Upon reaching the base, Richard saw a bicycle that wasn't there before. It was in front of the network communications building. He pulled out his gun and ran towards the building while asking Alice to stay outside. "There he goes again," she thought.

Richard entered the building and soon realized there was someone inside. He could see that the computers in one of the rooms were being used.

He carefully approached the room, looked inside and saw someone sitting on a chair typing on one of the keyboards. He couldn't see who the person was, since the room was dark, with the only light sources being the computer's monitor screen.

Richard rushed inside the room. "Don't move!"

The person on the desk stopped typing.

"Okay, now get up, put your hands above your head and tell me who you are and what you are doing here!"

He got his answer rather quickly. "My name is Michael and I'm just trying to contact the military by using this network."

Richard got confused since the tone of the voice he was hearing wasn't exactly what he was expecting.

"Alright, turn around... Slowly."

As the person sitting on the chair turned around, Richard started to notice that he was pointing a gun to...

"A kid? Are you a fuckin' kid?"

Indeed, with curly hair, a pair of glasses and a small body, the person sitting in that room was a nerdy looking teenage boy.

"Yeah. Why?"

Richard didn't answer.

"Can you put that thing away? You may be wearing military clothing, but you're not Jean-Claude Van Damme," asked the boy.

"Dude, you're doing this again?" said Alice while approaching the two.

"Okay, okay. I know I'm in the wrong here. It's just that I'm a bit freaked out by everything that has been happening. I am sorry."

"No problem," said Michael. "Now, do you have any idea of what's going on here? You're with the military, right? You should know something."

"I'm just a lieutenant. Even if the military knew something, there's no way I would have access to that kind of information".

"I also don't know anything but... How about you? Do you know something?" asked Alice.

"C'mon, there's no way this lad knows anything about what's happening here," said Richard.

"Actually, that's not true, I think I might have an idea."

"Really?" shouted Richard and Alice in unison.

"Yeah, I mean, I did hack this base's computer network, so you shouldn't be surprised that I know something about the end of the world, right?"

"You did what?" Richard said in disbelief.

"I hacked this network."

Richard looked at the screen. He wasn't a computer expert, but even he could tell that Micheal had, indeed, hacked the internal computer network of that military base.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"I can't believe it! This lad really hacked into our bloody network!"

Alice came close the boy and while looking directly at his eyes said: "Kid, who the hell are you?"

Michael's answer was surprisingly simple. "I'm Michael, nice to meet you. By the way, you're too close, lady."

Richard couldn't contain his laugh. "Alice, you're not gonna be able to scare this kid. He's a hacker, and a good one."

"Okay then, you interrogate him! You're the soldier here, right?" protested Alice.

"There's no need for that," said Michael.

"I can see you are not bad people. I mean, you're not very smart, but you don't look like bad people."

"Well, thanks, I guess," said Richard. "I have to admit, your hacking skills are very impressive, but what makes you think you know something about our situation?"

Michael looked at Alice and Richard's faces for a few seconds. He then sat on one of the chairs. Looking at the one of the monitors, the boy started talking. "My father is a scientist and he was studying the existence of multiple dimensions in the space-time continuum. According to him, an event similar to what we're experiencing now is theoretically possible."

"In English, please," asked Alice.

"We've been sent to another dimension," replied Michael.

"Another dimension? You mean, like the ones we see in the movies?" inquired Alice.

"Yep," Michael said.

"No, that's gotta be bullshit," scoffed Richard.

"That's better be bullshit!" completed Alice.

"I don't think so. Everyone is gone, the sky is completely dark, and it's been well over twelve hours since this all started, but it's still night time. Do any of this sounds like bullshit to you?"

After a few seconds of silence, Alice said. "What Michael is saying might not be that crazy of an idea. I mean, this may look like our world, but it clearly isn't."

"Actually, this is our world. A copy of it, to be more precise. New timelines are being created all the time and we might just have been sent to the wrong one," added Michael.

"What exactly are you talking about?" asked Alice.

"You see, modern physics state that we live in a multiverse and that new universes are being created every second. For example, when you go out to buy ice cream. Do you get a chocolate ice cream or a strawberry one?"

"Chocolate, for sure!" Replied Alice while smiling and raising her hand.

"That's one choice, but in the multiverse you actually buy both, however, you only get to experience one of the choices. The other universe, the one in which you bought the strawberry ice cream, becomes a new dimension, a dimension where another version of yourself is enjoying a different flavor of ice cream. One reality becomes two".

"It's kinda hard to believe a world where anyone would chose strawberry ice cream, but yeah, I see your point," replied Alice.

"So we really are in a different dimension?" asked Richard.

"Yes, I believe so," clarified Michael.

"Then why is everyone gone?"

"Well, that I don't know. But I think we might have entered in an incomplete version of a new universe. That would explain why there's no one here and why the cycle of day and night doesn't exist anymore".

"So we are screwed?" questioned Richard.

"Probably. But my dad was studying these incomplete universes. If we can get a hold on some of his research, we may learn more about the situation we're in."

"Can we get back home?" asked Alice.

"That I don't know. In theory it might be possible, but I have no idea how it would work. What I do know is that my father was working on a global effort to understand the multiverse and that their research was in a very advanced state," Michael explained.

"All this sounds like bollocks to me," gasped Richard.

"It sure does, even to me, but... I don't think we have a better alternative," replied Michael.

- - - -

After their meeting in the communications building the group decided to go to the dorms. While walking, Michael noticed that Alice wasn't much taller than him. She was very skinny and had short brown hair. She looked very young, and that's exactly why Michael asked: "Hey, Alice, are you in high school?"

"I'm twenty-seven, alright? I work as a junior partner in a big law firm," Alice responded in an angry tone.

"You don't need to get upset. The lad thinks you look young, isn't that a good thing? I'm twenty-five and people usually think I'm thirty-five," protested Richard.

"Dude, thirty-five? I thought you were in your late forties"

"Shut up, Mike!" said Richard.

"People thinking you're too young is not a good thing when you're a lawyer, you know?" confessed Alice.

"A lawyer, huh? At least you don't need to worry about that anymore," noted Michael.

The atmosphere became gloomed again, as Alice and Michael remembered the world they had left behind. The group kept walking while lost in their own thoughts.

A few minutes had passed when Richard's voices echoed: "Well, mates, we're finally here. Those are the dorms. They got some snacks in the lounge fridge, so let's eat something and have a good rest. Even with no sun, tomorrow is still a new day."