The Rift
by Bernardo Villela
All aboard were awestruck. Creating the dimensional rift was simple, but from it came a spacecraft identical to ours.
The mission commander’s words echoed in my mind: Conducting geopolitical and scientific experiments over there shields us from consequence.
“Full speed ahead!” I said.
Our comms buzzed.
“This is the Nautilus.” From our twin ship I hear my voice speaking. It was us from another dimension.
“Thanks, our tech failed.”
My heart rate tripled. We looked at one another.
“Houston!”
“Remember your objective.”
We proceeded. The rift closed behind us sealing our doppelgänger’s fate. We were expendable, all versions of us.
Bernardo Villela
Bernardo Villela has published a novella The Isle of Helyr and three short story collections The Bloodmaster Trilogy and Teenage Death Songs Vols. 1 & 2, and has short fiction included in Coffin Bell Journal, The Dark Corner Zine, 101 Proof Horror, A Monster Told Me Bedtime Stories, Page & Spine, and forthcoming in 42 Stories Anthology, Constraint 280, and Rivet. You can read more about these and various other pursuits at www.miller-villela.com.