Between Two Worlds

t’s been six months since Altair’s death. With his death came temporary chaos. Their leader was gone, the one who created and enforced all of the rules. And for a while, it was like a hive without a queen. People were lost, and businesses shut down. But then Duncan stepped up and took over as leader. The people trusted him because he had been Altair’s, right-hand man. But, unlike Altair, Duncan was a kind and loving man. Rules were enforced again, though not as harshly. The Cleansing was stopped, the experimentations ended, and the creatures were left to their own devices. All dealings with the Ghemin immediately ceased, and Rojus became known as a safe haven planet. If you need to flee your life for whatever reason, you are welcome to come here.

Last I heard, Kat went and did exactly what she said she would do. She informed the IPC about the Ghemin and their experiments, which led to the liberation of my home world. All Ghemin were forced off the planet and ordered to stop all experiments or face the destruction of their own home world. I haven’t seen or heard from Kat since she left. It was hard, at first, losing the friend who had helped me through so much. But there’s so much to be done here, that I don’t have time to mourn the loss of my friend.

I stayed on the planet because this place feels like home

to me, despite all the bad, that’s happened. And why not admit it, I think I’m falling in love with Duncan. Ever since he rescued Kat and me, we’ve been having dinner. He treats me like a queen, had Carina survived she would have been the luckiest woman in all of Rojus. Now that honor belongs to me. I lay down in my bed, close my eyes, and think of my future wedding. Duncan hasn’t asked me, yet, but I’m sure it will happen soon.

◆◆◆

Sunlight streams through the window and warms my face. I open my eyes and stretch, before sitting up. What’s going on? Something feels off. I look around at the room that seems both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. I feel like something is crawling on my stomach. Did an insect get in here or something? I throw the covers back and look down at my stomach. I let out a shriek of surprise. My stomach is perfectly round. What’s going on? I feel that crawling sensation again, and this time I see something move across the top of my stomach. Something that looks vaguely like a small hand. I’m pregnant? What? How? I went to bed last night thinking about marrying Duncan and now…The bedroom door bursts open and in walks Duncan. Speaking of Duncan…

“Are you okay, dear?” he asks from the doorframe.

“No. I went to bed last night in a different bed, in a different room, and definitely not pregnant. What the heck is going on here?” I ask scooting up the back of the bed.

“It’s okay, honey,” Duncan says walking in and sitting on the bottom of the bed. “You warned me this would happen. You can travel between realities, remember?” His voice is calm and soothing like you would use to calm a wounded animal.

“I… what? I died in the other reality…” as I say that I can hear Altair’s voice in my head. You see, when I first discovered this ability, years ago, I too died in one of the realities. “I’m sorry, Duncan, it’s been a while since the last time I changed realities.”

“No need to apologize. As long as you are okay, I’m fine.” The bed groans as he gets up and heads for the door. He turns back around, “The closet is full of clothes, get dressed and come have breakfast with me before I leave.” He then turns and walks off.

“Okay. Thanks.” I call after him. Even in this reality, he seems to treat me well. My stomach starts to rumble. I guess food is a good enough reason to get up. But getting out of bed is easier in theory than in reality. I’m not used to this large, round, pregnant belly. I’m not sure how far I am from giving birth, but I can’t be far away. I struggle and end up pulling on the headboard before I finally manage to pull myself to my feet. I stand there, one hand on the headboard, panting a moment before slowly waddling to my closet. I remove my nightgown and drop it on the closet floor. I’ll get it later when I have more energy. I find a cute cotton dress with sunflowers on it and pull it over my head. Looking down to check how it fits, I realize I can’t see anything but this big belly. I sigh and waddle out of the closet and to the bedroom door. To my right is a small bathroom, and to the left, a small hallway with only one direction to go. I should probably brush my hair, but I really need to eat. I feel like I will be sick if I don’t eat right this minute. I am so glad I got to skip most of this pregnancy. A flood of memories washes over me, and I realize that technically I did live through this entire pregnancy. This reality swapping thing really messes with me, sometimes.

Turning left, I eventually find a small kitchen, with Duncan setting a variety of food on the table. “Everything smells so good.” I say, sniffing the air. I pull out the first chair I come to and ease myself into it.

“Thanks, but I know it won’t be as good as your cooking.” He says with a light laugh. “Speaking of your cooking, any chance you feel up to making dinner tonight? I know it’s hard for you to do much, right now, but I have been craving your Smalender and Black Gravy for the past week. Please?” He asks, setting a plate down in front of me. He leans in and gives me a quick peck on the lips.

I dig into the meat and fruit on the plate in front of me. “I can try but I’m not going to make any promises. It was

a chore just to get out of bed, this morning.” I say, in between bites. “This baby,” A girl. “is not interested in making anything easy on me.”

“That’s all right, honey. If you don’t feel up to it, call me and I will stop by the Printer’s and 3D print us up some dinner.” Duncan says walking to the other side of the table. He sits down across from me and starts to eat.

I stop eating and ask, “Call you? Where will you be?”

He stops chewing a moment and answers, “work.”

“Oh, yeah, I knew that. Sorry.”

He finishes eating, clears the table and heads off to work, leaving me to figure out this new world on my own. The baby gives me a couple of sharp painful kicks, almost as if she is reminding me that she is there. If only she would calm down a bit. I waddle to the couch in the small living room and just look around. What will I do, today? Pictures of myself and Duncan cover the walls. Pictures of us hiking, kissing, his proposal, our wedding day and so much more are scattered around, triggering memories of the days, as if I had actually lived them. I smile at a photo of Duncan attempting to put a baby bed together, he looks so confused. A loud banging, on the front door, pulls me from my musings. I grunt and groan as I struggle to my feet, and then huff and puff all the way to the door. I open the door and find myself face to face with someone I never thought I would see again... Altair. Behind him stands two tough looking men.

“Did you miss me, baby?” he sneers.

“No. Now go away!” I shout while I attempt to slam the door shut. But the door won’t shut thanks to his foot being in the way.

“Not so fast. You aren’t going to get away this time! I’ve

been waiting a long time for our paths to cross again.” he

shouts pushing the door back open. “Grab her!”

I turn and try to run but I’m too heavily pregnant. I feel the hands of Altair’s men on each arm, and soon they are dragging me out of the house. This is not good. Where is Duncan when I need him?

The End