The Portal At The End Of The Storm (Quantum Touch Book 6)

by Michael R. Stern

  “I'm glad to see you again, General,” Fritz said. “I have so many questions. I've been floating in another universe for the past eight years. And wished I could ask your advice.”

  “Mr. Gilbert informed me that you were lost. I have been alert for your return. But I doubted until today that our paths truly would cross. What would you like to ask me?”

  “Now that we know we exist in more than one dimension, can I return to my real world?”

  “Ah! A difficult question, yet not unexpected. When Mr. Gilbert first told me, the prospects of different lives enticed me to consider possibilities. Mr. Russell, how our lives evolve, as I will tell you again in your future, is determined by the choices each of us makes. Can you go home? That choice is yours.”

  “But we don't know how to open the portal to our time.”

  “Your way home will come to you. What remains is to decide which choice to make. Choices are sometimes difficult. Unless you can see the future. I assure you that foresight is neither a blessing nor a gift.”

  “Thank you, General. I hope we will speak again.”

  As I reached out to shake his hand, he said, “We will not, not in my lifetime, Mr. Russell. Our future conversations have taken place, in your other world, as we know. And sadly, my time with you here is now complete. You must excuse me. I have a war I must bring to conclusion.”

  I had remained a bystander, but with his last words, I reached out again for his hand. “Good luck to you, General. Thank you.”

  Lee smiled, with a twinkle, which might have been a tear. As he turned to Fritz, just behind me a soft pop sounded, a rectangular doorway materialized, and a young man stepped through.

  “Eric?”

  “Hi, Mr. Gilbert. Sorry to scare you. We need to get out of here. I think that if your other portal closes before I'm gone, I'll be stuck here. We all will be.” I checked my watch again. Only three minutes remained to the allotted hour. “How do you know about our portal?”

  “I saw it when I chased you. Before I went back to get here, I stuck my head in. The people are the same as home, but they didn't know me. Please, come now. While we can. Dr. Barclay is waiting for you.”

  “Fritz,” I said, taking steps toward the portal, “we're out of time. Let's go.”

  “Give me a minute.”

  Eric stepped ahead of me and said I could see just as well from the school, and he crossed the threshold. I waited a little longer, hollered to Fritz, now with Lee's left hand on his shoulder, and both of his holding the general's hand, and I stepped through. Behind me, the opening turned pitch black. And solid. The portal had closed.

  Chapter 51

  Fritz

  THE POP OF THE closed portal was the same sound as the time I thought I would be stranded in Lee's office. Lee turned to Colonel Taylor, and instructed him to take me back to the McLean house. “Take him quickly. His time is running down.” He took my arm again, and said, “Godspeed, young man. I have enjoyed knowing you. But now you must hurry.”

  “Thank you, sir. For everything.” I mounted my horse and dashed off with the colonel leading, through the woods, up the hill, and as close to the McLean house as the colonel dared. He pointed to the sparkling rectangle, as yet undiscovered by the men in blue. I dismounted as quickly as possible, eager to avoid detection. As I climbed the incline toward the portal, the fluorescence evaporated. I turned to see the dust of Taylor's gallop away from me. Once more, I returned to the road back to the general, the landing site I had planned when I first went after the Koppler brothers.

  As I breached the view at the top of the hill, General Lee and Colonel Taylor, still holding my horse, faced me. I waved and picked up my pace.

  “It seems that I am mistaken and we do meet again. Your portal has closed again, Mr. Russell. In my vision, I saw your exit vanish. The colonel and I have been waiting for you. Come with us. We must discuss your future.”

  Chapter 52

  Ashley

  NO SOONER THAN my feet were across, the portal slammed shut. The crowd welcomed me home, but only one face stood out. She waited, anticipating a reaction, a word, so with my heart pounding, I took that step and, like the Red Sea, the crowd parted and I reached the promised land. I held her at arms-length, looking deeply in her brown eyes, and gave her a short, gentle kiss. I said, “More later.”

  The president stepped forward, patted my arm, and suggested we all sit down to hear my story. I told them I had more to do, the story hadn't ended. In as complete a version, and in as brief a time as possible, I outlined what had happened while I'd been gone. I'd be quick, I said, and asked them to save their questions, but 'late' came faster than 'finish', so the questions remained unanswered. Jane said she had to leave but would be back the following night.

  “You're the reason I'm here. How can you leave now?”

  “Ash, I still have a job. I don't have the freedom the president gave me. Now I'm just another bureaucrat. I'll see you tomorrow and we'll figure out what's next. Eric, will you get me home.” She kissed me, and as reluctant as I was to let her go, we'd have more of them. Before she stepped through the door, I told her to call her mother.

  “Get our wedding planned for as soon as possible.”

  Linda said she would give me a lift. As I reached Linda's car, I asked Eric if he knew where I live.

  “Sure, Mr. Gilbert.”

  “Do you have some time tomorrow? I'd like to find out how you found us.”

  “I'm free until dinner. How early could I come?”

  “How about eight?”

  Linda's distress shadowed her, so I invited her in. Cold and damp, the house had no signs of life. I had some adjusting to do. I offered her a drink. When she asked for Jack and rocks, a long night forced its way through the door.

  “Where's Fritz? How is he?” I should have expected that, but hadn't, and she wasn't the one I planned to tell the story to. No one would hear it until Jane had a chance to think it through with me.

  “Physically, he's fine. In fact, he looks great. But he's confused, Linda. He turned the world upside down. We've spent weeks trying to undo the damage.”

  “Do you think we'll find him again?”

  “I don't know. But I'm going to try. That's why I need to talk to Eric. He found a missing variable and I need to know what it is. We're dealing with multiple dimensions in parallel universes. Nothing like what Fritz and I ever discussed, or even considered. Trust me, it's weird.”

  “I told you it was dangerous, that you could change things.”

  “Don't,” I barked. “This isn't the time for that little chat. You have no idea.” I stopped. I could feel heat reaching combustible levels. I needed time on my own now, and I didn't want to say the wrong thing. So I changed the topic. “I just left Appomattox in April, from early June. What day is today?”

  “March twenty-seventh. Eric's home for his spring break. Riverboro's is coming.”

  “Then I need to get back in classroom shape. I've been teaching history in the other universe.”

  “History?”

  “I told you. Weird.”

  Linda wanted more of my story, but I checked the house to see what I needed to do. It had been morning when I left Fritz, evening when we went through the portal. My internal clock was screwed up. All the activity guaranteed that sleep belonged on the back burner. A yawn, as artificial as I could make it, hinted that she should go home.

  “I know you must be tired, Ash. And I'm really glad you're here. But can you tell me one thing? Why did the portal close when you came through? Does Fritz want to come home?”

  “I can't give you a simple answer. And now's not the time. I'm going to bed. So I'll tell you this much. I found Fritz in a time warp eight years ago. He's relived every day, had to make a life for himself to survive, with no hope of being found and no means to get here. Sometimes I thought he was back to being himself, and other times, I talked to another, different person. He's changed. But I also have no idea what he'll be like, if I can f
ind him again. I can answer one question that concerned us. Will everything go back to the way it was? So far, no. I remember everything. But we won't know for certain until he's here.”

  “Did he ask about me?”

  I didn't want to answer her, or leave her the option to continue asking questions. I told her that we had talked about what life would be like if we made it home.

  “But…”

  “Linda, I told you that the story isn't ready to be told. It's complicated and right now, I'm too tired to unravel the details. I've been gone since Thanksgiving. I'll tell you more when I figure it out. Now go home and know this. I went after him once, and I'm going after him again.”

  She left, disheartened. I wiped away her tears, gave her a long hug, and walked her to her car. I couldn't help but feel a touch of anger, a gut reaction that she deserved the uncertainty. And then my remorse kicked in. I feel her pain. I had Jane back. She still didn't have Fritz.

  All my months of notes stayed behind, so I needed to recreate the other worlds. Jane had put the house in order, so I had to look for a notebook. For the past decade, outlines have served me, better than lists. Once I started, details and images flooded the pages. As if I were looking at photos, I wrote all the details Natalie had recorded. When an out-of-order thought popped in, I added it to a different book. I found myself writing paragraphs under outline headings, not bullet points. When the coffee machine turned on, the first noise in hours, I stopped writing. The light of morning flooded the windows, showing an overcast and possibly stormy day. Eric would arrive in a couple of hours. Sleep wasn't an option. I hadn't eaten since 1865, a thought that brought a chuckle, so I poured a cup of coffee, and skimmed my night's work before showering.

  Nothing says domesticity or woman like a bathroom. While the hot water came to life, I inspected the exceptionally clean room. The few cabinets and drawers brought a feeling of warmth. Jane's touch, her things, shared the space. Even the linen closet had her scent. But she wasn't here. That fact struck me. She was in Washington. I had months to tell her about, but had no idea what had happened here in the interim. I'd need another list, this time of questions.

  I love my shower, and didn't realize how much I'd missed it until the hot water beat on me, warming and relaxing, and fortunately, waking me up. My clothes were mine again, and I could see how much time Jane had spent making sure everything was in its place. It shouted “when he gets home, things will be perfect.” Close, with only one missing person.

  With an hour to spare, I had time to make it to the doughnut store, which started my stomach rumbling. I grabbed my keys. My keys. Exactly where they should be, I made another note. I'd had my keys the day I crossed over. What were these? I checked my pants pockets, the pair I'd changed out. I didn't remember removing them, in either universe. But they were mine.

  I opened the door. The usual red of morning, my Mustang, was gone. Too soon to accept that I'd been through this already, I examined the keys. Ford, not Toyota. So where was the car?

  I refused to do the most logical thing, call Jane. I didn't want to hear a stranger's voice or a wrong number. My phone, which I had carried since I went after Fritz, and which I'd charged overnight, had other numbers. I sat at the table, and looked at the names. Who could I call and be certain I was still home? Logic fought back, so I dialed Linda. My relief came instantly.

  “Hello, Ashley. So glad you've made it home. Come for breakfast.”

  “Emily, is that you?”

  “Who else would ask you to pick up bagels?”

  I could only laugh, and I said bagels would have to wait. I asked if she had any idea where my car was.

  “You should put your toys away instead of making Jane pick up after you.”

  “Is this a riddle, or are you just being difficult?”

  “A little of both, I would say. So where does a car go to sleep?”

  “In my driveway.”

  “Beep. Wrong answer. Would you like to try again? The prize is smaller for the next guess.”

  “You know what, I'm not sure I missed you.”

  “Of course you did. It's in the garage.”

  “I'm not going to ask.”

  “Jane cleaned it out. I think she took better care of your car than you did.”

  “I'll see you later, Emily. We'll do breakfast maybe tomorrow.”

  Time returned to its regular speed and I didn't have enough of it before Eric would show up. So I backed the car to its normal place in the drive, inspected the garage, and noticed the new edition to my backyard. A storage shed. Custom-built, I guessed. I'd never had one. The garage was all I needed.

  Although the shed added to the list of things that I needed to thank Jane for, it occurred to me that I hardly spent any time in my backyard. I didn't have a grill or a patio or a picnic table. Not much landscaping. I had a feeling all that was about to change.

  I poured another cup and shuffled my papers into an order of sorts. Eric's arrival would mean detective work, and a new notebook. He'd found that bridge to another dimension I'd read about and I needed to know how.

  For now, that question alone required an answer.

  “I thought you might be hungry,” Eric said, handing me a box of doughnuts. Great minds.

  “Come in. If I seem out of it, that's because I am. I've been working all night to have my notes ready for you.” I told him he was free to read, but he couldn't take them. I hadn't yet had time to fill in the details and every new thought jogged another.

  “You mean you have more details than this?” He turned page after page. “There's a ton of stuff here, Mr. Gilbert.”

  “I had to get it down in case we find Fritz and everything changes again. Besides, you have a new skill which we need to dissect. I need to know how you found us. So I can go get him. Again.”

  “I didn't stay up all night, but I went over everything myself, until around four o'clock. I brought all my journals since I left for college. You can have them for now. But, I don't know the answer. I hoped that together we could figure it out.”

  “Me too. So let's get started.” I pushed my papers to him and began reading his. We agreed to not ask questions until we were done, but I did give him a notebook to write his questions for later. Reading took less time than writing, but by the time we finished, it was almost noon.”

  “Let's take a break,” I said. “I've missed some things since I left. You want a sandwich?”

  “Sure. And I have a bunch of questions.”

  “I don't have anything here, and pastrami from the deli just called my name. Let's go see Mr. Hoffmann.”

  Chapter 53

  Linda

  THE BRUSH-OFF FROM Ashley left me only Mom to talk with about what had happened. She had stayed home with TJ intentionally, I think. She said she'd only be in the way. I think she wanted to avoid me in case we didn't find Fritz. But I had stood by the door each time Eric opened the portal, and I saw him, a blurry version of him anyway. I told Mom that I had a million emotions knowing he would be back in minutes.

  When the portal closed on its own, I had as many questions as feelings. Why had he waited instead of running to catch up to Ashley? What happened with the portal? I wanted to go to Ashley's this morning and talk with him and Eric to find out what they know. Ashley's answers weren't heartening. Some had a bite. Mom said to go to work, that I'd find out when Ashley was ready.

  The cloudy day promised a slow one at the store. A new shipment of models had arrived, so I had some building to keep me busy. With TJ crawling around, I had time to work, and talk to him, as I waited for the evening storms. But Eric would be gone on Sunday, so we only had today and tomorrow to find Fritz.

  By mid-afternoon, I'd built two bikes, but trying them out would have to wait. Even if the rain started, that wouldn't stop me. But I had no one to stay with the baby. I took a break and TJ and I stood by the front window. When a black Suburban pulled up, and a man in a suit and sunglasses climbed from the passenger's side, TJ pointed. Mel
Zack came around the car to the store entrance and when the president hopped out, Mel opened the store door. TJ said, “Da” when the president entered the store.

  The president grinned at him and patted his head. His first visit surprised me, but he said he'd driven by a few times, and wanted to see for himself. TJ and I gave him a tour. I showed him the back workroom, complete with the two I'd finished and one with the parts spread across the floor and bench. “These just came in. Top shelf racing bikes. I have one of these at home. I don't get to ride it much but it has a great feel.”

  He ran his hand across the handlebars, and along the frame to the seat. He rubbed the tire tread with his palm. Then he asked me if I had something that would be fitting for a family outing. I led him to the showroom, and to a bike that Charlie had said was his best-selling family bike.

  “Does it come in different colors?”

  “Six, last I checked.”

  “Good. I need to get some exercise, and let the folks know I'll be around. A bike seems like a useful diplomatic tool. Besides, I think my girls would prefer not being stuck inside when we're here this summer.” He scratched his cheek. “Are they all men's bikes.”

  “Most are unisex these days, Mr. President. We do have the traditional models, but it's not like the days of fat tires and wicker baskets.”

  “I'll be back when I can take one for a ride. They won't let me ride without a crew, so I'll be ordering a few.”

  “Bring the girls and the First Lady. I'll check what's available and send you some ideas. Leave me your email address.”

  I'd seen his glances at the accessories and began to plan what he would need. Before he left, I asked if Ashley or Eric had spoken to him. He said they hadn't, but would see me later.

  Later. The word floated through my thoughts for the next few hours. Hurry up and wait. Where are you, Fritz? Would he be home later? I put the next bike together quickly, saving the final tune-up for later. I shut the store and took TJ home for lunch and a nap. I could come back to finish later. Later.