The Ride - Chapter 11 (this will should you through the weekend)

[OMR]

Glen didn’t even hesitate. He rolled to his left, through the dry brush, into the trees and onto the lighted path. It now seemed familiar, like an old pair of well worn shoes. Slowly rising, he strained to hear and expected to see uniformed figures come busting through the trees and bushes… coming to arrest him for something he really had not done. True he had been there, but did not take part in the robbery of the bike shop. But no one came for him. There were no sounds of pursuit … in fact; there were no sounds at all.

Glen glanced down the strangely lit path, then back to the tree line where the path ended. He could not make out a break of any kind in the foliage. Although Glen didn’t understand why, he was glad for the strange safety of the path.

Glen was becoming convinced that maybe only certain people could find the path and maybe it was only at certain times. A hypothesis was beginning to form in his mind. But that was for later when he had time to think about the day’s events. Glen really didn’t want to follow the path. He’d done that earlier today, which seemed a million miles away now. He had a feeling it didn’t matter where you went on this path, you would always come back out at where you went in. If that were true, perhaps he should just turn around and pop back out now. But he wasn’t sure that he wanted to do that as maybe the police would still be searching in the area and Glen certainly didn’t want to get caught… but then he didn’t want to follow that path again.

Making up his mind, Glen turned and walked back to the end of the path and poked his head through the trees. When he did, his whole body tingled a little bit. The feeling was not uncomfortable, but definitely there. Expecting to see flashlights and dark shapes beating the bushes, he was met with a dark, quiet country-side. He could hear the night birds making noises in the bushes and a lonely coyote verbally searching for a mate.

Glen pulled his head back and the tingling went immediately away. There were no sounds on this side of the trees. Glenn poked his head back out and almost bumped into a policeman, luckily, he was turned the other way. In fact there were at least 10 policemen and a couple of park rangers with lights searching among the bushes. Their beams were cutting through the night air and he could see their breaths hanging heavy in the air from their efforts. Glen took this all in a heart beat and quickly pulled his head back. The tingling stopped again.

Again, he poked his head out and again was met with a quiet country-side. There was no one around, but this time it was different. There was a bright full moon shining in the evening sky. That’s odd, Glen thought. Tonight earlier there was no moon, he was sure of it. Glen stepped out onto the park’s main fire road. His hypothesis was becoming firmer in his mind. He only needed a few more confirming facts and then he was sure he was on the way to figuring this out. This was something out of the Twilight Zone, he thought.

Walking through the darkened park, Glen had plenty of time to think. What if he had accidentally stumbled into some type of alternate reality? He had recently been watching a PBS program about scientists that were trying to combine Einstein’s’ Theory of Relativity and the theory of how the universe was formed. They had proved mathematically that the two were not mutually exclusive but connected… and in doing so had proved that there were 13 levels of reality and that you could move between them. Glen had only half listened as much of what they were saying had been over his head. Now he wished he had listened closer. This would certainly explain a lot. In one reality his wife had been killed, in another she was very much alive and in this one she was somewhere else… not with Glen and had never been. But if this was true, what was happening to the other Glens when he came into their reality? Were they crossing over as well? He had chased and actually touched an earlier Glen on the lighted path. Maybe the only time they would confront themselves would be on the path?

Walking down the middle of the street, Glen realized that he was almost home. As he turned on his street, a car rushed past him almost knocking over. Damn kids, Glen thought. Someone should call the police. Yeah, that’s just what he needed to have the police come nosing around. But if he was right, he was in another reality and there would be no police looking for him. Besides, that car looked a lot like his car and he really didn’t want to meet the driver. He needed to find out a lot more information on alternate realities. He’d Google that as soon as he got home.

Walking up the steps, he noticed the lights were on in the living room. Strange, he didn’t remember leaving them on. As he opened the door he heard soft sobbing coming from the 2nd floor. Quietly taking the stairs two at a time, Glenn pushed open the bedroom door and stood dumbfounded as he gazed at the lovely form of his wife lying on the rumpled bed. She was alive again.

She looked up at the sound of the door opening and screamed at him to leaver her alone. It was then that he noticed the ugly swelling on one side of her face and red marks on her bare, lovely shoulders. “Have you come back to hit me again like you always do?” she cried.

Glen didn’t know what to say. How do you explain that it wasn’t me? He thought. “Sorry, babe … I’m so very sorry”, Glen said as he took her in his arms and held her tight. She stiffened, then relaxed and sobbed deeply into his chest. He made low cooing sounds for a while and stroked her hair until she stopped sobbing. Then he gently picked her up and laid her on the bed and covered her with the blanket. Her crystal blue eyes looked questionably up into his and then slowly closed. She was exhausted and soon fell asleep. He kissed her gently on her forehead then quietly slipped out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

It was at this time that he noticed that the layout of the house was backward to “his” house. Not knowing quite what to make of this, he walked down the hall into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and pulled out another beer. This beer was one he had never heard of. He popped off the top and took a quick swig then downed the whole bottle. At least this Glen drank good beer, Glen thought. His thirst finally satisfied, Glen walked back into the den and spied a laptop sitting on the desk. He waiting until it went through its boot-up and finally good a browser. Although it wasn’t Microsoft Explorer, it seemed to work the same way. He looked for the Google start page but not finding it, did a search and found an engine that seemed to work.

First, he looked up alternate universes and found a multitude of links. Glen clicked on several and read through the articles. The gist of these articles seemed to confirm his multiple realities theory. In fact, they had coined the term “multiverse” to describe this phenomenon. Then he typed in “Doppelganger” and didn’t like what he found.

Doppelganger, a German word that means double walker, it has come to refer to any double or look-alike person… most commonly referred to as an “evil twin”. They are usually regarded as harbingers of bad luck, danger or ill health” Well, those certain seemed to fit the Glen person who resided here, he mused.

It was then that he heard a car pull up in the driveway… quick footsteps on the walkway and the front door suddenly opened and a doppelganger was standing there looking at him.

For once, Glen was at a loss for words…. He was looking at himself!

[bighit8]

Ok, now I'm really into this. Thanks Greg!

[foofighter]

flippin eh!!! i love this...from a scary story to incredible sci-fi!!!

[Singletrack Angel]

Thanks so much for all the chapters, Gregg, they're amazing... but I think you need to get off the computer for a while:

"(this will should you through the weekend)"

[Rob]

Wow, awesome stuff Greg!!

[RustyIron]

Kinda like Vonnegut, kinda like Roddenberry...

[doulos]

This is some crazy shiat.... I am sooo lost and liking that I dove head first into this lighted path called the ride. Feels like an old pair... Hehehe.

[OMR]

Originally Posted by Singletrack Angel

Thanks so much for all the chapters, Gregg, they're amazing... but I think you need to get off the computer for a while:

"(this will should you through the weekend)"

Working...working...working....

Originally Posted by RustyIron

Kinda like Vonnegut, kinda like Roddenberry...

I am truly humbled to be considered in such company

Originally Posted by doulos

This is some crazy shiat.... I am sooo lost and liking that I dove head first into this lighted path called the ride. Feels like an old pair... Hehehe.

Hang on ... it's going to be a wild and crazy ride... sota like finding a cool single track... the best is yet to come. It ain't over until it's over, grasshoppers...

hint:.... the trusty brown plastic Boy Scout flashlight with the compass in the handle...

he ...he...he...he...

[gil_caz]

just started reading this, from chapter 10, i need to go back and read them all.

good work by the way, i never get into reading and this has done it.

[Red Hot Sloth]

Alright..I've been hooked since I first stumbled upon your writings a couple weeks ago. Now its an obsession.
Thanks for being my pusher for the fix I need

[Abui]

OMR must still be on the rider-down list. All that fascinating writing.

BTW I think I'll avoid that bike shop, what's it called .. "the Path"?

[Pain Freak]

I missed chapter 10.....

please

please

please

I need the link (fix)

Greg you have a lot of talent, please don't stop.

[bighit8]

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

I missed chapter 10.....

please

please

please

I need the link (fix)

Greg you have a lot of talent, please don't stop.

Theres a thread pain freak, i think in the pub or general!Plus a chapter eleven.

[Pain Freak]

Thanks, all caught up now...There gonna love this at work!

[PacMan]

*grabs popcorn*