Misplaced 4, part 4.

“Where is this place?” Rachel demanded as they set off down the hill.

“It must be some sort of- well, some sort of parallel universe,” Tom said. “You know, where everything’s like it is on our world, only just a bit different.”

“Like this is a mirror image of our island,” Patrick said.

“There may be other differences too,” Ruth said. “We don’t know yet.”

“But you can’t really believe all that,” Rachel protested. “I mean, it sounds like a Doctor Who story!”

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Rachel, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” Ruth misquoted. “Maybe even parallel heavens and earths. I didn't think there was life on other planets, but I was wrong. So how can we know that this isn't true?”

“But how did we get here?”

“Who knows?” Ruth answered. “The point is, we’re here.

“Does that mean there will be alternate versions of us around here somewhere?” Rachel asked.

“Maybe,” Tom replied.

“That would be weird!”

“But maybe in this reality the plane didn’t crash, and we never got trapped here,” Patrick said.

“Or maybe it did crash, but worse...and we didn’t survive,” said Tom less hopefully.

Ruth had gone quiet. She was thinking about her dreams. Like our world, but with little differences. That was a good description of what her dreams had been like. They were like what had happened to them- but with a few differences that made everything so much worse. What if they were real? What if that was what had happened here?

She shook her head. That was a silly idea. Why would she have been having dreams about what had happened in an alternate reality? She took a few steps forward to catch up Patrick. Rachel and Tom were a few steps behind, continuing their conversation.

“How did you find this place?” she asked Patrick.

“Just by accident, last night when I was looking for somewhere quiet,” he said. “I didn’t think anyone would believe me.”

“I’m not sure I would, if I hadn’t seen it. It seems so odd that you can just walk through- I suppose we can get back?” she said, suddenly worried.

“I did before,” he said. Ruth tried to suppress the urge to run back to the cave. If it had been possible to get through since the previous- and for all they knew for a long time before- why should it suddenly not be? There had been no sign that the passage would close. She tried to relax.

But she could still feel that there was a sort of tension in the air. Something wasn’t right.

They reached the bottom of the hill close to where, on their island, they had made their camp. But here there was no sign of a camp. There was the remains of a fire, and an untidy pile of wood, and beside the rocks a heap of long bits of wood and crumpled sheets of metal that might once have been a shelter.

“It must have blown down in the storm,” Rachel said.

“But why haven’t they repaired it- that was days ago!” Tom said.

“Maybe they couldn’t for some reason? Anyway, at least we know- there are people here,” Rachel said.

“Or there were,” Ruth muttered.

“Maybe they just moved somewhere else,” Patrick said. He led off down towards the beach.

They followed him through the undergrowth. Suddenly Tom stopped.

“I thought I saw something,” he said, looking off into the trees to his left. The others followed his gaze, but saw nothing. After a moment they went on. Then Ruth thought she saw something too, again away to the left, almost as if it was keeping pace with them. They stopped. Patrick took a step towards it, and the thing seemed to flinch, scurrying away towards the dense forest, then stopping again to look back. It seemed to be human-sized, but crouched over, poised, ready to run.

“If everything’s different- what if the people aren’t humans?” Rachel asked slowly. “What if we don’t understand their language, and they attack us?” The four of them looked at each other, worried. None had thought of that before.

“He doesn’t look like he’d going to attack,” Patrick said. “Just because people are different doesn’t mean they won’t be friendly.”

“You’re always an optimist,” Ruth said. “But no, that one doesn’t look like it’s going to attack us. If it is a person, and not just some kind of monkey.”

Again Patrick took a step towards the figure in the trees. It tensed, but this time it didn’t run. Slowly he crept forward, and the others followed. The figure stood, poised to run, but it let them get within a few metres before it made a whimpering noise and took a step back. They stopped. Ruth peered at the figure in the gloom under the trees. It seemed somehow...familiar.

“Oh no,” she said, as realisation dawned.

“What?” whispered Tom.

“Don’t you recognise him?” she replied in a low voice.

“My eyes aren’t as good as yours.”

“Look closer,” she said. “He’s human all right. Just very scared.” She took a step forward, and the figure flinched.

“It’s all right,” she said. “It’s ok, we won’t hurt you, you’ll be fine.” He allowed her to get close, and to see his face. It was true. She heard the others, who had crept up behind her, exclaim in surprise.

“It’s all right, Nick,” Ruth said. The hunched figure looked up.

“That’s not my name,” he said. “I’m Mick.”
 
 
The story continues...