Christina Engela's Strangely Compelling Science Fiction Anthology by Christina Engela & Major Roxbrough & Thomas M. Malafarina & H. G. Emert

Author:Christina Engela & Major Roxbrough & Thomas M. Malafarina & H. G. Emert [Engela, Christina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Moon Books Publishing

Charlie had a lot to think about and struggled to fall asleep that night, but when he did, he slept very deeply and very well. Perhaps it was the exercise and activity from the previous day, or maybe it was because of the emotional release brought by the revelations provided by Frangelasti Zorbin… or, more likely, perhaps it was due to the headache pill he’d given him. Either way, it was around ten in the morning by the time Charlie woke up.

He stumbled out of bed, blinking at the daylight streaming through the open blind on the window by the door, and then dragged his yellow jeans and shirt back on, and laced up his somewhat unremarkable sneakers sitting down on the side of the bed. His stomach gnawed at him, and he realized he’d missed dinner due to Frangelasti’s visit last night.

He was hungry, but he was sure there’d be a small restaurant or eatery of some kind at the space port while he waited for the shuttles to arrive. Pausing a moment in the small bathroom, Charlie looked at his reflection in the plain glass mirror above the washbasin. He ran his fingers through his short brown hair and noticed he needed a shave – his five-o’clock shadow had already struck twelve! That was beside the point, he decided, looking himself in the eyes for the first time in longer than he could remember.

Andy Niksn was a lucky man, Charlie thought. Well, he had been here in this reality! Here he was a successful professional, a career man – respected and admired… even loved – when he thought of Mandy Fringle – and it crystalized in his mind right then, that this was his life now. He had to stop trying to be Charlie Branson – for the sake of his continued existence, and his sanity – he had to accept being Andy Niksn!

His mind was filled with knowledge of how to do his job – if he just thought about it, it was there! It felt like he’d really spent five years at the Merchant Space Academy – except, without remembering any actual lessons, classmates or graduation ceremonies! Oh well, he could claim some kind of memory loss, perhaps from the trauma of losing his best friend, the late Jim Sykes!

“You can do this!” He told his reflection, feeling more positive than he had in a while, “I can do this!”

Charlie packed his new bag with his new belongings, slung it over his shoulder, vacated the room, and walked back round to the space port terminal building to look for a diner of sorts.

“Did you enjoy your visit, sir?” The tall female Solondian waitress asked him fifteen minutes later as he munched on good old-fashioned bacon and eggs on toast at the breakfast counter.

“Yeff, vewy mudge fankyu!” He grinned back at her with his mouth full, before chasing it with a slug of very good coffee. “It’s delicious!” He added.

“I’m very glad to hear that, sir.” The waitress smiled.

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