He stood and watched the corpse of his enemy. The Battleship’s front was fully under water, the back half still burned. Smoke from a dozen small fires and as many large ones joined to form a massive stream of black and gray rising to the blue sky.
Behind him, Major Forest hurried into the office. She saw him, calmed, and then slowly walked out onto the balcony next to the man who had engineered their unlikely triumph.
He felt her presence but did not look to her.
Together-side by side-they gazed upon the spoils of battle. A fireball burst from the dead ship. A moment later the clap of the explosion reached their ears.
Without turning, she spoke with the slightest — merely a hint- of awe in her voice.
'You did it.'
The carnage on the lake hypnotized Trevor with the realization that, yes, he had done it. As he had done time and time again. He had brought ruin and death. He had vanquished another enemy. And it had come to him as easily on this world as it had come on his own many times, without one visit from the Old Man, without any K9s at this command, and far removed from the library of knowledge hidden in the basement of his house.
He replied to her in an even, unemotional voice, 'That’s just the start of what I can do. What I’m going to do.'
Nina did not argue, she did not say a word. She stood there, equally transfixed by the destruction he wrought.
The fire from the burning dirigible sent a wave of heat across the lake in every direction. Not enough to mask the cold of winter, but enough to make the surreal scene of the massive Battleship’s disintegration tangible.
Trevor’s head cocked to the side slightly. So slightly she did not notice.
His eyes cast over and down. Over to her.
Those eyes crawled up her body from her feet to her hair, studying every line — every lovely line- along the way. He saw the glint of explosions and fire in her eyes, although he was not sure if that glint were illusion or real.
Trevor’s arm reached…slowly…across the void between them. His fingers touched at then curled around her waist. She said not a word as he yanked her close. Her ponytails bobbed with the sudden movement. His other hand also found her body while her arms instinctively draped over his shoulders as they had so many times long ago.
He kissed her. Intense. Deep.
Trevor kissed Nina and he did not want to stop. His hands massaged her back as if to convince himself of her reality. Her fingers dug into his shoulders like claws. He pulled her even closer to feel every exhilarating curve in her body.
A mushroom cloud of fire and smoke and shattering debris blasted out from the destroyed hulk as it entered the final act of its decent to a chaotic end.
16. Bound
'For every Sir Lancelot in your blood, there's a Genghis Kahn. You were built for this, and they used a lot of parts from the dark side of the workshop.'
– George Junior
Trevor ran his hand over the dirty wall one more time, confirming with touch what the illumination of his flashlight showed: no line, no crease, nothing. Just solid stone wall.
He sighed but, in truth, did not find it surprising. After all, since coming to this parallel universe he could not feel the mysterious key around his neck, the key the Old Man gave him to access the secret basement beneath his mansion where the third gift lay.
It appeared the key and the secret door did not cross the dimensions with him.
If things were the same-and who knew exactly how much was, indeed, identical-then the door and disappearing key of this reality belonged to the person who had been the link on the chain for this Earth. The person chased from this lakeside mansion.
He stepped out from the cubbyhole beneath the stone stairs of this mansion's basement that was, in fact, half-buried in the side of the mountain. Apparently a building style popular on this Earth.
In any case, like the rest of the home, the basement was dingy and covered in cob webs. No mementos from the previous owner remained. What little light glowed in the cave-like cellar came from small, oblong liquid lanterns, sort of a cross between a chemical glow stick and a camping torch, about the size and shape of a football and standard issue emergency lighting for Nina's people. The 'lights' actually gave out a significant amount of heat, making them something like a portable campfire.
If this place ever served the same purpose on this world at it did a universe away, Trevor saw no sign of it. He wondered if his counterpart had had time to organize an orderly evacuation or did he barely escaped with his life, leaving any materials to the mercy of the invaders or scavengers.
The latter explanation seemed likely, considering Nina knew nothing of this place or her Trevor's activities during the early days of the invasion.
His thoughts dissipated at the sound of footsteps descending the stairs.
Reverend Johnny asked, 'Mr. Stone, is your solitude down here by design or accident?'
'Come on down, Johnny.'
The Reverend accepted the invitation.
'Corporal Brewer and the first wave of evacuees have departed. They have offered their assurances of a swift return with additional transports to facilitate our own egress from this forlorn place.'
Johnny referred to the fact that they-Johnny and Trevor-were now two of only a handful of people remaining at the estate. The Skipper's sacrifice resulted in a reduction in transport capacity.
Nineteen infantry, two technicians, Major Forest, Reverend Johnny, Brewer and Trevor Stone had survived the day. Of that group, six of the infantry had suffered significant injuries including broken bones, shrapnel wounds, burns, and blunt trauma.
While the two remaining Skippers held enough physical space to carry all of their number back to Thebes, the extra weight would have devoured too much fuel for the trip.
To the surprise-and delight-of the rank and file, Trevor insisted on sending the wounded and other personnel first; he would wait for the next transport and face an overnight stay in the wilderness while most of the others returned to the relative safety of Thebes.
Ironically, the men nearly came to blows over who would stay with him. It appeared that their victory served as a great inspiration, just as Trevor hoped. When he eventually returned to the city, he knew he would need to find similar inspiration for the rest of humanity's remnants.
Johnny stood alongside Trevor and said, 'The two Skippers have disappeared over the horizon into the setting sun. The Major has deployed the five remaining infantrymen at guard points throughout the mansion, as I assume this is where you would prefer to make camp.'
'Yes, this will do. She told me earlier that based on her understanding of the Geryons they will be back in force, but their main base is far enough away that they shouldn't get here for a couple of days. We should be safe here for one night.'
'That reminds me,' Johnny added. 'I believe Major Forest is looking for you.'
Stone fidgeted and closed his eyes. He had not spoken to her since the kiss on the balcony, an embrace interrupted not long after it began. Once his blood cooled, Trevor decided to avoid her.
'You seem in distress,' Johnny observed. 'What troubles you, my friend?'
Trevor almost chuckled. Where should he start?
Well, you see Rev, I still love Nina with all my heart even though I’ve got a de facto wife on the other side of the dimensional divide. Oh, and I just spent several minutes in a hot make out session with the Nina Forest of this world. Did I mention that one minute I despise her for looking like the woman I loved, then the next I want to take her in my arms?
No, Trevor could not explain all that. Not to Johnny. Not even to himself. However, he did manage to
