Ezekiel and Whitten stared at each other. There was electricity between the two of them that Shaw could feel down to his toes. He had been watching this conversation kind of like a spectator at a tennis match.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Whitten said. "You have no real authority, Ezekiel. You know that as well as I do. You cannot arrest me. You cannot kill me. You cannot harm either of us. I think it's even against your organization's rules. So, are we just going to sit here staring at each other all night?"
Ezekiel chewed at his lower lip for a moment. "Perhaps it's time to change the laws of IDEA, Augustus. Perhaps this time I'm here to do more than just talk to you."
Ezekiel reached into his pocket and removed a small rectangular device that reminded Shaw of a remote control. He pointed it at Whitten. Whitten's eyes widened just a bit, but then a smile crossed his face.
"And what would that be?" Whitten asked. "Some kind of stun gun?"
"It's a portal device," Ezekiel said. "A gift from one of our members from a more advanced dimension. It opens a portal into what we've termed a pocket dimension. People who have been struck by the device’s beam find themselves in this pocket. From what I understand, the pocket dimension is a true void. Nothing there, Whitten. Just you, alive, perhaps forever, with your warped thoughts."
Whitten dabbed at his mouth with his napkin. "I see. Very clever. And you'd really use that on me?"
"It's either you or the destruction of the multiverse," Ezekiel said. "You are leaving us little choice."
"Are you going to send Dr. Shaw there?" Whitten asked.
"If he refuses to abandon his experiments, perhaps," Ezekiel reply.
Whitten moved very fast. He reached beneath the napkin that he was holding in his lap. His hand came up with a device of his own. Without hesitating he fired at Ezekiel. There was a bright white flash of light, tinged with purple, and Shaw let out a cry, holding up a hand in front of his face. Ezekiel cried out and was flung across the room. The large coat billowed out around him as he flew through the air and he crashed into tables located along the far wall. There was a horrendous crash and he fell to the floor.
Whitten reached out and grabbed Shaw's wrist and stood up, knocking the table over. Plates and glasses flew and crashed to the floor. Shaw was yanked to his feet and Whitten dragged him by his wrist. Shaw nearly fell over, tripped over the tablecloth, and then caught his footing and ran with Whitten.
The shadows came to life. More and more shadow men appeared in front of them. Something flashed out of the darkness of the hallway leading to the restrooms, and struck the salad bar. The entire bar glowed bright white and then just vanished. Shaw screamed and ran faster, heading for the door as fast as his feet could carry him. Behind him Whitten was barking orders to telling him something, but all he heard was the noise of energy crackling through the air.
Just in front of Shaw a shadow man appeared. This one was nearly as big as Ezekiel. Shaw stared into the red eyes and then screamed again as the shadow man raised both arms out to its side.
Shaw went straight into the shadow man. He felt the heaviness of the long coat, that weird metallic feeling again. He collided with a solid mass and the arms enveloped him. He kept pushing forward, throwing all of his weight against the being in front of him, and finally felt the figure in front of him give way and they both fell to the ground. Shaw ended up on top of the shadow figure. As his weight fell on top of the shadow man he felt hot, stale, breath exhale into his face. Shaw reached up and flailed about, knocking the red glasses off. The shadow man fully materialized and Shaw found himself staring into an insectoid face, complete with quivering and snapping mandibles like that of an ant. The eyes were equally as red as the goggles that he had been wearing. The shadow creature made a horrendous buzzing noise like an angry insect.
Still down on the ground on his hands and knees, Shaw scrambled away as the shadow man waved its arms and legs around to get back on its feet. The sight of the shadow man's face was so hideous that Shaw's mouth hung open and he began making a babbling sound. He could not get up no matter how hard he tried. The shadow man was getting to his feet now and the buzzing sound was getting louder and angrier.
"Get to your feet, Dr. Shaw!"
Whitten grabbed Shaw by the back of his collar and yanked him to a standing position. Whitten fired his weird ray-gun-thing at the insect-faced shadow who went flying backwards, crashing through the glass door and tumbling into the sidewalk. There were screams from people on the street. Then there was a strange vibration in the air and the shadow man vanished.
Shaw and Whitten followed, out through the broken door and down the street. For a man who claimed to be hundreds of years old, Whitten ran like a man in his early 20s. Shaw was breathing hard, his heart pounding, his mind filled with fear and revulsion, and so many questions that he hardly knew where to start.
"Where are we going?" Shaw screamed.
"You're getting back to your lab and starting your experiments as soon as possible!" Whitten cried. Behind them there were more strange vibrations as shadow men appeared and disappeared. "They cannot get to you while you're on the Gemini campus because of the collider and other security measures that prevent them from materializing. You have to get there and start your experiments!"
Shaw nodded, his lungs screaming, he felt like he was going to pass out. There was a bright flash of light and a newspaper box glowed bright white and then vanished. He turned right, not even sure where he was going.
Whitten was no longer in sight and Shaw had no idea where he was. It seemed as if everyone could teleport and disappear expect for him and he was starting to resent it.
Shaw ran and ran, his chest felt like his lungs were going to burst. There was stitch in his side and he thought he was going to pass out. There had been no further bursts of light or energy, but he knew that the shadow men could appear anywhere or any time.
"Where the hell am I?" Shaw asked aloud, between huge gulping breaths, and he stopped running. He leaned over, his hands on his knees, breathing hard, feeling alternatively like he was going to vomit or pass out, perhaps both.
When his breathing was somewhat back to normal Shaw looked around. He was on a side street. There were darkened houses and cars parked on the street, but there was no one about. It was eerie. Shaw couldn't recall seeing another person other than the shadow men and Whitten for quite some time now. Where the hell was everyone?
"I need to get the fuck out of here," Shaw whispered.
Shaw walked back toward the restaurant. He did not want to, but there was nowhere else to go - he had parked his car back there. It took longer than he thought it would to return to his car. The muscles in his legs, not used to that much activity, were cramping by the time he reached an intersection near the restaurant. Shaw did his best to stay out of sight, watching the front of the eating establishment. He stood there for twenty minutes, massaging his legs and trying to regain some control of his body. During that time he did finally see other people, regular people, just walking down the streets. There were no workers from the restaurant and there were no cops, which Shaw thought was odd since the front window of the place was still smashed apart and scattered across the sidewalk.
He strolled down the street and tried to look casual. There were still lights on from other businesses and the shadows seemed less obvious or intense and that made him feel safer. He fished his car keys out of his pocket and got into his car. He wondered where Whitten went, but figured that man could teleport away just like everyone else seemed able to do. Shaw started his car, pulled out and got out of there as fast as he could without drawing attention to himself. At some point the cops were going to show up and he didn’t want to be seen.
Shaw headed home. He tried to avoid shadows as much as he could, but since the sun was down by now that was virtually impossible. He walked fast, got into the house and up the stairs fast. He packed a large bag with as much clothing and toiletries as he could. He left the house without looking
at his fridge, without looking at anything, avoiding staring into shadows. The shadow men only seemed to react if you reacted to them. Shaw was determined not to let that happen.
Shaw drove to Gemini. There were other scientists and workers who slept at the lab. There were often cots put into the labs so that experiments that required constant care could receive it. Lab workers could rotate out, with some of them sleeping on the cots while others continued their observation or work. There were even showers and a locker room in the building so that those who took up residence there could stay clean.
He got to the lab fast, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps Whitten had scared the IDEA people off for the time being. Perhaps they were wondering if any technology had been passed along to Shaw that might do them damage. Was Ezekiel dead? He had flown across the room hard and fast and the man was obviously old. That smash against the wall must have broken some bones, if not more. What was up with the man with the face of an insect? If that was what people looked like in some other dimension, then did he really want to see them? How could he blend in with a bunch of people who were really evolved bugs?
It was too much to think about right now. Shaw showed his ID to the security guard, who didn't even blink when he did so. Moments later he parked his car, got his suitcase out of the car and hustled into the building. Although Whitten had assured him that IDEA could not materialize on the campus, Shaw had no reason to trust everything the man said. Inside the building he breathed deep of the plant life that was in the lobby. It calmed him.
Shaw entered his lab and locked the door behind him. He sighed, leaning against the door and looking around the lab. It was just as he left it.
He was home.
He set about putting his suitcase away in the corner. He'd have to call up for a cot, but there was a chair in one corner that would work for the time being. Shaw sat down and then found a box to use as a footrest. He put up his feet and leaned his head back.
His head hurt. His mind felt like it was on fire. He was excited and he was terrified. What was he going to do? Who did he believe?
A phone began ringing.
He jumped. His eyes were closed and he was just beginning to relax. He should have known that the lab had a phone, but he had never used it nor did he know where it was.
Shaw felt terror grip his heart and then the icy hands spread throughout his torso. Who would be calling him? How had they found him? What voice would be on the other end?
Slowly, he got to his feet, his knees actually shaking. He looked around and finally found the white phone in a corner, on a table, buried beneath paperwork. Shaw removed the papers and, with a shaking hand, removed the receiver to his ear.
"H-hello?"
There was noise, a burst of static, then what sounded for an instant like thousands of voices talking, some of them screaming, all at once. Then the voices dimmed and went away. There were more bursts of static and then an ice cold voice unlike anything Shaw had heard before came over the line.
"Dr. Shaw, I thought it was about time we talked. I'm Mr. Void."
***
Shaw felt his knees get weak all over again and looked around for a chair. The nearest one was across the room, so he leaned against the table instead. His head was buzzing and he was having trouble thinking.
"H-hello, Mr. Void," Shaw whispered. Had he really said that? How had he managed to get that out?
"I just wanted to talk to you. I heard from my associate, Dr. Whitten, that you had a bit of trouble tonight. I apologize for that. I hope it will not deter you from your work. Your work is important."
Shaw could not muster any strength to add anything. The voice was insanely deep and he could feel it in his chest. More disconcertingly, he was hearing it inside his mind. There were other noises in there, too, like the sounds of madmen laughing and mad women screaming. The words were slow, as if getting them out was a lot of work for the person (thing?) speaking them.
"Th-thank you," Shaw said, again, unaware even to himself that he was going to speak. "I-I ap-appreciate your support. I intend to get started again soon."
"The work that you are doing is pioneering work, Dr. Shaw. No one else has had the guts to try what you are doing and the people at Gemini are the right people to be involved. I hope that we get a chance to meet some day. Once the barriers can be breached, we shall all get to meet a lot of people, I think. That will be a great thing for everyone."
There was something leaking down Shaw's face, beneath his nose. He reached up and wiped it away, casually taking note of the fact that his fingers were red with blood. I don't think I would want to meet you, he thought. I don't think I would want that at all.
"I won't keep you any longer, Dr. Shaw. Do not fear Ezekiel and those with IDEA. They are fleas. I am the dog and I am not afraid to bite. Rest now. Get to work tomorrow."
"Yes," Shaw whispered, his voice barely audible.
The line went dead, after another burst of static and the sounds of people screaming, laughing, making babbling noises. Then there was silence. Somehow the silence was even worse than the voice and the babbling. Shaw put the phone down robotically, the plastic hot in his hands. He barely noticed the fact that the base of the phone had started to weaken and melt. He could barely smell the scent of burning plastic in his nostrils.
"I need -," he tried to say. What did he need? What was happening. "I need -."
He staggered away from the table, reaching out his hand like a drowning man trying to grab at something. He saw the ceiling, the floor, the walls, the windows. None of it made any sense. None of the world made any sense. His brain hurt. His actual brain hurt, which was impossible, since there were no pain receptors in the brain. Right? Hadn't he read that? He tasted blood on his lips and tongue and heard it patter against the floor. Then his feet and legs finally betrayed him and he went down hard.
Darkness came, but Shaw felt terror at its approach. For the first time ever the darkness did not feel like sleep or rest. It felt like a void, the absence of everything. All of it rushing toward him, enveloping him, swallowing him.
Then he was out.
***
The next morning Shaw woke up with blood dried on his face and the feeling like he had been out drinking all night. However, he also felt a strange surge of energy. As he stood and cleaned himself up and got dressed, that hungover feeling gradually vanished and he started to feel more and more of the energy. By the time he was back in his lab, he felt like he had been drinking coffee for hours and was practically vibrating with energy and excitement.
Shaw threw himself into his work. That day he worked on his food experiment. That afternoon, he got a call from Frank that the lab for his dimensional experiments was nearly done. Late in the afternoon Shaw went down to see the lab.
It was like something out of a James Bond film, or perhaps a Hammer film horror movie. There was a huge flight of stairs and a tunnel well below ground. Shaw felt a moment of claustrophobia as he drove down through the tunnel in a golf cart with a security guard driving. Then the lights came on and he soon found himself in the lab.
The lab was loaded with every bit of equipment that Shaw could want. The vibration devices were much more modern and recent and high-tech than the equipment he had tried to use days prior. There were banks of computers. There were what seemed like acres of tables and more electronic equipment. Shaw gasped at the lab when he finally saw it.
That night he slept in the new lab. He spent hours and hours arranging the vibration devices and electronics. He set up the circle the way he had done so in the smaller lab. This time the circle was bigger and the machines so much more powerful.
For weeks Shaw worked a life that revolved around Gemini labs. When he saw the sun he felt like a vampire, wanting to cringe away into the shadows. He showered in the showers provided by the company. He got to know some of the other scientists and employees who seemed to spend 24 hours a day and every day of the week. They all had the same look, that of fear of
the light and wearing wrinkled clothing. It was like running into fellow zombies. All of them ran from place to place, loping along, as if afraid that someone would find out what the other was working on and might steal it. The experiments did not go well, at first. Time and again the machines vibrated themselves into pieces, or the lights would fall or the walls would start to crumble and debris would fall on everything. There were times when he had the nightmare that he would be buried alive as the wave machines caused the entire ceiling and the tunnel leading to the lab to collapse.
Still he slept down there. Still he continued, altering the machines, rebuilding them, adjusting them. He took meticulous notes and, slowly, the machines and the vibrations began to stabilize. He was trying to find the right frequencies.
Then, one day, a Wednesday, Shaw turned on the machines and adjusted them, the air in the middle of the circle began to shimmer. Slowly, like watching a poorly filmed movie, images began to form. He could see shapes and shadows. It looked like a busy street again, with people walking past and doing their business and shopping. It was hard to tell male and female apart, and as the image began to form he carefully adjusted the wave machines.
Slowly, agonizingly, the image began to resolve itself. Shaw could smell exhaust from the automobiles. The people looked normal. He wondered if he was actually remote viewing someplace in his current time and his current dimension – sitting in one place while seeing something else from an entirely different place, his consciousness elsewhere. Then he saw that the cars looked more like spheres and domes than the boxes of his time. He also saw a street sign written in a language that looked like scratches and lines and not words.
Shaw stepped closer to the image. It was floating in mid-air, inside a circle that shimmered and wavered like it was inconsistent and fragile. Shaw could look through the image and see the other side of the circle and the back wall of the laboratory. And yet there were people walking down a street in another dimension.
Shaw adjusted the frequency and the circle began to solidify. Now, faintly, he could hear voices chattering away in a language he had never heard. There, drifting in on the air like a soft breeze, he could smell food cooking somewhere.
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