Utility Company (Book 1): Blink

by Swardstrom, Will

Nik mustered up his courage and walked through the house. He couldn’t help but notice a lack of federal agents outside and the total annihilation of whatever style he had in his own home. It was...different.

  Nik cautiously poked his head through the threshold between the dining room and living room.

  “Hello?” Nik called out.

  There was only one person inside the room. Nik’s family was nowhere to be seen. Just HIM.

  He stood up. RepNika. Nik wasn’t looking at him through a mirror or a portal to another reality anymore. They were less than twenty feet apart and looked almost identical save for the dark green flannel shirt RepNika wore. Nik’s black hoodie was zipped nearly up to his chin. The other Nik’s face bore a mark of confusion that Nik knew he felt as well.

  “Hello?” Nik repeated.

  “Bonjour?” the other Nik replied.

  Wait. What? Did Nik’s doppelganger speak only French?

  _____

  Nik was still wondering what kind of world he’d walked into when he heard his doppelganger say, “Bonjour,” but then he spoke up again. This time in English.

  “Sorry,” he said with a slight grin. “Just trying to break the ice. You know me.”

  Well, Nik thought he did. He was he, etcetera. But Nik had already discovered their lives were not as similar as he once would have thought. Still...

  He couldn’t help but smile. When Nik was a kid, He had always dreamed of having a twin or clone, and now here he was‌—‌standing ten feet away from himself.

  “I guess I do, I think,” Nik said.

  The other Nik took a step closer and sat on the corner of the coffee table in the middle of the room. “We’ve got a lot to discuss, but let’s get to know one another, first. I mean, I look like you, but am I really you?”

  “I was wondering the same thing,” Nik said, nodding. Nik sat on the edge of the couch and got comfortable. He tried to put thoughts of his missing family out of his mind for the moment. If he was going to get them back, he was going to have to earn the other Nik’s trust.

  “First things first. Name?” RepNika asked.

  “Nicholas Jerald Davidson, but I go by Nik.” Nik said.

  “Same. But different. I use my full first name.”

  “Nicholas?”

  “Yep. That’s what everyone calls me. Why is your name shorter?” the other Nik…Nicholas asked.

  Nik paused. Perhaps this was another difference between the sides of the mirrors? “Do people on this side of the mirror use nicknames?”

  Nicholas shook his head no. “Nicknames are out now. We use full names.”

  Oh. That seemed odd. Oh well. One more for the list. “Well I guess I’ve been Nick as long as I can remember and after studying some Russian in college, thought I’d shorten it to N-I-K. I’ve been that way ever since. It works for me.”

  “Ok, so we don’t have to worry about confusion. You’re Nik and I’m Nicholas.”

  “Fair enough. Favorite food?” Nik asked

  “Spicy chicken tacos,” Nicholas said.

  “Okay. Those are good, but I would go for a good meat-lover’s pizza over anything,” Nik noted.

  “Okay, okay,” Nicholas said, nodding his head. “Good stuff. How about your favorite movie?”

  “Hmm...I really would have to go with The Avengers,” Nik said.

  “Never heard of it,” the Mirror-Nicholas said. “I will always hold a special place in my heart for Star Wars 8: The Midichlorians Invade. It was George Lucas’ best work to date.”

  Nik could feel his eyes popping out of his skull. No Marvel movies, yet George Lucas had kept making Star Wars...what an insane land he’d found himself in.

  Nik shook his head. What was he doing, having some casual conversation here? “This is ridiculous. I don’t have time for this,” Nik said, standing up and taking a couple of steps closer. “Where is my family? Where are Penny, Kira and Sisco? Tell me so I can just go and get out of here.”

  The other man squirmed a little. The confident visage Nik had seen when he first walked in was gone, replaced by doubt and fear.

  “What? What have you done?”

  “Me? I didn’t do anything! I asked you for help and you didn’t come. When the tornado came, I left the house. I went to the basement at the Moose Lodge, and just got back this morning,” he said.

  “I could tell someone had been in my house. In fact, the tornado sirens were a false alarm. Weather service said there were no tornadoes at all. But the damage had been done. Whatever, or whoever took your family was already here and gone. I think whoever took your family planted the tornado reports to get me out of the house and then used the portal when I was gone.”

  Nicholas looked up at Nik. His face was one Nik had trusted for his entire life. He needed to trust him again. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have your family.”

  Worst Kept Secrets

  Nik was stunned. Had he just come to this universe for nothing? His family had been taken‌—‌he had assumed by the other Nik, now known as Nicholas‌—‌and now there was nowhere to look?

  Nik snapped. Nik didn’t care if the universe collapsed or if holes would be ripped in the space-time continuum, he needed his family back and Nicholas had the only clues to their whereabouts.

  Nik grabbed Nicholas’ flannel shirt and shoved him up against the couch. A few magazines went cascading to the floor as Nicholas lost his footing.

  “Where are they? I didn’t come all the way here just so you could tell me you didn’t have them,” Nik growled. The universe hadn’t exploded, so apparently there weren’t any rules about being in the same space or even touching your opposite in another reality. Frankly, Nik’s mind wasn’t really thinking about that right then.

  “I don’t know,” Nicholas said, trying to wriggle out of Nik’s grasp.

  Nik released one hand and reached into his back pocket, allowing Nicholas’ weight to fully settle on the sofa.

  “What’s this then?” Nik demanded, unfolding the note that read “I HAVE WHAT I NEED” and then the short apology on the backside. It was in Nik’s own handwriting, which meant that it had to have been Nicholas who wrote it. “Why would you put this on a note, only for me to come over here and find out there is no hope?”

  Nicholas pushed at Nik’s hand, saying “Please?” and straightened up.

  “Because while I don’t know for sure what happened to your family, I can guess. There’s a lot I don’t know about the portal, but I do know some, which is what was getting me into trouble, hence why I asked for help in the first place,” he said.

  “Wait, portal?” Nik asked. “I’ve only called it a mirror. What’s going on?”

  “Okay, have a seat.”

  “I’d rather not,” Nik stated flatly.

  “Whatever,” Nicholas said. “You have to understand, in this world, we have a bit more experience with dimensional technology and its uses and dangers. It’s fairly new, but most people have at least an inkling that it exists. It’s one of the government’s worst kept secrets.”

  “Like the Stealth Bomber?” Nik asked.

  “Sure, a lot like the B-001 Bomber,” (Nik let that one slide). “The rumors were out there. Some people even had grainy photographs of the bomber, just like some people even had photographic evidence of mirrors doing weird things. A few years back people were just chalking it up to the tabloids doing their thing, but the rumors persisted and multiplied. The portal mirrors exist. We know that now. Most people, though, don’t get one in their master bathroom,” Nicholas said.

  “So how did you?”

  “To be frank, I’m not quite sure. I’d done some fixes to the house over the last few years and had picked up the mirrors in an estate sale. I put one up in the bathroom. For a long time, nothing happened. It was just a mirror, but then I noticed a small black button on the side. Barely bigger than a ladybug, but there it was. I pushed it and bam, I started seeing things. Like you, checking your forehead. How is it by the way?” Nicholas asked.
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br />   “Fine...” Nik said, absentmindedly rubbing his scalp.

  “Good,” the other said, smirking just a bit. “I think the process of transitioning from a mirror to a portal took a little time, because sometimes you were still a mirror image, and sometimes...well, you know what happened.”

  “Yeah. Freaked me out the first time I saw something different.”

  “Apparently it not only becomes a portal to an alternate universe, but does a hard reset on the mirror on the other side, making it a portal as well. Congrats.”

  “Thanks,” Nik muttered.

  “So anyway, I was going to just leave it alone, or try to flip the switch back, when I got a visitor. He threatened me if I didn’t hand him all the mirrors I’d gotten at that estate sale. I hadn’t hung two of them up, so I gave him those, but I didn’t tell him about the bathroom. He took my wife anyway. That next day is when I asked you for help.”

  Nik thought about everything Nicholas said, and tried to piece it together.

  “So, you’re saying that this man took two of your portals and took your wife.” Nik asked dubiously. His suspension of disbelief may have eroded with an interdimensional portal in his bathroom, but that sounded like a lot to swallow.

  Nicholas was nodding. “That’s about what I’m saying. If anyone has your family, I’m convinced it’s him.”

  “Okay then, who is it?” Nik asked.

  “He wouldn’t tell me what agency he was from in the government, but he said his name was Smith.

  Picking Up the Pieces

  Four hours ago.

  That’s how long it had been since Ford had led his SWAT team through the master bathroom door to try to take Nik Davidson into custody.

  Agent Smith was furious, but mostly at himself for not implementing a better plan. Furious at himself for trusting his gut about Davidson. Furious he couldn’t wrap up this case in a nice, neat, package.

  The fury eroded, but didn’t disappear completely. In the four hours after Davidson disappeared, Smith spent the first three mostly waiting.

  Davidson had jumped through the mirror, and Ford had immediately attempted to follow him, but a barrier had appeared between the worlds.

  “Smith?” Ford’s voice crackled over the walkie.

  “Yeah. What’s your situation?” Smith asked, knowing full well what the situation was.

  “We had him sir‌—‌at least I thought we did,” Ford said. “As soon as we came through the door, he went through the mirror. Damnedest thing I’ve ever seen. He just jumped through, and...poof. I tried to follow, but the mirror is solid‌—‌on this end, at least. I’m looking through it right now. Davidson is on the other side, looking back at us.”

  That was literally the most words Smith had heard the man say since he’d met him. Smith wasn’t in the mood to hear them, though.

  “Fine. Get out of there. If Davidson’s going to come back, he won’t come through if you guys are standing there. Tell Barney to set up a surveillance camera in there, though. If he does come back though, I want to know as soon as it happens.”

  “You got it, Smith.”

  Clicking off the walkie, Smith paced by the SUV with Dr. Anna still sitting in the backseat. How had they let Davidson out of their grasp? They had him dead to rights. They should have been more aggressive. Check that‌—‌Smith knew it was on him. He should have been more aggressive.

  When he was on his way back to the SUV, the back door popped open.

  “Smith, get in,” Dr. Anna said.

  She must’ve had a break in the case. Smith slid in, ready for a bit of good news.

  “Stop it,” she said.

  Smith squinted. “Stop what?”

  “Stop torturing yourself. It could’ve happened to anyone. Davidson knew what he was going to do before you did. You couldn’t have stopped him.”

  “I could’ve had Wesson take him out before he got away,” Agent Smith started. “He…”

  She interrupted, “And what if we found out later that Davidson was innocent? That this is all a giant misunderstanding? You don’t know what’s going on here, and neither do I. All this,” she said, gesturing at her tablet, “is just data. A person needs to be on the other side of that data, to figure out what it all means. That’s your job now. Figure out what’s really going on.”

  Anna was right, Smith realized. He needed to get over himself. If Davidson came back, Smith needed to be at his best and focused on the task at hand, and he wasn’t there right now.

  Smith thought back to what Davidson was saying as he was preparing to jump to the other side.

  “How did I let them through? Was it the hammer? Did I hit it and allow them through that way?” Nik Davidson had asked. Smith didn’t know the answers then, and he still didn’t, but why would someone be asking those questions if they had just spent the night before butchering their family? Smith and his team came for Davidson, yes, but there were eight of them who still had jobs to do.

  Smith leaned over and pecked Dr. Anna on the cheek. “Thanks. I needed that,” he said, jumping out of the SUV.

  Right then, Ford and his team were leaving the house. Tinker was coming around‌—‌the only one missing was Wesson, still stationed across the street.

  “Okay, guys. Time to work. Whether or not Davidson comes back, we still need to piece together what happened here. Ford, take your team and do a perimeter search for any fresh dirt on the property. Barney, take Tinker and see if Davidson owns any other property nearby: farmland, buildings, rental houses, whatever,” Agent Smith said. He clicked his walkie and talked directly to Wesson. “And Wesson, get your butt over here. We’ve got some wiring to do.”

  On Second Thought

  Nik couldn’t believe his ears. However, the more he considered it, the more he thought maybe he could. It seemed there were fewer and fewer coincidences. Maybe everything was connected. Agent Smith was the deciding factor when Nik leapt from his universe to this one. Was that just an hour ago? It seemed as though he’d been here for days, but he hadn’t even eaten a meal in this universe yet, a fact Nik’s stomach was reminding him of. He wasn’t sure he could keep anything down anyway.

  “You got anything to eat?” Nik asked before he could stop himself.

  “Yeah. Come on over here.” Nicholas left the room and went toward the kitchen. Another room similar to Nik’s, but just a little different. He got out some potato chips and peanuts. Nik decided some protein might be called for and took a handful of peanuts. Apparently Nik’s face portrayed something other than the confidence he was attempting to show.

  “You okay, man? I’ve seen that look before, right before I had the flu last month,” Nicholas said. He grabbed a few chips and shoved them in his mouth.

  “Yeah, I’m okay. I mean...I know who you’re talking about,” Nik said.

  “You do? Smith, you mean?”

  Nik tilted his head to look up at his own face on another person. It was still startling, but was becoming more and more normal the longer he was here. Was he going to get stuck here? Was this the new normal? He didn’t want to think about that possibility yet. Nik couldn’t‌—‌not with his family still out there. Now that he had another target for his frustration beyond his mirror-self, he had a sliver of hope again.

  “I do. I just met him this morning‌—‌just minutes before I came through the portal, in fact,” Nik said. He proceeded to tell Nicholas about his family disappearing, about Smith and his goons showing up on his lawn, and how he was still talking to him on the phone when he ran through the mirror on his own side and ended up over here.

  “You’re kidding,” Nicholas said.

  “No. So...as you can imagine, this hasn’t been my best day. I mean, I got to go on an unexpected trip, but when my family is taken from me and my life is threatened all in a matter of hours, it’s safe to say I would like a mulligan,” Nik said.

  Nik’s alternate self leaned over the kitchen counter. He scrunched his mouth around and finally sighed.

 
; “Okay. I can put myself in your shoes,” Nicholas said.

  Nik couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at that. “Literally,” he said.

  After they laughed off the tension in the room, a silence fell. It was thick and palpable. Awkward.

  How do you really talk to yourself? Everybody does it, but most do it inside of their own head. People might mumble under their breath, but unless one wants to be committed, they keep it to themselves. Now, Nik had a chance to ask his other self anything…anything at all…and all he could think about was how weird his hair looked.

  That did it. Nik stood up. He hated just sitting there when his family was still missing. Not to mention Nicholas’ wife was missing as well. “What do we do next?” Nik asked.

  They both looked down for a moment. If someone had walked in they would have sworn they were staring at mirror images, save for the different clothing. The two men had a lot in common, and the logical idea came to both of them. If they were going to track down their families, perhaps they needed to start with Nik’s Agent Smith. They knew he was just a mirror away.

  “We have to go to the bathroom,” they both said at the same time.

  The bathroom, the one containing a portal.

  Countdown

  Nik was really beginning to enjoy spending time with himself. It seemed as though their two worlds were almost identical. Nik allowed Nicholas to lead the way back to the bathroom‌—‌it was his house after all. He didn’t know what had happened to his family and only had circumstantial evidence that Penny and the kids were on Earth #2 anyway. Perhaps a trip back his own Earth would end this nightmare and he’d find his family asleep in their beds right where they belonged.

  Perhaps.

  They entered the bathroom, finding it just as Nik left it.

  “So, what did you do?” Nicholas asked.

  “I heard the tornado sirens and put my ear up to the glass. That was when I nicked my ear,” Nik said, touching his earlobe.