Things are about to get interesting as Jack gets introduced to the Multiverse!
The next morning, the sun rose, as it had every day in Jack's life for twenty-one consecutive years.
He peered at it, through the yellowing blinds, with one eye open. Happy Birthday to me, he said to himself.
Jack sat on the edge of the hide-a-bed sofa. It never got folded out, because his step-mom didn't like it spread out all over the living room. Never mind she had years ago taken Jack's bedroom for her celebrity action figure collection.
He stared at his reflection in the old television his step mom was too cheap to replace. The giant glass picture tube threw a distorted image back at him.
*If you need to read earlier chapters, you can find them on my blog. *
He had given up trying to sort the events of last night from his dreams. He decided to believe it was all a dream. He ignored the lump in his pocket.
The film canister sized vial had rubbed a bruise on his hip. It didn't matter, he told himself. It couldn't possibly be real, what could he do to save the world?
He stuck his tongue out and looked at it in the reflection, white and pasty, like that freak from last night.
He lifted it, trying to see where the key had come from. He closed his mouth and pulled his sneakers out from under the coffee table.
“Jack!” The TV sprang to life. Thing one's movie-star face took up the whole screen, “Things have changed. Get down to the Mad Cow right away, there's a situation.”
Jack tried to ignore him, pulling on his shoes. Thing One's face appeared in the glass on the coffee table, “Jack, did you hear me?”
Jack felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find that the face in the coffee table was Thing one's reflection as he loomed over the back of the sofa. Thing two was at the kitchen table, a bowl of cereal in his meaty hand.
“I thought I was clear last night.” Jack snapped.
He tied his shoes and pulled his uniform shirt from between the sofa cushions. “Today is my birthday, and I intend to enjoy it, freak free.”
“Look, Jack, I appreciate the sentiment, I really do. But, that is not going to happen today. The circus is coming to town, and you, my friend, are the ring master. We need you to get down to the Mad Cow, before the jello hits the fan.”
Thing one was holding out Jack's denim jacket, and his Mad Cow uniform cap.
Jack snatched the jacket and cap. He poured cereal from the box straight into his mouth and followed it with a swig of milk straight from the carton.
This, ironically, seemed to put thing two off his feed.
He put the spoon down on the table and looked at Jack with disgust.
“We'll give you a ride.” Thing one said.
“No thanks,” Jack grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and an apple from a bowl on the counter. “I walk.”
Thing two picked Jack up over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. His grip was too strong to struggle against, so Jack let him.
“It was not a request.” Thing one said, smiling, “We have business to discuss.”
Mad Cow Burger Shack was just three blocks from the house Jack shared with his step mom. The house had been his grandmother's and his father had grown up there too. Jack had lived there since he was a boy.
The Thing's had a big, black Cadillac. It looked more like a museum exhibit than a functional automobile. It was spotlessly clean and had more chrome than a Harley convention. Thing two opened the rear door and Jack slid in, noticing the lack of inside handles on the doors. Escape would be impossible.
Thing one slid in beside Jack.
The top of his hair touched the headliner. He had to pull his knees almost up to his chin, even in the Cadillac's roomy back seat. Thing two climbed behind the wheel, and pulled away from the curb.
“So, here's the deal. We are prepared to get you out of here, out on the road, for a little adventure. All you have to do is agree to give up the Mad Cow, for what's in that vial.” Thing one said.
Jack looked out the window, but he did not recognize anything, which was odd. They had only been driving for a minute and Jack could have drawn a map of every road within fifty miles strictly from memory.
“Where are we?” He reached over and pressed the button on the window. As the window rolled down, the scene outside changed. It went back to the familiar surroundings of Clark City.
He rolled the window up. As he did, the scene changed again. This time, Jack noticed that it was not so much that Clark City disappeared.
There was just so much more.
From one or two pedestrians to dozens, with layers of larger buildings filling up the skyline. Some of them were traditional -like the ones he was used to- others, not so much.
He examined the window closely. There appeared to be some sort of circuitry embedded in the glass, “So, what is this? Where are all these images from?”
“Clark City, Jack, it's all right here. You just can't see it.” Thing one answered. “Think of it as layers, you live on one layer, while these other images you see are on another. They all coexist, but almost none of them are aware of each other.”
“Whoa, is that what you meant by inter-dimensional vortex?”
Jack asked, studying the images in the glass. Trying to take it all in.
“Sort of. The Vortex is a gateway that can be used to access an individual cortex, or layer, of reality. That layer is also known as a dimension.”
Thing one tapped out a sequence on a touchscreen mounted in the seat back, about the size and shape of an iPod. The images in the glass changed.
“This technology allows us to view cortices stacked, or individually, like this.”
He stopped tapping.
The scene simplified, with only one version of Clark City. It had an almost sci-fi, futuristic vibe. Thing one tapped again. An older looking version, with some things that Jack recognized appeared.
Thing one tapped again, and the multi-layered effect came back. Each cortex seemed to be outlined in a different color.
“It allows you to see what's really here, and sort it, for easier access.” Thing one explained. He held out his hand and Jack saw the vial from the night before setting neatly in his palm. Jack felt his pocket, but the vial he had felt moments before was not there. “So, what's it to be?”
“Wow, you were serious, huh? I'm not sure. The Mad Cow is really the only thing my dad left behind. I kind of figured I would get it going good and start a second one somewhere. Maybe three or four others. Besides, my step mom and Don, the manager, depend on the place.”
Jack sighed, he really wanted to know what was in that canister.
Thing one smiled, “It's admirable that you want to watch out for them. They think you've been kidnapped. So, instead of looking for you, guess what they're doing right now? Filing a police report claiming there was $250,000.00 in that safe. ”
“What??” Jack could not believe it. His step mom was not the nicest person and Don liked to cut corners to maximize his bonuses. Would they really commit insurance fraud?