Parallel Inversion, page 16
part #1 of The Parellyrian Chronicles Series
“Are you all right?” she asked with sincere concern.
Trevor pushed himself up and sat next to Elizabeth. “I'm okay. You?”
“I'm fine.”
Elizabeth stood up and took a look around. She offered her hand to Trevor, which he accepted, and she helped him up. They looked around together, and Elizabeth spied a light switch. She walked carefully across the darkened room and flipped the switch on, helping to shed some light on the situation.
After adjusting to the fluorescent light, Elizabeth and Trevor saw an apparently vacant laboratory with a fair amount of recent damage. There were broken beakers on the floor, holes in the drywall, and objects scattered around the room. The evidence suggested a recent scuffle, and Trevor and Elizabeth began to worry that the situation was worse than they both had imagined. Trevor thought he saw a flash of movement in the corner of his eye, but dismissed it as an illusion when he couldn't find the source.
“We've got to search for clues,” Elizabeth said. She laughed internally at her own comment, thinking she sounded like a cliché children's detective.
Trevor nodded in agreement, oblivious to the cliché. The two scanned the room from top to bottom and rummaged through the desk drawers, but found nothing. Trevor looked through the small, enclosed living quarters attached to the dome while Elizabeth continued strolling around the lab, searching every corner for any hints. It wasn't long before she spotted something she recognized.
“Trevor, come here!” she called, careful not to detach her gaze from the object, lest it fall into the realm of her imagination.
Trevor raced in from the split kitchen and bedroom and followed Elizabeth's line of sight. “What is it?” he asked.
“It's Karen's umbrella.”
"Are you sure it's hers.”
“Yes, I remember it.” She stepped over and picked it up, confirming its actual presence for her own mind. She tried to fathom what it meant. Clearly Karen had been there, but that was no surprise. It was equally clear that she wasn't there anymore. And there were obvious signs of a struggle.
The inescapable conclusion spilled off her lips. “He kidnapped her,” she uttered.
“Now wait just a minute,” Trevor protested. Then, more calmly, “How do you figure?”
“Well, she was obviously here, and based on the state of the place she obviously got into it with Professor Romanbak a little. He must have knocked her out and made off with her in his car.”
“Hold on. That doesn't sound like the professor at all. First off, I saw his car still parked outside, so he couldn't have got far with her. Second, I've worked with my fair share of hot headed assholes, and it looks like a fist went through these walls in anger, not from random desperate flails during a struggle. And finally, if she and the professor were gone when Mike checked the place out, he would have come back and told me.”
“Mike?” Elizabeth inquired.
“Mike Revis,” Trevor clarified. “Karen didn't show up at his game on Friday, so he came here looking for her.”
Elizabeth put her hands on her hips, showing signs of impatience once again. “All right, so what do you think happened here?”
While still confident his friend the professor was up to nothing sinister, the only theory he could come up with was quite a reach. Still, it was something, so he decided to offer it up.
“Okay, so Karen comes to interview the professor on Wednesday, and right away they click. She decides to ditch school for the rest of the week and spend a couple nights with the professor. Get to know each other better, if you know what I mean.”
Trevor winked in explanation of his implication, but Elizabeth ignored it and awaited the rest of the theory.
“Anyway,” Trevor continued, “Mike shows up on Saturday and finds them in a passionate embrace. He starts tearing the place apart in a jealous rage. While he's not looking, Karen and the professor slip out and head deeper into the woods for a weekend of romantic camping. Mike eventually notices that they're gone, and heads back home to sulk.”
“Karen and the professor?” Elizabeth said, pondering Trevor's theory. She liked that it involved emotional pain at Mike's expense. She shrugged. “It could happen.”
Trevor was pleasantly surprised at Elizabeth's acceptance of his theory, but chose not to question it. He was confident enough that Karen and the professor were safe that, despite his unwillingness to believe his own theory, he was pleased with Elizabeth's newly found comfort with the situation.
“Well, shall we get out of here and head back to campus?” Trevor suggested. He slowly dragged the large desk that was blocking the door back to the position he remembered it having been when he had last visited Romanbak. He stepped toward the door with Elizabeth following. The doorknob turned from the inside of the lab, with some effort, but the door would not open. Trevor pulled and pushed with all the strength he had, but the door didn't budge. He looked around at the door frame and immediately recognized the problem.
“What's wrong?” Elizabeth asked.
“The door won't open. It seems to have been welded to the door frame somehow. I figured it was just locked, but this could present a problem.”
“Is there another way out?”
Trevor sighed. “This is the only door, and the oak walls are way too solid to break through. The only way out I can see is the way we came in, and the cord broke on our way down, so I can't get back up there.” He looked at Elizabeth, out of options. “I think we're stuck in here. I don't know what we can do.”
Rather than succumb to the inevitability of defeat, Elizabeth decided to take this opportunity to try to make good on her earlier promise to herself. She reached into her bag, pulled out a small object that Trevor couldn't identify at first, held it in her palm for Trevor to see, and asked, “Do you want to smoke a joint?”
Chapter Fifteen
Trevor was taken aback by Elizabeth's proposition. The fact that she smoked the drug did not strike him as surprising. The fact that she would offer some to him, especially in their current situation, did.
“I'm not sure that's the best idea.”
“Prude!"” Elizabeth chastised.
“Ha! Don't get me wrong. I'll indulge. But what if the cops show up? We're standing in a potential crime scene.”
“Pussy!”
Unable, or perhaps not entirely willing to counter Elizabeth's simple arguments, Trevor relented. He figured what Elizabeth was offering might help calm him down given their current predicament. He reached over and took the lighter and the joint she was presenting to him.
“Fine,” he said, bringing the joint to his lips and lighting the tip. He breathed in the fumes of the burning plant, savoring the once familiar scent and flavor. Elizabeth watched and smiled as he did so, convinced that she was doing him a favor
Trevor held the smoke in his lungs as long as he could manage. He passed the still lit joint to Elizabeth, who proceeded to repeat his motions while he finally began to cough out the smoke. The sequence continued until all that remained of the joint could barely be held between two fingertips.
Elizabeth returned the lighter and the small roach to her bag, then looked up at Trevor. “Now that wasn't so bad, was it?” she said.
Trevor returned her stare with bloodshot eyes. “No,” he admitted.
“How do you feel?”
Trevor paused to consider the question. It felt like one intended to prompt something more profound than the customary “fine” or “all right.” He contemplated every notable sensation he was experiencing and, finally settling on the predominant one, answered, “Hungry.”
Elizabeth burst out laughing, the effects of the drugs clearly having an influence on both of them. As her laughter subsided into a chuckle, Trevor rose to his feet and began a frantic search for sustenance. He began rummaging through desk drawers and cabinets containing scientific tools and similar items, much as he had done when he was looking for clues pertaining to Karen's disappearance.
“What are you doing?” Elizabeth asked, having completely calmed her laughter.
“Looking for food.”
“Why not look in the kitchen?”
Trevor paused mid-step, stunned that the thought had escaped him. “The kitchen! Of course!”
Elizabeth also stood up as Trevor made his way to the building's living quarters. She pulled the only audio cassette she had brought with her out of her bag and put it in the professor's tape recorder. As she pressed play on the machine, she felt thankful that the professor was not such a recluse as to deny himself the means to listen to recorded music.
A cacophony of noise erupted from the stereo before mellowing out to a more structured melody. While her parents would still qualify the sound as chaotic caterwauling, the combination of distorted guitars, thumping bass, lightning-fast drums, and screaming vocals was pure ecstasy to Elizabeth's ears, and she was proud to have had a hand in it.
Trevor briefly paused his search for food and popped his head out the doorway upon hearing the music. “Who is this?” he asked.
“Pretty Pandemonium,” Elizabeth answered proudly. “The band I'm in.”
“Sounds pretty awesome,” Trevor offered, then chuckled at his own unexpected pun.
Elizabeth smiled in acceptance of the compliment. “Have you found anything to eat?”
Trevor smiled excitedly and announced, “I can make tacos! Everything I need is here!”
Elizabeth's sincere smiled remained on her face. “Sounds great.”
Trevor stepped back inside the kitchen and began preparing the meal, the music in the background now providing a motivating soundtrack to his endeavor Elizabeth remained in the lab, determined to at least be useful. Broken glass and bits of drywall were still scattered dangerously about the floor. Elizabeth found a broom and dustpan in one corner of the lab and began to sweep it up. She needed to muster all of her concentration to remain focused on completing the task. She wanted nothing more than to relax and listen to the music that was playing, but knew that she would appreciate it all the more with a reduced risk of injury.
Cleaning the lab to her modestly acquired satisfaction took all of ten minutes, but it felt like much longer. She returned the broom and dustpan to their original location and surveyed her work, content with the results. She then looked up through the lab's only window and noticed that the sky was darkening. More time must have passed since she left the dorm than she had realized. This did not bother her, though, since her perception of time had recently slowed.
Suddenly, Elizabeth felt something soft rub against her calf. The professor's cat, Boots, was attempting to be social. Elizabeth looked down and saw the cat. She picked him up and held him on her shoulder. She wondered how he had escaped her notice earlier when she and Trevor had been looking for clues relevant to Karen's absence. No matter, the cat was here now, and Elizabeth was glad for the added company.
Elizabeth carried the cat into the kitchen to ascertain Trevor's progress on the meal. Trevor became aware of Elizabeth's presence without turning.
“Tacos are about halfway ready,” he announced, swaying to the music that was still playing as he cooked. Elizabeth could smell the browning beef as she stepped beside Trevor, playfully swinging her hip into his leg from that position. Boots had also caught a whiff of the aroma, and craned his neck to move his face closer to the source while remaining perched Elizabeth's shoulder. Trevor caught a glimpse of the cat's movement in the corner of his eye.
“Woah!” he said, leaning away from the cat more than necessary. “Who's that?”
“It's a cat,” Elizabeth replied.
“I know what it is. Who is it? Where did it come from?”
Elizabeth shrugged, a movement made slightly more difficult by the cat's position on her shoulder. “I don't know.” Boots meowed as she spoke, “But I think it's hungry.”
Trevor leaned back in closer to Boots and scratched the cat's chin. He carefully picked a small piece of cooked meat off the pan and offered it to the cat. Boots quickly gobbled up the food he was offered, then meowed again.
“It's cute,” Trevor admitted.
“I'll find him something better to eat.” Elizabeth continued clutching Boots to her chest and shoulder while she began her search. It stood to reason that if Professor Romanbak kept a cat, he would also keep cat food somewhere. She found it on the floor next to the counter where Trevor was preparing the remaining ingredients: a large, half-full bag with numerous rips and tears at the top. Elizabeth poured some into the adjacent cat dish, and filled the bowl next to it with water. She gently let Boots down off her shoulder to let him eat.
The kitchen suddenly grew a shade darker than it was, though still bright enough for Trevor to continue cooking. Elizabeth looked out into the lab and saw, to her dismay, that the fluorescent lights on the ceiling had burned out. Rather than let the darkness dampen her spirits, though, she formulated a plan to keep the evening smooth.
With a few minutes to spare before the meal would be ready, Elizabeth gathered a few items from the cramped living space. Trevor was too focused on his task, which proved to require all of his moderately compromised attention, to notice what Elizabeth was taking. She carried the items discreetly out of the living quarters and into the lab. With the floors now clean, and with a clear desk and tables also occupying the lab, she was able to neatly arrange the items she had gathered. She placed a blanket on the floor, then distributed some candles around the area. She lit them to help set the mood. Trevor had proved quite useful that day, and Elizabeth had noticed that he was rather pleasant to look at as well. Based on some of his earlier remarks and obvious inappropriate glances, Elizabeth was confident that Trevor felt similarly about her. She was not yet finished showing her appreciation, if she had anything to say about it.
In a moment the audio tape ended, so Elizabeth flipped it to the other side. As she was doing so, Trevor entered the lab carrying two plates, one in each hand, each with an expertly wrapped soft-shelled taco on it.
“Food's ready,” he announced, then surveyed his surroundings, noticing quite a change from the previous time he'd been in the lab. “It looks different in here.”
Elizabeth turned precisely as the music restarted, fading into a power ballad about the regret of a lost love. Trevor watched her movement as the dim but effective light from the candles glimmered off her skin and emphasized the gentle curves of her body. She smiled and he melted, nearly dropping the plate of tacos as he stared at her. He had seen before that she was attractive, and fit, and well-endowed. He wasn't sure whether it was the lighting, or the music, or the drugs, or something he had simply failed to see before, but now... she was beautiful.
“Do you like it?” Elizabeth asked.
Trevor was speechless. A million thoughts raced through his mind, but he couldn't grasp any one of them long enough to utter it. He just stood there, mouth agape, eyes fixed, unable to move.
“I'll take that as a yes,” Elizabeth said confidently. She stepped lightly towards Trevor and pulled the two plates from his hands before he actually did drop them, and placed them on the desk. “Shall we sit?”
Trevor complied, taking a seat on the blanket with his back against the side of the desk, and Elizabeth followed, fluidly descending to a cross-legged position across from him. Trevor reached over his head to retrieve the two plates, and he handed one to Elizabeth. She smiled again and accepted the food.
While Elizabeth ate carefully, balancing the plate on her thighs and taking small bites, savoring each one, Trevor was not so meticulous. He devoured his taco swiftly, and without prejudice, betraying his immense hunger. When he finished, his disappointment at his meal's absence was apparent, but brief. He stood up and stepped inside the kitchen again, returning a moment later with another taco on his plate. He sat down again and took a large bite, while Elizabeth was barely halfway through her first.
“Woah! Take it easy, Tiger,” Elizabeth said. “We gotta save some food. Who knows how long we'll be stuck here.”
Trevor took her advice and slowed his chewing while considering her thought. He swallowed and said, “How long do you think that'll be?”
“I don't know. There's no way out and nobody knows we're here. I hope we don't die here.”
“Don't worry,” Trevor reassured her. “I'll find a way to get us out of here.”
“Oh, really? How?”
Trevor searched his mind for an answer, but all he could think of was the flavor of his taco, and the way the candlelight accented Elizabeth's figure. “Well, I can't think of anything right now,” he admitted. “But I'll figure something out in the morning.”
“I'll hold you to that,” Elizabeth said. She leaned in closer. “So what are we going to do tonight?”
Trevor looked at her hopefully. “I might have a few thoughts on that front. I mean, we're only on this world for a limited amount of time. We better make the most of it, right?”
“Absolutely. The time we have is a gift from the universe. An opportunity to experience the wonders our planet has to offer.”
“Yeah,” Trevor said. “Now I kind of feel like I owe the universe something.”
“What we do with our time is our gift back to the universe.”
“Woah,” Trevor whispered. He smiled at the profound truths being dispelled from the lips of the beautiful woman before him. His attention was so focused on her that he had stopped paying attention to the taco he was still holding in his hands until it began dripping sauce onto his shirt. He felt the drops and shifted his focus away from Elizabeth. He hastily returned the taco to his plate and placed it back on the desk.
Trevor pulled the edge of his shirt away from his torso to inspect the damage, but soon realized that in the dim candlelight of the lab he would need a closer look. He thoughtlessly pulled his shirt up and off over his head and turned to get a better view of the stain in the light of one of the brighter candles.
Elizabeth, too, was pleased with the view she was getting. Trevor's fitness from the time he had spent in the army was all the more evident to her as he sat bare-chested. She did not even try to resist the urge to lean forward and touch the chest of the well-built man before her.
