Parallel

A/N: Hmmm... that nurse is eerily familiar. Also, whoever spots the shoutout gets a cookie.

Chapter 7: Mask

That morning was the same as any other, except for the fact that I was asleep in a strange forest in a parallel world. I got up, brushed my teeth, took my meds, and fed Mishmash, then I was on my way to work. I couldn't even remember arriving, but I was sitting in my cubicle and answering my phone.

Phoebe arrived shortly after and flicked me in the back of the head. I turned and glared, "Yes?"

She frowned, "The party!"

My eyes must have lit up in realization, because she gave me a smile.

"Right, totally forgot about that. Sorry Phoebe." I sighed, "This weekend should be fine, I've just got a lot of stuff going on right now."

"Great! We'll throw it at my place. I'll invite my friends and you can invite yours!"

"Yeah..."

Phoebe went to sit in her cubicle and I let out a breath of relief. The party was in two days, which gave me a one day buffer for my trip through the Everfree forest with the ponies.

God that sounded ridiculous, even in the privacy of my mind.

Pinki... Phoebe's head popped over the wall of my cubicle and she grinned at me, "So what have you been up to lately?"

"I met a girl, well, a few actually." I muttered, opening up the internet browser and surfing through random sites.

Phoebe's eyes lit up, "Oh OH who are they? Do you like any of them. Is there gonna be a party!? I'll buy the keg, you get the invitations!!"

I laughed, "What is with you and parties?"

"Well... I just like to have fun with my friends!"

Understandable, at least as understandable as this woman could get. "Hey Phoebe, can I ask you something?"

"No problemo!"

"Do you know anybody named Tammy or Felicia?"

"Hmmmm." She looked off to the side for a second, "Nope! Sorry Billy, don't know 'em!"

I smiled, "I'll make sure to bring them to the party then."

"That would be GREAT! New friends are the best!"

The hospital was busy when I got there, as all hospitals usually were. I tried not to let it get to me as I made my way to the front desk. No matter what they did with it, no matter how pristine and white they made it nothing would stop it from being a place of death and pain.

Yeah the ultimate goal was to heal and help, but that was hard in itself.

"How may I help you?" The woman behind the desk that day was cute and polite, not at all like the whale I had spoken to the day before.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Tammy."

The lady smiled, "Oh you must mean THAT Tammy." She stood up from the desk and reached over it for a handshake, I obliged before she continued, "My name is Regina Hart, I'm Tammy's nurse, we met the other day but didn't really get introduced."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why are you working the front desk?"

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and laughed under her breath, "About that... we've had difficulties with the woman who was on staff here yesterday."

"I didn't file any complaints."

Regina frowned, "Oh I'm so sorry, she bothered you as well? Someone else filed a complaint. Well... several someone elses."

"She wouldn't let me in to see Tammy."

"I see. Well her parents will be here tomorrow, and they've already given the go ahead for her friends to be here, but Julie was always so stubborn and bullheaded. She won't be getting fired, but she's probably getting a stern talking to. Right this way."

She lead me upstairs to the second floor, and I tried not to stare at her backside too much. This task proved extremely difficult for me.

When I got to the room Rachel and Felicia were already there, and both of them looked pretty happy that I showed.

"Shit we were starting to think you got hit by a car too, what took you so long?"

I smiled at Rachel, "I went overtime a little bit. Me and Phoebe were saddled with the work of somebody that decided to skip out."

Felicia smiled and nodded, "Don't worry about it, I'm glad you're here."

"Has she stabilized?" I pulled up a chair behind them both and sat down on it.

"Yeah," said Rachel, "Doc says she'll more than likely pull through, but we don't know if she'll wake up."

"Well the chances are better right?"

Felicia nodded, "Yes." She leaned forward and clasped her friend's hand with a small frown. I could see the glisten in her eyes, but she managed to hold the tears back.

I planted a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "She'll be fine, trust me." I wished I could tell her why I was so sure, but all I could do was attempt to comfort her in the best way I could.

A neighbor I was barely aware of a few days before, and there I was comforting her over her friend being hurt.

Life had a funny way of throwing crazy shit at you when you least expect it.

Rachel smirked, "Well I doubt Tammy wants to lay here listening to us moan and cry over a bump on her head, so let's talk a little bit."

"Might as well," I said.

"Where do you work Bill?" asked Rachel.

"I'm just a customer service bug. The job is good though, and the insurance ACTUALLY covers stuff."

"Friends?"

I let out a small laugh, "Until now just Mishmash, but now..."

Rachel looked surprised, "I... I didn't mean to..."

"Nah, it's my own fault. I barely even talk to my parents anymore. What about you, what's your job?"

Rachel grinned, "I work at a coffee place. I like to race too, and it would be really cool if I could be a professional racer one day!"

"Shooting high eh? You good at it?"

"Heh! Only the best!"

Felicia frowned, "Rachel, you should be more modest."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Please. I haven't lost in months, and if someone DOES beat me I'll just get 'em back in a rematch."

We passed the time like this for a couple of hours until the sun hit the skyline outside, talking about stupid pointless stuff like sports and animals. I never brought up my time in the military or the war, but that was okay.

Eventually it was time to go... I wanted to get drunk that night.

"I gotta go, if Tammy wakes up tell her I said hi."

Felicia smiled and nodded, "Alright, will you be back tomorrow?"

I nodded and smiled.

The O bar was pretty crowded that night, but I didn't mind, I was just there to get plastered. Getting too drunk was out of the question, as I still had work the next day. I was glad I could still enjoy getting hammered every now and again, my alcoholism had been a symptom of my sickness, not the problem itself.

"Heya Will." The bartender, who always recognized me, was a short and stout man, the bar itself reached all the way up to his half way point.

"Hey George," I said with a smile and a wave, "Just get me a few beers."

"Comin' right up! So how ya been, it's been a couple weeks since I seen ya."

I smiled, "Yeah, I've been busy, met my neighbor and her friends."

George raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? She cute?"

I laughed, "Yeah she is, but..."

"But?"

I remembered Tammy, still in a coma from being hit.

And I remembered Twilight, in much the same condition without all the physical wounds.

"There are more important things to worry about."

"Oh... that complicated eh?"

"Hahaha, I'm not even scratching the surface of how complicated all of this is."

"Do tell."

George reached under the bar and came up with a few cool Budweisers. I popped one open and took a swig from it. I decided to lay out the facts for him, "Well first of all these ladies are all potentials."

"How many we talkin'?"

I thought about it for a second. With any luck I would end up running into the other two ladies in my world too. Then again there had been no trace of a Rarity or Applejack counterpart. I shrugged and let out a laugh, "Six."

Goerge's jaw might as well have been on the floor. When he picked it back up he gave me an incredulous look, "Six?"

"Six," I said with confidence, "A nerd, a jock, a shy girl, a rich bitch, a farm girl, and a partier."

George let out a low whistle, "You got the entire God damn stereotype spectrum. Shit kid, good luck."

I took another swig of the beer bounced my eyebrows. George rolled his eyes and went to help out another customer. The customer was a damn fine lady, a bit older than me and the girls I had been hanging out with. Weirdest damn thing, her hair was white. It wasn't white like and old woman's would be; it still had that shine of youth to it. She was wearing a low cut dress, and panty hose with holes in them at intervals, as if they had been ripped.

She looked over and smiled when she noticed I was staring.

Then she did something unexpected, she winked and grabbed her beer from George, making her way over to me and swinging her hips back and forth the whole way.

Her movements were very... intentional.

"Why hello there."

Her voice was sultry, and it didn't even seem like she was trying, but it sent a shiver down my damn spine. "Hi."

She smirked and looked my up and down for a second before taking a swig from her beer, "You look like you're tired of sand."

"What gave me away?" I asked, taking a swig of my own.

"The haircut. Nobody who calls themselves normal, and I say normal very loosely, cuts their hair like that soldier boy."

"I'm not a soldier anymore."

"Then why the hair?"

"Habit."

"I see." She rested her elbow on the bar and planted a hand on her cheek, "So what's your name?"

"William Jenkins, you?"

That smile of hers...

"Oh little old me? I don't really have a name, but if you must call me something I suppose Camille will do."

I raised an eyebrow, "You a stripper?" Her laugh was like pure music. Everything about this woman was weird. She was so unnaturally attractive it was more repelling than anything. "Well, nice to meet you. I gotta head home soon, but it was interesting talking to you."

She frowned, "That's no way to treat a lady. Shouldn't you at least try to get into my pants?"

I took another drink, attempting to tune her out.

"Or... would you rather rip apart that sweater on Ms. Shirley's supple body? Or maybe you want to take the glasses off the bookworm when she wakes up."

I promptly spit my beer out in panic.

"Relaaaax," she said with a giggle, "You'll give yourself an aneurism. Besides, the nerdy one is cuter anyways, and she has a VERY nice ass. I know you looked at it when you bumped into her on the intersection. You could just... grip it and get a handful." She giggled again, bringing her hands up and mimicking how one would grasp a butt.

I wiped the beer from my mouth and sighed, "Who are you?"

"Just a friend."

"The last person that said that mind raped me."

"Oh he's just mad because you might steal away his fun."

"What?"

She turned away, then she leaned back in. Her eyes had turned red, "Don't panic, it's just cosmetic trust me. There are six goons outside waiting for you to get done with your beer, three on each entrance."

"So you're helping me?"

She shrugged, "I don't call the shots anymore, my nest was destroyed by two hunters, a couple of very charming wise cracking brothers that were full of angst about their dark past... they handled it really well though."

"Can we get to the point?"

"Right, the goons. We could have a little fun with them."

I didn't follow Cami too closely. She got the front door open and my eyes widened when her body began to change. She wasn't Cami anymore.

For all intents and purposes she was... well, she was ME.

Then she went into a full out sprint, causing the two burly looking men at the front door to run after her. I went out a minute later and hailed a cab back to my place.

Whatever she was she had helped me, and I found myself hoping that she'd be alright as I fed Mishmash and made my way into bed that night.