"Well, here I am. No turning back now." thought the man who only weeks before had never seen a cell phone or automobile.
Mike walked into the headquarters of Appelt Industries, striding confidently towards the elevator. Keeping his eyes focused on the destination in a modern building was much easier now, after having been to many malls and offices. But the weekend excursion to New York City was probably the biggest help in that area.
"I just wish I knew where Larry's office was..." he thought, worried that someone involved in the project might suspect that he was in fact Larry's twin from another dimension.
"Relax, you're recovering from memory loss. They'll be expecting that you don't remember everything just yet." he reminded himself.
There were three people already in the elevator. Closest to the buttons, a young man with sandy brown hair, which looked like it hadn't seen a comb in days. Perhaps twenty-five, he had on a t-shirt with the words Star Trek printed on it, featuring a creature with tubes coming out of it.
In the back there was a middle aged woman, neat and professional in a navy blue business suit. Next to her was an older man, his grey hair thinning at the temples.
"Hey, Larry. Going to see Mr. Appelt first?" asked the young man.
Mike nodded. "I wonder if I'm supposed to know him well." he thought to himself, unsure if he should try to talk to the stranger.
The elevator stopped at the floor where he had been told Appelt had his office. The young man got off, and Mike followed. Unsure of the exact location, he stayed close to the other man.
At a place where the hall branched off in three different directions, his companion stopped to tie his shoe. Mike stopped too, and tried to hang back to avoid being noticed.
When he finished, he took an object out of his pocket. It was square, and each side a different color. It appeared to be made of smaller squares.
He tapped the blue side, and waited. Nothing happened. Puzzled, he tapped again. Still nothing. Frustrated, he tried the red side. Nothing happened.
He looked up, and exclaimed "Hey! Am I glad to see you! Do you have your tribble on you? Mine isn't working." the man said, holding up the lifeless square as evidence.
"Is this something Larry was working on? Or some gadget that I haven't come across yet?" Mike wondered. He felt around in his pockets, knowing full well that nothing of the sort was in there. "Sorry... I forgot, it's at home." Mike replied apologetically.
Collins turned away, and said "don't worry, I'll figure something out." His eyes shining, he beamed in triumph.
Had Mike been able to see other man's face, he would have fled immediately. Instead, he followed Collins, never suspecting that he had already been discovered.
A short time later, Collins stopped at a door with a security panel. Upon opening the door, he stepped aside. "Why don't you come in for a few minutes first, and get caught up on the project?" he offered helpfully.
Mike involuntarily sucked in a deep breath. "This is more than I could have hoped for!" he thought, elated.
As expected, there was a lot of high tech equipment. A well dressed man, slightly older than himself, stood by a table. He was reading something on a computer screen.
"How much progress have we made?" Mike asked Collins, ignoring the other man.
"I think we are about to make a huge breakthrough! Maybe the biggest in the history of mankind." said Collins.
Something about his demeanor made Mike shiver. The young man suddenly had the same expression which he had seen on a woman who lived in a shack on the outskirts of Deersberg. She was forever trying to warn anyone who would listen that ships from the sky were coming to take everyone to another world, as slaves.
"That's great. I can't wait to catch up on everything I missed." Mike said, trying to shake the uneasy feeling.
"First, let me introduce you to my colleague." said Collins, as the other man turned to face them.
"Hello. Larry Fisher." Mike said, extending his hand.
"Arthur Appelt." said the other man, clasping the outstretched hand.
Mike's eyes went wide. Moments later, he felt a sharp jab of pain, almost like a bee sting, on the right side of his neck.
To be continued!
Cover image made in Canva using their gallery