Parallels

If we were to speak honestly, then I must admit that you are in tune with forces I can not comprehend. You are a person of destiny, everyone knows this but we fear to speak openly of it.'

'I suppose,' Trevor said, 'some things are best left unspoken.'

'This is true. But here we are in what is apparently a duplicate world; a duplicate universe. The same in many ways and yet different in its subtleties. Imagine if told of a parallel universe a few years ago how we would have reacted. That revelation would have been enough to question all of what we know; our place in the universe, our faith, our science. But here I stand not in awe of this incredible truth, but in complete acceptance. Why is that?'

Trevor answered, 'Because you’ve seen so much already. Because monsters and aliens are real. When you’re fighting for your life it is easy to set aside the larger picture and focus on the 'what' and not the 'why' because the 'why' might just drive you crazy.'

'Yes, indeed. But for those who follow you, Trevor, there is a greater truth. We have fought the vile beasts and glimpsed Hell. These things point to powerful, all-encompassing forces. Yet, we are not afraid of these powers. Do you know why? Because of you. Partly because you are a master general, partly because you have taken the burden of our survival on your shoulders so as to keep that burden from crushing us. But most important, you are a man in tune with the powers. I suppose you could say, when the Gods convene to weave their plans, they save a seat for you at the table. I know that no matter how small we seem, we are in fact giants. We have to be; otherwise the universe wouldn’t be going to such trouble to destroy us.'

Trevor considered.

A seat at the table.

A quick knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Nina Forest walked inside.

'Sorry leaving you alone for a while like that, but I had a couple of things to take care of. I promise you’ll have my complete attention from here on in.'

'I see,' Trevor responded as she joined them at the window.

'Beautiful, isn’t it,' she gestured to the view although her words were probably sarcastic.

'Sad,' Trevor corrected. 'I see a city that is barely alive.'

'Barely alive is better than dead. I mean, I’ll take it, you know?'

'Tell us, my dear, what events conspired to lead to these dismal circumstances?'

'How far back do you want me to go?'

'Let me start,' Trevor said. 'Alien invasion, monsters, end of civilization. The Trevor Stone of this world becomes the leader and you win some fights, build up an army, save a lot of people, and start conquering territory. How am I doing?'

'That about sums it up. Until the really big battle.'

'I’ll guess. The battle of five armies.'

'Actually, there were seven armies.'

Johnny laughed. 'That would explain much.'

'I mean, the big battle sort of put a damper on things but, still, we were in good shape. Lots of cities. Factories. In some spots it was almost like a regular life, you know?'

He led, 'Then..?'

Her head bowed and Trevor could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes.

'Then you were killed. I mean, then our Trevor died in battle.'

She gathered her thoughts. 'Trevor was a great warrior. He won battles that we never thought we’d win. He was the glue holding us together. He kept the army officers in line and loyal; he kept the civilian leaders in their place. I mean, he made sure we worked toward the same goal, you know?'

Reverend Johnny assured, 'I know.'

'So what happened after…after I died?'

She sighed. 'At first, chaos. Without Trevor at the top, the chain of command broke apart. Some officers tried to take over and some…some people actually killed each other. It was, like, almost a civil war. It went on for a while until we lost cities and armies because we were too busy fighting with ourselves. That’s when people negotiated. In the end, a group of administrators took over. We call them The Committee.'

Trevor posed the next question, 'How long has it been like this?'

'Like this? You-I mean, our Trevor-died two years ago. We’ve been losing ground even since. Things are bad. This is it. This is the last city. Do you understand? Twenty thousand people are all we have left. We’re desperate.'

Trevor saw the mark of that desperation in her eyes. His heart sank. How could it not? Maybe she was not the Nina he knew, but she looked like her; sounded like her.

Nonetheless, he said, 'I’m sorry, but I’m your prisoner, remember? You dragged me here. I have my own world to worry about. I don’t belong here.'

'Your world is fine,' she shot as that desperation turned to defensiveness. 'Your armies are on the march. What were you doing? Were you leading them in the battlefield?'

Trevor remembered the maps and push pins and casualty reports. Maybe he had already been a prisoner and just did not know it.

'We are about to be wiped off the Earth. Does that matter? Do you want to see me die?'

'What I want is to go home. To be with my people,' his words sounded hollow.

'You can make a difference here, Trevor.'

Reverend Johnny asked, 'Miss, you said your version of Trevor Stone died two years ago. Certainly your people know this; there is a statue in your courtyard. Therefore, they can not be fooled into believing he is still alive. Or am I mistaken?'

'Yes, everyone knows our Emperor is dead. Part of the problem is that our people saw him as more than a man; more than a leader. He was touched by greatness, we all knew this. When he was alive,' her eyes grew vacant as she remembered. 'When he was alive we knew we couldn’t be defeated. But when he died…'

Trevor finished for her, 'When he died, it proved that you weren't invincible.'

'But this is not your Trevor who stands before you,' the Reverend pointed out.

'No,' Trevor agreed. 'I’m not. But her people could see…could see another Trevor from another universe; another world. To them it might be a sort of resurrection.'

Johnny shifted uneasily at the reference to 'resurrection.'

'Yes, that’s right,' Nina encouraged. 'If only to see you. To have you walk among our troops. Then, maybe my people would be encouraged again.'

'Or maybe we should leave right now and return home,' Johnny proposed. 'As you have said, Miss, the death of your Trevor was the beginning of your destruction. His disappearance from our world could be the commencement of our own annihilation.'

Nina turned away and looked out the window. She did not answer Johnny but Trevor spoke for her. That angry tone returned to his voice, directed at the woman who had spirited him away from his world.

'We can’t go back, Reverend. At least not the way we came, isn’t that right, Nina? You somehow tricked someone-or I should say, some thing — out of its transport ship or whatever. I got a feeling you know whatever trick you used won’t work twice.'

'I’ll find a way to get you home,' she insisted without facing him. 'I just need time.'

'I look out that window,' Trevor tapped the glass, 'and I see a people who are running out of time.'

Nina clasped her hands and struggled with words; struggled to hold back anger, frustration, and fear. 'The attacks are coming every few days. We beat them back but each time we lose people; each time our supplies drain further. I…we…don’t know what to do. So I tried this. Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same, to save your people.'

She made a point with which he could not argue. Besides, now that he was here, could he walk away? Was there a connection between humanity’s fate on his world and elsewhere?

'You moved across universes. What made you think to do that and how did you do it?'

She sighed as if such a discussion only wasted time.

'Trevor-our Trevor-I think he knew about the whole multi-dimension stuff. He knew a lot of things he never shared with me. He was secretive about some things, you know?'

Reverend Johnny answered, 'We know.'