SNAP! and the Alter Ego Dimension (8 page)

“You can guard us now, too,” Hiroshi said and slapped Ulrich on the back.

Tammy saw Etsu smile before she stooped to pick the eggs up. As far as Etsu was concerned, the more weapons, the better.

“With pleasure,” Ulrich agreed and looked at Tammy as if to say that he was happy to be protecting her.

With Ulrich in the vicinity, Tammy felt safe. More than just safe, Ulrich made her feel special. From all the attention he gave her, she felt that he must really like her. And there was no doubt that he was tugging at her heart strings. She was starting to really like him back. She vowed to keep those feelings in check though, because if they escaped from this place, they lived too far apart for any relationship to really work. Escape would return them all to their countries of origin, probably never to meet again. Would they even remember what happened here? They didn’t know anything about any other occasions when their alter egos may have taken control of their bodies from them. Tammy’s other self had said that she had taken over from Tammy many times before. Yet, if anyone remembered this place, surely the existence of the Alter Ego Dimension would become common knowledge.

Did that mean she could do what she liked here, and no one back home would ever know?

Perhaps she didn’t need to keep those feelings in check after all . . .

The fluttering in her stomach she felt when Ulrich’s hand touched hers, or when he looked at her in his special way, only mattered here. She should seize every moment, enjoy life to the full. Their existence here was temporary. It would only last as long as it took them to escape, or, heaven forbid, until they failed in their bid to survive.

How permanent were the things here? How long could this tree live in its tiny piece of soil? Its deeper roots hadn’t been brought with it. There was no life-giving sunlight or water. At least the atmosphere was breathable.

Tammy looked at her friends. She could trust Hiroshi and Ulrich to protect her against the other selves as long as they survived. But how long would that be? Until they die from hunger and thirst or until another self takes them by surprise? Perhaps it would be better to allow their alter egos to beat them? Then at least the other self can go on living on earth.

Did she want that?

Did she want her detestable, superficial, self-obsessed self to go and live with her mother and be Wayne’s girlfriend? Was that better than dying of hunger and thirst?

Tammy’s depressing train of thought was interrupted as Ulrich took her hand.

“Let’s go to Etsu and Hiroshi’s room,” he said.

A wave of excitement took hold of Tammy. If she could die with Ulrich’s arms around her, death would lose its sting. When she was with him, this grayness, the hunger, the thirst and even the fear, were all suddenly much more bearable. Her negative thoughts vanished. She would fight for her right to life here or at home, as long as she had Ulrich for support.

“I must go to the bathroom,” Tammy said. “Just for a wee.”

Ulrich looked at her and then at Hiroshi.

“Where did you go to the toilet the last three days, Hiroshi?” he asked.

“Behind our room. I think the alter egos clean it up,” Hiroshi answered. “I don’t know how, but it’s always clean the next time we go.”

Ulrich looked at Tammy.

“Hold out a little longer. We need all the moisture we can get to make water,” he said with a smile.

Tammy was shocked.

“Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds,” Ulrich consoled her. “People surviving on small boats for months at sea use the same method. It’s very pure and very clean.”

They used the locations of the tree and the aluminum door to determine what direction they should take to get back to Etsu and Hiroshi’s room. Tammy remembered that it was to the right of the room where she and the window area had first appeared. Ulrich’s bedroom door should be close by, too.

She had read somewhere that humans have one leg fractionally longer than the other, making people walk in circles over distances without landmarks, all because one leg steps a few millimeters further than the other with every pace. Luckily they didn’t have too far to walk, but she was still relieved when, a few minutes later, they arrived at the room.

Inside the room Ulrich explained his plan to make water. He needed a big piece of plastic and heavy objects, like books, to keep the plastic in place. Then he would put something small but heavy enough on top of the plastic to make it dip just a little into a funnel shape. Lastly they would need something to catch the drops of water. The apparatus would be primitive, but it should work.

On top of Hiroshi’s desk, Tammy found a loose set of four plastic drawers. The whole set was about forty centimeters high, twenty wide and thirty long and the separate drawers could be pulled free. At home she had a similar set of plastic drawers to keep her desk tidy, because the desk itself has no drawers. “Just what we need to catch the water in,” she said aloud.

All four of them gathered around the set of drawers. Inside the drawers were small CD containers, each with twenty-five CD’s or DVD’s inside. The containers had see-through lids that Etsu said could be used as drinking cups. There were also two tin pen trays that would do to cook on. In one of the trays was a pair of compasses with which Tammy quickly made another hole in Chris’s belt. Now the belt fit perfectly around her waist.

Hiroshi helped as much as he could in finding useful items in the room, but he kept glancing toward the room entrance with his sword still poised, the weapon now held single-handed.

At last it felt like they were getting somewhere. They looked at ordinary items, like simple office stationary and furniture, with very different eyes. They discussed each find and the merits of what it could be used for. They pulled drawers and cupboards open and searched through everything from wastepaper baskets to school bags. In one of the school bags they found some school books covered with plastic covers. Not one of them could read the text in the neat handwriting, but the covers they would use in their quest for water.

They removed the plastic covers from the books and inspected them for holes. Ulrich told them to cover any holes with cellophane tape to keep the plastic almost airtight. They would dig holes in the ground next to the tree, put the plastic drawers inside the holes and cover the holes with the plastic covers, making the ground sweat. Drops of water should form underneath the plastic (through condensation, Ulrich told them), provided that there were no holes in the plastic, then trickle down into the drawers.

When that was done, Tammy took one of the books from the pile.

“While there are pens and writing paper here, lets write our email addresses down,” she suggested, then she added, “for when we get out of here.” She definitely wanted to keep in touch with the other three if, she corrected herself, when she returned home.

Ulrich offered to email her the photos he’d taken of her, and perhaps they could visit each other one day. A reunion of some sort.

“Excellent idea,” Etsu said. She took one of the books and a pen and started to write. She tore a page out of the book, tore it in half and gave one piece to Tammy and another to Ulrich.

Tammy let Ulrich write his email address on her paper and then wrote hers on his. After that she copied theirs on two different pieces of paper for Etsu and Hiroshi.

Hiroshi looked at her inquiringly.

“We don’t know what’ll happen when we escape from here,” Tammy said and the others nodded. “You and Etsu both need the addresses. We could all be split up or arrive back in the wrong place. We may be able to help each other in the real world.”

Tammy tore her piece of paper into a smaller piece, then folded it and stuffed it in the front of her bikini top. She didn’t trust the Alter Ego Dimension to let her escape with the stuff she picked up here, such as the baggy trousers she had on. Then she realized that that thought was stupid. If the trousers vanished, so would the paper and she’d lose the contact details anyway. While she was re-reading the addresses to fix them in her memory, the others stuffed their papers into whichever of their pockets they thought was safest.

With that done, Tammy went to the cupboard with the clothes that were too small for her. She helped herself to a pair of socks and stuffed them into the tips of the shoes. The result made the shoes feel less likely to slip off her feet, and they were thankfully much warmer too. Then she gave each of her friends a t-shirt and asked them to wipe clean the four plastic drawers.

They took the drawers, threw Hiroshi’s stuff out onto the bed and kept a rubber eraser, a pencil sharpener, a key ring with a little dolphin model attached and the small roll of cellophane tape, for weighing down the plastic.

Very enthusiastic about the prospect of making water, they went on searching through all the cupboards and furniture brought here by five other people—now probably stored here forever—that Etsu and Hiroshi had pushed together in order to make this room for them to sleep in. Everyone was busy with their own search for more usable items. Tammy didn’t notice what the others were doing. She was staring at a photo against one of the walls.

Etsu screamed.

Tammy froze at the sound, chilled to the bone. She swung around and stared at the opening to the room. The wooden door that was attached to a piece of wall was wide open.

Etsu was struggling desperately in the powerful grip of her alter ego. The other Etsu’s arm was around her neck and she was forcing her out of the room. Etsu tried to stop her by grabbing the door-post with both her hands, but her grip failed and she was dragged away.

Lightning fast Hiroshi sprung into action. He seized his sword from where he’d placed it on one of the beds and sprinted after the two Etsu’s.

As he ran, Tammy saw the weapon flash above his head, held in both hands. Then he brought it down hard on the other Etsu’s head.

Both Etsus screamed.

And both Etsus vanished.

Tammy ran after him.

“Careful, Tammy!” Ulrich shouted, reaching for her. “It could be a trap. They may all be outside. Stay in here. Stay close to me.”

Ulrich grabbed her before she could go through the door and put his free hand on her shoulder. In his right he gripped the makeshift spear, point towards the door.

“I don’t think we are going to see Etsu again,” Ulrich said softly. “Not here. I think Hiroshi killed her alter ego. It was a powerful blow.” They were standing in the spot where the girls were last seen. Ulrich looked puzzled. “No blood,” he said.

“Then Etsu has gone home?” Tammy said hopefully.

“If that’s how things work around here, then, yes, I suppose she went back.” Ulrich paused. “I don’t know. I wonder what her parents will say, when she suddenly reappears? And will she remember where she’s been?”

Then Ulrich stepped in front of Tammy to look outside the room. He was still checking for blood, and watching for alter egos.

“When I get back home,” he continued, “I’ll research alter egos. It could make a second project for the science expo. I used to believe that it was some psychoanalytical fable. A fabrication. Like believing in ghosts. Everybody talks about them, but there’s no real proof they do exist.”

“Except in Hollywood,” Tammy said. “An actor’s alter ego is the character they’ve been playing in the movies. Like Angelina Jolie being Lara Croft in
Tomb Raider
.”

Ulrich laughed, then stiffened.

“The tree and the soil!” he shouted. “They know what we’re thinking . . . They know we need the soil to make water,” he glanced back into the room. “We must go there now, at once. Grab the stuff we need. Hurry.”

Ulrich worked as he spoke, tossing the trays and weights onto the empty bed and gathering everything up in a sheet.

Tammy scooped up plastic.

“Hurry,” Ulrich said again. “We must get to the tree before they can destroy it. Come on.”

They were almost out of the door when Tammy spun around and raced back to the desk. She put the two eggs on a t-shirt, folded it carefully and tucked it in front of her curtain dress. Then she used the front of her curtain dress as an enormous pocket to hold the dead birds. She snatched some pictures off the walls, grabbed the note books and threw them into the “pocket” as well.

“She’s gone,” Tammy heard Hiroshi’s trembling voice and saw him bump into Ulrich as they both tried to go through the door in opposite directions. Hiroshi barely avoided stabbing Ulrich with the sword.

Tammy smiled in relief. She was so glad to see Hiroshi and his sword again. They couldn’t have hoped for a better weapon in this place.

“Don’t feel bad, Hiroshi,” she said quickly. “She’s gone home. I’m sure.”

Ulrich passed Hiroshi then turned back to address him. “Maybe she can send a rescue team for us,” he said.

“I hope so. I hope she’s not dead, because I think her alter ego is,” Hiroshi said slowly.

“We must get to the tree, my friend. And fast. The alter egos know we want to make water there. Let’s take this door with us. We can use the wood to make a fire and heat the place up a bit.”

“Do we push these things around?” Tammy asked, looking at the heavily built structure. “How did you and Etsu managed to collect all this big, heavy stuff?”

Ulrich looked from Hiroshi to the door and the wall it was attached to.

“We pushed it. Some things are heavy, but I think everything weighs less here than on earth,” Hiroshi answered.

“Perhaps here’s less gravity,” said Ulrich.

“And less friction.” Hiroshi explained and pulled on the doorknob.

The door, together with the rectangular piece of wall, over a meter in width, started to move across the grayness. Smooth, light and silent.

“Um, I see what you mean. It seems as if everything is floating.
Donner und Blitzen
, we must make haste. If all our alter egos work together, they can easily move the tree and the ground. The whole cube! We may never find it. Who knows how big this damned dimension is.”

Hiroshi picked up his laptop, put it in Tammy’s wastepaper basket and changed his grip on the sword. He pushed on the door, making the whole wall glide forwards.

Ulrich led, spear in hand, with Tammy behind him and Hiroshi out of sight behind the wall. Tammy could hear Hiroshi sigh every now and then. There were no other sounds. There was nothing else to make a noise in this place. Not the humming of electric machines or the chirping of birds.

It was as quiet as the grave.

Tammy assumed Hiroshi was worried about his sister. They couldn’t be certain Etsu really was back on earth. They theorized that they would return to earth if they kill their other self, but they didn’t know for sure. But why else were the alter egos so afraid of Hiroshi’s sword and Nick’s pistol?

They moved as quickly as they could into the grayness, soon leaving the remnants of the room out of sight. Tammy didn’t know how the others knew which way to go, because she lost all sense of direction. If she had to choose a route, she would have gone . . . no, she didn’t know what direction to pick. Everything looked the same. Here there was no moon, no stars or sun to help show the way. The landscape was uniformly flat. There was only grayness and the chance that something brought by an unlucky
Snap
player would suddenly loom out of the gloom. And the fear of something worse.

The game of
Snap
must be very new, because there wasn’t that much stuff left around yet. Unless this dimension was really big, perhaps as big as the earth.

Would anybody on earth ever know what was happening here?
Tammy wondered. Because anyone brought here without a weapon, is doomed.

She looked over her shoulder. The last visible piece of the room she’d just come from was ahead of where she faced, maybe a little to the left. Therefore, they must move back and to the right. It was like following a street map. But one made in your head, not on paper. Turn around and do everything the opposite way, or rotate the map. Perhaps it wasn’t so difficult if you think, concentrate and picture the map. To panic wasn’t going to help in a situation like this, especially as Tammy was struggling to see over the pile of stuff she was carrying.

She trusted Ulrich, blindly tagging along behind him. She remembered that one of the few things boys did better than girls, was orienteering, keeping a good sense of direction. So, let him take the lead.

Suddenly she became aware of a movement next to her. She looked to her right, startled. Next to her, in front of the door and wall that Hiroshi was pushing, was the other Tammy still clad in her bikini. Her other self wore a wicked grin and was approaching very fast.

Alter Tammy’s hands clutched tightly around her arm. Tammy felt the coldness of her grip seeping through the curtain material. It felt like she was being held by a corpse.

Adrenalin flooded Tammy’s body. She yanked her arm free and screamed. All the stuff she was carrying in the folded curtain fell out, tumbling slowly downwards.

Hiroshi blasted out his war cry as he bounded around the wall, his sword ready. Ulrich turned around and stormed towards the other Tammy with the spear in front of him and the sheet/sack still slung over his shoulder.

“Eiiii!” Tammy’s other self screamed, turned and made off. Her long, shapely legs and her slender, wasp-waisted body vanished quickly into the grayness.

“Gee! They’re getting desperate now,” Ulrich exclaimed and lowered the spear point. He was breathing heavily. “I had considered hurling the spear at her, but the thought of losing it and it being taken by our other selves made me stop.” He grinned at Tammy and let his eyes slide over her improvised dress. “So, that’s how you came here! In just your bikini?”

Tammy’s heart was beating anxiously from the surprise encounter, yet she couldn’t help smiling. She guessed Ulrich liked what he saw.

“It was a very hot day in Pretoria,” she said, feigning indignation. “After school I went for a swim and decided to keep my bikini on while I was working on my computer. And then I played the damned game.”

“You look much better in a bikini than in your toga,” Ulrich joked. He laughed softly.

“You stop it! It’s cold in this place. I would have been frozen to death by now,” Tammy explained.

Then Tammy crouched and started picking up everything she’d dropped. She hoped the eggs were still okay.

“We’ll have to be more careful,” Hiroshi said. “They’re watching us. All the time they watch us. My alter ego could just as well have attacked me. I would not have been able to defend myself properly while moving this wall. We must stay closer, walk next to each other.”

Tammy couldn’t help thinking of what would have happened if Ulrich or Hiroshi had killed her alter ego. Maybe she would have been back at home by now. In the bright sunshine, eating normal food and drinking a glass of iced water. She would have washed her hands and face with warm water and soap. And brushed her hair. Gee, her hair must be such a mess by now! She would go to her luxurious, beige-tiled bathroom with its burgundy towels and take a long hot shower. Put on clean clothes. Sleep in her cozy bed with its crisp, clean sheets and the pretty pink bedspread. Chat to her mother. Everything that she had taken for granted in the past. Until now. Now she realized how privileged she had been for her seventeen years of life. Privileged and vain. They were fighting for survival and she was fantasizing about doing her hair!

Yet if Hiroshi or Ulrich had only been that bit faster, this damned place would perhaps be just an unpleasant memory.

“As soon as we finish eating, we must think of ways to outwit our other selves. We must kill them. We should set traps to destroy them all,” stated Tammy. With a shock she realized that she had been using the word “kill” very lightly. As if she had killed a hundred times before. As if it was no more unusual than cleaning her teeth. “I don’t want to stay here for the rest of my life. I want out. I want to go home. Like Etsu.”

Even if it meant that she would never see Ulrich again.

She was fed up with the perpetual grayness, the constant hunger and the dry-mouthed thirst.

The two boys said nothing. Ulrich looked at her silently as if he was thinking the same thing.

Tammy came upright again, holding the two ends of the curtain in her hands. She and Ulrich walked next to Hiroshi behind the advancing door and wall. Ulrich was even more cautious and alert than before. Every few seconds he would look over his shoulders into the grayness behind them or peer around the wall.

“I don’t know how we’re going to outwit them,” Hiroshi said, “while they know exactly what we’re thinking.” It sounded as if he was trying to conjure up a plan of attack, but there was no enthusiasm left in his voice. “It’s not possible,” he spoke so quietly Tammy thought he must be thinking aloud. “We’re doomed.”