Slideways by Jeffrey Grode

Author:Jeffrey Grode [Grode, Jeffrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781977984951
Published: 2018-04-28T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

Patrick awoke Tuesday morning to a red digital glow, 6:00, and blinked away the fog. OK. Patsy’s guest bedroom. Terra. A dog yelped incessantly from across the street until its owner took pity and let it back inside.

Peeling back the covers, he rolled his knobby legs over the side of the bed and stood. He peeked into the empty hall and tiptoed to the bathroom.

After what he’d learned about Patsy last night, he wanted little to do with her this morning. When cornered, she lied. He didn’t like her very much right now and hoped she’d shuffle off to work without any drama.

Returning to his room, Patrick made the bed and found a worn National Cartographic in a wicker basket on the floor. He laye on the bed and read about a massive eruption of the Mount Rainier volcano in 1980. Lava had spewed in a torrential slurry of mud and boulders, called ‘lahars’, and poured down the mountain and into Tacoma. Hundreds died. It was the first eruption of Mount Rainer since a small summit explosion in 1894. This 1980 eruption had never occurred on Earth, and the article made no mention of Mount Saint Helens.

Patrick had a sudden urge to research Terran history. Had Terra experienced the Hurricane Katrina event? Back home he would google Wikipedia, but here? No. Albert had told him Terra had no earth-like computers, or Internet. How had the Commonwealth become so advanced in solar and implant research without them? Albert had alluded to a sophisticated crystal technology, but hadn’t shared more.

Patsy made her presence known at 7:30. She clomped around in wooden clogs, banged drawers, shut doors, and used her hair dryer. Patrick thought she meant to wake her sleeping guest and decided to wait her out, unless she specifically knocked on his door. Her clogs clapped down the hall toward his room.

She knocked, but didn’t open the door. “I’m going to work now. Remember to meet me at 12:30 in front of the bank.” Patrick kept silent. “Don’t be late, or we will have a problem. I have to be back to work at 1:00.” She clomped down the steps, rooted around the kitchen, and told Ginger to be a good girl. The door banged shut on her way out.

Glad she had gone, he suddenly felt disappointed he didn’t like her. She looked like his Patty, and he wanted to help her if he could, but Patsy seemed to enjoy conflict. Patrick reminded himself he’d only just met her, and she’d been through traumatic times of her own, but one thing remained certain - she loved Jack. I respect her for that, but can I trust her?

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What if Ben had somehow crossed to this world? Was he with Jack? Patrick, worried about the CSD, sat up. Were they watching the house? He rolled the magazine and slapped it into his open palm. He wasn’t here to compare history, or science, or save Patsy from herself.

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