| Episode 4: �Whispers.� Maggie silently shifted her gaze to her hand, her eyes staring at the dark red digits that were counting down on the timer�s display, the readout indicating that they had just over three minutes left on this world. Looking back up, she began to make her way over to the park bench where Rembrandt, Mallory, and Diana were sitting down and talking quietly to one another. Standing there next to them, she just listened to their words, as they continued their deep conversation. They had all been pushed hard on the last few worlds, and Maggie was both physically and mentally exhausted, their time on this one being so short, that there was no time to rest. She just hoped that the next world would offer this chance. Rembrandt slowly sighed. �We've not come across any Magg invaded worlds yet. And though that�s a good thing, it still means that when the time does come, we'll have a lot of work to do. It�s gonna take a lot of energy, not to mention time, to synthesise the virus time and time again�� �Don�t worry Remmy. I�m sure that Diana will think of something.� Said Mallory, in between mouthfuls of the burger that he was eating. Diana looked up from the palm top that she held and sighed. �Hopefully. I am currently working on a theory to distribute the virus simultaneously to all worlds through the gateway. But so far � nothing.� �It�s just gonna take time, right? Well I think our time on this world is almost up. Right Maggie?� Silence greeted Rembrandt. �Hey, Maggie, you ok?� She turned around. �S-sorry?� �You were totally spaced out for a moment. What�s wrong?� �I�m just really tired that�s all.� But though she did not share it with anyone else, this was not the only reason for her withdrawal. She had been lost deep in though a lot lately, and thinking ... about Quinn. Their time together, not only sliding, but in the bubble universe, had created a strong and powerful bond between them, one that could not easily be forgotten. If Quinn was here, she was sure that he could find a way to do what they could not. She slowly sighed, pushing the thoughts from her mind as she checked the timer. �Time to go.� Moving from the bench, Maggie pointed the timer at the grass in front of them, and activated it. The stream of energy quickly shot out, and a small point of light began to appear. The light continued to grow, until it had formed into a swirling silver-blue vortex, the wind blowing fiercely all around them. �Who knows?� Said Mallory, attempting to lighten the mood. �We may slide into a world where one of us is rich!� He grinned at the others as he rushed forward, disappearing into the vortex in a flash of bright light. �I doubt it would be you though.� Laughed Rembrandt. Diana chucked, and she went through the vortex second. �You sure you�re ok, Maggie?� �Go. I�m fine.� He continued to watch her for a moment, and then jumped into the vortex. As he disappeared from sight, he did not see the solitary tear that escaped her eyes, the look of defeat as she quickly brushed it aside, resuming her naturally strong exterior, before following the others. The vortex expelled Maggie, and she was thrown to the soft grassy ground. The background sound of the howling vortex continued for a few moments longer, and then slowly faded into nothingness, disappearing from sight. As she slowly looked around to gain her bearings, she realised that they were in the same park from the world before. Mallory was nearby, already checking a newspaper from off of the local news-stand, whilst Diana had begun to look over her palm top, and Rembrandt was scanning the immediate area. Before she had a chance to check the time on the timer, there was a sudden loud shout that came from up ahead, and she quickly turned to see several armed police officers running after a dark clothed man. The man tried to dodge in and out of the frightened crowd to avoid being shot, while firing back from a handgun that he carried, when he got a clear shot. The man suddenly froze as he saw the back-up that tried to block him from up ahead. �Remmy�� Rembrandt turned as he heard his name being called, hearing the whisper that seemed to penatrate through his very mind. The voice seemed strangly familiar. Yet before he even had a chance to think further, Rembrandt was grabbed by the armed man, who had started to panic because of his current predicament. He pushed the gun hard against Remmy�s chest. �Don�t move! Or I swear to God I�ll shoot him!� The police officers slowed, holding their firearms cautiously. �Don't be stupid! You are outnumbered! Throw down your weapon and place you hands up on your head!� �Never!" His face was full with fear and panic. "I�m never going back to jail! I won't let you take me!� Time seemed to slow. All Rembrandt could remember in that split moment, was the sound and feel of the trigger being fired, and the pullet piercing through his chest, the screams of Maggie and Diana filling the air, as he stared at the blood that began to ooze outwards. In the second afterwards, he quickly fell to the ground, hearing the next gurgling screams from the armed man, as the police took the countering shot, bringing him to justice. As he began to drift in and out of unconsciousness, he could faintly hear his name being called over and over again, but it seemed just to faint and far away. He saw images of his friends surrounding him, and then nothing but utter darkness... "Remmy!"... |
| What if you found a portal to a parallel universe? What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds? Where it�s the same year And you�re the same person But everything else is different And what if you can�t find your way home� Starring: Cleavent Derricks as Rembrandt Brown Kari Wuhrer as Maggie Beckett Robert Floyd as Mallory And Tembi Locke as Diana Davis � Sliders! |
| The double-doored entrance of the hospital burst open, as the stretcher was pushed quickly forward. Maggie, Mallory, and Diana ran slightly behin, watching in a veil of shocked, hurt, and concerned emotions, as the Doctors started to analyse Rembrandt�s condition. They began to shout out strange medical orders that made no sense to Maggie, and soon sedatives were injected into his arm, for what she thought was to ease the pain. They continued to follow their friend around the corridor, before an intern suddenly blocked their path. �I'm sorry, but you have to wait out here.� She said respectfully. �But he�s our friend. I�� �I�m sorry but only doctors are allowed beyond this point. I promise you that we will do whatever we can to help your friend.� She took a moment to make sure that they understood, before turning to walk into the room. Maggie reluctantly stepped back, making her way towards the waiting area. She silently sat down on a chair, glancing back towards the room, the worried expression remaining on her features. She finally looked up as Mallory and Diana approached. They joined her by the chairs, not being able to say a word, until Maggie finally broke the silence. �He will be ok, won�t he?� �It's going to be ok." Stated Mallory, as he place his arm around her shoulders. "You know Remmy, he�s a fighter. I just know that he willl get through this.� Diana walked over to the nearby cooler, and poured some cold water for the three of them. As she handed it to Maggie, she watched her expression, seeing the exhaustion, worry, and fatigue, knowing that she was in serious need of some rest. Maggie avoided her gaze as she continued to silently sip at the water. She just could not lose another friend, she just couldn�t. �Maggie. Why don�t you go and get some rest?� �No, I-I can't. I have to wait here and ee if Remmy is ok. Diana shook her head."But there's nothing that you can do here. The doctors are doing all that they can. All we can do is just rest, and hope, and wait for any news.� �She�s right, Maggie.� Added Mallory. �You�ve been working harder than the rest of us lately. You need to get some rest. And don't worry, we�ll contact you if something comes up.� Maggie let out a long sigh, that though she fought against it, turned into a long yawn. They were right, she needed a good rest, but all her thoughts were still on Rembrandt. He just had to be ok, he had to. She finally stood up and checked the timer, seeing that they had over 56 hours on this world. �Ok. I�m going to try and sort out all the paperwork at the Reception, and then will see if they have a spare room here to rest in. As soon as there is any news � and I mean anything � then I want you guys to come and find me.� �We promise.� Nodded Mallory. Taking one final look at the operating room, Maggie turned, and walked down the bleak white corridor. She followed the signs that were written on the walls towards the Reception, and after being handed a lot of complex forms, sat down to fill them out. �... How is she doing?� Maggie slowly looked up in mid sentence, to see two Doctors conferencing a few feet away from her. �Our Jane Doe is still a bit of a mystery. We can not find out any information on her. As for her condition, she regained consciousness this morning, but fell back into unconsciousness once again.� He slowly shook his head. �The regeneration work on her body is going slowly. We may have to start Electro-Magnetic Therapy in order to re-stimulate her unused leg muscles.� �Good. Contact Alex, the head of the department, to start work as soon as he can. Maybe once she awakens we can finally find out what the hell happened to her, and why she was connected to that strange machinery.� The other doctor nodded. �Remmy�� Rembrandt slowly opened his eyes, turning away from the bright light that was shining down on his face, to find that he was lying down on a hospital bed. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he attempted to sit up, but a burning sensation erupted in his chest, and he was forced back. Soon he began to recollect what had transpired, closing back his eye, as he tried to get some rest. �Remmy�� He slowly opened his eyes once more, having sworn that someone had just called his name. Gradually managing to twist his neck around the room, he looked around to find that he was completely alone. Puzzled, he waited to hear the whisper once more.. �Remmy� I need you�� Rembrandt opened his eyes wide in shock as he heard it once again. It must be the sedative. He was now beginning to hear things. He looked down to see tubes that came out of his arms, and the bandage that was wrapped around his waist. Resting his head back onto the pillow, he suddenly shot back up, as he pieced the voice together. �Wade?!� Shifting his body into an upright position, Rembrandt waited for the pain and dizziness to subside, before slowly taking out the tubes from his arms, and moved off from the bed to stand. A sudden new pain hit him, as every step forward caused a splitting sensation in his side, and he knew that this was going to be hard going. But nonetheless, he just had to find out if this was all in his head or not. Finding a wheelchair lying against the far corner of the room, Rembrandt carefully opened it up, and sat down inside it, finding his pain beginning to ease. Rolling the wheels with his two hands, he slowly propelled himself out of the room, as he tried to locate the source of the sound. �Remmy�� �Maggie � Maggie wake up?� Diana turned to Mallory. �Maybe we should still let her rest." �And not tell her that the Docs have news on Rembrandt? She�d kill us when she does wake up!� He continued to gently shake her awake. �Come on Maggie, rise and shine..." Maggie softly yawned as she stretched her cramped muscle, slowly looking around before she realised that she had fallen asleep whilst filling out the forms. �H-How long was I out for?� She said suddenly, as she quickly became alert. She searched their gazes for any hints of emotion. �... And Rembrandt?� �You�ve been asleep for a good couple of hours." Answered Mallory. "And as for Remmy � the Docs have news, but we thought we�d wait and wake you up straight away before we heard it." Maggie quickly wiped the remains of sleep from her eyes as she got up, following Mallory and Diana as they led her to where a Doctor was waiting nearby. �Please, let it be good news.� He smiled reasurringly. �Good news it is. The wound was a lot worse than it had first appeared. The bullet created a large laceration on his skin that barely missed the lower section of his right lung. But we have managed to repair the damage and he should be fine within a few days of solid rest." A wave of relief fell on the Sliders. Rembrandt was going to be just fine. �Can we go and see him?� Asked Diana. �I don't see any reason not too. He should be resting alone in operating room 2.� Smiling their thanks, the group made their way down the long corridor, towards the operating room. As they opened the door, they slowly smiled. �Rem - � Their words were quickly cut short, as they realised that the room was vacant, and Rembrandt was no where in sight. Rembrandt stopped to breathe out hard, his arms and sides throbbing from the ache, but he could not afford to stop for too long. The voice, the whisper was beginning to become louder, the closer and closer he got to it, and he knew that he would soon find its source. Wheeling himself down the white corridor, he could feel the strange connection grow stronger. It was her ... It had to be! �Wade!� He suddenly called out. �Wade, where are you?� �Turn left Remmy�� To the left of his gaze was a large steel door with the words: �Electro-Magnetic Therapy Room� in small blue letters above the doorway. Rembrandt proceeded to push the doors open, before looking in and entering. His face gradually lit up, as he saw the still form that was lying motionlessly on the operating table. �W-Wade�� Tears quickly escaped his eyes, as he wheeled himself over to where she lay, stopping in shock as he saw her form. Her face was just as he remembered it, calm, beautiful, a hint of deep passion and determination, with the light red hair that framed her gaze. But as his gaze wandered lower, he saw tje strange puncture marks that were now on her neck, looking as if they had been stitched up and worked on. Memories soon flooded back of the Kromagg machine that he had seen her connected to. �Damn Maggs!� Out of her arms and limps, various tubes protruded out from them, a source of substance for her body, attempting to replace the Kromagg version. A strange silver humming machine rested just above her legs, that sent small controlled electric shocks along her feet, in an attempt to re-stimulate neuro activity. �Remmy." He jumped slightly as her voice suddenly returned. "I�m so glad that you are here!� He continued to watch her lips, realising that they had not moved. She seemed to be speaking through telepathy. "... Wade �� He slowly shook his head. �I can�t believe that I�ve found you again�" He looked back at her form. "What happened? What happened to you after you dropped me back with the others?� There was a long moment of silence. �I will show you�� Three months ago� Maggie silently walked over to Mallory and Diana, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. She had lost him, Rembrandt had decided to stay with Wade. There was just no point in continuing on, she had lost everyone� Suddenly a burst of light appeared from up ahead, and she turned to see Rembrandt fall out of a strange swirling blue vortex. It closed as quickly as it had appeared, and though she just wanted to run over and hug him tight, she knew he needed some time to himself. She watched as he slowly began to walk over to them. �Remmy�� Rembrandt suddenly turned, having heared, sensed ... felt, something. Maggie turned as she felt it too. It was Wade. �I will always be with you Remmy�� Rembrandt fought back the tear as he tried to say goodbye, watching longingly as her image floated faintly in the lake, before slowly beginning to disappear. Whatever was to happen to Wade, he would always be with her also. Gathering his strength, he then walked over to the others, and they began to comfort him. Wade let the mental image that she projected slowly fade, and then turned as she allowed the power of her vortex to pull her in. She knew what she had to do, knew that she could not live like this for another moment longer. As she emerged out onto the other side, she used all of her remaining conscious energy, to break free from the machine that trapped her body. Wade screamed out in pain, as she used her mind to make the glass shatter, watching as the fluid began to quickly spill out, whilst the machine began to malfunction and crack open. Waiting until all of the fluid had drained, she then slowly lifted up her left arm, feeling that it still seemed to have some life in it. Then, one by one, Wade ripped out the tubes that were connected from her body to her machine, crying through the excruciating pain, and almost blacking out every now and again. But she did not stop, could not die until all of them were out, until she was free. As the final cord was severed, Wade finally slumped forward, fading unconscious in a pool of blood and fluid, face down onto the ground� Present Day� �Remmy?� Maggie looked into the next room, but found that there was still no sign of him. "Remmy?" �I can�t seem to find him anywhere.� Answered Mallory, as he joined her. �Mallory! Maggie!� They suddenly turned to see Diana step out of a room. �It�s Rembrandt � and Wade!� The two stopped in complete shock. Wade? ... Wade was here? Suddenly the words of the two doctors filtered back to Maggie - the woman who they had found in a mechanical device � it just had to be their Wade! Rushing forward with Mallory by her side, they quickly followed Diana into the Electro-Magnetic Therapy room. �� Wade�� Rembrandt smiled as he looked up, still in his wheelchair, as he turned to his friends. �It�s Wade. We�ve finally found each other again!� Diana slowly walked forward to check her over. �Her body had been rendered almost totally useless by the machine that she was trapped in. But it looks like this one is trying to re-stimulate the neuro pathways in her body. With a lot of work, Wade could recover.� She turned and picked up the chart that was beside the bed. �It looks like they were planning on taking out the tubes in her body as soon as she was awake, and could also eat naturally.� Maggie smiled at Wade. �Hi Wade.� She said slowly, waiting for a response. �Remmy, can you still hear her?� �No. I think she�s resting. It took a lot out of her for Wade to contact me and show me how she ended up here.� "Then we should let her rest.� Maggie turned to leave. �No, you go on. I�m fine. I just � just want to be here when she wakes.� Nodding in understanding, Maggie led Diana and Mallory out of the room, already knowing how this was going to turn out... The next morning the team returned to the hospital. The timer continued to tick down, and it was almost time for the slide. Diana and Mallory had expressed their apprehension the night before at the hotel, but Maggie told them to just wait and see, as everything would sort itself out. They now stared through the glass window at Rembrandt, who sat staring silently at the still form of Wade in her room. �He is not going to come with us is he.� Stated Mallory, quietly. �And Wade is not fit enough to go anywhere.� Maggie slowly closed her eyes and sighed. Taking a deep breath she opened them up, before entering the room. Rembrandt looked up as he saw them enter. �Maggie. Listen, I've been thinking�� �It�s ok, Remmy.� Maggie answered, cutting him off. �I already know what you are going to say. You can�t slide with us, having felt that you've lost Wade too many times to just get up and leave now. She needs you just as much as you need her � you just need to stay by her side.� Rembrandt lowered his gaze. �But don�t worry, Remmy. The rest of us are going to keep on sliding, we�ll store this Earth�s co-ordinates, and come back every few slides to check up on the two of you. And when she is finally better and able to slide, then we'll all slide out of here ... together." Rembrandt was lost for words. �... Give me a hug girl!� Maggie quickly rushed over to him, and they hugged each other tightly. �Be careful�� �We will.� Smiled Maggie, finally letting him go. �We�re coming right back for you soon. So Wade�� She turned to her still form. �You better fight to get better, ok?.� Rembrandt turned to face the others. "So no words Mallory?" �Nope.� He said shaking his head. �Coz like she said, we�re coming right back here to check up on you guys. This isn�t in any way a goodbye�.� �� It�s a see you soon.� Finished Diana, smiling. Remmy smile, watching as they all slowly turned, and activated the vortex. Shielding his face from the strong wind, it ruffled the bottom of his hospital gown, and he watched as the three flashes of light signalled their entry into the gateway. The wind slowly began to die down, and the vortex finally closed. They were gone. �Well Wade. Where were we? There's still so much more to tell..." He carefully picked up her hand. "It was during a gunfight on the world before. Maggie and I went through the vortex first, and Quinn and Colin were just right behind. It was while travelling between worlds that there was this bright flash of light, Quinn and Colin disappeared, and this new Quinn, Mallory, appeared." He paused, taking a moment to sigh. "We later found out that a man called Professor Geiger had somehow merged that world's Quinn with our own, and in the process Colin had become unstuck..." Rembrandt continued to talk to Wade, speaking to her for several hours, and detailing all that had happened to them since she was taken by the Kromaggs. He watched as her eyelids fluttered continuously, knowing that she could hear every word. Finally, he could be there for her, having not been there when she was first taken away by the Kromaggs ... and he would never leave her side. End. |