The Real World

by Jacob Long

  "The juice bar huh? You're sure?" "Yeah I go there at least once a week," he replies. "Glad I asked." I press my comm button. "What are the chances that this girl works at the juice bar by day and breaks into illegal drug factories at night?" "I mean anything is possible?" says Real Jayden. "I was actually asking RT. I reach down to one of the pouches on my belt and pull out an earpiece. I hand it to Real Jayden so that he can listen in. "If I had to guess, I would say, not good," RT replies. "There is a possibility that she is from an entirely different dimension than ours or the one that you're currently in. Barrett did say that the Ministry has been frequenting another world as well as this one.”

  Wow, a third world. That sounds about as crazy as a superhero juice bar girl. "I guess we'll find out when she wakes up." Real Jayden seems to be fairly excited at either prospect. He must not have a lot of adventure in his life, and I'm starting to think that I have too much.

  I go to the fridge and take out a bottle of water. I walk back and sit on the couch in between Callum and Sienna number two. A small reflection catches my eye on the ground, and I notice water droplets leading out to the backyard. "I thought we had a no swimming pool arrangement."

  "Oh, yeah. You said 'no swimming,' so I just floated in there," Real Jayden replies, and adds, "Oh, and I may have kicked my feet while holding a flotation device, but that doesn't really count, does it?" He says as he sits down next to me. Sienna's double is on his right, cuddled against the side of the couch, and Callum is on my left, cuddled against the other side. I take a deep breath and sigh. I'm too exhausted to argue with him. "Sure," I say as I take a long blink. I drop my head back and notice several family pictures upside down on the wall. Of course, they're not really upside down. They only appear that way, because my head is upside down. I turn around and look at the wall, admiring the happy family in the pictures.

  In the center is a large family photo and spread out are smaller families. Near the end is what appears to be a picture of one of the sons with his wife. They must not have any kids yet. The photo is particularly striking. The son is blonde, and his wife has dark black hair. “Dude, are you okay?” Real Jayden asks. I turn to look at him for a moment.

  I turn back to the wall when I realize that I am holding the picture frame in my hand. I realize that I had gotten up and walked over to the wall. “Yeah, I'm fine,” I say as I place the photo back onto the wall. I look at the time on my manica It's four thirty in the morning. I walk over to the empty couch across from the one that is currently occupied, and I lay down. Let's try to get a few hours of sleep before we head out in the morning. “All right,” he replies as if holding back another question.

  The morning comes too soon as I hear a loud high pitched noise. I look over and realize that it is coming from my headset on the coffee table. RT must have activated an alarm. I pick it up and struggle to place it on my head. “What? Why are you doing this?” I yell in a groggy and barely comprehensible voice as I press the comm button. “The police are on their way to the mansion! A neighbor called them,” RT replies. I quickly sit up and look at the couch where Callum and Sienna number two were sleeping. Sienna is still there, fast asleep, but Callum is missing.

  I look over to the third sofa where Real Jayden is out cold. I look out back to the pool and see Callum doggy paddling around the in his wolf form. I swear the drugs at the factory must have knocked his intelligence back a notch or two. "Jayden," RT's voice comes back into my head. "Yeah," I respond. "You have about ten minutes max before they get there." "I don't suppose you have arranged a driver for us?" I ask. “Yeah that's not going to work this time,” RT says. “All right. So, what's the plan?” I ask. “You're going to have to take a car from the garage. You're going to need to use all four of your imitator devices. I'll instruct you on how to calibrate them to work together,” RT replies.

  I pull out the imitator devices from my belt. By now Real Jayden is up and hanging on to my every word. He looks in awe at my belt. "Now that's a utility belt that Batman could be proud of," he says. I look down at it. "I thought his belt was mostly cylinders and capsules." I don't know much about Batman, but my great grandpa gave me a comic book about him. RT butts in, "Don't calibrate them now. Wait until you're far out of the neighborhood in a secluded area. And you need to get going. You'll have to calibrate them in the car." I pause for a moment. "But if I'm working on these then-" "I get to drive," Real Jayden interrupts with a grin.

  Real Jayden gets Sienna's double safely into the car while I retrieve Callum. He doesn't come easy, but after some chasing, wrestling, and a solid tranquilizer, he submits. I open the door to the garage, and sure enough, the only vehicle left is a sleek looking sports car. Real Jayden is sitting at the wheel holding it tightly and wearing a proud smirk while unconscious Sienna number two is leaning with her head on his shoulder. There's no time to process all of this, so I stuff Callum into the back seat behind the driver's side, and I sit behind the passenger seat. The back seat is small, but Callum and I are not. "A Lamborghini Urus," Real Jayden says. "This is a car that Batman could be proud of." I reach up and hit the garage door button. "All right Batman, head east, and try not to crash us into anything.”

  He backs out of the driveway with a jolt. I barely manage to get the gate open before we burst past it. The main entrance is a different story. We have to stop so that RT can tell us what the code is. "1-8-2-8," RT tells me. As Real Jayden rips onto the road and speeds away, I hear loud sirens which I'm guessing means that the police are near. Our police sirens on Idem are rarely used and never this loud. There must be a few of them in pursuit of us. Real Jayden starts turning left when I hear RT yell in my ear, "Go right!" I quickly relay the message, and he flips around. I look into the rearview mirror and see the bright lights flashing. They're not far behind us. I can see two sets of the lights head into the gated community, and the other two sets of lights continue to follow us.

  Real Jayden must see this as well because he slams his foot on the accelerator. "All right, so uh, what's the plan?" I hear him say as I'm hurled back into my seat. "Do you want me to just drive fast all day? Because that's not really a problem with me." "I'm almost done adjusting these imitator devices, and RT is searching for a place to hideout so for now, yeah, just drive fast," I say as I continue to make adjustments. "Don't you worry. She may only be sporting an eight-cylinder engine, but this puppy is fast," he replies, a little too excitedly. "She will reach over one hundred and fifty miles an hour if we need her to. She's an Italian beast!"

  "Yeah? Well, make sure that she doesn't get us mangled." I look up every so often. Real Jayden appears to know what he is doing behind the steering wheel. He even mentions a few more things about the Lamborghini, and its features. "That sounds great but right now maybe just focus on driving the thing," I reply. "The thing?" Real Jayden repeats the words quietly, obviously offended. Under the right circumstances, I wouldn't mind hearing all about it. It is a gorgeous vehicle. RT beeps in, "Jayden, I've found a place." "I'll guide you guys there." Just as everything seems to be coming together, Sienna number two starts to stir.

  She lifts her head and turns to look at Real Jayden. "Hey, Baby." She kisses him on the cheek. "Where are we going?" "Um, just going for a drive... Sweetie." Her smile fades as she stares at him for a moment. "Wait a minute. You're not my boyfriend. What's going on? Where am I?" She says. "Uh, guy, you want to help me out right now?" Real Jayden looks back at me and her eyes follow. "There are two of you! I'm being kidnapped by twins. All right pull over. Pull over right now!" He keeps driving, and she reaches for the wheel. I pull out another tranquilizer from my belt and use it just before she can attack Real Jayden. I check out the back window.

  "RT, the police are gaining on us. Is there anywhere that we can hide?" As we turn a corner, two more police cars join the chase. I hear the loud fluttering of a helicopter from up above. "Okay, here's the plan," RT says. "Put your helmet in night mode and give it to Real Jayden. Then turn off the headlights of the car." That actu
ally sounds like a good idea. "Why didn't we just do that before?" I say as I access the control panel on my manica "Because you may need to place the devices as you go," he replies. I roll down the back windows one at a time and place the devices on the roof of the car near the back. I hold the third device and look out the front window. This one's going to be tricky. I gently push the seat forward, guiding Sienna's double to an awkward resting position on the dash.

  Just before I open the passenger door, I look at Real Jayden. "This will be a particularly good time for you to drive with extra caution in mind." I reach out and place the third device on the hood of the magnificent Italian beast. I carefully bring my torso back into the Lamborghini and set Sienna's twin back into a comfortable resting position. I can't wait to talk to her so I can find out what her real name is. That way, I can stop calling her Sienna's twin, double, or doppelganger. I activate the imitation devices and the car changes into a plain gray four-door vehicle. "All right, it should be working now," I say. "Should be?" Real Jayden replies. "Yes, just turn off to the side over here, and see if they pass."

  After the police leave, we turn the lights back on, and RT guides us to a vacant condo in the city. Once we're in the garage, I look to make sure no one is around. I take the imitation devices off of the car. They won't hold a charge, and they will be useful for getting past the front desk without raising suspicion. Luckily, there is a cover in the trunk, so we drape that over the car. Although Real Jayden managed not to crash it, there were times that it didn't feel like it was from a lack of trying. It's nice to be out of the car finally, walking around.

  I use an imitation device to look like the man who owns the condo and use the same play from before, pretending that the others are my friends and two of them had too much to drink. "It's one in the afternoon." says the attendant. "Yeah," Real Jayden replies. "We've been out all night." It works well enough. The attendant looks like he's buying it. The condo is in a high rise building, and it's on the top floor. That is something that Real Jayden is especially pleased with. I have to admit; the view is spectacular. By the time we get up to the door, Callum and Sienna's double are awake and struggling against our every move.

  The hallway is empty at first. That is until Callum screams, "I'll die before I become one of your slaves, Carlisle!" I'm sure a few people were listening since the start of the commotion at the elevator, but now it is enough to get someone to open their door. It catches my eye from across the hallway. An elderly woman carefully pokes her head out. "Oh, don't mind him," I say reassuringly. "He just had a little too much to drink last night-" "and this morning," Real Jayden adds, being more aware of the time of day then I am. She stares for a moment. She appears to be sweet and kind until she opens her mouth and starts yelling at us. "Well, try to keep it down! Some people are trying to take their post-breakfast nap!" "Yep." Real Jayden replies. "Yes, ma'am," I add. "Will do."

  "Wow, people can get really cranky in this world, huh?" I say, quietly as I open the door. "Yeah, well welcome to the Real World," Real Jayden replies. When we get inside, Callum calms down and comes to his senses as he remembers who I am. Sienna's double, however, turns out to be the real problem. She bursts into the condo and heads straight for a set of kitchen knives. The door barely closes before I see the blade flying straight toward me.

  14

  The first knife whirs past my face and lands right next to the peephole. If I hadn't slipped my head slightly to the right, it would be in my between my eyes right now. Xyla throws a second and a third knife consecutively. I dodge the second one, but I'm not so lucky with the third as it pierces in between my left shoulder and chest.

  Fortunately, by now, I'm only a couple of feet away. I lunge forward and give her a bear hug. I yell to Callum and Real Jayden. "Find something to tie her up with." They both look at me dumbfounded. "Bed sheets. Power cords. Anything." They begin searching the area. While I am waiting for them, Xyla flails around like a raging bull. She's surprisingly strong. Finally, they come back with some bed sheets, and we manage to tie her to a chair. We use a pillowcase to gag her mouth.

  “This does not look good, dude.” Says Real Jayden. “If someone comes in here and sees this- I don't know if tying people up is a regular thing in your world but-”

  “She stabbed me,” I reply.

  “Does that really qualify as stabbing?” He looks at Callum. “I mean, technically stabbing is done at close range.” He adds.

  “She was a few feet away so is that really close range?” Callum asks.

  “And she did let go of the knife before-” Real Jayden adds.

  "Before it really landed in my chest?" I interrupt.

  "Yes, that's very true," Real Jayden replies.

  I stare at them for a moment. "She wielded it, and it ended up inside of my torso. Now if we're through arguing the semantics of stabbing, let's get back to the task at hand," I say as I gesture toward Xyla.

  They look at me for a moment as if I'm acting unreasonably. Then they concede. "Now, I'm pretty sure that she is an ally, but we couldn't clarify that while she was throwing knives at us now could we?" I ask. "Yeah, I guess you have a point," says Real Jayden. "By the way, should we get that knife out of you." I look down at it for a moment, examining my chest and shoulder. "It'll be fine. Let's get this sorted out first." I turn my attention to Sienna's twin. "All right, first, I'm going to tell you who we are so you just sit there and listen closely. Then I might consider letting you talk.

  She mumbles and looks toward the kitchen. "What?" asks Callum. I look at Real Jayden. "Get her a glass of water." My attention goes back to her. "I'm going to give you this water, but I need you to drink it and not scream." I carefully take the gag out of her mouth, and she drinks the water. Then I tell her who we are. Xyla responds well to our story, and something tells me that I can trust her. I'm not sure if it's my instincts or what it is, but I get the feeling that she only attacked us because we took her.

  I feel a strange connection to her. It must be evident because Callum and Real Jayden throw me some weird looks. I start untying her, and the weird looks change to worried ones. "What are you doing?" Callum asks. The expression made on Real Jayden's face changes. It seems that he is feeling what I am feeling. "No, he's right. We can trust her," he says. Callum looks at us back and forth. "All right, sure." I untie her restraints. "Okay. Your turn. Who are you?" She takes a deep breath. "My name is Lieutenant Xyla Gable. I'm an agent for the IDPA or Inter-Dimensional Protection Agency, and I am from another world, just as you suspected.

  In my world, the United Nations is the governing body for most of the earth's inhabitants, and the IDPA regulates all inter-dimensional travel. We have been monitoring this dimension that you have affectionately referred to as the Real World for over a year now. Everything seemed fine until we discovered the presence of the Supreme Ministry about a month ago. After we did some digging, we found their plans for this world. It doesn't end at the taking of specific individuals and turning them into super soldiers." She gestures toward Real Jayden. "That's only where it begins. Phase two of their twisted plot is to unleash what they call Omega bombs across the entire earth."

  "Yep. That's them," I reply. "The leaders of the Ministry are Carlisle and Fulloway, and the Omega bombs are what they used to make our world the way it is now," I explain. I proceed to tell her about how Carlisle and Fulloway held positions in the United States government before the Omega War began, and how they used their influence to gain control when people were vulnerable. "They needed direction, they needed leadership, and that's what Carlisle and Fulloway offered. No one knew that they were the ones behind all of the destruction," I tell her.

  "That must be what Senator Leroy's part is in all of this." She replies. "He's planning on taking over in this world after the bombs get dropped, and the war is over. They need someone who has a loyal following." "Who is Senator Leroy?" I ask. "He's from our world," replies Callum. "Barrett knew him. They were administrators around the same time." I press
the comm button on my manica RT, are you getting all of this?" "Yes, I am, and according to the files from the factory, this all checks out," he replies. "Senator Leroy's name did pop up. He had visited quite a few times. Unfortunately, the files are very limited. They only kept the information that they needed. There were no locations mentioned for any other headquarters for the Ministry in this world which means that the location of the Omega Crystals is still yet to be determined."

  My stomach churns a little. "All right. Where can we find the Senator?" I ask. "Are we going to kidnap a Senator?" asks Real Jayden. "You won't be kidnapping anybody," I reply. The hopeful expression on his face fades away. "You'll be driving the get away car." "So in the eyes of the law, I'll pretty much be kidnapping somebody." "Sure, if that's whats important to you." I look from Xyla to Callum. "Are you guys in?" "You don't even have a plan?" says Callum. His lack of support is not surprising. "Once we have a plan, are you in?" "I'm in," says Xyla. "All right." I tap my earpiece. "RT, any leads?"