by Adam Moon
The crowd slowly dispersed and they followed the woman at Neil’s urging.
She stopped at a nearby vehicle, looked it over and then counted the group. “We’ll have to go on foot. I’ll never fit you all in my car.” She walked and they followed as she kept a hand on her holster the entire way.
They followed her into a building marked, Keegan County Police Department.
Sandy whispered, “It’s a trap. We should run,” but the woman walked right up to an officer at the front counter, explained the situation, and the cop buzzed them through a door into a room full of weapons.
Neil was the first to snatch up guns and ammo. He grabbed an automatic assault rifle and three handguns as well as a bunch of weird looking grenades. The woman didn’t try to stop him and the cop at the counter barely gave him a second glance.
Kim reached for a gun but Sandy chuckled and brushed her hand away. By the time they were done they were ready for war. The gun-toting woman who’d helped them seemed happier than ever that they were walking out of a police station with a bunch of guns they got for free.
She stayed behind to flirt with the cop as they left.
Neil sat on the curb outside and beckoned Kim to join him as the others inspected their new weapons and Kara scrolled through the readouts on the device. He said, “I need to know if you want to go home. Your mom is probably worried sick about you.”
“I doubt she noticed when I didn’t come back. She’s probably spent the last few days locked in her bedroom with Brian.” The name Brian had more than a hint of disdain as she said it.
Neil whispered conspiratorially, and half jokingly, “I could go and kick Brian’s ass if you want me to.”
She stared at him for a bloated moment. Then shook her head. “Brian’s too big and mean for you. You’d get hurt.”
Neil chuckled. “You’re probably right.” He didn’t know how to phrase his next question because a father should never ask his daughter how she feels about never seeing her real mom again. Luckily he didn’t need to.
Kim said, “I don’t ever want to go back home to her.”
He nodded, subduing the joy that swelled his heart. “Then I think we should jump until we find a perfect Earth to call our own. How does that sound?”
“I love it.”
“Now let’s make sure we really want to do this.”
“I’m sure.” She leaned into him and he put an arm over her shoulder.
In a way, he was glad now that her mother was such a piece of shit. If not then Kim might not be so willing to join him.
“If we do this then I need to leave you some place safe while I help these guys against the Morians back home. Once they’re out of danger, I’ll come right back for you.”
“How long would you be gone?”
“Hopefully just a few minutes. Then when I get back we can jump until we find the perfect world.”
“You’re not going to leave me here are you? This place doesn’t seem that safe.”
Neil looked around. He knew the natives were armed and ready to kill but this was also the most heavily protected Earth they’d visited. Kim would be safe here. Beth’s people wouldn’t last five minutes on this world and the Morians wouldn’t be stupid enough to come looking for them in this gun happy dimension.
Just as he thought that, he heard rapid and distant gunfire that increased and got closer by the second. Then he saw the Morian ship blast past them overhead. It was looking for them despite the dangers.
It must’ve spotted them because it tried to land but the gunfire from the natives forced it to abandon its landing spot. It circled out of sight and the gunfire followed it as it went.
Either the Morians were stupid or their bloodlust was overpowering their senses. Neil knew the latter had to be true. The Morians invented dimensional jumping so they weren’t dumb by any stretch.
He knew they were out of time. He yelled to Kara, “Get us out of here before they land.”
Kara hit the button on the device and they jumped to the one place Neil didn’t want to jump to at that moment: home.
Hostile Home World
✨
THE FOUNDATION OF the diner was ragged and broken around them. They’d fallen a few feet into what was once the basement.
Kara looked at Kim and then at Neil. “Sandy said you were going to leave Kim behind.”
“I didn’t know you were taking us home right now.”
“I plugged in the coordinates while you talked to her. I thought that’s what I was supposed to do.”
Neil pulled Kim to his hip and said to Kara, “Get us out of here.”
She scrolled through the listings when all hell broke loose. The Morains were still there and they were in the mood for murder.
Jim grabbed Kara and his wife. They scrabbled up the crumbling basement walls and bolted for safety.
Neil knew he had to fight now. The device had just run off.
He pulled the assault rifle and shoved Kim to the ground. He made a mental note of the direction Kara and her family had gone and then he covered them with heavy, sustained fire.
The Morians advanced on his position so he told Sandy to take Kim and he’d cover them. He checked over his shoulder and as soon as they were up and running, he held the trigger down until his ammo ran dry. He slapped in a full clip and fired just as ferociously.
A Morian fell face down in the dirt and another was hit and took cover as it bled. A round pierced Neil’s shirt but it didn’t get him. He took careful aim now that his ammo was running low and the Morians attack had softened.
He didn’t see their ship but that was probably because they were trying to remain hidden from the locals as they laid in wait. He was glad for that. The ship would tip the balance in favor of the Morians.
He fired a volley and backed away. Then he fired from the hip until the clip emptied. He dropped the rifle and ran in the direction Sandy had taken Kim.
The Morians chased on foot so he took out one of his pistols and fired over his shoulder as he fled. He caught up with Sandy and Kim and nearly cried to find them unharmed.
The Morians were fast but they didn’t know the lay of the land. Sandy led them down allies and side streets until the Morians were out of sight and the gunfire ceased. Then they circled back, around the approaching Morians, to try and meet up with Kara, Jim, and Pam. Neil hoped they were alright but he also hoped the device hadn’t fallen into enemy hands.
They got lucky when they saw Jim dash across a street with Pam and Kara in tow. Neil resisted yelling to him. They ran after them, careful not to run right into the path of their hunters.
Jim was breathless and red. Pam looked like she was about to have a stroke. But they all smiled when they saw Sandy, Neil, and Kim.
Neil said, “Stick together. We can’t stop yet. They’re right behind us.”
Jim nodded and they started to run again.
Justice
✨
NOT ENTIRELY BY CHANCE, ten minutes later they ended up near Kim’s mom’s house. The paint was pealing and the bottom step to the porch was missing. It looked like a drug den instead of a home.
They’d evaded the Morians but no one knew how long that would last. Neil didn’t care. He had something he wanted to do.
Kim hid behind him and said, “Don’t go up there. Brian will kill us.”
Neil smiled and told Sandy to watch Kim. The look in his eyes stopped any of the rest of them from trying to talk him out of what he was about to do.
To Kim he said, “Your mom deserves to know you’re safe. She deserves to know you’re coming with me from now on.”
Kim cried and shook like a leaf. The fear in her eyes was palpable.
The third knock caused the living room curtains to rustle. Then a big brute of a man answered the door. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot. His fists were clenched as he took in Neil.
“What the fuck do you want, Neil?” Then he looked over his shoulder and yelled, “Peggy, your dopey ex is here. Is it his weekend to take Kim?”
Neil snarled, “Kim’s already with me, asshole. You didn’t notice, did you? You’re a piece of shit.”
“What did you just call me?” Anger lit up his face and brought his eyes into focus.
Just then Peggy slid in beside him at the doorway. She was as ugly as he was. Her eyes were just as bad and her teeth were blackened nubs. It broke Neil’s heart to see her that way. Despite her decrepit state he had to stop himself from embracing her. She wasn’t his Peggy, after all.
She asked, “What’s with all the fucking yelling? Shut up. What do you want Neil?”
“I’m here to tell you that Kim won’t be coming back here ever again.”
Peggy yawned and leaned against the door frame. “Bullshit.”
Brian sneered. “You can’t get out of child support so easy, buddy. She’s ours until she’s eighteen.”
Neil ignored the oaf and said earnestly to Peggy, “You could be so much better than this. It hurts me to see you this way.”
Peggy shook her head absently. She looked past him at Kim and then yawned again. To Brian she said, “Come back inside, babe. This will all work itself out. He can take Kim. It’ll give us more time alone.” To Neil, she said, “You can keep her as long as you want but those payments better keep coming in or I’ll report you and you’ll lose all custody rights.”
“She’s worth more than money. You used to understand that.”
“I’ll call the cops too. Just make sure the checks keep coming.”
“You’ll never see her again. Don’t you want to tell her how much you love her?”
She rolled her eyes and Brian stepped in front of him. He said, “Don’t be such a little bitch, Neil. Leave. Get off my porch or I’ll throw you off.”
“Give it a shot.”
“What?”
“Try your best.”
Brian’s eyes lit up like he’d hoped Neil would respond that way. He reeled back with his right arm but before he got the punch off Neil hit him square in the nose with a jab that hit him like a ton of bricks and sent him to his knees. He grabbed his nose as blood trickled through his fingers. He looked up at Neil and started to get to his feet when Neil punched him in the throat. Brian doubled over and then backed into the house like a coward.
Peggy screamed and slapped Neil in the chest. He grabbed her wrists and said evenly, “This isn’t who you are. You used to be better than this. Now tell your daughter that you love her or I’ll kick your fucking ass.”
Peggy shook, partly from rage and partly from fear. She looked at Kim and mumbled halfheartedly, “I love you.”
Neil shook his head and released her. “Goodbye. I used to love you.”
She shook her head and cut him with her eyes as she closed the door.
Neil knew he’d gone too far when he turned and saw the look of astonishment on Kim’s face. The jig was up. His daughter was starting to figure out that he was an impostor.
The Impostor
✨
KIM SAID CALMLY, “You’re not my real dad, are you?”
Neil’s eyes teared up now. He wasn’t an emotional guy but he’d been dreading this discussion from the moment he’d assumed the other Neil’s identity. He said, “I’m sorry, sweetheart. He died back on my world. He sacrificed himself for you. He was a great man.”
“So you’re the other one. You’re the military guy.”
“That’s right. I was going to tell you but I knew it would break your heart.”
She stared at the ground for a long time, deep in thought. Then she took his hand. “My dad wanted this. You’ll have to do, I guess.”
“Thank you.”
Sandy overheard and whispered to Neil, “I thought something was weird about you. So did Larry. I thought you’d changed but I didn’t suspect you were a completely different person.”
“I’m not very good at this, I suppose. Your Neil was a better man than I am, but I’m trying my best. It’s not every day you get second chances and I don’t plan on squandering this one.” He stared down at Kim. He whispered, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Kim’s voice caught in her throat. “He died so we could live. I’ll never forget that.” Then tears spilled liberally down her cheeks. Jim, Pam, and Kara closed in and formed a protective cocoon around her, soothing and patting her. They all hugged her and then Kara turned on Neil. “Can we trust you?”
“This is all I ever wanted. I got my daughter back. I would never jeopardize this. I am your servant.”
Kara smirked. “No you’re not. You guys are on your own now. We lost the Morians so it’s time for both of you to get out of here.”
Neil nodded and turned to Kim. “Now that you know I’m not your real dad, are you sure you don’t want to stay here with your mom?”
Kim chuckled through the tears. “Are you kidding? Brian would kick my ass because of what you just did to him. Mom might help him. You’re the best dad I’ve got now.”
Neil’s heart felt like it would swell through his ribcage.
Kara was the first to hug them goodbye. She handed Neil the dimensional jump device and said, “Be careful.”
Jim and Pam walked off with their teenage daughter and then Sandy planted a big kiss on Neil and then Kim. She said, “Don’t be strangers. Come back and see us from time to time if you can.”
Neil nodded and she gave Kim a final hug before leaving them.
They watched as their odd travel companions vanished from view. Then Neil knelt down and stared into his daughter’s eyes. “I want to make sure you want this.”
“I’m sure. I wish my own dad was strong enough to take me from my mom like you just did.”
“He planned to. He was going to be a little more diplomatic than I was. He was going to demand full custody. He told me that.”
“That would’ve taken months or years. I like your way better. Let’s go.”
Neil stood and started scrolling through jump destinations when a ship came crashing to the ground right in front of them. He instinctively pulled his handgun. It wasn’t until after he pulled it that he realized it would have made more sense to simply jump away. But it was too late now.
Unexpected Ally
✨
MORIANS POURED OUT of the craft but they hung back, waiting silently. Then a leather clad figure emerged and she was human. It took a moment for him to recognize her as Samantha, the wild woman.
Samantha yelled, “Put your gun down.”
“Nope.” He said it casually to show her he wasn’t intimidated even though he was scared to death. But he could also jump away at a moments notice if things went haywire, so in a way, he still had the upper hand.
She came closer and said conspiratorially, “I convinced them to let me talk with you. They want you dead but you have answers that I need. They’ll let you live as long as I tell them to.”
“What are you doing working with the Morians?”
“We have similar agendas. They want to stop the blue-backs and I want to make sure they suffer. It’s the perfect arrangement.”
It made sense. “What do you want to know?”
“First of all, what did you do with the real Neil?”
He
was only mildly surprised that she knew. “The Morians killed him on my planet. I assumed his identity. It’s complicated.”
“Okay. I just had to know. I knew you weren’t the original version the moment I smelled you. Second of all, I’m willing to forgive everyone else but I want to know where Steve is?”
“I’m not going to tell you that.”
“Tell me and I’ll convince them to spare you.”
“I don’t just want to be spared. I want to travel freely.”
“They won’t allow that.” She shook her head. “No. Your terms are unreasonable. The technology is dreadfully dangerous. You should know that by now.”
“My daughter and I want to find a perfect world to call home. Once we do that we’ll stop jumping.”
“They don’t care about your promises. They want their device back. You’re lucky they don’t blow you to bits as we speak.”
“The last time we met, I had the advantage. I’m not worried about them.”
“You should be. You killed one and wounded another but there are thousands of them spread across the alternate universes and they’re all looking for you.”
“If I tell you where Steve is, you need to let us leave with the device. Those are my terms.”
“I could always torture you until you tell me.”
“You could try.”
Samantha looked deeply into his eyes and then she smiled. “I bet you don’t break very easily.”
He smirked.
“Alright then. I’ll explain your situation to them and see if they’re willing to take mercy on you.”
Before she turned, Neil added, “You were right about Beth, the blue-back woman that was with us. She betrayed us the first chance she got.”
“That’s why I hate them. It’s why the Morians are out to make them suffer the consequences of their actions. None of them can be trusted.”
Neil nodded and she said, “Stay here and I’ll be right back.”