The Doppelganger Invasion

By Juan Carlos Arjona Ollero

The Doppelganger Invasion by Juan Carlos Arjona Ollero

Second part of a Trilogy

[The Doppelganger Invasion]

The Earth, 2018.
A year after our heroes finished the Chrono-Hunters, everything or, at least, half of it, seemed to be back to normal - Billy and Jessel were still missing since the Continuum incident. For their part, James, Mary and a renewed Louis have become the spearhead of the most ambitious scientific project of humanity: the Hyperion Project, of which main objective was to create a dimensional portal that facilitates the space-time travel.

However, from a forgotten dimension a greater threat looms: the Doppelgangers, strange mythical beings who ambition to take over the entire Universe, have set their eyes on our planet. Promoting one of the most elaborate deceptions of History, they will break the barrier that keeps them apart from our world.

Under this precept of anarchy, Rick van Helsing and Rasputin will meet in a battle, their personal domain will further complicate the serious situation that our world is going through. A predestined clash between Bearers of Infinity and Chaos that entails much more than mere revenge.

The world as we know it is about to face its darkest time.
How can you believe in someone you do not trust? How can you fight against someone who was once your ally?
This time it is not a war, it is an invasion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Juan Carlos Arjona Ollero
• Release date: Nov 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781547528264

Book preview

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Beyond the whole and nothing,

They lie asleep,

Waiting for their opportunity.

The Book of Enoch. The Prophet: An Apocryphal Production.

A Stolen Face

The screams came from a place that James could not identify. Yet, he had no doubts it was Mary's voice. He tried to go and help his girlfriend, but his body did not respond. He felt as if his body was broken into thousands of pieces that floated erratically in that unusual space. He could hear the howls of pain of his friends complaining of having an enemy whom they could not defeat.

At that precise moment, he felt a force that propelled him back into his own dimension. His body began to become solid and it felt how he was recovering the power inside of him. He took one last look at the strange reddish galaxy he was in, and he felt how the faceless and mysterious hooded figure wanted to tell him something... but he didn’t have time for that. He began to move at his full speed capacity and it was then when he returned to his universe.

They’ll come soon... They are among us.

The cryptic voice echoed in his mind as the dimensional change occurred. Someone was trying to warn him.

James woke up frightened, panting and sweating heavily.

Sssh, calm down. Mary was next to him and her voice reassured him. Have you had that nightmare again? the girl asked as she leaned her head against his chest. His heart beating was really fast due to the fear caused by the bad dream.

It was more real than ever before, the boy replied, recovering his breath.

Mary approached her boyfriend’s sweaty face and kissed him warmly, first on his lips and then on his forehead with shorter little kisses. It's okay, it's just a dream, the girl said as she stood up and walked to the bathroom. Are you coming or are you going to stay there all day?

James stretched slowly and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked at the lightning that was along his arm. He tried to get out of his mind any idea that had to do with the marks and nightmares of his desperate escape from the reddish galaxy. Mary was naked waiting for him, while the hot water emanated a mist that fogged the bathroom glass doors. Once they were both inside the tub, they intertwined their hands and joined together to form a bridge between desire and their bodies, going slowly up and down and going across every inch of skin until they melted into one. Passionate and captivated by romance, the young couple lost track of time and surrendered themselves into an exultant madness of love.

The sun was streaming through a window and flooded the small house with light at the Death Valley suburbs. Twenty minutes later, James tried for a third time to tie a decent knot in his tie while Mary prepared breakfast in the kitchen.

Amazing; I can move to VLD, but I cannot make a knot in my tie, muttered the boy.

Honey, I think he is going to be interviewed today, you should tune in CNN, Mary suggested from the kitchen. He obeyed and turned on the TV that was on the table in front of the couch. He pressed the button to change channels quickly until he found the one he was looking for. A special report was being broadcasted. James smiled.

Every worker at the nuclear power plant was unbelievably evacuated in a timely and safe manner.

"What is shocking in this case is how similar it is to the other ‘strange’ events that occurred in the west of the US. This would be the fourth time security cameras captured the mysterious ‘diffused spot.’

A graphic appeared on the screen showing a timeline next to the images captured by the security cameras.

The elegant reporter, looking like a top model, appeared again on the screen as he paused dramatically and the cameras made a close-up of his eyes.

When humanity limitations have transcended as mere mortals imperfections, we must think very seriously: Is this the age of miracles? I'm Walter Brennan broadcasting again for CNN, the guy finished theatrically while the set lights went out.

James was still smiling too much distracted to notice his girlfriend was standing behind him holding a couple of sandwiches.

Ah, so they still talk about the last week’s event... The girl interrupted taking him out of his unconsciousness and offering him one of the sandwiches.

The young man gave a bite to the sandwich as he made room for Mary so she could sit on the couch next to him and she began to make a proper knot in his tie.

They did a report this time, baby! That reporter even mentioned something about ‘the age of miracles’.

Maybe you should be more careful next time, James. I don’t want to imagine what could happen if they catch you, the girl said, looking at him seriously.

The memories of his friends and the epic odyssey that they had gone through to save the Universe came to his mind. He remembered the times they were about to die and thanked God that, despite all the incredible and dangerous situations they had to overcome, they had come out alive... Or something like that.

When the antimatter explosion occurred, they were able to run the Continuum in the opposite direction.

When all this ended, immediately, every universe that had been affected by the temporary explosions had returned to normal as if nothing had ever happened. However, this had no effect on the universe where the Continuum had appeared. The Earth of 2187 did not suffer the same fate. Many people died due to the explosions that left the worlds destroyed. Only a few thousand survivors remained to perpetuate humanity.

His case had been totally different. After the great silver flash, James and she had reappeared inside the Falcon Bird traveling at full speed down the desert road. They had to stop suddenly at one side of the road to confirm what was really happening. Before continuing, they held each other tightly for just a moment. That moment felt as an eternity.

Unfortunately, they didn’t know what had happened to Billy and Jessel. Probably, since they didn’t belong to his timeline, they hadn’t been transported back to 2017. Louis, on the contrary...

Look, he is there! James interrupted.

On television, the CNN program now showed the introductory video with a sticky melody song to the talk show. The boys smiled when, at the end of the announcement, the camera immediately showed an elegant and smiling gentleman with a sophisticated look. The grey hairs on his sideburns made him look older; James simply found it magnificent, for some time now they had not seen their great friend and mentor Louis Gallagher, the extraordinary knight. The cameraman gave the signal indicating they were already live and Louis immediately took a more formal position. He adjusted his glasses and began to smile.

Good morning to all viewers. Today on CNN Today we are with the most recent Nobel Prize winner: Dr. Louis Gallagher. Welcome Doctor! the interviewer said.

Thank you very much. It's a pleasure for me to be here, said Louis with his remarkable English accent.

"Doctor Gallagher, you have been honoured with the Nobel Prize in Physics for your Time Travel Theory and your successful experiment at Silver Laboratories. In this experiment you could teleport an object from one point to another. How did you come up with what is now being catalogued as one of the greatest advances in modern science?

Louis blushed and smiled flattered. You couldn’t imagine how wonderful and treacherous journey it has been! he laughed uneasy. Only he and three other people in the world would understand the peculiar joke. When I formulated the Time Travel Theory there was not much information about wormholes, and they are the primary basis of my theory. However, about a year ago, I had a kind of ‘inspiration’ in one of my trek. I should also thank my friends Mary Vellman and James Drake, as if they hadn’t supported me, I would have never been able to formulate the theory, let alone successfully completed the teleportation experiment, Louis said.

Aw! Of course! The young doctor who is doing wonders in the microsurgery and regeneration field. What could you tell us about these promising studies?

Indeed, Miss Velleman is an incredible scientist who, working along with Silver Laboratories, is working with Rextarmol, a drug assuring to change the medicine as we know it forever. Although I’m a scientist, I must admit that the term ‘miracle’ describes it perfectly, added Louis.

Speaking of ‘miracles’, what can science tell us about the mysterious sightings of the ‘diffused spot’ and the heroic acts that have been attributed to it: the workers rescued at a nuclear plant and the rescue of a group of children from a collapsing building among others? the interviewer asked.

Louis smiled slightly. Well, young James has been busy, he thought as he straightened the knot of his tie and looked for the right words. I have heard something about these ‘miracles’ you mentioned, and I honestly admit that all these events seem like simple sensationalist inventions in order to generate euphoria in people. Each one of these amazing events, which seem to be taken from a superhero movie, has a logical and scientific explanation. It's a matter of giving the right approach to it, the scientist said with a flowery movement of hands as he thought he had handled the situation quite well.

"And precisely we’ll be talking about that next in the special report that we’ll retransmit with a pre-recorded program that was produced by our reporter Walter Brennan. Our time is up and we must say goodbye, Dr. Gallagher. Could you give any final thought about this whole matter?

Louis clasped his hands and settled into his chair, leaning forward, the camera now took a close-up of the scientist. Time is a wonder that goes beyond any possible explanation; it’s the key for figuring out the major mysteries of humanity, it’s our most valuable ally and, in some cases, it’s a curse. The day will come when human beings will be able to control it at will and thanks to that we’ll be able to remove all the darkness that blackens the minds of men. Just in that moment we’ll be able to really appreciate the beauty of perfection, the eternity of the seconds, the ephemeral passage of years, space, the whole and nothingness. Knowledge is there, it's only a matter of time, concluded the English man before the broadcasting ended.

––––––––

James and Mary listened attentively to Louis's words. Each of the answers he had given represented completely the truth. They could remember Billy, Jessel, Alexandria, Princess Albanell and all those people of the future. They turned off the television and left the house quietly. They had to take a flight and meet a gentleman.

After receiving a handshake from the interviewer, Louis said goodbye and went to the studio’s exit; he had to take a flight to New York. He had planned to meet with James, Mary and scientists from Silver Labs. They were going to carry out the final tests of their new machine prototype: a dimensional material transporter; something they had worked deeply in secret. Taking advantage of their knowledge and the magnificent skills of these young scientists, they were able to advance hugely; therefore, he had put all his efforts onto this project hoping that it would be the first step to get back to the future.

From the first moment he had appeared at his home in Death Valley, Louis was worried about people of the future, he felt somehow responsible and that he had to help them, or at least, to know if they were well.

A few days after he returned, he managed to meet with James and Mary, who told him everything that had occurred before making the Continuum investment. Based on the information provided by his friends, the scientist was able to confirm what at first appeared as mere hypotheses; it was the case of the whereabouts of Billy and Jessel or the events occurred in 2187. From that day, he worked tirelessly to find a solution to the time travel problem; he wanted to go back to 2187 and see with his eyes that everybody was fine, and why not? Maybe he could also find again the other Bearers.

His amazing scientific progress was based on everything Billy had told him and led him to be awarded as one of the most important physicists in the world. He found a much more efficient lawyer than Greg, that "bloody bastard", to defend him in the fight for the custody of his beloved daughter Victoire.

After a judicial triumph, now her little one was delighted living in New York, near Silver Laboratories where her father worked. Life was going great, but the memory of all those friends he had made in the future prevented him from being calm. And on the other hand, he had those damn nightmares.

They're among us... Louis whispered.

That strange voice constantly repeated this phrase in his dreams, like a despicable prophecy that wanted to warn him of something that was about to happen, something that was quite bad.

He felt shudders throughout all his body. The threat