Pause

Chapter 4

"Doesn't it seem... out of place to you? Sir?"

"Yes," Micah agreed. The structure looked nothing like the enemy's facilities or bases.

It was a large black obelisk, its high angles uneven. It towered over both of them. Sand blew at its dark bottom. A shape on its face that looked like a door lay before them.

Suddenly, the door opened. Its black face sunk into the structure, then moved to the side. The doorway was now a void.

"After you," Micah said.

"Uh," Ulises said. "Sir, let's not and say we did, yeah?"

"Take point. That's an order."

They ventured inside.

* * *

"Well hello there!"

Micah and Ulises had their rifles drawn and fingers on the triggers. They stared down the man in a labcoat.

"Oh, I assure you, those aren't necessary," the man said, "You're my invited guests. Please! Sit." He gestured to some seats.

Neither of them did as he told.

The man laughed. "Oh all right. Keep your war toys. I'm Dr. Fleishman, by the way. Oberon Fleishman."

Micah raised his eyebrows. He lowered his gun.

"Stand down, Ulises," Micah said.

"Sir?"

Micah reached over and lowered Ulises' rifle for him. "Recon," he whispered to Ulises.

Micah looked back at Oberon, raising his voice. "You're not the enemy. You're one of us."

"Oh no," Oberon replied, chuckling slightly, "not like you. Not even from this dimension."

"I beg your pardon," Ulises said.

"As I said, sit... please? I made crumpets."

They sat.

And they listened to a tale of fantasy.

* * *

Oberon explained about a disaster in another dimension. He didn't know which dimension, but the disaster ignited devastating affects in countless other dimensions, including Micah's.

Micah and Ulises held their mouths dropped, crumpets half-eaten in their hands. They listened intently.

"This biological warfare in your reality?" Oberon continued. "Well, it recently got worse, didn't it. A hundred fold worse. I'm sure you've already seen the affects."

Micah remembered the undying Infected.

"And it's because of that disaster. It's like... jetsam and flotsam from several realities at once bombarding others. I still have readings coming in..." Oberon walked to a console.

"What is this place?" Micah asked.

"Ah yes," Oberon replied, "my lab is from another reality. I've been close to mastering safe dimensional travel but I, ah, got stuck here while avoiding the interdimensional anomalies." He sighed. "I managed to get your attention, though."

"Oh?" Micah said.

"The oasis. That was me."

"You're kidding," Ulises said.

"I've been experimenting with these bio-weapons your, ah, 'enemy' deploys, and I restructured them for terraforming. Similar technology is quite the hit in my reality. However, that's not why I summoned you."

"Go on," Micah said.

"This," Oberon held out his arm, "is why you've come. Isn't it?"

Micah and Ulises looked at Oberon's wrist.

It held a bracelet, a device, with wires of many colors wriggling through itself.

"I was there with you when you saw the flash of light in the desert," Oberon explained. "But you would have never known."

He held up the device.

"This stops time."