Portal by E. G. Bateman

Author:E. G. Bateman [Bateman, E. G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cornerdown Publishing
Published: 2019-03-29T22:00:00+00:00

13

“And it just went from bad to worse,” Sean said in the kitchen of the residence as Orla tapped the nanite pen, not quite as softly as she could have, next to her brother’s cut eyebrow.

“Who threw the first punch?” Orla asked.

“Ah, that would be me. The guy was building up to it, but we hadn’t the time to wait,” Sean said.

“So, you started a fight you weren’t capable of winning,” Orla said.

“We would have been more than capable of winning, but we had a sick woman, which didn’t help. I think that’s why they thought we were from Broken-Earth. Young Matthew was crouched over the sick lady, and Adam here was dizzy from his first crossing.”

“Of universes,” Adam said. Clarifying that he had a good reason for his temporary lightheadedness.

“Anyway, it turns out the rescue…,” Sean began.

“Transport,” Adam corrected him.

“The transport was the only useful thing to come out of the whole day. There’s been a big announcement on the news today that a horde of Saxon gold has been discovered in Full-Earth, Staffordshire by a farmer. What are the chances!” Sean said.

“So that was your great plan? Treasure hunting? You’re a bunch of eejits,” Orla said.

I stood in the doorway of the living room and listened to the conversation, building my nerve to enter. I was tempted to just go straight back to bed; I was still exhausted.

Heading straight for the coffee machine, I marched in.

“It’s my life-saving superhero. How are you this morning, sweetie?” Orla asked.

“I’m okay,” I said.

It was unusual to wake up without the smell of breakfast wafting through the house.

“Where’s Sofia?” I asked.

“She’s in her room with your dad,” Orla said. She was looking everywhere but at me.

I looked over at the unfamiliar face who I assumed was Adam. “So, you’re Adam. Is Matthew okay? Jason’s been worried about you both.”

“Matt’s great. We picked up a new friend, Kate. She erm, bumped her head. Jason’s with them at the hospital. We hadn’t heard from Jason for months. That’s why we were in the vicinity of the base when Matt got caught; we were trying to find him. I wondered where he’d gone. I’ve got to say that living in an alternate earth was pretty far down my list of guesses. I suspected he was dead with so many of the others.”

“Are you staying here? I’m sure there’s room. We could get Matt into a school with a class full of other faders,” I said.

“We’re still hoping to find Matt’s sister,” Adam said.

“I hope you do,” I said. I was doubtful, knowing what I knew from Dr. Narayan’s mind.

“So, are we going to talk about the hexagon-shaped elephant in the room?” I asked Orla.

“Do you know what it means, the voices and the groovy eyes?” Orla asked.

“Not a clue,” I said.

“I guess we’re not going to talk about it then,” Orla said. “Do you want some toast?”

“Well, I know one thing. I don’t imagine they’ll be letting Zoe anywhere near me for the foreseeable future.”

“It’s not that.

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