Mystery_Quart_1

    “I can’t believe,” Rick started carefully, his face in his hands. “I’ve been hanging out with you two nerds for so long, and you never even thought about telling me that one of you has a twin brother.” At this point he was laughing. Stanford was considerably less amused. “Why is this funny to you? It’s been almost a year since I saw him last, and I’m pretty sure I’m the last person he wants to see.” He mumbled, wishing that they could change the subject. His eyes didn’t move from the window as he spoke.

      “Well, it’s really none of my business but I think it’s interesting.” Offered Fiddleford from his spot on the floor. He had been attempting to meditate when his roommate decided to tell their friend a little more about himself, and since then was actively listening. “So do I.” Rick agreed, breaking the few moment’s silence. “I think it’s interesting that you didn’t do anything when your dad kicked him out of your house.” He finished, mentally preparing to regret bringing up something that might strike a nerve.

   Stanford removed his glasses and ran a hand over his face before staring at the blurred parking lot outside. “It’s complicated. I don’t want to talk about it.” He replied. Rick stood up from his spot on one of the two beds in the room and stretched. “Fine. You don’t have to...” He began, glancing down at Fiddleford with a smirk before continuing. “Think he’s still in town?”

      “Why does it matter?” Stanford countered as he put his glasses back on and finally turned around to face the others. “You don’t even know his name.” He muttered. “It’s Stanley.” Fiddleford said without thinking. “And Rick, it’s a prototype! I thought we agreed we’d test it in a couple months!” He insisted. The other shook his head, trying not to laugh. “And wait for you to quadruple-check another textbook’s worth of calculations? No thanks.” He replied before grabbing his leather jacket and riffling through shoeboxes underneath the other bed across the room. “This seems like a worthy test-drive to me.”

   The roommates watched on as Rick found what he was looking for; a device that looked like a gun made out of miscellaneous objects, but had multiple working lights. He pointed to the nearest wall, and pulled the trigger before turning around. “Where would his favorite place be?” He asked Stanford patiently as a purple light nearly filled the room from the spot on the wall.

     He almost couldn’t bring himself to speak at first. “The beach...” Was all he could manage. “Alright,” Rick said, reaching for his shoes and stretching once more. “Well, if I’m not back in thirty to forty-five minutes, it didn’t work and I won’t be back.” He concluded. Fiddleford nodded before the other made his exit through the purple splotch as tall as a doorway in the wall, and eventually even that vanished behind him.

        Stanford, still processing what just happened; gulped, took off his glasses again, and headed for the nearest bed. “I’ll just… Take a nap now.” He croaked, trying to convince himself that what just happened was a result of less sleep than necessary.

    Through a series of trial and error, Rick found the beach Stanford referred to in approximately ten minutes. He ended up across the street from it, but any time he walked through the light and didn’t die or lose a limb was another small victory. It was almost dark as he crossed the street and walked along the shore a ways before finding a small cave that looked like it used to be boarded-up. Eventually he turned to face the water, and was surprised to see an almost completely repaired boat.

        As he stepped closer to it, he noticed someone was lying on the deck of the ship. When he got close enough to see who it was, he grinned to himself. “Hey sailor. Jeez, he wasn’t kidding- you do look alike.” The man grumbled and rubbed his face, still half-asleep. Rick gave him a moment before slamming a hand on the side of the vessel. “Hey! Your name Stanley?”

           “Depends,” He murmured as he looked up. “Who’s asking?” Rick grinned again and leaned against the side of the ship. “Name’s Rick,” He replied. “Been keeping an eye on your brother for a while now.” Stanley twitched before fixing the other with a cold stare. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked, his voice almost a low growl. Rick took his arms away from the vessel and scratched the back of his head. “We’re friends. Known each other a few months...” He muttered.

        Stanley relaxed a bit at this. “Oh. Well, I doubt he wants to see me.” He said quietly, staring down at his hands. “Funny; that’s the same thing he said about you before I went looking.” Rick reported, giving the stars above the sea one last good look before realizing how late it must’ve been. “Uh- listen, I don’t have much time before he guesses I’m dead or stuck somewhere, so we should probably get going.” He finished before taking a few steps from the boat and pausing to yawn.

    The other pondered this for a moment, eventually jumping down from the deck of the ship to the sand. He stretched as far as he could before giving the blue-haired individual a quizzical look. “Wait. Why would he think you’re dead or stuck?” He said, watching Rick take the device out of his jacket pocket and point it at the boat. “Um, I don’t have a car,” He replied with a nervous smile, pulling the trigger. “And this worked just fine the first few times, so it should be safe.”

      As Rick took a step into the purple light that caused the sand to sparkle much like sunlight could, he turned to face the other, offering his free hand. Stanley was frozen in place for a moment, wondering if he was actually dreaming. After a few moments he carefully took the others wrist, and stepped through the light with his new friend; the doorway disappearing behind them.