The Missing Town

by Marcel Liemant

  “My money isn’t good enough all of a sudden?” Will said, in a mix of a few alien languages.

  Will was partly aware that the anger brewing up inside of him was due to the alcohol in his system. But he didn’t care. He was still pumped up from the fight and whatever he had been drinking.

  The bartender smirked. Amused by Will’s attempt at his language. But Will knew the language of the universe and that language was pain. Will grabbed the long, rock necklace that hung from the bartender’s thick neck.

  “You right, mate?”

  The bartender bared his teeth. He gripped Will’s strong arms with his three hands and flung him backwards. Will barely missed a step. The bartender jumped over the bar, the guy Will had pinned had righted himself. Will glanced at the others who had been drinking in the booth. They were looking now and getting to their feet. Will cracked his neck and laughed. That would be five guys, with three arms each. Will removed his glasses. He’d fought more men with more limbs before.

  Will focused on his breathing, keeping it steady and deep. Everything slowed down. The bartender was barrelling towards him, fists clenched. The three other aliens arrived and then, it was chaos. Fists were everywhere. Will felt like he was in some demented video game. He blocked and dodged what he could and then grabbed one alien and pushed him into the middle. The alien caught several punches from his comrades and went down with an angry cry. Will used the distraction to subdue two more of the aliens. He managed to get one of them in a choker hold and drop him, and hurl another into the bar.

  Three down, six arms to go.

  His body moved into autopilot while he watched it, as if from afar, and then the other two aliens were on the ground.

  Will grabbed a bottle from behind the bar and poured himself something blue. He downed the drink, and ignored the burning in his mouth and throat as he swallowed. He turned towards the exit, stepped over a few of the groaning aliens and headed towards the door.

  Bored now, Will walked out the front doors and examined the small, dingy street. It was dark outside, but there were countless moons in the sky, more abundant than stars. Will zipped his brown leather jacket up against the cold. He needed another drink and some more entertainment. Will decided to get off this planet of glorified Machamps. He headed towards the portal down the street. As he walked he tried to figure out which new world he wanted to fill the rest of his evening with. Will’s jean pocket beeped.

  He grabbed his phone, he had five missed calls and another coming through. An Earth Prime number, Australian, a job. Will cleared his throat and answered the call.

  “It’s Will,” He said gruffly and then. “You there?”

  “My parents are gone,” Said the small voice of a young boy.

  Will frowned. “What’s your name, mate?”

  “Tom.”

  “What happened to your parents?”

  There was another long pause. Will could hear Tom breathing.

  “Something took them,” He whispered.

  “Alright, do you know your address?”

  “I- I live at 23 Quagmire st, Quuorn.”

  “Coming mate. Hold tight.”

  Will hung up the call and broke out into a run. His brain was starting to process whatever it was he had been drinking. He had to get to his car, which he vaguely remembered parking somewhere in Melbourne.

  But first, he had to get out of this world and back into his own. Will was three portals away from Earth Prime.

  3

  Natalie sighed and then swiped to the next research paper on her screen. She hoped this one would make more sense. The link between tachyon particles and Magic was tough to understand. Even with her pHD in Biology, and her own private study of Physics, Quantum Mechanics and Magic. Her car, linked to DaVinci, drove her and Wolfgang down the long stretches of road to Quuorn.

  Wolfgang sat in the passenger seat. His ears pricked up as he looked out into the countryside. It hadn’t taken him long to associate DaVinci with adventure.

  For a year now, Natalie had been driving all over the country with Wolfgang by her side, hunting portals and answers.

  DaVinci beeped.

  Natalie shifted the screen view to the outside view. A small cluster of lights were a few kilometres away. Sitting alone, surrounded by darkness. Quuorn. A tiny town in rural Australia. Natalie checked the time, they had been driving for a few hours.

  “Here we go,” Natalie said.

  They drove onto the main street. It looked like it had been recently paved. The streetlights were high above the street and looked traditionally powered. The red brick shops, pressed together and low, were only dimly lit, and looked open but empty.

  Her car was taking her directly to the street beside the portal. There hadn’t been any other cars on the road for a while, so when one pulled out in front of her, she took notice. Natalie recognised it immediately. It was a slick, white car with bulbous storage attachments on each side. The paint was chipped along the bottom, like the car had been driven exactly where it was not designed to drive. It was William Sanderson.

  Natalie narrowed her eyes and turned off auto drive. If William Sanderson was in town, something was definitely going on. Taking the wheel, she turned when he turned, despite DaVinci’s beep of protest. They headed off the main street and into the darker residential streets. William pulled up in front of a white, two story house. Natalie parked behind William. There were several other cars parked outside of the house. She recognised a few of those too. Two of them were vans with very distinct logos; more portal contractors.

  Natalie put her car in park and got out. She grabbed her travel kit, DaVinci and opened the door so Wolfgang could jump out of the back seat. He sniffed the air and pricked up his ears. Natalie patted his head. She stared at the house, the front door was open and the lights were on. None of the other houses in the street had any lights on at all.

  Wolfgang growled. Natalie looked to her right, William had gotten out of his car and was striding over to her. She shoved DaVinci into her bag. Will’s reddish brown hair was sticking out at all angles, his skin looked rough and dry like desert rock. William glanced down at Wolfgang who continued to growl.

  “Are you ever going to train that damn dog?” He said.

  “He’s more trained then some,” Natalie said, wrinkling her noise as the smell of booze hit her.

  William sniffed. “What are you doing here, Doc?”

  Natalie raised an eyebrow. “It looks like I’m in a better condition to be here than you are,” She said.

  William shook his head. “Go home. Your type doesn’t belong here.”

  “What type is that? Sober?”

  Wolfgang growled again and Natalie patted him on the back.

  William waved a dismissive hand and turned towards the house. He jogged up the front yard and headed through the open door without hesitation.

  Natalie huffed and hurried after him, with Wolfgang at her heels. She had no idea what to expect but if the contractors were here, the portal was definitely an active one. She needed as much information as she could get before she herself, ventured into it.

  It felt strange to enter someone’s house, without them having let her in. She slowed her pace in the hallway, noting the disheveled rug. Wolfgang let out a small grumble, a warning sound.

  “It’s alright Wolf,” Natalie murmured.

  She felt it too. Something had happened here. Something bad.

  There were voices coming from upstairs. Natalie braced herself and headed up. The voices were coming from a room down the hall to the right. William reappeared in the hall. His large fists wrapped around the shirt of a guy with a bald head and thick glasses.

  “Woah, what’s going on?” Natalie asked.

  “This idiot,” William snarled.

  Natalie waited then realised that was all she was going to get from William.

  “Enlightening, thanks,” She said.

  Natalie pushed past the men and into the room. There were a three adul
ts in the small bedroom and a small boy on the bed, clutching his teddy bear blanket to his chin.

  “What on Earth is going on?” Natalie asked.

  A man with a greying brown beard and thick shoulders spoke first. “The kids double booked.”

  “Triple booked, it looks like,” Said a woman, glaring at Natalie with fierce green eyes.

  William had reentered the room, the guy with the glasses wasn't with him.

  “Bugger off the lot of you,” William growled.

  “You’re scaring that kid half to death,” Natalie reprimanded.

  The older man shrugged. “He was like that when we got here.”

  Natalie pressed her lips together. Contractors were a unique set of people, with very few moral scruples, let alone manners. Natalie stepped forward and crouched down beside the boy. Wolfgang put his paws up on his bed and the kid’s eyes flicked to him.

  “This is Wolfgang,” Natalie said, gently. “He’s my dog, you can pat him if you like. He won’t bite.”

  The little boy stared at Wolfgang and then gingerly reached out a hand to pet his spotty fur. With the boy’s attention on Wolfgang, Natalie turned back to the contractors.

  “I don’t suppose any of you are this kid’s parents?”

  The woman with the green eyes, smirked. “Not mine.”

  The others shook their heads, only Will kept his eyes on the kid and the dog.

  “So what are you doing in his house? What is going on here?” Natalie asked.

  “I-I called them,” The little boy said.

  Natalie turned to look at him, softening her expression. “Where are your parents?”

  The boy’s eyes filled with tears. “They got taken away.”

  “What happened?”

  “That’s what we were asking him,” The older man said.

  “I don’t think this kid can pay a job, do you Tony?” Said the green eyed woman.

  A brutish blond man who must have been Tony, grunted.

  “Kid, do you have any money?” The woman asked in her nasally voice.

  Natalie glowered at the woman. “I think you should leave.”

  The woman stepped forward. “What gives you the-”

  William held up a hand. “The kid can’t pay. None of you have business here.” He said firmly.

  There was silence, but after a moment, the woman deflated. “Alright, alright, goddamn it Tony. This is the last time you’re answering the phones.” She said.

  The contractors headed out of the room and down the stairs. Their complaining and bickering could be heard until they exited the front door.

  Natalie stared hard at William. “Don’t tell me you’ve got an altruistic streak in you.”

  William shrugged. “Competitions gone. Figured the parents would pony up once I get them back. Probably a lot too, if the kid’s okay.”

  Natalie rolled her eyes and turned back to the kid.

  “What’s your name, hun?” She asked.

  “Tom.”

  Natalie smiled. “My name is Natalie, can you tell me what happened to your parents?”

  “Something came and took them,” Tom sniffed. “I saw.”

  “Do you know what took them, Tom?”

  Tom shook his head.

  “Was it a human or was it something else, maybe one of the aliens or creatures you’ve seen around town or on TV?”

  Tom shook his head and focused his teary gaze back on Wolfgang, who licked his hand.

  Natalie stood. “Keep patting Wolfgang, Tom. I can tell he likes you,” She pulled William into the doorway. “We should call the police,” She said quietly.

  William shook his head. “This is portal business and the kid called me, not the coppers.”

  “Can you stop thinking about your pay check for five minutes?” Natalie hissed.

  He leant in closer. “Funny. Something tells me you don’t want that portal wrapped up in yellow tape either, Doc.”

  Natalie’s cheeks flushed.

  A smirk flashed across William’s lips. “Plus, the coppers can’t touch portal business. Not with the government breathing down their necks. I see this all of the time, Doc. Trust me.”

  “Not in a million years,” Natalie said.

  William stepped back and shrugged. “Fine, call ‘em.”

  The strap of Natalie’s travel kit was digging into her shoulder. DaVinci was inside and still locked onto the portal a few blocks away. Filled with untold mysteries. She looked back at Tom who had his head on top of Wolfgang’s, tears dripping into his fur. For whatever reason this child had become her responsibility. He had asked for help and she had stumbled into helping him. She’d heard plenty about the police to know that William wasn’t lying. With the state of portal politics in Australia, chances were that no law enforcement would set foot in whatever world was on the other side. No matter who was lost or taken or trapped. They really would block off the portal and ship Tom to his nearest relative. Tom would be left with no parents and no answers. Natalie’s chest clenched, it was a feeling she knew too well.

  Natalie stepped towards Tom, and slipped over a toy tractor. She fell forwards and landed hard onto her knees. Natalie frowned and turned to pick up the tractor toy.

  Natalie removed her travel kit from her shoulder, opened it and grabbed a pair of blue gloves. She pulled them on and picked up the toy, a gelatinous green slime covered it.

  “Uh…” William murmured in confusion.

  Natalie stood and whipped around, she held the tractor up to William.

  “Look at this!” She exclaimed.

  “Looks like snot,” William said.

  “No, you’re not seeing it. This is organic and abnormal, which means it may have been left behind by whatever took Tom’s parents.”

  William stared at her blankly. He adjusted his holster at his waist.

  “I’m going to find the portal. See if I can’t sort this whole thing out. You stay here with the kid and uh, play with your snot,” He said.

  “We need answers first. Nobody knows what’s on the other side of that portal. You can’t run in there, guns blazing William. You’ll only make everything worse.”

  Will’s expression didn’t change. He pulled his gun from his holster. “It seems to work for me,” He said.

  “You aren’t serious…” Natalie paused and then shook her head. “Sorry look who I’m talking to. Of course you are.”

  “You’ve got your ways, I’ve got mine.” He said.

  William turned and strode out of the room. She heard him head down the stairs and heard the front door slam. Natalie clenched her jaw with frustration. She had never met such an obstinate, impractical man in her life. Natalie looked down at the slime covered toy and the back at Tom. To looked at her with such an intense level of earnest hope that Natalie couldn’t hold his gaze.

  She took a moment to accept the situation she had found herself in and turned back to the small, hopeful boy.

  “We’ve got a clue, Tom,” She said. With all the hope she could muster.

  4

  Will stood at the gate of Tom’s house and let the night enter his senses. He felt a familiar ripple in the air. A portal was nearby. It had taken him years to be able to detect the signs, but every good portal contractor could.

  The portal in Quuorn had to be new. It wasn’t registered, but more than that, it was emitting a molecular vibrancy.

  The kid’s street was deathly still, there was no wind, no cars, no lights. Just quiet, run down suburban houses sitting in the dark. Will followed his senses down the road and onto another. It was just as still. The people of Quuorn slept deep and quiet.

  On the main street there were more lights, but still no movement. A few businesses appeared open. A flickering street lamp sat idly, illuminating the emptiness. Will walked beneath them, his eyes watchful and his shoulders tense. The portal was close, he could smell it. Will wondered if Natalie used her dog to sniff out portals. Though, that didn’t explain why she always seemed to pop up whe
n a new portal did, no matter how far out of Melbourne it was. A dog’s nose was powerful, but not that powerful. A few of the other contractors had used dogs to help find portals. But the idea had never appealed to Will, after all, you could wake up and your dog could be gone. If he woke up without his nose, well, he’d had more important concerns than portal hunting.

  Will stopped in front of a darkened, closed shop with a sign in the window that read ‘Human Patrons Only’.

  Backwards bogan town.

  Will clenched his fists. He wanted to break the window and take the sign down. As if any world had had a choice in Newton’s Gate. As if it hadn’t been a human’s fault in the first place.

  Will shook it off and kept walking. He had to focus on getting the kid’s parents back. Thinking of Tom, sent another wave of pulsing anger through Will’s body. He was looking forward to finding the portal and knocking some skulls together. Taking a kids parents like that, right in front of his eyes. It wasn’t on, no matter what species you were.

  Will had spent plenty of time in small towns, but none as quiet as this. There was nothing and no-one. He approached one of the few open doors on the main street. Above it, a sign proudly announced that it was the Quuorn Pub. William stopped and looked inside. The screen was on, displaying some Australian Football League rerun. But he couldn’t see anyone watching or drinking and the bartender wasn’t tending the bar.

  William stepped inside.

  “You there?”

  He headed to the bar and looked over it. Just in case the bartender was three feet high or had decided to take a nap on the floor. Both were scenarios Will had found himself in before. But there was no-one behind the bar either.

  “Hello?”

  Will waited for a response, but there was none. He pulled his gun from its holster and turned off the safety. Something wasn’t right. Will approached the back room, and pushed the door open with his shoulder. He scanned the room with his gun, but it was empty. The back room contained crates of liquor. In the back corner, one of the crates had been pulled from its place and brown liquid had spilled all over the floor. The strong smell of whiskey was thick in the air.