Portal Jumpers

by Chloe Garner

  “Any one of the fruit knives downstairs would do the job,” she said. “I’m not kidding.”

  “There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to walk,” he said.

  “Cut me.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Cut me.”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Cut me.”

  He huffed at her and left the room. She wasn’t sure if he was actually going to do it until she heard the sound of metal drawing across metal downstairs. She grunted and tried to roll onto her side, but had no luck. Her body was just too flat.

  Jesse returned with a pair of knives that he was using to sharpen each other.

  “I’m not responsible for the outcome, here,” he said.

  “Stop stalling, Palta,” she said, rippling the strips of muscle that would become her arms.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to wait until after you’ve gotten into some water to make the call on this?” Jesse asked.

  “Jesse, you’re going to fix this, and I am not going to flop around like a seal until you do. Get it over with.”

  He sighed and knelt.

  Troy put another slide under the microscope, rubbing his eyes before he looked at it. The staff preferred to use the digital scope, taking video of their work and frequently not even looking at it until days later. Troy liked to use his own eyes to look at things, when he had the option.

  They were dirt samples from a new planet that the advanced guard had sent back during the daily transfer. The organics in it were fascinating, and he was using every trick in his arsenal to try to separate them out so he could do a genetic study on the distinct types.

  He’d been working in labs long enough to sense the buzz without looking up. He used a tiny needle to brush a few particles around to scatter them so he could look at them individually, then lifted his head.

  The buzz silenced as half of the room turned to look at him and the other half returned to conspicuously studious work.

  He turned to his computer, finding half a dozen quick messages up from his staff, from analysts, from someone who worked on the portal floor. All of them wanted to know if he had heard yet.

  “Heard what?” he asked the room at large. The door opened and a soldier in a much-too-new uniform stepped through.

  “Captain Rutger?” he asked. Troy stood.

  “That’s me.”

  “Sir, you’ve been requested at the portal room.”

  Troy sighed.

  “What happened to her this time?”

  “What do you mean he came back without her?” he asked, storming down the hallway.

  “He brought back an alien,” the poor ensign called from behind him.

  “Foreign terrestrial,” Troy corrected reflexively. “There’s no way he came back on his own. You got it wrong.”

  “I was there, sir,” the ensign said. Just him and a walking blue fish.”

  “Walking?” Troy asked despite himself, not slowing.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “No,” Troy said.

  “No, it was walking,” the man said.

  “No, Lieutenant du Charme was there, you just didn’t see her. Jesse would never leave her behind.”

  “He asked for you, sir.”

  “You spoke with him?”

  “No, sir, the door guard did.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said I should come find you.”

  “Who did?”

  “The door guard did.”

  Troy spun and grabbed the ensign by his lapels.

  “What did the Jalnian say, Ensign?”

  The young man looked stunned.

  “He said the door guard was making the fish angry.”

  Troy blinked once, stunned, then turned again and continued down the hallway.

  “Keep up, kid,” he muttered.

  They got to the portal room and Troy badged himself in, brushing past the accumulated crowd of security staff and stopping dead in front of Jesse.

  There was no sign of Cassie anywhere.

  The ensign had been telling the truth.

  There was simply a crowd surrounding Jesse and a walking blue fish.

  Who addressed him.

  “Troy?” Cassie asked. Her best friend in the world looked at her like a stranger.

  “Yes, that’s him,” Jesse said. “Captain Rutger, I need to speak with you privately.”

  “Where is she?” Troy asked, turning his head from Cassie to Jesse. His eyes stayed on her for a moment longer before he gave Jesse his full attention.

  “I can explain,” Jesse said.

  “You’ll explain to General Donovan,” someone said. “You’re to stay here until he gets here.”

  Jesse sighed.

  “Hasn’t that man learned better than to try to give me direct orders?” he asked.

  “Where is she, Jesse?” Troy asked again, his voice betraying a fringe of panic that Cassie was almost sure she was the only one who could hear.

  “I need you to trust me,” Jesse said. “Will you please look after my friend while I deal with the Donovan?”

  “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me why Cassie isn’t standing here right now.”

  “I can’t do that,” Jesse said.

  “You’d better have a good reason for this,” Cassie said quietly to Jesse. He ignored her, nudging her forward.

  “He isn’t going to be able to move quickly if I need to,” Jesse said. There was a murmur through the guards; many of them visibly stiffened. Jesse took a sharp step to the side, and the crowd jolted. Cassie had to contain a laugh, despite herself. It was sad that she no longer knew any of the guards on the floor, but it was gratifying to see Jesse make fools of them.

  “Fine,” Troy said, stepping forward in a physical acceptance of custody of Cassie. “But I expect a full explanation. Soon, Jesse. Not like last time.”

  “Thank you,” Jesse said. Troy turned and several of the guards moved to suggest standing in his way without actually doing it.

  “Did anyone say anything about the fish?” Troy asked. “Or me?”

  They looked at each other, unsure. Cassie tried not to look smug. Briefly wondered what she would look like, smug. Troy had never stood for people pushing him around, and clearly the power shift hadn’t diminished the respect he commanded.

  “No, sir,” someone said.

  “Then stand aside. The foreign terrestrial is in my custody.”

  It was a stab to the heart, certainly, but at the same time, it was interesting to see Troy through a stranger’s eyes.

  “You speak any English?” Troy asked.

  “He’s fluent,” Jesse said. Cassie bristled again at the gender assignment, but she couldn’t argue with it. She was Adena Lampak. She was female, she was pretty certain, but it was only appropriate to use the masculine gender.

  Troy glanced at her skeptically, then shrugged.

  “Follow me.”

  She was still getting the hang of the fins-for-feet thing and had to move extremely slowly to avoid making it obvious that she wasn’t stable on her own feet. The slither out-and-around was harder than the Adena Lampak made it look, though she figured that walking on knees and ankles probably wasn’t that trivial, either.

  Troy waited for her at the door, exasperated.

  “No kidding you can’t run,” he said. Cassie bit her tongue, figuratively. Her teeth were too sharp to actually do it.

  “You can hush,” she muttered as she passed him. He frowned, letting the door drop shut behind them.

  “What did you say?” he asked. She scanned the hallway.

  “I said you can hush,” she said.

  “You’ve met Cassie,” he said.

  “I have.”

  “Where is she?” he asked.

  “I’d prefer you hear it from Jesse,” she said, unsure what Jesse’s play was.

  “Is she dead?”

  She choked back the knee-jerk ‘no’. It was a challenging philosophical question
, actually, and she couldn’t be certain that Jesse didn’t intend to let her be dead, as far as the base was concerned. On the other hand, even if they were going to let the military think she had died, she would never do that to Troy.

  He read the worst into her delay, drawing confidentially close.

  “I have to know.”

  “She’s okay,” Cassie said. She wasn’t even sure if that was true, but she couldn’t bear the unspoken pain in Troy’s posture. His shoulders dropped a quarter inch and he nodded.

  “Thank you.”

  He walked even with her, now, letting her pick her own pace.

  “I’m sorry I called you a fish,” he said. “It was disrespectful.”

  “Why do you assume I know what a fish is?” she asked.

  He looked at her sideways.

  “But you do, don’t you?”

  “I know it’s insulting,” she said. “I think we look more like eels.”

  He choked.

  “Is that better?” he asked.

  “You tell me,” she said. “I just think it’s more accurate.”

  “How much time did you spend with Cass?”

  She would have snorted except that she hadn’t figured out her nasal cavity well enough, yet.

  “Enough.”

  Troy took her eventually to his office and closed the door. She’d forgotten the smell of paper and Troy himself that came with the tiny space, and it was almost overwhelming with her new sense of smell. He could have moved into a larger office any time he wanted to, but he’d kept his first office out of nostalgia and a slurry of other, less important reasons - like how long it would have taken him to move everything.

  “Do you… sit?” he asked.

  “Not really,” Cassie said. She hadn’t yet found a comfortable position outside of standing, though Jesse had promised to procure her a hammock at his earliest convenience. Which, presumably, meant as soon as he was done running away from General Donovan.

  “So…” Troy said, sitting down at his desk and tapping his fingers on the surface. “What are you?”

  “My species is called Adena Lampak,” Cassie said, figuring that much couldn’t hurt.

  “Your English is impeccable,” he said.

  “We’re known for being quite clever,” she said. It was true, she’d discovered. She’d been making odd connections all day, things she’d never considered that were both profound and completely trivial.

  “Why are you traveling with Jesse?” Troy asked.

  “That’s a long story,” Cassie said.

  “We may have some time,” Troy said.

  “Are you suggesting it’s going to take him much time to get free?” Cassie asked skeptically.

  “How much do you know about us?” Jesse asked. Cassie would have pursed her lips, had she had any.

  “Probably… plenty.” She tried not to make it sound like a question.

  “They’ve only been gone a couple of days,” Jesse said. “How could you have…?”

  “I didn’t meet them this trip,” Cassie said. Why was she doing this to him?

  “Oh,” he said, sounding disappointed, even hurt. “Well… Donovan has cracked down on security even more. I don’t know if he can get here without someone…”

  The door opened.

  “Like playing hide and seek with three year olds,” Jesse muttered. Troy stood.

  “Where is she?” he asked.

  “What?” Jesse asked.

  “Cassie. Where is she?”

  Jesse looked confused.

  “Right there.”

  “What?” Troy asked, glancing past Cassie as if he half expected her to appear out of nowhere, then looking back at Jesse.

  “She’s right…” his attention swung. “You didn’t tell him?”

  “You don’t give a very clear lead,” she said.

  “What now?” Troy asked.

  “You mean you’ve been sitting here with him and he thinks…?”

  “I didn’t know what you wanted me to do,” Cassie said.

  “I think what?” Troy asked.

  “That I abandoned her somewhere,” Jesse said.

  “Then she’s dead,” Troy said, grave.

  “No. She’s right there.”

  “Where?”

  “Here,” Cassie said.

  Troy finally turned to face her directly. His eyes scanned her body, apparently judging scale.

  “What kind of technology is that?” he asked. He approached, looking into her eyes and around the side of her head. “It looks real.”

  “It is real,” Jesse said. Troy continued inspecting her.

  “What does that mean?” he asked.

  “I’m Adena Lampak,” Cassie said.

  “I wish I knew,” Jesse said at the same time. Troy straightened.

  “You guys are talking in riddles.”

  “Are we?” Jesse asked.

  “Don’t be cute,” Cassie said.

  “Can’t help it,” Jesse said.

  “Guys,” Troy said. They both looked at him. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s me. I’m Adena Lampak,” Cassie said, then frowned and looked at Jesse. “I’m an Adena Lampak?”

  “Both noun and adjective,” Jesse said.

  “You are a foreign terrestrial,” Troy said.

  “Looks like,” Cassie said.

  “You, Cassie, are an alien.”

  She held out her fins.

  “Tell me I’m not.”

  Troy looked back at Jesse, looking on the verge of panic.

  “How are you two joking about this?”

  “What else do you want me to do?” Cassie asked.

  “I think that’s a healthy attitude,” Jesse said.

  “How did it happen?

  “Mab,” Jesse said. “Had to be.”

  “How?”

  “I’m not sure,” Jesse said.

  “Virus,” Cassie said.

  “On the swizzles,” Jesse added. “Not a bad theory.”

  “Not possible,” Troy said. “Viruses can’t do that. And I didn’t find anything on the ones they took out of you on the hospital.”

  “You have a better theory?” Cassie asked. Troy’s mouth gaped for a moment.

  “Well, no…”

  “I’m a giant fish,” Cassie said. “Something did it.”

  “I need a lab,” Jesse said suddenly.

  “What?” Troy asked. “What kind?”

  “Genetics, medical, the biggest chemistry lab you can think of,” Jesse started.

  “And not here?” Troy suggested.

  “If you have it,” Jesse agreed.

  “Can you get her out of here?” Troy asked. Jesse made a dismissive noise and Troy turned to his desk and scrawled something on a piece of paper.

  “Get the two of you there,” he said, handing it to Jesse. “I’ll meet you.”

  Jesse glanced at it, then handed it back.

  “We’ll be there.”

  “I’m not an invalid,” Cassie said.

  “What, are you going to drive?” Troy asked, giving her a sarcastic look.

  “Well, no, but…”

  “I’ll see you there. We’ll talk then,” he said. “You should go.”

  “You’re going to get in trouble for this,” she said. He shook his head.

  “I actually don’t think so. Jesse coming back without you is hardly going to make me helpful.”

  She nodded, putting a fin to his face. He winced away and she would have frowned if the muscles in her face would have allowed it.

  “It’s going to be okay,” she said. He nodded.

  “I’m glad you think so.”

  “We have a fifteen second window,” Jesse said. “Let’s go.”

  Getting to the sleepy little town north of Seattle was more complicated than Cassie would have originally guessed. Jesse had insisted that she stay in the back seat - of her own car - and had only let her stay there for about twenty minutes before he found a hardware store and p
urchased the necessary hardware to build her a hammock across the seat.

  She had to admit, it was more comfortable. By a lot. Like, the difference between breathing easily and struggling for every breath. But it was awkward, with the sling swaying up and back as Jesse drove, always threatening to dump her, and then trying to keep herself covered enough that no one in the cars around them could see her.

  Because, you know, she was a fish.

  They stopped a few times and Jesse got out to eat or sleep, but Cassie wasn’t allowed. He brought her raw fish a couple of times, and she hoped it was a joke, but she ate it anyway, finding it disturbingly satisfying.

  In the end, they pulled into a small, tree-obscured parking lot in front of a silvery, aluminum-sided building.

  “This is it?” Cassie asked.

  “Hope so,” Jesse answered, opening the car door. There was a flash of reflection as the front doors on the building opened and Troy and Slav came walking down the walkway. Jesse stuck his head back into the car. “I guess this is it.”

  “Thanks,” Cassie said, struggling to find a way out of the hammock. The Adena Lampak had always made it look so easy.

  “Gentlemen,” Jesse said, shaking hands with Troy and Slav.

  “I have got to see this with my own eyes,” Slav said, coming to peer into the car just as Cassie slipped and tumbled onto the floorboards. Slav tried to open the door, but Jesse had left it locked for just that reason - the door was what was holding up the sling. Cassie reached for the lock, but she didn’t have the dexterity with the individual fingers Jesse had cut for her to unlock it. Jesse returned and pushed the button for her, then let her out.

  “This is humiliating,” Cassie said, writhing and slithering out onto the ground.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Troy asked, alarmed. Cassie balanced back over her tail fins and stood.

  “She’s a klutz,” Jesse said without looking. He was inspecting the facility. “So what do you do here?”

  “Classified,” Troy scolded after he had assured himself that Cassie was no worse than she had been when he last saw her.

  “How does it feel?” Slav asked.

  “What?” Cassie asked warily.

  “To finally have an excuse for how inhuman you are,” he said.

  “You’ve been working on that since you first heard, haven’t you,” she said.