Portal Combat

by Bryan Cohen

  Chapter 33

  Natalie and Travis stood outside the security gate at Philadelphia International Airport. Travelers bustled past them, carrying what looked like all their worldly possessions for a three-day trip. Natalie knew she could make her rolling duffle last two weeks if she needed to. She'd engaged in some small talk with Travis for the last five minutes or so over the cacophony of chatter, but it was getting to be that time. Natalie had been surprised when Travis said he'd drive her there; after all, her parents were more than willing. Then he proceeded to act weird the entire car ride, much jumpier than normal. As he continued to yammer in the airport, Natalie stopped him mid-sentence with a hand around his jaw.

  "Hey!" She squeezed, pressing his cheeks toward his mouth. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

  Natalie released his face and Travis scrunched up his nose. "Ow. What do you mean?"

  She grumbled. "You're being a freak and I have to go. So, if there's something on your mind, just say it."

  Travis' shoulders slumped. "Alright." He gestured to the security line. "This is my dry run."

  Natalie looked at the security line and back at him. "Explain."

  Travis looked uncomfortable, as if he didn't know what to do with his hands. "Next year, when you fly on outta here to be the next superstar, that'll be it. No more us. My life'll go back to normal."

  Natalie looked at the clock above the security line. She knew that if she didn't head in that direction soon, she'd be taking the bus. She put on her best compassionate face. "I don't know why you're playing this good guy act so hard."

  He threw his hands in the air. "That's just it. It's not an act. You've got me, Dormer. You really do."

  Natalie looked into Travis' eyes. She loved kissing him, and when the two of them were physical. Heck, he was only a rung or two below the kind of guys you might see shirtless in an underwear ad. Natalie didn't mind them taking things to the next level of public dating. It was less work than sneaking around, but was Travis Conner actually her serious boyfriend? She wasn't at all sure.

  She took his hands and ignored the passers-by who'd started watching them. "You gotta get yourself together here. I like you too, okay? I'm literally gonna be back in three days." She kissed him on the lips. "Try not to freak out."

  They locked lips again for one last kiss before Natalie picked up her bags.

  Travis looked a little relieved, though his posture was still droopier than normal. "Text me... text me when you land."

  She tried out a girlfriend smile, but it didn't ring true. As she walked away and joined the herd of travelers, she felt something pull at her stomach.

  Crap. Travis Conner is falling in love with me.

  Christina Finley was waiting for her at her destination with a ridiculous sign that spelled out Natalie's name in pink glitter. When Natalie was within reach, Ted's sister put her into a tight headlock. Two-plus years of college had brought out Christina's "wild child" tendencies, but Natalie had always noticed them in Treasure. Her loud laughs became louder, her fast speech picked up its pace and her curves became curvier. The gap between her and her brother became a chasm after her time away. But it's not like anyone could tell they were brother and sister, anyway.

  Christina smiled the entire car ride to town. "So, how's my dork brother doing in the hospital?"

  Natalie let out a sigh. Everything she'd heard about her ex was second-hand. "I've talked to him about two seconds since summer. Hopefully he's recovering. I guess being a superhero isn't all its cracked up to be."

  Christina laughed. "Oh, he'll be fine. You know, dropping his name has gotten me more than a few gentleman callers. If he doesn't want the attention, I'm happy to take it."

  Natalie laughed. "You'll get yourself on TMZ if you don't watch out."

  Christina made a sexy face as if she was posing for a picture. "Is hero's sister too sexy for her own good? Nine pictures that prove she's a goddess."

  Natalie's first walk through a college dorm was eye opening. Christina lived in a co-ed building, and it didn't take long for Natalie to see one guy in his underwear and another in a towel. The latter was somehow even more muscular than Travis. It wasn't entirely eye candy though, as she took in the scent from at least three rooms in thorough need of a deep clean. As they walked across the outdoor balcony, she also unintentionally spotted two half-naked bodies shifting on a bed through a wide-open window. Natalie turned away as quickly as she could.

  Well, this'll take some getting used to.

  Christina's place was in the same four-room suite as the uncensored nudity. Ted's sister said nothing of it and led Natalie inside. The dorm room was smaller than she expected, with two beds raised on wooden slats, allowing for a little extra maneuvering underneath. Softball team posters and artwork covered the dreary, off-white walls. There was a musty odor that seemed like it'd been recently masked underneath a layer of antibacterial spray.

  Christina gestured to one of the lofted beds. "Tara practically lives in her boyfriend's room, so she agreed to let you use her bed."

  Natalie nodded and dropped her stuff beside a dresser. "So, this is college?"

  Christina smirked. "No. This is a dorm room. Let me show you college."

  Christina pointed out countless buildings and athletic fields in just over half an hour of walking all around campus. Natalie couldn't believe how big everything was. And there were so many people walking around everywhere. Natalie knew she was one of the top prospects in the country, but even she felt tiny in the vast plot of land and the sea of students. She wasn't sure if she could handle it.

  Natalie shook her head. "How do you not get lost here?"

  Christina laughed. "Oh, come on. It's not that crazy. Besides, you're gonna be going to like four different places, tops."

  When they walked toward the basketball stadium, they came upon what seemed like the only unpopulated patch on a campus otherwise teeming with co-eds. As soon as Christina pointed toward the dome, Natalie saw a familiar face emerge from behind one of the trees. A woman with jet black hair who looked like she'd just left a comic convention held a metal staff in her hands.

  "Someone's doing Halloween early this year. Hey, witch! Hey!"

  Natalie clamped her hand over Christina's mouth before the gatekeeper could turn toward them.

  "Shut up! You're gonna get us killed!" She pulled Christina behind a bush.

  Christina nibbled at Natalie's fingers. Natalie pulled them away. "Alright, I'll be quiet. Who is that chick?"

  The woman twirled her staff in the air and slammed it into the ground. A portal opened up and three creatures emerged. They looked like two giant wolves and one of the lizards Natalie had ridden with Erica. The sun glistened off the wolves' massive fangs.

  "What're those?"

  Natalie slapped her hand back on Christina's mouth and pulled them tight against the tree. She heard one of the beasts begin to approach. Even its slobbery breath sounded angry as it moved toward them. Natalie knew that if one of the creatures spotted them, the whole bunch would have no issue sharing the two of them as a mid-afternoon snack. She felt Christina's pulse quicken against her chest.

  "Get over here, you filthy creature." Sela Fortbright sounded impatient, as if she'd been herding these three all morning.

  The wolf gave one last sniff before joining its pack. The beasts ran off behind the stadium, and the gatekeeper went back into her portal.

  For once, Christina was speechless. She got free of Natalie's grasp and stared at the gateway. Natalie walked toward the portal, but it had closed up before she could get anywhere close.

  She pulled out her phone and dialed Ted's number. "Come on, Ted. We need some heroism right about now."

  The call rang several times before going to voicemail. Christina continued to stare at the place the gateway had been. She was shaking.

  "What the hell was that?"

  Natalie flared her nostrils. "Something bad. And we might have to be the ones to stop it."

  Chap
ter 34

  When Jennifer got the mass text from Erica, she started examining it right away. An immediate text back received no response, and about a dozen texts over the next day resulted in the same lack of contact. She felt the same pangs of nervousness she experienced when the old Erica disappeared. Jennifer knew that things were much different now, but she promised the new Erica that she'd watch her back, too. Jennifer didn't waste any time hacking into her father's computer late at night to take advantage of Sheriff Department resources. Sure enough, there were records of Erica and Yoshi buying and getting on a flight to Japan.

  "Why would they go to Japan if all the attacks have been here?" Jennifer squinted at the screen, as if zeroing in closer would somehow reveal the truth. "If there was a good enough reason for her to go, Erica would've told Ted. She would've told all of us."

  The nervousness of the past week faded away. Now Jennifer had a mission.

  She knew that Erica was a part of multiple lives before this one. It was possible that they'd never experienced the real her, and that the protector would be willing to fly across the world at the drop of a hat, but Jennifer had to believe the part of Erica that was their friend would care enough about them to provide more than a mass text.

  The next morning, Jennifer made some calls to Florida, which is where the purported Japan flight originated. With each clue she obtained, something inside her felt more alive. She got in touch with the makeshift hospital the pair had visited. A nurse named Nancy confirmed that Erica and Yoshi had been there and that they'd visited the house of former hospital administrator Charlie Potts. Jennifer asked if she could get Potts' number, but after several tears and sniffles, Nancy told her about the man's purported suicide. The death seemed more than suspicious.

  Jennifer dashed down the stairs to the kitchen as her father prepared to dig into a massive sandwich piled high with meat and cheese.

  She relaxed her face and gave her best puppy dog daughter eyes. "Dad? Can I go to Florida to investigate the disappearance of Erica?"

  Her father gave the sandwich a disappointed look and placed it back down on its plate. He raised his eyebrows at his daughter. "Honey, that sounds expensive. And we don't even know that Erica is missing."

  Jennifer intensified her pleading eyes. "But, Dad, it's official police business."

  The sheriff groaned and pushed his sandwich away. He pulled out a chair for his daughter. "No, it's not. Can we talk this out?"

  Jennifer stomped over to the chair and collapsed into it. She crossed her arms. "Every moment we wait, Erica has less of a chance of surviving."

  Her father did his best to look compassionate through his hunger. "What's in Florida?"

  "A suspicious suicide. A phantom plane. Erica might be down there, too!"

  "Jennifer. You're not responsible for what happens to Erica."

  Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, I am."

  The sheriff leaned back in his chair. "Well, you don't have to be. She's here to protect Ted and the world. Have you seen her fight? She doesn't need protection."

  Jennifer grumbled. She'd seen Erica fight off Nigel's gang in the caves. Secondhand, she'd heard about her laying the smack down on the mind-wiped students. In both instances, she'd nearly died.

  "Just because you can fight doesn't mean you're safe."

  Sheriff Norris put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not sending you to Florida. Even if you can cobble together the money, I don't think you should go. You've got school and college applications–"

  She pushed her father's hand away. The anger bubbled throughout her body. "None of that stuff is gonna matter if the world ends. We need Erica. If only there was a way to track...."

  Jennifer paused for a moment. She looked at her father and remembered the day of the school attack. He'd driven his truck through the front doors and nailed one of Nigel's thugs, but he'd done it by instinct alone.

  "Dad? How'd you find Erica the day of the school attack?"

  He sighed. "It felt like I could sense she was in danger. I couldn't even control my own facilities. It was pretty frightening, actually. I'm glad she took it out of my head."

  Jennifer stood up. "I'm gonna call Dhiraj. We need to track her that way again."

  Her father took a conciliatory tone. "I told you, honey, I can't do it anymore. She took it out."

  Jennifer stared straight into his eyes. "I'm not talking about you."

  The orderly led Jennifer, Dhiraj and Sheriff Norris into the clean, white room. They sat in three chairs on one side of the table. When her father folded his arms, she and Dhiraj did the same. Jennifer had thought this was a good idea when she came up with it, but the anticipation was making her reconsider. There was a major chance the plan would go terribly wrong, but she wasn't sure she had any other choice.

  The door to the room opened once again; this time a man with long, gray hair entered, led by two orderlies. He looked significantly different from the last time Jennifer had seen him, but his face and eyes remained the same. The two attendees sat the man down in the chair across from them. He moved slowly, as if weighed down by something heavy on the inside. When he met their stares, it took him a moment or two before he recognized the people across the table.

  "If it isn't Sheriff Norris... his lovely daughter... and Dhiraj Patel." Albert Redican's intelligent smile shined through a worn-down exterior. "How nice it is to see you."

  Chapter 35

  Ted stared in awe for a few moments as he took in the sheer size of the creature. It vaguely resembled the Lychos, but it was more than five times larger. When it let out a roar, the shockwave of sound smashed half the car windows in a quarter-mile radius, including theirs. Before Ted could say anything, Allison was on the phone with the DHS. When she'd explained the situation, she waited for a short response. Allison turned her attention to Ted.

  "We need to get it off the bridge."

  Ted nodded and opened the car door. He could feel his arm throb as he pushed the handle outward.

  Good thing I'm in perfect health.

  Ted went flying off in the creature's direction. The people in the cars the giant had landed upon were alive, but barely. The nearby vehicles had done their best to clear a path for the beast, but given the traffic jam, there wasn't much they could do. Ted flew as low as he could, recalling his crash landing during the last battle. He aimed straight for the creature's hairy belly.

  "If you take me down, I'm taking you down with me."

  Ted pictured a rocket blasting off as he aimed for the beast's midsection. The creature locked eyes with him just before Ted made impact. The blow knocked the giant Lychos off its feet and up into the air. Passengers in the creature's path abandoned their vehicles. The creature bounced off the center support beam for the bridge, leaving a dent in its wake, before it slammed down on the now-empty cars. The bridge lurched beneath Ted's feet after the Lychos landed. As the creature sat there, dazed, Ted got a better look at it. Like its smaller family members, this beast had the black tattoos of the dark souls on its arm. Ted tried to fly up into the air once again, but his powers failed him, instead leaving him with a hint of the dizziness he'd felt after the blood loss.

  "Looks like Papa Wolf is onto me."

  It was. The creature slowly got to its feet and growled at Ted. It kicked a nearby car that still contained passengers. The vehicle smashed through the guardrail and hung over the edge of the bridge. The screams from the car made Ted's pulse quicken, tamping down the dizziness. The creature lumbered toward him, pushing several cars out of its path. As the beast reached out its arms to grab Ted, he rolled, jumped up on the hood of a car and leapt to grab a hold of its furry back.

  The creature screamed and twisted its torso to try to shake Ted free. Ted held on and tried to use his powers on the teetering car. To his surprise, the vehicle lifted back onto the bridge with ease.

  It needs to see me to block my powers. As long as I can hang on–

  The beast shook its back so violently that Ted lost his grip completely.
He was about to come crashing down on an SUV when his powers kicked in, stopping him a few inches before his face hit metal. He dropped the last few inches when the creature turned toward him. Ted's face pressed against the roof.

  "Not a fan of a fair fight, I see."

  The Lychos ran toward Ted and the SUV. The creature looked ready to snap him in two as its fangs chomped up and down. He looked around at his options as the beast closed in. He made a split-second decision to leap on the car beside him, right as the creature swiped at the SUV. The beast's claws ripped the roof clean off of the car as Ted landed shoulder-first on the other vehicle. The pain from his recently-healed arm wound was blinding. The dizzy sensation returned, but Ted gripped the car to steady himself.

  "Come on, Ted. Keep it together."

  When the beast realized it hadn't killed Ted with its previous swipe, it grabbed for his new location. Ted popped up, ran and leapt to another car, and then another. With each jump came another swipe from the beast. Every leap made him even dizzier. The creature roared with anger as Ted continued to evade it. As he made one more leap, Ted lost his balance completely, collapsing onto the roof of a blue minivan.

  He felt his hope slip away as he watched the creature run toward him. His last effort to use his powers failed and the beast's claws made the familiar sword sound as they approached his head. Ted closed his eyes and heard several gunshots ring out. When he opened them, the beast's back was to him. Between the creature's arm and the bridge, Ted could see Allison holding her gun in her free hand and firing another round of bullets into the chest of the Lychos.

  "You want dinner?!" Allison's voice carried surprisingly well amidst the chaos. "I'm your main frickin' course!"

  The creature roared and moved away from Ted. He pushed away the pain and sought vengeance. He reached out with his hand and found himself in the mind of the beast. Ted wasn't sure how, but he'd gained complete control over its body.