From my current W.I.P

 

Rand Hazen's lover has been swallowed up by a mysterious wormhole that appeared near a Nevada desert town in 2018. His only hope to find her and bring her home is to follow her down the rabbit hole, and he finds himself alone in a strange city far in the future....

 

 

 

He was not well for another two days. The food was palatable but never solid, a blended mix of vegetables, meat and vitamins that Farris claimed as standard fare in 4567. Rand missed the textures of food, and color. Damn, did he miss color. Everything in Farris’ lab was gray or metallic, but nothing so vibrant or engaging as a red or a blue. By the third day Rand demanded to leave the small room he’d been assured was the infirmary. He was relieved to see Onedra and Tilan there to escort him away from the dreary room.

“Will I need to carry you?” Tilan joked, flexing his pecs. Rand noticed they dressed in browns and greens, and something akin to leather as opposed to the drab gray cotton of the uniforms he and Farris wore.

“If it means I see something other than these walls, I’ll be more than happy.” Rand agreed, standing. He studied the pair as they flanked him and the door slid silently open before him.

“Are you apprehensive?” Tilan asked, tying back his snowy hair into a long queue. Onedra’s eyes flickered in his direction, but Rand answered with a shrug.

“Should I be?”

“Have you been able to deal with your emotional loss?” Onedra asked, and she ignored Tilan’s groan of embarrassment.

“No.” Rand shuffled with them down a long corridor of more pale gray. Was there nothing here besides these two that had any color? “It’s nothing that can be ‘gotten over’.”

“A mate, then?”

“Onedra!” Tilan shook his head at his sister. “I’m sorry, Dr. My sister is far too nosy for her own good.”

“No, she is right. As close to a mate as we had in my time.” Rand did not miss the way the siblings communicated with their eyes. “Tell me,” he said, watching their faces carefully, “about the city.”

“We don’t spend much time here, usually.”

Rand watched Tilan’s expression as he spoke, and he caught some hesitant twitches as he spoke. These two were careful not to say the wrong thing. He stopped short as Farris appeared from a blind corner on the right.

“Ah, Dr. Hazen, good to see you about.” Farris was paler in the light of the hallway, his eyes clearer and near to colorless. His pupils darted as he looked Rand over from head to toe. “Tilan and Onedra will show you the way, and I will join you later to talk.”

“Sounds good.”

“I assume you have many questions.”

“I do. I guess you have done this a few times before for other travelers.”

Farris’ eyes did not light up with the smile that stretched his mouth wide. “Indeed.”

Rand was not surprised to see the look that shot between Tilan and Onedra. As his gut had supposed, there was something unsettling about Dr. Farris and this place. He sensed no real deception from the brother and sister, but Dr. Farris couldn’t seem to string together two words of the truth no matter what he was saying.

“Yeah, okay. I look forward to our talk.”

Farris bowed and walked away, leaving Rand with the strange pair. He looked at them both, crossing his arms over his chest. “I want to go outside.”

“Of course.” The answer was a bit too smooth, and Tilan did not meet Rand’s eyes as he spoke. He pointed down the hallway to a group of doors. “Let’s get you changed into suitable clothing.”

Rand followed the man as Onedra fell into step beside him. She didn’t speak, but he met her eyes. He raised an eyebrow as she gave him a subtle shake of her head. She motioned with her hands toward her brother and the door ahead and Rand pursed his lips in understanding. It was not safe to talk here, she was saying. Follow Tilan. Rand was silent as they moved on toward the doors, his mind spinning. What kind of future world had he landed in? His gut was telling him that he may be in over his head already.