Portal

As I looked over at Lab, still facing the space the door had been, I saw him deflate slightly. “Lab? Buddy, you okay?”

Lab perked up and turned to face me. “Oh yeah… I’m good, Jackson. I just haven’t seen Jennifer in a while, that’s all.”

“Seems like you know her, then. Wanna talk about it?”

He shook his shaggy head, waving me off with a smile. “Nah, man. You don’t wanna hear it.”

“Wouldn’t’ve asked if that were the case.” I struggled to sit up in the bed.

Lab came over and sat on the foot of the bed. “She used to spot me some time ago at the gym. When I got too strong for her -or anyone else, really- to be of any use there, she would just watch me from a safe distance and comment on my form. ‘Slide your left foot three millimeters forward,’ or ‘Splay your left hand out a bit less,’ or something similar,” He shook his head with a soft chuckle and I smiled with him, knowing all too well what that was like. “It annoyed the hell out of me.” He looked up, a sad look in his eye. “I had enough one afternoon when I hit a personal -and gym- record when she told me that she’d seen my right arm quiver a bit more than usual, and that I needed to bring it in a quarter inch. I blew up at her, man. She jerked back as if I’d slapped her. Just said ‘Okay, then,’ and went back into that little office of hers.” He sighed heavily, then softly added, “Haven’t seen her since.”

We sat there in silence for a moment before I added, “You want to see her again, don’t you?”

He heaved a sigh. “I dunno, man. I-I think so? I don’t want to leave that as our last interaction. I genuinely like her. I think she’s a fine woman, incredibly smart -too smart fer a dumbass like me- and talented, to boot. I really feel bad about the way we left things off. I’d like to at least apologize to her.”

I nodded along with him. Such a sweet bastard of a man. “I can make that happen. She’s training me right now.”

“Really!? Huh. What could she possibly be teaching you? How to slouch effectively?”

I sputtered a laugh. “Fuck you, dude. Nah. She’s training me to get my speed up. I’m not built for strength, but I am able to move fast. Especially when I factor in my doors. I found that out today. Part of why I’m so worn out.”

“Huh. I won’t pry. I’m sure I’ll find out eventually. You should get some rest. I don’t know what all happened, but if it’s anything like the Jennifer I know, you’re gonna be sore for a couple of days. Let me know if you need something.” He got up and patted my leg as he walked out. I painfully scooted back down in the bed and promptly passed out.

**********

I looked around the room I was in. It was…odd. There were no shelves of nick-nacks, no TV, no clothes strewn about, and no window. There was a bed and little else. The stone floor, walls and ceiling were bare. The door seemed to be made of wood, with a handle directly in the center.

I walked over, turned the knob and opened the door to a fuchsia sky, gently glowing grasses, and odd plant life. I stepped out, falling through the ground -

I woke with a start, feeling like I had just fallen into my body. The sheets were tangled about my legs and a sheen of sweat covered my body. I had somehow undressed and gotten back into the bed at some point.

I rubbed my face. My arms were still sore from Sunday’s exercise with Jennifer. I rose slowly, my body protesting. With slow, ungainly steps, I clothed myself and made my way down to the kitchen for breakfast. As I sat there, eating my bowl of cereal, my mind replayed snippets of the dream that had awoken me. Why did it seem so real, so…familiar somehow?

I wrote it off as just an oddity caused by stress, a fever-dream, almost. Dreams were just our minds trying to make sense of our body’s sensations, after all. Everything I’d been experiencing in the past few days had definitely been weird, to say the least.

As I was rinsing my bowl, I heard a knock at our front door. I opened a tiny peephole where I was, and saw an unknown woman standing there. Odd. I certainly wasn’t expecting any visitors today.

I opened the door a fraction of an inch. “Can I help you?”

“Hello, Jackson. My name is Kira. Zack and William sent me to check in on you.”

I sighed in relief, opening the door completely. “Come in, Kira. You want some water or something?”

She walked in, shutting the door. “Yes, please. So, how’re you doing?” She took a seat on the couch and thanked me as I handed her the glass of water.

“I’m sore as hell. Jennifer didn’t exactly let me off easy.” I set my own water down on the coffee table and tried to gently stretch my right arm as I sat across from her.

Kira laughed. “Yep. That’s Jen. A perfectionist if there ever was one. What does she have you doing?”

I opened a small door to Lab’s room, making sure he wasn’t home to listen. “She has me working with the staff. Says that I’m going to be fast.”

Kira stared at me, an eyebrow quirked up. “What was that? A door?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. That’s my power. I can make doors.” I opened a small door to the pantry, and grabbed a bag of chips. “To just about anywhere.” I opened the bag and started eating as the doors dissolved.

“That’s…incredible. And useful, to boot. I can talk to pretty much any creature. If they like me, we can even work together.” She smiled prettily.

“That’s cool. How long have you been with the Cloud?” I sipped my water.

“Four years. They got me almost immediately after I graduated from school. It’s rather easy work and I get paid well.” She shrugged.

“Cool. Guess I know what I have to look forward to.” I leaned forward, my hip and lower back popping loudly.

“Yep. Once you get more used to the training, you’ll have an easier time. Speaking of, are you going in today?”

I shook my head. “Hell no. I’m going to let my body heal. I’m staying out of sight for the next day or so.”

Kira smiled. “Good. Pay attention to your body. It’ll tell you when it’s time to go back.” She stood. “I should get going. I’m glad to have met you, and I hope we get to work together sometime.”

I slowly rose to a standing position and walked her to the door. “Likewise. Be safe out there, Kira.” I opened the door with a smile.

“I will be. Get better soon. I’d like to see what you’re capable of out there.” She left, and I shut the door behind her.

I opened a door to my room and sat in front of my computer. Time to learn everything I could about cybersecurity.

*************

The evening passed by in a blur of text and music. By the time I got tired, I had read through most of the primary and parts of the intermediate class materials for the degree program offered by the local college. Thankfully, most community colleges were free to those of us who had abilities. I am not ashamed to say that I abused the hell out of that privilege. If they were going to give it to me, I was going to take it.

I stood and stretched as well as I could. Sitting for several hours hunched over was never a good idea. I felt several vertebrae realign, and the familiar cold chill was delightful as it traveled down the entirety of my spine. My arms and legs, while still sore, didn’t give me nearly as much pain as they had that morning. It seemed I was healing up just fine.

As it was nearly midnight, there weren’t many places I could go to get a decent meal. I realized that I’d have to go to the West Coast if I wanted something good. I sighed and put on my shoes. Santa Francesca it was, then. Checking my wallet, I found that I still had about a hundred bucks to my name. I opened a door to a little-used alleyway near Japantown, and headed east to Tommy’s.

Tommy’s Joynt was a local favorite, and one of the few places I’d actually enjoyed eating at when I got lost in this massive city a few years ago. They had some good food, with flavors approaching Southern Hospitality, so it was a place I quickly gravitated to. The brisket was good, but nothing out of this world, so it remained a good, safe option. I walked in and was greeted by a friendly face behind the counter, and maybe four other patrons.

“Welcome to Tommy’s! What can I getcha?”

“I’ll have the brisket sandwich with mashed potatoes, please. And whatever cheap beer you have on tap.”

“You got it, man. Brisket and mash, one PBR coming up in five.”

I paid the man and stood to one side, waiting patiently. My meal came up in just a couple minutes, and I sat down to enjoy something approximating my great-grandmother’s cooking.

Grammy lived a few hours south in Murray, Kentuck and was one of the best cooks I’d ever met. Visits to her house were always three days, at least, and we would eat good for the whole time. Grammy always had a brisket or a pork butt or some haunch of meat smoking when we got there. Her husband, Pappy, would make the sides and fixin’s every time. Always with the same excuse of ‘Yer Grammy’d beat me about the head and shoulders if’n I ever touched her smoker. So I jus’ learnt to make all the sides and gravies for y’all. Hope yer hungry, son!’ and then he’d laugh that belly-laugh of his while we got ourselves settled in for a weekend of family and food.

All that changed once my power developed. Mom and Dad stopped visiting Dad’s grandparents until their deaths four years later. I was in the school while they were able to go to the funerals. Pappy didn’t last a month after Grammy passed.

For years afterward, I would search Chicago for places that served the kind of food I had at Grammy’s place. It wasn’t until I started hitchhiking across the country that I found Tommy’s Joynt in Santa Francesca. It wasn’t exact, but it was close, and close was good enough for me right now.

My sandwich and beer were placed on the counter, and I went off to a table to eat. From the first bite, I was transported back to Grammy’s as a wide-eyed eight year old with an appetite to rival Lab’s. Memories of early childhood spent with family flooded into my mind, peppered here and there with stories from Grammy’s days running a BBQ shop in a college town, and the taste of delicious brisket, mashed potatoes and gravy, and sweet tea.

I chewed thoughtfully, the memories taking over so hard that I didn’t hear the man trying to get my attention until he slammed a fist down onto my table.

“I said, can you hear me, you drippy shitbag?”

My eyes traveled up the powerful, tanned and tattooed arm that had made a divot in the table to an equally tanned and tattooed face. “Sorry. I was lost in a memory. Could you repeat yourself, please?”

The man pulled back, confusion evident on his face. “You hear this, guys? He says he was lost in a memory! You ever hear anything that stupid?” He and his four companions started laughing.

Quick as a flash he reached out and grabbed my face, squeezing it painfully as he pulled me to my feet. “You’re going to give me everything in your wallet right now, or I’m gonna bleed ya.” He flicked out a switchblade, holding the blade up to my chin.

“I dfftt thkk tho.”

“What did you say to me you little fuck?” He jammed the tip of the blade into my lower jaw, drawing blood.

I calmed myself and created a door at the base of the blade, hearing the metal crash to the ground.

“What the…” He released me, stepping back to take a look at the blade on the floor.

“I said I don’t think so.”