Portal

by Fred Alvrez

  “Sergeant Kahi, orders are?”

  “Which orders, sir?”

  “Regarding Corporal Kahi.”

  Kahi’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, sir. Understood. Perhaps a few more minutes, sir?”

  “No, Sergeant. Time is not on our side, especially with our two hostages here.”

  “Uncle, what’s up with those two and the dog? How did they get here?”

  Brian put his hand up to the corporal. “Corporal Kahi, silence, please. Less said the better. Sergeant Kahi, follow orders.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Sergeant Kahi drew Nathan’s pistol from his holster.

  “Uncle, what are you doing?”

  “Quiet, boy. I have orders.”

  Stu clicked the safety off the pistol as Wiremu looked on.

  “Uncle? What are your orders? What’s going on?”

  “Sergeant Kahi! Let’s not delay this.”

  “Yes, sir. As you wish.”

  Sergeant Kahi turned and fired into the head of the captain.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sanderson’s body fell to the ground.

  “Fuck!” Wiremu said. “What’s going on?!”

  Casey visibly rocked on her feet at the sight of someone being shot dead a few feet from her. Nathan put his arm around her for support.

  “You two,” Sergeant Kahi said, “shut up and listen. You, too, Wiremu. My orders were to kill my nephew on first sight. You two were to be killed as well, but you probably knew that. The rest of the unit is on its way here. We need to get down to the portal but there are problems with that. Wiremu, as soon as your DNA is picked up when you step through the portal, alarms will go off and you will be shot.”

  Wiremu swayed at this revelation. “What are my options, Uncle?”

  “Go through the portal and be shot, or stay here. That’s it.”

  “That’s not a great selection, Uncle.”

  Kahi put the pistol away. “I know, boy. That’s why I’m going to stay here with you.”

  Even under his massive beard, in the moonlight everyone could see Wiremu going red in the face with his uncle’s display of love for him. “You’re not, Uncle. You need to go home. There’s no point in two of us being separated from our whānau.”

  Kahi shook his head. “I can’t leave you again, boy. It was hard enough the first time, not knowing where you were for three years.”

  “I know, Uncle. But now you do know, and you know I’m well. Go home, and don’t speak of me to anyone. I’d hate for them to go through the pain again.”

  Neither Kahi nor Wiremu said a word—their eyes were locked, and that was enough.

  “Okay, boy. It won’t be easy, but I understand. You two—and your dog—you can try to go through the portal, but I don’t know what will happen. Since your DNA isn’t matched, you might fry up on the transfer, or not. I have no idea. Even if you get through the portal, you might be shot or at least arrested and detained. They won’t be expecting any nonmilitary personnel to arrive, so it’s going to freak them out. You may well be held in custody forever. I just don’t know.”

  Casey and Nathan looked at each other.

  Nathan spoke first. “Casey? I’m torn, but leaning toward giving it a go. You?”

  “Same here. It’s going to be the worst thing ever if we get through, and then we don’t know what will happen after that. I’m going to sit on the fence. Kevin? One woof for go, two woofs for stay.”

  Nathan and Casey looked at Kevin. They could see his mind working. He wanted to stay here, they knew that. It was a much better life for him than back in the other world.

  “Woof.”

  “Kevin? You know that means we try the portal, right?” Casey asked.

  Kevin hung his head. “Woof.”

  “Uncle, why are they talking to their dog?”

  “You wouldn’t believe it, boy. Okay, portal it is for you lot. I’ll take you down there, then I’ll need to wait for the rest of the team to come before I can go. Wiremu, if you see anything of the rest of the team, you need to get out of sight pronto.”

  “Okay, Uncle, I understand.” He suddenly straightened. “Amy!”

  “Amy what, boy?”

  “I left Amy down the hill. She’s twisted her ankle.”

  Casey looked at Wiremu. “Amy who?”

  “She’s from Melbourne. She and I met at the JET there, and she’s come back to New Zealand with me. But I had to leave her down the hill to get up here quickly.”

  Nathan spoke up. “Wiremu, let’s go and get her.”

  “I’m coming, too,” Casey said. “If it’s the Amy I think it is, I want to see her.”

  Kahi turned to watch them go. “You lot go. I’ll wait here but be quick about it. And keep an eye out on your way back for the rest of the unit. If they come back before you do, I’ll have to go with them and you’ll be stuck here forever.”

  “Uncle, what about Captain Sanderson? If the rest of the team see him—”

  “Don’t you worry, boy. I’ll deal with that. And, Miss—Casey? I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  Casey frowned. “It’s sort of okay, Sergeant. I guess it was one of those ‘him or us’ things.”

  “It was. He gave me no choice.”

  The trio and Kevin ran off toward the track Wiremu had come up on.

  Fifty yards from the top of the hill, they could see Amy still edging her way up the track. Casey pushed her way past the men to get to her first.

  “Amy!”

  “Casey? Is that you?”

  “Yes!”

  Casey made it to her and hugged her hard.

  In the moonlight, Casey could see her frowning. “How did you get here? What is going on?”

  “It’s a long story, but right now we need to get you up the hill and to the portal. Fast!”

  “The portal is there? We can go home?”

  “Yes. Maybe. Sort of.”

  The two men arrived and made short work of getting Amy to the top.

  Casey looked over and saw the captain’s body had been moved elsewhere.

  Kahi was waiting for them, and took them all to one of the North Head tunnels’ public entrances.

  “Okay, here’s the drill. It’s real dark in there and we’ve only got two torches.” He gave one to Wiremu. “Stay close. It’s a bit of a walk to the portal entrance.”

  The group followed Kahi underneath the hill and into the tunnels. Minutes went by as they turned left and right.

  After going down a steep ramp, Kahi stepped into what looked like an old office with no furniture left behind. The rest followed him in.

  “This used to be one of the rooms that held gun shells for the disappearing cannon on top of the hill.”

  Kahi faced the wall at the end of the room. He spoke in a clear voice. “TIGER TIGER TIGER. Voice authorization, Sergeant Stuart Xavier Kahi.”

  The wall slid silently sideways, revealing a small elevator.

  “Right, everyone in. We should just fit.”

  Wiremu frowned. “Xavier? I never knew.”

  “Shut up, boy.” Kahi grinned. He pressed a button, and the lift started to descend.

  “I thought there was no power in Devonport? It’s all blacked out,” Casey said.

  “We’ve got our own power source, Miss, so no worries there.”

  Wiremu turned to his uncle. “I’m surprised the military gave you security clearance to use this entrance to the portal.”

  “They had to. It was a safeguard in case the captain had a heart attack or something. We’d all be stuck here then.” He turned to Casey. “Miss? Casey?”

  “Yes, Sergeant?”

  “Call me Stu, please. I’m sorry for twisting your arm so bad at the lake. It was not my choice that time.”

  “It’s okay, Stu. You had orders. But why didn’t you follow them when you were told to shoot your nephew?”

  He looked her directly in the eyes. “I could never shoot my own whānau. I’d rather die.”

  Sile
nce covered them all.

  “Woof.”

  Nathan looked down to Kevin. “I know. Soon we’ll all be home.”

  After a whole minute of traveling downward, the elevator stopped, and the door opened.

  The group spilled out into bright lights and a tunnel straight ahead. The walls were printed bright white and the roof was rounded. It looked like the whole place was built using concrete.

  “Right,” Kahi said, “You two boys carry Amy. Let’s move it quickly before the team arrives up top.”

  Wiremu and Nathan picked up Amy and carried her, following Kahi, Casey, and Kevin. They walked for what felt like miles. At one point, they passed in front of a huge hanger with the bodies of two old aero planes inside it.

  “Uncle, are those the ones they say were a myth? Some old Boeings or something?”

  “Ten points, Wiremu. You’re right. They’re the first Boeing aircraft ever made. There were always rumors that they were stored down here, and here they are. We’ll never admit they exist, of course. Got to keep the punters guessing. You lot keep that to yourselves.”

  The tunnels turned left and right, and after two minutes of walking, they ended up at a door with a biometric access system.

  Kahi placed his palm on the plate and at the same time looked into a camera-type object on the wall. The door opened, and the group went inside.

  They entered another white-painted concrete room, the size of a large lounge.

  At the far end of the room was a portal, much bigger than any Casey had ever seen. They could easily walk into this one.

  Wiremu and Nathan carried Amy over to the portal, stopping just short of it.

  “This is it,” Kahi said. “You simply walk through it and you’ll end up in Base World.”

  “What’s Base World?” Casey asked.

  “I’ll tell you later, Casey,” Amy said. “Remember to keep your eyes shut hard as you walk through. The light is really intense.”

  Wiremu walked over to Amy. Casey could see his eyes starting to well up as he hugged her.

  “Thanks, mate,” Wiremu said. “It’s been a great adventure, and having you along with me for the last bit was a blast. I’m going to miss you.”

  Tears streamed down Amy’s face. “I’ll miss you, too, Disco Man. Whenever I hear seventies music at home, I’ll think of you. I’m sorry you can’t come back. I can’t imagine what that feels like.”

  “It feels like shit, but I’ll live. Get going, all of you. We don’t know how much time we have.”

  “You heard my nephew. Line up at the portal. Step through and as Amy said, keep your eyes shut for about five seconds and keep walking.”

  Casey, Nathan, Amy, and Kevin stood at the portal, Amy with her arm over Nathan’s shoulder for support.

  Casey looked down to Nathan’s hand and wound her fingers around his. He looked at her and nodded. This was a serious moment. Live or die.

  “Ready, Kev?” Nathan asked.

  “Woof.”

  “Okay, you lot, enough of the dramatics,” Kahi said. “On my count of three, step forward, eyes closed. Three, two, one, walk!”

  The group stepped into the portal.

  The light almost burned Casey’s eyes, it was so intense. She counted to five in her head and opened her eyes.

  In front of her were Wiremu and Sergeant Kahi.

  “What happened? We did walk through, didn’t we?”

  She looked down to see she was still holding Nathan’s hand, and he, Amy, and Kevin were with her in a line but were facing the opposite direction than they were when they entered it.

  “Yes,” Wiremu answered. “You all walked into it, and five seconds later came straight back here. Fuck.”

  “I don’t understand,” Amy said. “Wiremu, we went through one and it worked. How could this one not work?”

  “That one was a glitch, Amy, where this one has DNA matching behind it. I’m guessing that since your DNA isn’t matched to the software, it’s spitting you right back out again.”

  Nathan spoke up. “Can’t we try again? What can it hurt?”

  “Go for it,” Kahi said. “No harm in trying again.”

  The group turned around and lined up right in front of the portal.

  “Casey, as much as I liked holding your hand, maybe that’s what broke it?”

  “Good idea, Nate. Let’s try that.”

  The group stepped forward.

  Again Casey felt the intense light. She waited five seconds and opened her eyes.

  In front of her again were Wiremu and Kahi.

  “No!” Amy shouted.

  “Let’s not panic,” Nathan said. “Maybe we’re overloading it. I’ll go in first by myself. If I don’t come back in five seconds, you guys follow me.”

  Nathan turned and stepped up to the portal. He closed his eyes hard and stepped forward.

  After five seconds, he opened his eyes to see Casey and the rest looking at him.

  It didn’t work.

  No one spoke, as all contemplated what this meant.

  “I’m sorry,” Kahi said, “but it looks like you are stuck here. We can’t keep trying forever. Once the rest of the team arrives up top, I’ll need to leave with them. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault, Stu,” Nathan said. “But what do we do now?”

  He pointed upward. “You have to get out of here with me now. If the team arrives and you guys are down here, it’s all over. Not that they can do much now, like take you back, but it will make a huge mess of things.”

  Casey looked at Nathan. She turned and hugged him. She needed some sort of physical contact at the news they were stuck in this world forever.

  “Okay,” Kevin said. “You heard the man. Let’s move it.”

  “Kevin! You can talk again!” Nathan said. He leaned down and gave Kevin a huge hug.

  Amy, Wiremu, and Kahi looked at Kevin, stunned.

  “Yes, he can talk,” Casey told the three of them. “That portal just gave him the ability again.”

  Wiremu stood with his mouth open. “I don’t believe it.”

  “But wait, there’s more,” Casey said, smiling. “We’ll explain later. I think we’re going to have years together to explain it.”

  “Hey,” Kevin said. “I’m not complaining. Life here with my new best friends is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. Let’s move it out. I don’t want to meet up with the rest of the army.”

  The group turned and walked out, with Wiremu and Nathan carrying Amy.

  Casey turned before leaving the room. She looked at the portal. Her only chance of returning home, gone.

  What was her new life going to be like?

  The elevator was still waiting for them, and the group returned to the tunnels and then the surface. No one spoke. Wiremu and Nathan continued to carry Amy as best they could.

  Walking out of the tunnels, they naturally gravitated toward the bench seat under the trees for cover from the rest of the unit.

  Wiremu put his hand on his uncle’s shoulder. “This is it, Uncle. This is where we say goodbye.”

  “I know, boy. I’m glad I got to see you again. I always knew you’d turn up. But this is hard, having to leave you again after less than an hour.”

  The two men embraced, and Casey could hear words between them being spoken in Māori.

  Wiremu stepped back, and Casey stepped forward and hugged Stu as well.

  “Thank you,” she said. “You saved our lives tonight.”

  “Don’t be thankful just yet. You don’t know what your future holds, girl.”

  She kissed him on the cheek. “Better than being dead, Stu.”

  “Go, you lot. Where, I don’t know, but I don’t want you here when the unit arrives, which should be any time. And watch for them on the road, too. Nathan?”

  “Yes?”

  “Here’s your pistol back. It belongs to you.”

  Nathan took the pistol and put it in the holster. “How are you going to explain the c
aptain’s disappearance?”

  “Simple. He wanted to go home, so he went down to the portal by himself, and I never saw him again. Must have been a glitch.”

  Wiremu turned to Nathan. “What wheels have you got?”

  “We’ve got Casey’s SUV, but the front is banged up and we don’t have any headlights. We should probably leave it here. You?”

  “Oh, we’ve got wheels all right. They’re really cool.”

  Nathan’s face lit up. “Is it a Tesla?”

  “No, sorry. But it’s pretty cool.”

  “Nathan,” Amy said. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

  “Stop your yabbering and get going you lot!” Kahi said.

  “Goodbye, Uncle. Aroha mai.”

  Tears started to well up in Casey’s eyes. She knew that Wiremu was saying he was sorry.

  “Aroha mai mo au anei, Wiremu. Live a good life here.”

  The group walked away.

  Away from Kahi, away from any possible way of returning to Base World.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Wiremu and Nathan carried Amy down the hill. They arrived at the ambulance and clambered inside, Nathan and Wiremu in the front and Casey in the back with Amy on a stretcher. Kevin sat between the two front seats.

  “Pretty cool, huh, Nathan?” Wiremu asked.

  He nodded. “It’s not bad. Can we turn on the lights and siren?”

  “No!” came the response from both girls in the back.

  “Just as well. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves,” Kevin said.

  They exited the parking lot and started driving out of Devonport.

  “Wiremu,” Casey said from the back. “Your uncle is going to be okay. I saw his future, and he was happy.”

  “Mate, you’re going to have to give me more than that. How could you see his future?”

  Casey paused. “Just like Kevin can talk, when people touch me I can see into their future sometimes. When he hugged me, I saw his.”

  “Wow. A talking dog and a mind reader? You guys have had a wild ride.”

  “So does Nathan have a special gift, too?” Amy asked.