A Step to Nowhere (6 page)

CHAPTER 9

A hissing sound awoke me. I opened my eyes wide and sat up, but couldn’t distinguish a person in front of me. My vision was blurred and when it cleared I couldn’t believe I was really awake.

“Ray!”

I rushed to him, pressed myself to his chest, clasped his back, but he barely touched me with his hands.

“Sam.”

I moved away from him, looked him in the eyes.

“I’m so sorry I drew you into this,” I said. “I didn’t know. Did they treat you okay? I mean, they didn’t hit you? Did they inject you with something too? Where did they keep you? Did they explain anything to you at all?”

I stopped talking when my lover put his head down and that was when I noticed that he, unlike me, had changed his clothes. His clothes were the same as the men before him were wearing. Also, I noticed that the door rolled down and we were alone in the room.

“They gave you clothes. Did they talk to you? What’s going on?”

Ray looked at me, ran his hand over my hair, but now I didn’t sense the warmth, I didn’t see the warmth in his eyes. It was like nothing had happened between us.

“Ray, do you know what all of this means?”

He searched the room, his gaze rested on the tray.

“You didn’t eat,” he said.

I didn’t answer, but watched him walking to the bed and sitting down.

“How are you?” There was a sincere interest in his voice.

“Better now,” I answered quietly. I didn’t want to think, but couldn’t stop. What did they do to him? He was a different person. He wasn’t even like the Ray I had met eight years ago. What did they inject
him
with? … Or? ... No, it couldn’t be.

“I know how it’s going to sound, but I ask you to forgive me, or at least, understand.”

I was silent. The spiral of events untwisted in my mind faster and faster. My head started to spin, colored spots circled before my eyes. I didn’t want to hear what he was going to say next. I knew what it was going to be. Now everything collected into a logical picture. I understood that there were no coincidences. There were only naïve idiots who accepted the desirable for reality.

“I really care about you. I didn’t want everything to end up like this. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop it.”

What was
going on
I didn’t understand. Where I was or why, either. I understood one thing, I understood what a person who had been betrayed felt. I didn’t want to believe it, but denial wouldn’t change the situation. The faster I accepted it, the better.

Better for whom?

Neither of us talked.

“I didn’t know how to change it,” Ray said, when I had already started to suffocate from the tension in the air. “I hoped they wouldn’t find out, but it seems they keep everything under control. And everybody. Even me.”

“Who they?” I said. It sounded rude. I didn’t mean it, but emotions boiled inside and I couldn’t hold them.

“Corporation – A Step to Another World.”

“Thanks. It’s so much clearer now,” I chuckled. Who was this person? Who did I spend time with during the last days? “Get off my bed, please.”

He stood up. I waited until he moved away a few steps before sitting down.

“Nice outfit. It suits you,” I said.

Ray looked himself over, but didn’t say anything.

“If I understand correctly, you are not a prisoner here.”

“Not now,” he said. “Sam, I
really
care about you. You mean a lot to me.”

I took the bottle, sipped some water.

“Are you going to tell me where I am? Why am I a prisoner and you walk here … as if you are at home.”

“You’re on the Planet One.”

“Oh. Planet One. I see. Thank you very much for your hospitality and kindness. Can I go now? Will I get a nice costume like this? And some shoes, please. What would people think, seeing me barefoot?”

I was talking, but waiting for him to say that it was a joke. That it was …

“Sam, I can’t change anything. I tried, but …”

“How about telling me what the heck is going on here?”

“Heck?”

“Oh, sorry. I hope I didn’t insult your ears.” I closed the bottle and put it back on the table.

“No, it’s not that. I don’t think I’ve heard that word.”

“You haven’t heard the word
heck
?”

“We don’t use it in our world.”

I grabbed the bottle again and finished the water. I wanted to heave it at him to get rid of some anger, but restrained myself. Instead I asked more questions.

“You’re kidding, right? Can I ask what I did to you? What did … Seriously, tell me what all of this means? Did you sell me to someone? I’ve had all kinds of thoughts, but I would never have guessed that you could be involved in it. That
you
could do something like this to me. Why me? I haven’t seen you in five years!”

“You won’t believe it right away.” Ray shoved his hand in his pocket. He didn’t take his eyes off me. “It’s difficult to believe, but …”

“Tell me, right now.” I just drank water, but my mouth felt dry. “Stop playing with me. Everything you’re doing now is cruel and unfair.”

“I’m not playing, trust me. I’m really Ray … but not the one you have known. Let’s say I’m his double. From an alternative universe.”

“Oh. I see. Thank you.”

I nodded, closed the bottle, and put it on the table, turned the tray. I didn’t want to think that the man I was in love with madly, the man I had been dreaming to meet for years, was mocking me. It seemed that the blood froze in my veins, I couldn’t move or talk. I refused to believe the obvious. I refused to believe in something I had already accepted. I didn’t know what he wanted from me or what awaited me in the future, but he wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life with me. All those feelings he was talking about were a lie. The frosting on a cake with poison inside.

“I’ll tell you everything from the beginning. I want you to understand, or try …” Ray approached me and sat on the bed. I moved away from him and pressed against the cold wall. “Sam, don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I didn’t know I should be afraid of you.” I tried to make the tone of my voice disdainful.

“You mean a lot to me.”

“I understood that, thank you. I don’t want you to sit by me.”

Ray resettled on the floor in front of me. Now I was gazing at him from head to toe. He looked so handsome and helpless. I hated myself for my inability to change the course of my thoughts. I hated that I couldn’t even start, at least
start
hating him. Really, not just verbally. Words didn’t mean anything, but I was sure that after he had finished his story, only one word would stay with me. Hatred.

“You really
are
in an alternative universe. A parallel world.”

I sighed. Why did he do this to me? Did I offend him somehow? Did he take revenge because I refused to understand him? It couldn’t be.

I know him!

He was too smart for something like this. And noble … Didn’t I know him at all?

“A few years ago we managed to open a gate to your planet,” Ray continued. “We called it Planet Two … I see you don’t believe me. I wouldn’t either.”

“Talk, talk, it’s quite fascinating. Plus, there’s nothing else to do anyway. I have plenty of time, as I understand.”

Ray stood up and pulled the same device from his pocket as the man before him had. Pressing a few buttons, he went to the opening door.

“I need the news list!” he said to someone on the other side, where I couldn’t see. Before he turned back to me, a hand with a stack of papers had appeared in the hatch. Ray walked to me and gave me the papers.

It was one long sheet, folded like a garland. It looked like a long band if you didn’t fold it after reading. Photos and articles. On the first page there was a picture of some man and a headline:

PRESIDENT MADE A NEW RULE FOR THE LOTTERY!

“Who’s president now?” Ray asked.

“I’m not playing these games,” I said, looking at a plump man. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember who he was. The only thing I was sure of was that there was no president in the picture.

“Your president is Obama. Ours—George Clooney.”

George Clooney? The person in the photo looked different, but very much like him, I had to agree. It could be his new role. I went down three pages and stopped on a huge headline.

Your winning in the lottery can change your life forever, and the lives of the people around you! Play Today!

“He’s an actor in your reality, but here he
is
a president. He’s just a pawn though. He’s a good person, but somebody else runs the game. The president just dances under his music. People are the same on your planet and ours, but they choose different paths in life. It’s fascinating. Tell me, what’s your capital?”

“You know what … Are you testing me for stupidity?”

“Okay, okay. On your planet it’s Washington. Here—New York.”

“Right.” I folded the news list or whatever he’d called it and gave it back to the lying jerk. I didn’t trust him for two reasons. First—he had already lied to me. Second—it was not possible to believe something like that. Totally absurd.

Ray accepted the paper and unfolded it.

“The project was very secretive at first. Owners and inventors entered your world cautiously. They learned about it, familiarized themselves with your traditions and customs. It was so interesting. People
are
the same, as a reflection in a mirror. The same appearance, voice, some habits, but often the similarities end here. Not always—but often.” He peeked out of the room. “I need a chair.”

After transferring the paper to an invisible man, he grabbed a metal stool from that person and sat down in front of me.

“Our worlds are quite similar. Take languages, for example. Some words are different, but mostly they are the same. Food can be different. For example, the dish you received today is our typical lunch.
Sheky
with dry milk and green flowers with spices.”

“Green flowers,” I repeated, checking the plate.

“I think it’s good, but for you it may be unusual. I wanted to bring something from your planet, but everything happened so fast. At least we have a water supply.” He pointed to the empty bottle. “But the most significant differences between our worlds are lifestyle and politics. We’ve been struck by the difference.”

He stopped, looking at me, probably waiting for questions or some reaction, but I wasn’t capable of either. Cold locked my limbs and penetrated my brain.

“I’m not going to get into the details of politics, but to keep it simple, let’s say your planet is friendlier. Your food is better, your entertainment is more exciting, and you have more freedom. Our world, unlike yours, has fewer crimes, but at the same time your world feels safer. It would take too long to talk about it, too many details. Next, the information about
the tunnel
reached the masses. People started to talk, got interested. It didn’t make sense to keep the discovery secret, so we started to shoot news reports about your world for our TV. We brought souvenirs. Finally, some smart people understood that the tunnel could be a successful business project. They wanted to invest in it.” Ray looked away from me for a second. “That was when the Corporation—
A Step to Another World
was created and that was how the trips to Planet Two got started. Any person can travel to your planet, but it’s very expensive. Not everyone can afford it. Before the trip starts, every traveler goes through orientation classes: watches films, learns words. We have dictionaries for that. The most important thing during the trip is keeping your alien presence concealed, interflow with people from your planet. Every traveler is provided with a surveillance monitor. That way the corporation knows everything and helps at the right moment or stops the flight. The monitor can be turned off for a short period of time if a traveler … wants to go to the bathroom, or to sleep. If the monitor is turned off for more than ten hours a traveler is in trouble. The hunters go after him. There’s a rule in the
contract for travelers to Planet Two
. It should be carried out rigorously. Travelers cannot make contact with their doubles, their doubles’ family members or friends. It could destroy confidentiality and threaten the whole project.