The forest glowed a vibrant green, the rich scent of
animals and wood and decay and sunshine mingling beautifully. Scott walked
beneath the boughs that reached far above, listening to the sounds of the
birds. Dappled sunlight broke through the canopy, laying shifting patterns on
the leaf litter underfoot. A deer ahead heard Scott approach and darted away,
dancing from step to step, a spring uncoiling.
The sound of laughter and
merriment gradually rose above the ambient noise of the forest, coming from a
small campsite of men in earthy greens and browns. They welcomed Scott warmly,
with wide arms and open smiles. He joined them a while, drinking and carousing,
before whispering something to their leader and taking his leave. Once out of
sight, he found a shadow and slipped into it, into the in-between places.
Stepped sideways, into eternity.
Eternity swallowed him as an
old friend, its cool embrace familiar and comforting, his step stretching out
longer and longer. After a moment, an hour, a minute, Scott stepped out into
the light rain, a gentle drizzle that slowly worked its way down the back of
his neck and shoes. The city was grey and dismal, dark clouds hanging low and
brooding over intermittent spires and flat roof slats. He stepped under an
overhanging eave and covered his nose to block out the smells that ran down the
street like rivers, the fetid stench of unwashed bodies pressed too close
together and human waste. Lightning crackled in the clustered clouds, forks of
light spearing the sky for far too brief a time. This was no place for him.
Scott found an open doorway and stepped inside. Stepped sideways, into
eternity.
People milled around each
other, smiling and laughing and hugging, all the while speaking in a language
he didn’t understand. Eternity had placed him in the middle of them, next to a
graffiti-covered wall that people sat, stood, sang and juggled atop. He was
jostled relentlessly as he attempted to make his way out of the crowd, or
perhaps he jostled the others. Their joy was infectious, and he found himself
grinning when men and women embraced him, rather than pushing them away.
Finally he broke free from the main press of the mob, leaning on a brick
building to regain his breath. The crowd was an incredible sight, thousands of
people celebrating… something. Scott couldn’t make out the object of their
rejoicing. The sky was a clear, pure blue, radiating a clarity that only weeks
of rain can bring, as if the heavens themselves are glad to be open again. A
smile lingering on his face, Scott found a fold in the world and slipped into
it. Stepped sideways, into eternity.
He regretted the deal. He knew
something was wrong at the time, but had been too excited to care. The man had
been so nice, his too-white coat matching his too-white teeth. The prospect of
being able to slip out of time, through time, between time, landing anywhere
and anywhen... how could he refuse? But he was tired now. He just wanted to go
home, to find himself before he made the deal and stop it from happening. He'd
been slipping for years now and he feared just what it was that he was slipping
towards.
He stumbled over the uneven
ground--no, not uneven, swaying. The view over the edge of the boat was limited
by a heavy fog that pressed down on all sides. Despite it, there were people
mingling on the deck: clearly passengers, not a deckhand in sight. He grimaced.
He knew how this one ended.
There was a band playing,
elevated on a small stage, the music swallowed by the mist. He pulled his coat
closer around his body, futilely attempting to shield himself from the cold. He
stepped backward, into the shadow. Stepped sideways, across the deck.
He frowned. Stepped sideways,
into the railing at the edge of the boat, the sliver of eternity slipping
infuriatingly away.
Speed, that's what I need. He thought, gripping the railing.
A shudder rocked the boat and
would have knocked him from his feet had he not already been holding on. The
sharp keening of shredding metal filled the air, drowning out the cries of the
passengers.
Now or never.
He vaulted over the rail, the
water looking impossibly far away, only just visible through the fog. As he
fell, he tried to tried to slip between the world, but something was wrong,
very wrong. Eternity was there, just in front of him, just out of reach. He
knew that if he could just get a bit more speed he could make it.
The water hurtled toward him,
no longer so far away, but still eternity eluded him. He stretched his hand out
and managed to hook a finger through. He pulled hard, trying to heave himself
forward but the water was too close now and he struck it hard with only half a
hand through. The pain wrapped around him, shielding him from the cold, forcing
his breath out in an explosion of bubbles. Weakly, he registered that he still
had a hold between time and let himself slip down, sideways, into eternity.
He opened his eyes, unsure if
he had made it or not. He was lying on a bed in a white-walled room, there were
electronic displays around him and an incessant beep-beep that was gradually speeding up. He knew this place. He
did not want to be here.
A woman walked in, wearing a
too-white coat and a too-white smile. He tried to move, to roll over, to
escape, but his limbs were sluggish and unresponsive. The woman held down his
arm and inserted a needle, shooting something into his veins.
Gradually, his panic subsided.
The beeping slowed once more and, under the woman's watchful gaze, he felt
himself slipping.
Slipping sideways, into
eternity.