Anthony DeCosmo - Parallels

"She could probably make a big difference over here."

Trevor growled, "She’d teach you a thing or two. You bet."

"And I bet it makes you really mad…" she led

"Damn mad!"

"…that I look like her."

Her words derailed his train of thought.

"Mad?"

"Half the time you look like you want to sweep me off my feet; the other half of the time you want to curse me. And not for kidnapping you. Because I look like her, but I’m not."

Trevor realized his hands trembled on her shoulders. But did they shake because he stood so close to an image of the woman he once loved, or because he was angry with her for daring to resemble his Nina?

"What happened? If it was just a regular break up, I would’ve got that from her."

Stone let go of her shoulders and retreated to the shadows.

She asked, "Maybe you loved her but you never told her? Did you let her get away?"

"I don’t want to…I don’t want to talk about it."

"Yes. Yes you do."

She stood behind him.

So close.

Major Nina Forest repeated, "You want to shout it at me. You want to scream at me how I’m an imposter in her body."

How long had it been since he spoke of it? Who had he ever told?

It had been nearly six years since the mysterious Old Man-his supernatural benefactor-told him that he could not be with Nina. That revelation came at the same time they found Nina’s memory implant, courtesy of Voggoth’s The Order. In one fell swoop Trevor learned destiny forbade them to be together and found a means of preserving that separation.

"C’mon Trevor. We’re alone here…in another universe…far away. Tell me why you came for her; tell me why you love her but you’re not with her."

He faced the woman who looked like Nina.

"A confession? Is that what you want?"

He paused. The flood of memories and emotion and…and loss… lapped over top the dam. It was not until that moment-the moment when he decided to let it come roaring out-that he realized how hard it had been to hold those flood waters at bay all these years.

"Nina was the only woman I ever loved; and she was taken from me."

Oh, where to start? And if I start…will I be able to stop?

"She found my humanity and gave me a purpose beyond this whole save-the-human-race-crap. She gave me a purpose that wasn’t a burden, it was liberating. If I’m supposed to be the person to save mankind from Armageddon, then she was the one person who could save me from myself. A lifeline to my humanity. Without her…without her I can be…I can be…"

He did not finish the sentence, not aloud. In his mind the sentence finished with fields of dead aliens; attack dogs swarming a peaceful human village.

Trevor bowed his head, licked his lips, then continued. "And I gave to her, too. We found out more about who she was; who she wanted to be. I think I…I think I unlocked a part of her that had been waiting to come to the surface. I could see our future. We would stay together and fight the fight. At night, we could retreat to each other and find happiness-real honest-to-God-happiness-in a rotten world. "

Nina spoke soft but with the tone of a detective trying to find the last piece of the puzzle. "You said she was taken from you. What does that mean?"

"You felt your Trevor knew things about the world? He did. Just like I do. There are powers behind all this. I won’t say any more because, shit, I don’t know a whole lot more. But those powers told me I had a path to walk, and that Nina was not on that path with me."

"Unless I’m really gullible, she doesn’t remember being in love with you."

"That’s right. My Nina had been infected with a memory implant from Voggoth’s Order. When we removed it…when it was taken away…she lost a year’s worth of memories. She didn’t even remember meeting me. She…she went back to the person she was before we even met."

"So you still love her?"

Trevor told this Nina, "The woman I loved doesn’t exist anymore, do you understand? The memories and experiences we had together were erased. That’s what makes us who we are. The things we do…the things we remember. Take them away and we’re somebody different." He exhaled loudly and repeated, "She doesn’t exist anymore."

Major Forest put a hand on his chest.

"I exist. I’m real."

So close.

She put another hand on his shoulder. Trevor grabbed her wrists and pulled them away.

"I have…I have responsibilities at home."

Responsibilities? That's what Ashley and Jorgie are?

"What does that mean?"

"I told you, I wasn’t supposed to be with my Nina. I found out why. A woman I had been involved with before the invasion reappeared. Together, we have a son. My son is special. I think…I think he’s a part of the bigger picture…"

His words trailed off as he considered that big picture.

Nina grew frustrated. "But you don’t love her. And she’s a universe away!"

He did not listen to her. Instead, his eyes widened and he said, "That’s it! Don’t you see?"

"See what?" His change of demeanor unnerved her.

"Here you and I never split up. I wonder if your Trevor told the Old Man to go to Hell."

"The who?"

"If I had stayed with her on my world, maybe we’d be in this spot. Maybe we’d be in the trouble you’re in now. Maybe here humanity is about to be wiped out because your Trevor followed his heart, instead of his path. Did fate bring me here to show me what could have happened if I had done what I wanted to do, instead of what I was supposed to do?"

Thoughts raced through his mind. Thoughts of an Earth where he had stayed with Nina; where his desire for her had made him walk off the path.

He felt a wave of empathy for the Trevor of this different universe; even jealousy for the happiness he must have known with Nina. If not for The Order's implant, would he have stayed with her? Would he have done what the Trevor Stone of this universe did? Is it possible…could it be…was he sent here to make amends for his other self's weakness?

She said, "I don’t understand."

"Neither do I," he admitted. "But there are answers here. I can feel it. I’m going to find those answers."

Unlike his first night in the apartment, Trevor slept well the second night. Perhaps because even though questions still surrounded his presence there, he felt he had direction. If he helped the people of this world fight off the invaders, perhaps he could glean some insight into the greater plan. Maybe even circumvent the Old Man's hold over him.

After a shower with weak water pressure and a breakfast of powdered orange drink and an oatmeal-like cereal, Major Nina Forest took them for a trip. They traveled by car for ten minutes to a training facility for the "Third Legion."

She gave the men gym bags containing work out clothes, towels, and soap then directed them to the men’s locker room. While Trevor fit perfectly into the sneakers, sweat pants, and tank top (no doubt from the other Trevor's closet), Johnny's outfit hugged his stocky frame a little tight, although not as tight as Nina's spandex hugged her.

When they first arrived, the place seemed nearly deserted except for a clerk and a sentry, both of whom eyed Stone suspiciously. However, with time more people filtered in for exercise and training maneuvers.

Nina led the two newcomers to one area that remained quiet; an indoor shooting range.

"Okay, boys, I’ve got a feeling you’ve handled guns before, right?"

Reverend Johnny proudly proclaimed, "If it is capable of dispatching aliens I most certainly have handled it."

"Well, okay then. Handle this."

She handed them each an assault rifle. Trevor looked it over disapprovingly.