The Gate Keeper

by William Mezger III

  Chapter 8

  Revelations

  I

  Henry got up the next morning exhausted, and sick to his stomach about school. He had tried during the night to think about what today would bring, but his eyes had closed the minute his head hit the pillow. He felt a sick anticipation, he was excited to see Britney, but he was scared on a very real level of Paul. During the last real dust up with Paul, he had seriously tried to hurt him. Henry believed if he had not fallen through the gate by accident, Paul would have broken some of his bones, and that was for some imagined slight. This time Henry had actually taken Paul’s girl on a date. He thought Britney had been telling the truth about not dating Paul anymore, but he also knew Paul was not likely to see it that way.

  When Henry got to school, the students all gave him a very wide berth. It seemed the entire student population was holding its breath. Word had gotten round about his date, and nobody was quite sure what the fall out would be. As Henry walked through the halls, he was surprised to see a mixture of emotions on people’s faces. There were the people who had no idea what was going, and those who walked around with anticipation to see a schoolroom fight, but what really surprised Henry; was the number of people who looked at him with genuine pity in their eyes. They had this helpless, sad look on their face when they looked at him. He realized that they felt bad for him. They did not agree with what they thought was about to happen, but like him they felt powerless to do anything to stop it. Like Henry they were not brave enough to stand up, and stop Paul especially if it meant they would have to take Henry’s place on the chopping block. Henry had never felt so alone and yet a part of the group at the same time.

  Most of the day went by quickly, with a few exceptions. First hour with Victor was very surreal. He was actually very civil to Henry. The teacher had a very strict policy about using derogatory language towards other students in class, and so on most days Victor tended to ignore Henry sitting on the other side of the room. Today however Victor not only failed to ignore him, but also went out of his way to speak to him. What made Henry the most nervous was how nice Victor was to him.

  The rest of Henry’s classes where he was relatively safe few by, with the passing periods dragging as Henry tried to make his way through the mass of students to reach the next place of safety. Eventually he reached his Math class. He was nervous about seeing Britney; neither of them had wanted to spoil their date by discussing what would happen today when Paul was thrown back into the mix of things. It seemed something they had both tacitly avoided.

  Math was jam packed full of lectures, and work sheets in an attempt to make up for the time lost to the three day weekend, and he was not able to talk to her during class, or the passing period. Henry walked into class, barely able to focus his thoughts, this was the moment that all of the tension in his body had been building towards; guaranteed contact with Paul. He was not sure what to expect from this moment, but it certainly was not the sight that he saw before him as he walked through the door.

  Paul looked at him, and then back to Britney then back to Henry. Henry went to his seat a row over from Paul. Paul turned to talk to Henry.

  “How are you Henry? Sorry about the eye. You have a nice weekend?” Henry’s brain froze for a moment not sure how to answer. He had never had a conversation with Paul before. Henry looked at Britney and she smiled at the both of them.

  “Fine, did you have fun snowmobiling?”

  “Yeah it was a lot of fun,”

  “I am happy the two of you are getting along so well,” Britney said.

  According to Amica as a natural he was supposed to see the world in this special way, but he had been blindsided by this turn of events.

  Henry felt that most of the period went by in a daze, which was interrupted 2 minutes before the dismissal bell when there was a knock on the classroom door. A student office worker entered the room, and handed a note to the teacher who walked back, and placed it on Henry’s desk. It was a note from the principal’s office informing him that his mother would be picking him up at the office after school, and driving him to work. He had actually almost forgotten that he had to work today. He hoped his body was not too tired to perform the tasks that were required of him.

  The bell rang, and Henry walked to his locker, and collected his things. Henry stood at his locker trying to muddle through his thoughts. He was having a hard time remembering all of his day and what books he needed to bring home for homework. The majority of his day had been filled with apprehension and the last part serious confusion. He was having focus problems. He did not have long to try to think though because Britney tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Hey Henry, are you busy tonight? I thought we could work on our English homework together,” she said.

  Henry hesitated he would love to spend time with Britney, but he had to go to work. She must have sensed his hesitation.

  “You aren’t afraid of Paul are you? Because, I told him we were study partners, and he should leave you alone. That’s okay isn’t it? I mean I don’t want anything to happen to my partner,”

  “No it’s great thanks, and I would love to work with you tonight, but I have to go to work. In fact my mom is waiting in the office to pick me up”.

  “Tomorrow?” she asked.

  “Sounds great,” Henry said.

  “Great, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked away.

  II

  He proceeded to the office, and found his mother standing there in jeans, and a cobalt sweater instead of her nurses uniform. She was tall with chestnut hair that fell around her shoulders. She wore a warm smile on her face. She usually wore her hair pulled back in a ponytail for work; this combined with the lack of scrubs at this time of day concerned him. He was not sure what she was doing here.

  “Henry,” she said coming over, and giving him a hug.

  “Mom, hi, what are you doing here, I thought you had work tonight?” Henry asked genuinely concerned.

  “Your father is playing this elaborate practical joke, so I thought I would play along, and call his bluff. I’m supposed to drive you to work, and get a tour. He said he called your boss this morning, and set it all up.” Henry groaned inwardly. He had had a very long day so far, and as excited as he was to share this with his mom; he was very tired.

  “Okay, lead the way,” Henry said.

  “So what did Dad tell you about what I do?” Henry asked genuinely curious. He was not sure what his father had told her, but she seemed to be in a great mood as they approached the car.

  “Your father is such a joker, he tried to tell me that you work for some inter-dimensional transportation hub, and that you took him all the way to, wait I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget.” She reached into her pocket and came out with a scape of paper “a planet near the intersection of the Galactic bar, and the Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way,”

  “Really dad said that huh,”

  “Yeah, sounds like one of the most elaborate jokes your father has ever tried to pull, so I thought I would play along,” she said getting into the car.

  “Mom, I don’t work in an inter-dimensional transportation hub,” Henry said with a smile.

  “I know honey, but I had some sick time, and I thought since your father had gone through all of the trouble I would take a day, and play along,” she said Henry didn’t blame her, his father was known for his practical jokes, in retrospect Henry realized having him tell his mom was a bad plan. She was pulling into the parking lot in front of the glass shop across the street from the garden. Roberts had told Henry to come in through this entrance, and meet Amica. She was supposed to show him the locker-room, and employee gate. Roberts had obviously passed that information along to his dad when he had called. This was Henry’s last chance to try to set the record straight.

  “Mom, you didn’t let me finish. We don’t do inter-dimensional travel; well at least I don’t think we
do. I work for the Inter-Galactic Transit System. I open gateways to other galaxies not other dimensions,” Henry said. She laughed.

  “And I suppose you expect me to believe that there is a whole universe full of aliens inside this building right here,” she said. Henry saw Amica standing in the doorway on the other side of the glass. She saw him, and waved; he waved back. After all that had happened today he was really glad to see her, and despite himself he found that he was enjoying teasing his mom a little.

  “In fact, you are about to meet your first alien right now,” Henry said pointing to Amica. His mother turned, and looked to where Henry had pointed. Amica was wearing a black trench, and a pink Burberry scarf.

  “She is very pretty Henry is she in on the joke as well?” his mom asked.

  “Come on, let’s go. I guess seeing really is believing, so what is the plan.” For the first time beginning to worry about what his mom was going to do while he was working.

  “According to your dad, I get to shadow you while you do your shift, then we can go out for dinner after you’re done. He said it would be your treat, but you don’t have to buy me dinner honey,” she said.

  “Thanks mom, but I would be glad to take you out for dinner. We had better get moving; I don’t want to be late on my second day,” Henry said getting out of the car. He had to admit that Amica did look very pretty. With the sunglasses, and her hair pulled back she really could pass for human. They walked to the door and Henry held it for his mother. Amica stepped back to let them in. Henry was not sure what to expect when he went in, but was surprised to find a fully stocked show room. It was filled with different examples of heavy insulated doubled paned glass windows that you would expect to find in businesses. There were two black metal desks flanking a door in the center of the back wall. Sitting at each desk was a man in the same uniform that Henry would put on in a few moments. Both men were reading a book on their desk, and did not look up when the little bell above the door chimed.

  “Henry, it’s wonderful to see you again, “Amica said coming over, and giving Henry a big hug. Henry was genuinely happy to see her as well, and hugged her back.

  “Ms. Roberts has asked me to be your partner, I will run check in, and you will open the gates. She asked me to keep an eye you, and help you adjust since you are so new. She is even going to pay for me to go to keeper classes with you; I hope you aren’t mad. You know how long I’ve wanted to get into keeper school,” Amica said smiling. Henry could tell from the look on her face, that although she had said it with a smile, everything she said was actually true, and she was worried about his response. He felt touched that she cared about his opinion at all after knowing him only a day. She had been placed here as his partner to watch him, and in exchange for that she got to go to keeper classes. That seemed like a great trade to him, especially since it meant he would have a friendly face with him. Henry thought it must have been a seriously difficult thing for her to admit out loud. He appreciated her honesty.

  “It’s okay, I don’t mind. I’m just excited to see a friendly face,” Henry said. Amica breathed a sigh of relief. Henry saw her look over at his mother, as if she had more she wanted to say, but didn’t want to do it in front of his mom. He was not sure what was wrong; he would have to ask her when they had some time alone tomorrow.

  “Thanks I hoped you would understand,” Amica said. “So Roberts said that there was a change in plans, and that you were brining your mom so you could convince her that your dad wasn’t kidding. Is this her?” Amica asked turning to Henry’s mom. She stuck out her hand, and introduced herself to his mother. “Hi, Mrs. Thomas, I’m Amica, Henry and I are going to be working together.”

  “Hi, please call me Carol. Henry tells me you live on another planet, is that true?” his mom asked.

  “Actually, I live in Calumet City, but sometimes it feels like another planet,” Amica said smiling at Henry mischievously. Henry could tell that she was enjoying this situation entirely too much. She was wearing blue sunglasses and an ankle length black wool trench coat. Her coat was unbuttoned, and Henry could see the lining of her jacket matched her pink Burberry scarf. She was wearing a blue tee, and black jeans under her coat. With the pinks, and blues it really picked up the pink in Amica’s skin. With her hair pulled back like it was she really could pass for human.

  “Amica, I am pretty sure that you are avoiding the question, would you take your sunglasses off for my mom, please” Henry asked. Amica had remarkable eyes that seemed to be made of blue topaz; besides her hair, which was the color of fresh snow, the facets of her jeweled eyes was one of the few things that set Amica apart as non human. She gave him a look that said he was being a spoilsport, and took off her glasses hanging them from the collar of her tee shirt. It was a blue V-neck that really set off the color of her pinkish white skin. Especially in contrast to the black of the long jacket she was wearing. Henry thought to himself again how pretty she was.

  “I guess, Henry is right. We do have work to do, and Roberts will be cross if our openings are late. I certainly don’t want that hanging over my head,” Amica said. His mother’s jaw dropped when she saw Amica’s eyes were made of stone.

  “Henry is right, I was born on another planet. Although I have lived on earth for more than a thousand years, one does tend to think of a place as home after that long,” Amica said smiling, She looked down at her watch. “Henry we really do need to get into uniform, and get over to the main terminal. You are new, but I think you already have a feel for how tight a ship Roberts likes to run, and I would bet money that she has you opening some high level gates. As far as I know we don’t have a lot of people who can open the long distance travel gates as consistently as you did yesterday. This way to the Terminal,” she said leading them to the desks.

  “Henry this is Harold and Justin, there are a few others who work the desks, but none nearly as fun, am I right gentlemen,” Amica said with a smile. Both men were of the same race as Roberts with that huge mouth full of tiny teeth. The men could have been brothers. They looked to be tall, of broad shoulders, and short-cropped hair. The only difference was that one of them was blond, and the other brunet. He was not entirely sure which man belonged to which name because neither of them spoke, or looked away from their books when Amica spoke to them. Henry still got the impression they saw, and heard every word that was said in this room regardless.

  On the wall behind, and between the desks was a door. Henry heard the door buzz and Amica pulled it open.

  “As always it has been a real pleasure talking to you gentleman, we’ll see you after our shift,” Amica said. Henry was not sure, but thought he saw the faintest of a smile curl on their lips before he ushered his mother through the door. Maybe these guys weren’t as bad as they looked. At the very least they didn’t seem to mind that Amica was messing with them. Henry decided that he liked them, even if they didn’t really smile.

  On the other side of the door was a small room about six by ten feet. On the long wall opposite of the door they had just come through were two stainless steel elevator doors separated by a small stainless steel button panel with one single button. Amica pressed the button, and a moment later the right hand door opened. Amica walked into the door placing her hand in the opening to hold the door open, she turned to look at Henry, and his mom. She cocked her head towards the door as if to say come on. Henry and his mother walked into the elevator, and Amica removed her hand from the doorway; the elevator doors slid shut. There was no control panel that Henry could see, but shortly after the doors closed Henry could feel the elevator begin to descend. The elevator moved smoothly, and after a moment or two the doors opened again allowing them to leave. Henry was not sure what to expect, but he was not disappointed.

  III

  The first thing that struck him when the doors opened was the sunlight coming from the arched ceiling overhead. By his calculations there were some distance underground but he looked up into
a beautiful blue sky filled with fluffy clouds.

  “Welcome to the Chicago Terminal” Amica said.

  “I know that sometimes your father can really commit to a practical joke, but he really was telling the truth.” Henry’s mom said staring up into the sky. “What have you gotten yourself into, Henry?” Henry turned to look at his mom; she had a look of wonder, and worry that Henry had never seen before.

  “It’s going to be okay mom, before you worry to much, please, let me show you what I can do. It’s really remarkable. Besides, I’m pretty sure we’re still on Earth.” Henry said looking to Amica for confirmation.

  “Yeah, forty feet below the surface but yes, we’re still on Earth. The ceiling is actually glass painted to look like a summer day. There are high powered lamps hidden behind the glass, they provide the light, and the radiant heat that maintains the rooms temperature.” Amica said.

  “See, we’re still on Earth. Before you decide, wouldn’t you at least like to see another planet?” Henry asked.

  “All right, I promise I won’t decide anything until I have seen everything, okay?” his mom said.

  “Thanks mom, I love you,” Henry said.

  “I love you too,” his mom said turning to Amica. “You are here to keep an eye on him?” his mom asked.

  “Yes ma’am, I promise I will not let any harm come to him,” Amica said. A strange look came over her face when she said it. Henry thought to himself again that there was something else that she wanted to tell him, but was holding back because his mother was here. “But, if I’m going to keep that promise we had better get in uniform, and get to work.” Amica said.

  For the first time Henry actually got a second to look around the room before Amica lead them deeper into the building. From the orientation of the elevator, and every thing else Henry judged that the terminal was below the street, and garden in front of Roberts house across the street. The walls were made of the same marble that made up the Milky Way Terminal. There was a central path that stretched out before him dividing two departure areas each with their own check in podium and gate. These waiting areas were empty, and there was no one working to check in clients. She led Henry up the path dividing the waiting area. Past the waiting area, the arched glass ceiling ended in a hallway. On either side of the hallway were the public bathrooms, and past them the hallway came to an end. In the center of the hallway was a door marked “Employees Only”.

  On the other side of the door was a large break room. As Henry stood in the doorway it was a rectangular room, with the doorway he was standing in being on the long wall. There were four large round tables each surrounded by chairs. On the short wall to his right was a refrigerator flanked by a counter with a sink, and coffee machine. Directly across from him were two doors with pull handles. On the short wall to his left were another two doors. One was marked “Stairs”, and the other was marked with the words “Milky Way Terminal” glowing upon it.

  Amica pointed to the two doors located on the long wall in front of them.

  “Locker Rooms are right over there. Boys are on the right. You are locker 42. Just press your thumb against the pad on the face, and it should open. Mrs. Thomas you can come into the locker rooms, and have a look around, or you can wait here. There is also a bathroom in the locker room, if you need to go you should do it now before we get on the floor,” Amica said heading into the locker room.

  “My head is spinning; I should probably go, just to be on the safe side, ” his mom said.

  “It’s okay mom, just hang in there okay.” Henry said.

  “Honestly, I am having a good time spending the afternoon with you. Your new friend is very nice, and pretty too. Maybe if things don’t work out with that Britney girl your sister told me about. I don’t like the sound of her Henry. She sounds like too much drama, especially if you are starting a new job,” she said. “Maybe you should ask out Amica?” his mom said.

  “Wait, so you think Britney is to much drama, but dating an alien who is 1,800 years old is going to be normal?” Henry asked jokingly. “I have to change, and get to work. Why don’t you go pee, and we’ll meet back here in a minute,” Henry said walking into the bathroom.

  IV

  Amica walked into the locker room not sure if Henry’s mother would follow her, or not. Amica still seemed a little uneasy. She was not sure what she had gotten herself into, and she felt awkward. She had promised Henry’s mother to look after him, and had every intention of doing so, but she knew one day she would probably break that promise by asking Henry to help her look for her dad. At least she didn’t have any intention of deliberately putting him in harm’s way any time soon. She thought Roberts had been right; he would go if asked by a friend. She knew then in that moment, that she liked him, and would wait as long as she could. After all Roberts was probably right about the gate being a trap, there was no point in rushing in, and getting themselves killed she thought. Just then Henry’s mom walked through the door.

  “I think I will use that rest room if you don’t mind,” Mrs. Thomas said.

  “Sure thing Mrs. Thomas, it’s right over there,” Amica said pointing her towards the bathroom stalls.

  “Please call me Carol, I feel a little old having a woman who is over 1800 years old call me miss,” Mrs. Thomas said laughing nervously. She seemed a little unsure how to act around Amica. Amica could understand that; it was not every day that a person not only discovered that there was life on other planets, but that they had been living on your planet for longer than you had been alive. She decided to do what she could to help relax her.

  “My species measures our lives differently. We live longer lives, and mature differently. I am actually only really what you think of as 18, still a child among my people. I don’t call you Mrs. to make you feel old, but out of respect for someone I see as an adult, but if you want we can compromise with Mrs. T if you like,” Amica said. Mrs. T smiled warmly, Amica thought something she said touched the woman.

  “That would be lovely, Amica. My daughters’ friends all call me that; I always wanted Henry to have more female friends, or really any friends at all,” Mrs. T said, and then grabbed her mouth as she realized what she had said. “Please don’t tell him I said that. He would be very hurt,” she said. Amica could tell she was mortified by what she had said because she was blushing. Amica thought that Henry’s mother was charming. Amica was a confused though by her statement that Henry had no friends. The station was abuzz with stories about the new keeper that started yesterday. Everything she had heard was positive. They all said how unbelievably nice he was.

  “Henry doesn’t have a lot of friends?” Amica asked.

  “I don’t know that he has any, at least until he met that Britney girl, and I’m pretty sure, she’s not that good for him,” Mrs. T said. Amica squashed a moment of jealousy at the mention of the girl’s name. She shook it off, and focused on what Mrs. T was saying.

  “He is such a big hearted young man, but he takes things people say to him so seriously. I think he tries to avoid kids his own age. He isn’t involved with any clubs, or activities where he would make friends. I am just so relieved that he found this place; as weird as this whole situation is,” she stopped, and looked at Amica. “I think if you give him a chance; he would make a really good friend,” Mrs. T said sincerely; stopping suddenly. She looked nervous, and fidgety like she though she had overstepped her bounds. Amica was not sure what to say, she liked this woman immensely. There was something about her; like her son that put her at ease. They both had this quiet way about them. She thought for a second about how glad she was to see Henry this afternoon, and about how much fun they had at lunch. She did consider Henry a friend. She began putting on her uniform.

  “Mrs. T, I think Henry is a great guy, and I already consider him to be a friend. I will try to introduce him to some people, and even if those immature children he goes to school with don’t get how great he is, Henry has some v
ery amazing things ahead of him here with the ITS. He is really talented, and since we’re keeping secrets here I don’t mind telling you; he looks really handsome in his uniform. The boy certainly cleans up nicely,” Amica said. She could feel the heat of a small blush creeping up her neck as she realized she was talking about how cute a boy was with the actual boy in question’s mother. She turned putting her head into her locker to get her gear, and to hide her face. She changed her colored lenses for her language translation glasses, and signed into her tablet. She closed her locker, and turned to Mrs. T.

  “Well, it’s time.” Amica said checking herself out briefly in the mirror, she thought she looked pretty good, “and, don’t worry about Henry. I think he is going to be just fine,” Amica said.