know. It was mine, too,” W.A. continued. “But the work you’re doing here is important. And this place is supposed to be a home for temporary boarders, not a full-time place for a freeloader. So I either have to settle down here . . .” Pausing a moment, W.A. lifted his hand with the timer in it. “. . . or I have to set out to find Sarah on my own.”
After a moment’s silence, spindoctor said, “You know you can come back here anytime, don’t you?”
“Sure,” said W.A. “I stored these coordinates on this timer.”
Nekka ran over to W.A. and hugged him. “You come back and visit us real soon, mister. You hear that?”
“You know I will,” W.A. said, chuckling through his tears.
After Nekka released her embrace, W.A. walked over to shake spindoctor’s hand, but spindoctor grabbed W.A. in a bear hug. Previously he would have felt uncomfortable doing something like that, but he was going to miss his friend too much, and he wanted W.A. to know it.
W.A. laughed, a little taken back, but returned the hug. Then, as they pulled apart, W.A. said, “You know, spindoctor – one of these days, you have to tell me why you don’t capitalize your name.”
“No, I don’t,” spindoctor said with a smirk.
W.A. just smiled back. He pushed a few buttons on the timer. A blue vortex opened before him. And in a few seconds, he had disappeared into it, and then it closed.
Nekka and spindoctor stood there for a moment, sort of “taking it in” before moving back to the house. “So, what now?” Nekka asked as they walked.
“Well, we could always visit some of the other Rifters,” spindoctor suggested. “Besides, you never know when another adventure is just going to fall out of the sky for us.”
“Right,” Nekka said sarcastically, with a chuckle. “Something is going to happen right now that’s going to change everything.”
As she said this, having just walked in the back door, a swirling red vortex appeared in front of their house by the front door. Out of the vortex came an individual who looked exactly like W.A. This fellow had no idea why it would be strange—actually probably impossible—for W.A. to have any doubles. He simply looked at the house, and was surprised to find that, for some reason, it looked familiar to him. Well, he needed a place to stay, and since he knew nothing about this world, this place was as good as any to inquire about lodging locations.
So this individual picked himself up, dusted himself off, buttoned up his white striped shirt so that no one could see his robotic chest, and rang the doorbell.