Zenith (4) (The Underground Kingdom) Page 9
Chapter 23
I emerged from my internal soliloquy to the anxious faces of my prospective girlfriends.
"Well?" Thorn demanded. "What's your answer?" Then her tone softened. "I don't mean to be bossy, Stephen, and tell you what to do. I realise that it's your decision after all, and I'll accept anything you decide. First and foremost, I want you to be happy, and if you think this is just too much of a risk, I'll understand."
"That goes for me, too," Tracey confirmed. "I want nothing more than to be with you, but I don't want to force you into anything either. It's all up to you."
I took a deep, uncertain breath. To go ahead would be a huge leap of faith but, damn it, why not? I loved Thorn and Tracey. I couldn't deny it. And wasn't love all about giving up everything for your beloved? What kind of a wimp would I be to forsake the objects of my affection for a few niggly qualms? Mind you, those qualms were fairly major ones and not niggly at all but, what the hell! The rewards would be worth it.
"Let's do it," I announced. "It is reversible, right?" I asked Phil.
"Most assuredly," he confirmed.
"When can we do it, then?" I wanted to know.
"I'll take a little while to prepare the clones," Phil answered, drumming his fingers lightly on his thigh. "Give me a week. Come back then and we'll see what we can do."
"Okay, in a week’s time," I murmured, feeling my stomach muscles tighten in anticipation. Tracy arose from her chair and flung herself into my arms, quickly followed by Thorn.
"Oh, Stephen, I can't wait!" Tracey breathed. "It'll be so marvellous!"
"We'll finally be together," Thorn promised in a husky voice.
"You'd better make sure you’re fully rested, my boy," Phil smirked. "Those two are going to wear you out."
And I’ll be looking forward to that, I thought gleefully to myself, tightening my embrace on two of the loveliest women I’d ever seen. I really will. No matter what happened, my life was going to be extremely interesting from now on. Oh, yes, indeed.
END
Sample Chapters from ‘Pitfall (5)’
Chapter 1
I'll have to admit to being rather distracted over the past week. And I had every reason to be this way, believe you me. Because, unless I’d somehow dreamed it all, I was soon to be incorporated into not one, but two fairy clones. I still had trouble coming to terms with this concept. I mean, to be ensconced inside a single fairy clone made me happy – it was fun and I had all sorts of interesting adventures while doing so, but this dual thing ………. I wasn't sure about that at all. Talk about having a split personality! I felt understandably nervous about the procedure and its ramifications for my mental stability. It was true that Phil, the eccentric scientific genius who invented the method, had already tried it and managed to emerge out the other end still sane, but each individual happens to be unique, and I wondered if I could cope with the situation as well as he had done.
But, on the other hand, if it did work (which it would, I kept reminding myself), and I didn't end up going bananas, in a week’s time I'd be partnered with Thorn, plus her stunning sister, Tracey, all at the same time. That thought made me all tingly. I loved them both, you see, and this way allowed me to be with the two of them. Bizarre? Hell, yes! Unbelievable? You said it! Weird beyond the normal realms of weird and forging new frontiers of weirdness? I couldn't have said it better myself.
Therefore, I'm sure you can understand why I became distracted. What would it be like to be in two separate bodies? Surely that constituted a clinical definition of madness, didn’t it? What on earth did I think I was doing? Why did I ever agree to this craziness? All sorts of scenarios began to play out in my mind, the majority of them ending up with me being sanity challenged. Okay, deep breaths! Relax. Calm, peaceful thoughts. It'll be fine. Nothing is going to happen. I'll be fine. But will I? Damn! So much for meditation.
Not being able to stop Time, the week wound its inevitable way to a conclusion and Phil appeared. He fluttered in through an opened window one night as I was hopelessly trying to achieve sleep, and perched beside me on the pillow.
"Well, my boy, this is it," he announced. "Are you ready? Do you have any questions?"
"Questions, no," I answered. "Doubts, infinite. Phil, are you absolutely sure about this?"
Phil pursed his lips. "I realise it's a very difficult decision for you," he said, slowly. "After all, you're about to be incorporated into two separate bodies and that is going to feel very strange indeed." He shrugged. "I can't advise you here except to say that you should be looking at the big picture and not concentrating on the narrow view. Think of the overall benefits. It'll be amazing to watch yourself from the outside. And, of course, you’ll have the unique opportunity of being with two beautiful women at once. The majority of males I know wouldn't be hesitating, just for that aspect alone."
"That's all very well," I demurred, "and I'm not objecting to your arguments, but …….."
"I understand," Phil announced. "This is something radical and unknown, and your hesitation is natural, but if we refused to do things because of that reasoning, then nothing would ever be done."
"You're right, of course," I admitted. "And it will be an incredible adventure. Let's do it!"
"Good man!" Phil applauded. He opened his backpack and began pulling out wires and connections. "This is a bit more complicated than the single transfer," he explained as he sorted out the various items, "so it'll take more time because there's added connections to be made. I'll be finished in a minute." Humming to himself, he began hooking me up to the transfer machine, while I lay there, irrationally wishing that I'd never signed up for this in the first place. Was I crazy? Was being with Thorn and Tracy worth all of this rabid uncertainty? The answer came back as a resounding ‘Yes!’, and that reply calmed me down to some extent.
"We’re all set," Phil solemnly announced, all too soon. "If you want to back out now, Stephen, this is the time."
"Don't make me think about it," I pleaded. "Just press the button before I change my mind."
"Your wish is my command," he smiled.
Chapter 2
I awoke, that is, we awoke, and that sensation ranked as probably the most startling one I had ever experienced. I found myself looking in two directions at once and I had to momentarily close my eyes against the visual sensations that flooded into my brain(s). I took a steadying breath. Okay, don't panic, I thought. Phil did this and he coped just fine. It's simply a matter of becoming accustomed to it. I very carefully opened my eyelids and looked around. The first thing I saw was Thorn, hovering over me with an anxious expression and, on the other side of the room, Tracey doing the same thing to the other me. Okay, I can do this. All it really entails is having four eyes instead of two. Easy. I remember reading of an experiment conducted years ago where these volunteers had to wear a set of special glasses that made everything appear upside down. The strange thing was that after a week or so of adjustment, the brain reversed the images to make everything the right way up again. Of course, once the glasses were removed, the brain’s juggling act had to be repeated, but the conclusion was clear. The mind can adapt to almost anything, and I hoped this was also going to be the case here. The weird feeling of duality should merge back into singularity, given time. Anyway, that was my fervent wish, because right now, the bizarreness of it all felt a little overwhelming.
"Stephen, are you all right?" Thorn murmured, clutching my hand. Simultaneously, I heard Tracy asking a similar question. She grasped my other arm and I could definitely feel both of their hands on both of my bodies. Now, that was strange.
"I'm fine …... " I told Tracey.
" …… I think," finishing my sentence to Thorn.
"Wow!" the both of us exclaimed together.
"This is so weird!" I confided to Tracey, looking across to my other self who was staring at me. As an experiment, I lifted my right arm and my other self did exactly the same. So, the two bodies, although with separate minds, could
act as one person. I tried to think of myself as simply a single person with four arms and four legs and that made the confusion a little more bearable. Thorn and Tracy had both resorted to hugging me and that sensation was quite delightful. Twice over. Both bodies felt the separate hugs, but experienced them in slightly different ways and this enhanced the sensation tremendously. Yes, I could quite get used to this situation.
As another experiment, I separated my minds and began talking to Thorn and Tracy in different conversations. That became another revelation. I, that is, the overall ‘I’, could follow both conversations at once. It was almost like being a third ‘me’. I was quite aware of what the other two were doing and could follow their actions. I don't really think the third Stephen existed, but just that the two Stephens had merged. I gave up at that point because it all became too confusing. Just for the moment, however, I was quite content to revel in the closeness of Thorn and Tracey and to feel the intimacy of their embraces.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Thorn enquired, pulling away from me.
"Yes," I answered, "but this is really, really odd because I can also see myself looking at your sister. You're going to have to allow me some time to adjust." Thorn smiled lovingly at me and gently stroked my face with her fingertips.
"I'll give you all the time in the world," she whispered. "You're with me now, and I'll never let you go. Why don't you give me a kiss?"
"A good idea," I enthused, proceeding to obey her request. Over the other side of the room, Tracey had posed a similar question and I was busily fulfilling her petition as well. I'd never had overly much to do with women throughout my life but I had enough common sense to know that I should never, and I mean never, compare the two sisters to their faces, no matter how much they begged me. I could just imagine what would happen if I did. That would definitely be one minefield not to go anywhere near. But I became acutely aware of the differences between the two kisses. Not that one happened to be any better than the other, mind you, because I was receiving two sets of disparate sensations and they both meshed together very nicely indeed.
After the lip-welcoming, I, meaning we, was/were helped to my feet by my paramours and walked around the room to regain my/our sense of movement. That led to a very peculiar sensation indeed because I seemed to be walking in two separate directions at once, which I actually was, I suppose. The overall ‘me’ noted the combined movements and coalesced them into one. Okay, so far it wasn't so bad. I could cope with doing two things at once. Up until now, anyway. It turned into simply another dimension of action and I could feel my brain rationalising the whole procedure and slotting the unusual sensations into a new stable category.
For example, I was moving towards the door but also going over to the bed. Very well, I deliberated, I can do this. It's simply a matter of focus. All I have to do is to accept both directions as real. I can handle that. I see the door and I see the bed. Big deal. It's like having four eyes, that's all. I mean, a fly has hundreds of the things, after all. It's not that difficult. Say, I'm not all that bad looking, now that I can see myself from both angles. Not overly handsome, it's true, but passable. I'd better walk around a little more. This two-way vision thing takes a little practice, but I'm getting used to it. It's not like having another person in my mind at all. I'm in complete control and there's only me but I can take over both bodies at any time if I want to. The previous right arm experiment showed that. Actually, this is quite fun. I really am one person in two bodies.
"I think I've done enough assisted walking," I told Thorn. "Let's go outside and see what it feels like."
"Whatever you want, beloved," Tracey told me, overhearing. She told the other me, that is. I mean, the me who wasn't talking to Thorn. Okay then, still a bit confusing.
The four of us walked outside and stood in a group while I acclimatised myself to the multiple views of scenery. My brain appeared to be adapting, because it wasn't anywhere near as jumbled as I had dreaded. In fact, it seemed almost normal, apart from the expanded width of vision, that is. I compared it to seeing images on a wraparound screen at the movies.
"This is getting easier," I mentioned to Tracey. "Let's go on a sightseeing tour."
"Okay," Tracey agreed, catching my hand. Thorn took possession of my other body’s hand as well and we set off on the strangest walk of my life. I deliberately relinquished control of my bodies and let them do their own thing. This is soooo difficult to explain. No matter how it sounds, it was all me. I was the one walking and looking and acutely aware of Thorn and Tracey's presence by my sides. It wasn't two strangers, with my mind somehow peering in from the outside – everything was indisputably me. Okay, I think we've covered that confusing topic enough.
Books by Steve Elliott:
The Snurglepuss Doorway
* Vampire? (Part 1)
* Alien? (Part 2)
* Timing It
* Hog Mama
* Thief
*Depression World
* Picture Perfect
* Society Tart
*Betrayal
* Earth Angel
* Double Trouble
*Multiples
‘Soul Mate’ Series:
* Childhood.1(a)
*Dreaming.1(b)
* Rescue.2
* Lioness.3
* Wedding Woes.4
* Crossroads.5
*Daughter.6
* Endings & Beginnings.7
*Grandchild.8
*Final Chapter.9
‘Underground Kingdom’ Series:
*Crystal Thief (1)
* Dangerous Desires (2)
* Trix (3)
* Zenith (4)
* Pitfall (5)
* The Vile (6)
* Revenge (7)
* Retribution (8)
* Rosewing (9)
* Night Things (10)
* Blood Stone (11)
‘Diama the Destroyer’ Series:
* Diama the Destroyer (Vol.1)
* Sacrifice (Vol.2)
* Wizard (Vol.3)
* Finders Keepers (Vol.4)
* Sword of Destiny (Vol.5)
* Known Strangers (Vol.6)
* Deception (Vol.7)
* Time After Time (Vol.8)
* Return (Vol.9)
* Friend or Foe? (Vol.10)
* The Missing Mayor (Vol.11)
* Jigsaw (Vol.12)
* A New Beginning (Vol.13)
‘Vampire Curse’ Series:
* Vampire Curse
* Vampire Friendly
* The Orb of Rule
* The Haunted Portal
* Seeking Petals
* Tiger Doorway
* Hidden Motives
*Sings the Morning
* The Cave
* Blossom
* The Dagger of Serios
* Sky
* Fractal Finality
‘Survival’ Series
* Survival