Part Nine: Interlude
Ryan woke up the next morning with the vain hope that his
excursion to the parallel
dimension would all turn out to be a dream.
No such luck -- he was still in Lewis's bed in Lewis and Oswald's
apartment above
the Warsaw.
"Crap."
Sighing, he'd gotten up and headed for the bathroom again, this
time for a long hot
shower. Afterwards he'd met Oswald in the hall, who said
that he needed to run a
few errands, but would be back in time for their trip to the Rock
and Roll Hall of
Fame with Drew and Kate -- they'd evidently planned the outing a
few weeks ago,
and since Kate worked there she could give them a special
behind-the-scenes tour
of the place. "Unless you don't feel well enough to
go," Oswald had said. Ryan had
smiled and told him that he felt fine, and that he was looking
forward to going. He
might as well; there really wasn't that much to do when you knew
only three other
people in the entire universe. Oswald agreed, but had insisted
that Ryan wait for him
to return -- he didn't want his friend behind the wheel so soon
after the accident,
which was fine with Ryan. He doubted he could remember the
way back to Drew's
anyway. (Just like on the show, Drew's house seemed to be a
regular meeting place
for them.) But with nothing to do until Oswald got back, Ryan had
two choices. He
could either sit back and twiddle his thumbs (which he admitted
was probably the
safest thing to do), or he could go through Lewis's stuff.
Going through Lewis's stuff won out.
At first Ryan felt a little guilty about it, but he had to admit
that he was more than a little
curious about his doppelganger, and this was the perfect chance
to find out more about
him.
// Hmm, // Ryan mused thoughtfully, surveying the room.
Among the usual items, there
were also some things that were typically Lewis -- some Buffy the
Vampire Slayer fan
magazines, a few Babylon 5 novels, and the membership packet from
the Galaxy Quest
Fan Club. There was also some UFO paraphernalia on the
bookshelves, along with
material on Nikola Tesla and (something that caught Ryan's eye)
the DrugCo employee's
handbook.
Ryan couldn't help but chuckle. // SciFi memorabilia,
conspiracy theory zines, and the
DrugCo employee's handbook...three great tastes that taste great
together. //
He shook his head, then went back to his investigation.
He'd lost track of time when he
finally heard Oswald come in.
There was a knock on his door, then it opened gently.
"All ready to go, buddy?" Oswald
asked, peeking in expectantly.
Ryan nodded graciously and picked up his coat. "After
you."
* * * * *
Ryan spent most of that day congratulating himself on how well he
was doing. He was
quite proud of himself; he was playing the part perfectly.
After they'd arrived at Drew's to meet up with him and Kate, Drew
told them that their
friend was running a little behind schedule...she'd called to let
them know she would be
about half an hour late. Ryan had used that time to satisfy
a bit more of his curiosity.
He'd used Drew's computer to do an Internet search on his own
name, as well as Colin's
and the rest of the Whose Line cast. He wasn't surprised
when he found nothing on
himself, but he thought he might at least find some information
on the others. But there
was nothing on any of them. He supposed none of them
existed in this universe.
// Kinda creepy. But logical, if you think about it. //
Drew and Oswald had made a few teasing comments about him using
someone else's
computer to download porn, but before he could come back with a
suitably witty retort,
Kate had walked in. Then they'd all piled into Drew's car, for a
very enjoyable day at
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with their own private tour
guide. Ryan took in the
sights, the same as the others; but he also tried to pick out any
differences between the
real world and where he was now. There were a few things
that were off, like the fact
that in this universe Ringo was a really good drummer, but mostly
things were the same.
It was comforting, in a way.
Afterwards, the group had decided to head back to the Warsaw for
a few drinks. Ryan
was still congratulating himself for how well he was
impersonating Lewis (even though
Speedy still didn't act like he knew him) and had just offered to
buy the next round. He
turned, hoping to attract the attention of the nearest barmaid.
That's when he saw Colin.
Part Ten: Girl Drink Drunk
Ryan's jaw dropped. It couldn't be...or could it?
"Colin?" he exclaimed, jumping up
from the table to meet the man who'd just come into the
bar. He stood before him in
joyful expectation. "Colin?" he asked again.
The balding blond man gazed up at him in confusion.
"I'm sorry?"
Ryan's face fell as reality reasserted itself. It wasn't
him, of course it wasn't him. He
vaguely noticed that Drew had come over to stand at his side,
putting a hand on his
shoulder. "Lewis, this is Eugene...Eugene Anderson,
remember? He works at
Winfred-Louder?"
Ryan knew that. He knew it even as he'd been saying the
words to the other man,
hoping against hope that somehow it was his oldest and closest
friend. He also
knew he couldn't conceal the hurt look on his face once the
rational part of his mind
kicked in.
"Eugene. I'm sorry." Ryan tried to keep the
emotion out of his voice. "I just..."
His voice trailed off helplessly. He didn't know what to
say.
"He had an accident yesterday...had to go to the
hospital," Drew said, stepping in
to rescue what he took to be his confused friend. "The
doctor said he should be
fine in a couple days, but until then, he might be a little out
of it."
"Really? What happened?"
"Electrocuted."
"Ah." Eugene nodded in understanding. Ryan
still couldn't speak. It was like having
Colin standing there in front of him, except he couldn't touch
him, couldn't tell him
how much he missed him and how desperate he was to see him again.
"Wanna join us?" Drew asked, gesturing to their table
where Oswald was pulling
out an empty chair.
Eugene shook his head and smiled. "I'd love to, but
not tonight. I'm waiting for
someone." The implication that he was meeting someone
he was involved with was
clear. He raised an eyebrow as he gazed at Ryan.
"But if it doesn't work out..."
"Uh-huh," Ryan murmured. He felt numb with
disappointment, and let Drew gently
steer him back to their table. He fell heavily back down
into his seat and took
another beer, downing almost half of it at once.
The others were looking at him with concern in their eyes.
"Lewis?" asked Kate.
"Are you all right?"
Ryan forced out a smile, trying to make a joke out of it.
"Yeah. Guess I had a little
too much, too soon," he gestured at the empties on the
table.
"Do you want to go upstairs and get some rest?" Oswald
asked gently.
Ryan shook his head. Alone in an empty apartment, with
Colin's lookalike just below...
he didn't think he could take it. "No, I'm OK,"
he said, trying to keep his voice light.
"Just need a little more food in me to soak up some of this
alcohol."
Drew shrugged noncommittally, then got up to place the order at
the bar.
Ryan stared down into his glass, then glanced over to steal a
glimpse of Eugene. His
date had come in and they were talking animatedly over their
drinks. Quickly, he
downed the rest of his beer; then reached for another.
"Whoa, you might want to hold back a little on that,"
said Oswald, laying a hand on
Ryan's arm. "At least until the burgers get
here."
Ryan thought about it for a few seconds, then pulled back his
arm. Oswald was right,
but for the wrong reason. The more he had to drink, the
more likely he was to let
something slip; and with his emotions so close to the surface
that was liable to happen
anyway. "You're right," he said, noting the
relieved expression come over Oswald's face.
This man really did care about Lewis, and he was glad to have him
here, even though
he was only playing the other man's part. "Thanks for
looking out for me, buddy."
"Aw, anything for you, Lewis," he replied. In the
dim light, it looked like he was blushing.
* * * * *
Ryan was thankful when the food finally arrived -- it took the
others' attention away
from him, if only for a little while. He was even more
thankful that he managed to keep
himself together for the rest of the evening. He continued
to drink -- he didn't think he
could make it through the rest of the night watching his lover's
exact duplicate with some-
one else -- but he made sure that he didn't go beyond a mild
buzz, careful not to say
anything that could make the others suspicious. The others,
however, hadn't curtailed
their drinking; and at the end of the night, it was Ryan who had
to help Oswald upstairs.
But as he lay in Lewis's bed, his eyes closed tightly against the
outside world -- a world
that was somebody else's, not even his at all -- he knew he
wouldn't be able to keep up
the charade much longer. In the dark, the control he'd kept
such a firm grasp on all night
began to slip away.
"One more day," he whispered softly, to whoever or
whatever might be listening.
"Please, just let me make it through one more day."
Part Eleven: Wicked Game
In the morning, Ryan awoke with a mild headache, but (thankfully)
no hangover. It was
about 10:30. He wondered how Oswald would look, or if he
would even be awake
yet, but when he met him in the hallway on his way back from the
shower he seemed
as bright and perky as ever.
"Get dressed," he said, standing in front of the door
to Lewis's bedroom. "We're going
over to Drew's to watch the game."
"Now?" he asked, chuckling at Oswald's typical
enthusiasm. He looked down at his
naked chest, the towel around his waist, and his wet footprints
on the floor.
"Yeah, we're gonna have lunch over there first. Hurry
up and get ready."
Ryan shrugged, then went into his room and toweled off a bit
more. They sure spent
a lot of time at Drew's house. He supposed that it made
sense, since he was the only
one in the close circle of friends that didn't live in an
apartment. And anyway, Ryan
mused, it was a nice place for them to hang out; they'd been
going there since they were
kids after all. The place had a pleasant, homey feeling to
it that even Ryan could relate
to. The thought of spending more time there with his
newfound friends made him feel a
little better -- although he already felt better this morning
than he did the night before.
Seeing Eugene had been hard for him, especially after he'd been
drinking, but now that
his head was clearer it only made him more determined to stick
this through and get home.
Besides, he was tired of sneaking cigarettes -- he'd bummed a few
from strangers at first,
but yesterday he'd stolen away from the group and bought a couple
of packs. He still
had to smoke them on the sly, away from the others -- leaning out
the bedroom window
(as he was now) and blowing the smoke outside so Oswald wouldn't
smell it.
"I'm going out to start the truck," he heard Oswald
call through the closed door.
"Uh, sure," Ryan replied, hastily waving the last of
the smoke away. He pulled himself
back inside and finished getting dressed.
On the way to Drew's, he wondered idly what the real Lewis might
be getting up to.
Probably nothing important; he was certain that Colin and the
others would have been
able to tell pretty much immediately that his counterpart wasn't
really him. Colin especially.
After all, it wasn't as if Lewis would know anything about how to
act like him. He actually
felt a little sorry for him...even though he was the one who'd
gotten them both into this
mess to begin with. At least Ryan knew the basics of
Lewis's life -- his friends, his job,
where he liked to hang out -- but Lewis didn't know anything
about his. If Ryan was
confused and a little scared, then Lewis must be terrified.
He wouldn't know anyone,
and there would be no way in the world he was in to reverse the
process and bring him
home again. He doubted there was an equivalent to DrugCo in
the real world. He hoped
that Colin and the others would be able to keep him from freaking
out too badly until he
could make it back to DrugCo.
When they arrived at Drew's, they headed around to the backyard.
Drew generally kept
the back door unlocked when he was home, so he wouldn't have to
be bothered letting
his frequently-visiting friends in. This time, however, the
door wouldn't open.
"There's something wrong with the handle," said Drew,
through his kitchen window.
"Come around front."
"OK," said Ryan. They went through the side yard
to the front of the house, where the
door was already unlocked. Ryan went in first; but as he
stepped inside, he felt Oswald's
hands on his back, shoving him forward abruptly. He
stumbled, then tripped over some-
thing solid and fell.
"What the hell was that for?" asked Ryan painfully,
rubbing the elbow that had taken most
of the force of the impact with the floor. He looked up and
saw Drew, Oswald, and
Kate standing over him. Kate was holding a baseball bat and
looked like she was ready
to take it to the side of his head.
"Hey, guys, what's all this about?" he asked with a
nervous smile.
Drew and the others weren't smiling. In fact, his words
seemed to make them even more
angry. "What do you think it's about?" Kate
replied, raising the bat.
Ryan tried to scramble away from her, but bumped against Oswald's
legs. "Stay where
you are or so help me God I'll crack your skull wide open,"
she growled.
Ryan immediately stopped, staring up at them with wide eyes.
"Drew?" he asked.
Oswald's hands came down hard on his shoulders, holding him in
place as Drew
advanced. "No tricks, no games," said Oswald in a
low voice. "We want the truth."
Ryan continued staring up at them helplessly. Drew took
another step forward, looming
over him. The look in his eyes was murderous.
"All right," he said, in a tightly controlled
voice. "Who or what the hell are you, and what have you done
with Lewis?"