After eating lunch at a nearby Burger King, Oliver and Shawn stood behind Dunkin’ Donuts, studying a dumpster.
“I don’t think the portal is in there,” Oliver said.
“Won’t know for sure unless one of us goes in.” Shawn gave Oliver a playful shove. “Come on, I’ll give you a boost.”
“I’m not going in a dumpster. You go in, if you’re so confident it’s in there.”
“I don’t know where else it could be. There’s nothing back here.” Shawn leaned against the back wall. “I’m ready to give up.”
“Me too.” Oliver stood next to him, and held his palm out to lean against the wall. Except his palm never hit the wall. Instead, it started going through it. He leaped back. “Shit, did you see that?”
Shawn took a step back to investigate. Oliver inspected his hand, though it looked okay. Shawn pressed his fingers to the spot on the wall. His fingers went through. Shawn smiled. “Looks like we found our portal!”
“It definitely blends in. Now what?”
“Now we go in.”
“Are you crazy?” Oliver hissed. “We don’t know what’s on the other side of it! Or what will even happen if we do go through it.”
“We know of at least five people that made it through alive.”
“Yeah, from their side. What about this side?”
“Shouldn’t be any different.”
“And what if we run into trouble on the other side?”
“Then we go right back through. Others have done it just fine.”
“I don’t know...”
“Where’s your sense of adventure? Come on, I’ll even hold your hand.” Shawn took Oliver’s hand in his, the action leaving Oliver oddly flushed. “Besides, you made me go to that ridiculous bar outing. You owe me.”
Oliver couldn’t argue against that. “Alright. But any trouble-”
“We’ll come straight back through.”
Oliver took a deep breath as Shawn guided him through the wall.
There was a sharp jolt, and pressure closed in on Oliver. Everything went black for a moment. The pressure lifted. And Oliver found himself in a forest of birch trees.
The two men stopped holding hands as they observed their surroundings. They were at the edge of a forest, not far from a building. It was either a small house or a large shack. They were too far to tell. It was also a lot warmer, and sunnier here. Like it was spring instead of fall.
“Do you suppose that’s their house?” Oliver nodded towards the house as he took off his jacket.
“Only one way to find out.” With a smile, Shawn walked towards it.
Oliver followed. “Are you serious?”
“Relax. We’re not going inside. I just want a better look.”
It turned out being a small wooden cabin in fairly good condition. There were steps leading up to the front door, and there was another door in the back. Each of the four equal-sized walls contained a window with curtains.
“Looks like it’s only one room.” Oliver watched Shawn walk up to one of the windows. “What are you doing?”
“Taking a peek.”
“Dude!”
“What? Nobody’s home. I don’t see any cars.”
“Jyri and his friends have probably never seen a car until they came to our world.”
“Good point.”
His point was not good enough though, for Shawn peered inside the window anyway. “Yep, one room. Nobody in it.”
Oliver took a peek as well. He spotted a bed off to the side, and table with chairs on the other side. What looked like plates and cups sat on the table. “Someone’s still living here though.”
“They could be old dishes.” Shawn walked to the back door, and turned the knob.
Oliver’s eyes widened. “I thought we weren’t going inside!”
“I’ll be quick.”
“Are you crazy?!”
But Shawn had already entered. Not wanting to be alone outside, Oliver reluctantly followed.
Not only was there a bed and table, but there was also a fireplace with a cauldron. A broom had been propped up next to it.
“Maybe we were right about Faye being a witch.” Shawn nodded towards the broom and cauldron. “And this is where she lives.”
That same wall also had a rack holding objects. A shovel, an axe, a sword, and a cleaver. Oliver shuddered. “Or maybe it belongs to some murderer.”
Shawn grinned, reaching for the sword. “Nice.”
“Don’t touch it!”
“I’ve always wanted a sword.” Thankfully, Shawn left it alone. He continued glancing around the room. “You know, this looks like a nice place to live. A little cabin in the woods, away from everyone. Wouldn’t you want to live in a place like this with me?”
Oliver’s first reaction was no, until he registered the “with me” part. Living away from civilization wouldn’t be so bad if it meant he’d be with Shawn. “You’d want to live with me?”
“Sure. I don’t have Valerie anymore. And, now I’m the one in need of a roommate…” Shawn smiled at Oliver. “Maybe when we get back, we can work something out.”
If only Valerie leaving had happened before Jyri and Faye came along. “I’d love that, but my apartment is already packed.”
“Jyri and his friends can always come back here. My lease ends in a month. What do you say?”
It was a nice idea. Oliver would much prefer living with Shawn over anyone else in the world. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”
“It’ll be like old times.” Shawn gazed at him wistfully. “I’ve really missed you, Ollie.”
Oliver’s face grew warm as he looked away. “I never went anywhere.”
“But I have. I kept running off to be with… her. She took so much of my time away from you. I wanted to invite you with us, but she didn’t want me to. I think she was jealous of you or something.”
Oliver let out a laugh at the thought. “You both thought you were straight. And I had a boyfriend at the time.”
“I don’t get it either. Maybe she thought you were going to turn me gay or something. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter anymore.” Something on the table caught Shawn’s eye, and he walked over to investigate. Oliver followed, and spotted a book next to an empty glass. An old one, with faded gold lettering. Oliver picked it up. “The Beginner’s Guide to Portals,” he read aloud. “This must be about the portals.”
“No shit.” Shawn took it from Oliver, and opened to a random page. After reading a paragraph or two, Shawn looked up, eyes widened in horror. “We’re fucked.”
“What?”
“These portals are only one-way! The one we came in through… We can’t go back. We’d have to find a different portal to get home.”
Oliver swallowed. “Is there a different portal that will take us home? What if this isn’t even Jyri’s world? And he came from some other kind of world?”
The back door creaked open. Shawn and Oliver spun around. And in walked…
“Jessica?” Shawn jerked his head back. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I saw you go through that portal, and I got curious.” Jessica walked over to Shawn and Oliver, glancing at the dishes on the table. “Who do you suppose lives here?”
“Probably a murderer,” Oliver said.
“Why are you still in here then?” Jessica’s eyes landed on the rack of weapons, and she covered her mouth. “Jesus. This was a terrible idea. I’m out.”
Shawn snorted as he returned to the book. “Good luck getting home.”
“What do you mean?”
Shawn held up the book, showing her the cover. “This says portals are one way. We can’t get back home through the portal we came in through.”
Jessica took a few steps back, hand over her chest. “Then how do we get home?”
“And what do you think you’re doing in my home?” a deep voice from the open door asked.
The three spun around and gasped as Jasper walked inside. He slammed the door behind him, scowling. “Shouldn’t you three be back at work, instead of breaking and entering my house?”
“You live here?” Shawn asked. Oliver perked up. If that was true, then there must be a portal somewhere that would lead them home.
“A man’s gotta live somewhere.” Jasper stormed up to Shawn, and snatched the book out of his hands. “I believe this is mine, thank you.”
“So you, came from here?” Oliver asked.
“No. I discovered that portal a few weeks ago. Then, I found this abandoned cabin, and this book was in here. It told me everything I needed to know.”
“How do we get back home?” Jessica asked.
Jasper eyed her for a moment. Jessica folded her arms across her chest and Jasper grinned. “I’ll only tell you if you have sex with me.”
“Gross!” Jessica stepped away from him. “No way in hell would I ever sleep with you.”
Jasper shrugged. “Guess there’s no way in hell you’ll ever sleep in your own bed again.”
“Will you tell us?” Shawn gestured towards himself and Oliver.
“I’m not sleeping with either of you.”
Shawn crinkled his nose. “We weren’t offering.”
“Don’t you want us to get back to work?” Oliver asked. “How can we if we’re stuck here?”
“As far as I’m concerned, all three of you are fired. Running off to play in parallel universes when I’m paying you to work. That’s time theft, and I will not stand for it.”
“But I left work early,” Jessica said. “Brittney approved it.”
“And it’s our lunch hour.” Shawn gestured towards Oliver. “If you tell us how to get back, we won’t be.”
“Can’t you at least give us a hint?” Oliver asked.
Jasper stroked his chin for a moment, tilting his head side-to-side. “It’s location is rather unpleasant. Especially if one doesn’t like long, dark tunnels.”
Jessica, Shawn, and Oliver exchanged looks.
“A cave?” Jessica asked.
“You tell me.” Jasper straightened. “Now, leave my house before I call the cops. And let me tell you, the law here is much worse than the law back home.”
Jasper followed them to the door. Jessica and Shawn walked out, but Jasper grabbed Oliver by the shirt.
“Ask people about Wizard’s Point.” Jasper whispered into his ear.
“What?” Oliver asked, but Jasper released his grip and shut the door in his face. The sound of a lock clicking into place followed.
“What’d he say?” Shawn asked Oliver.
“To ask people about Wizard’s Point.”
Jessica scrunched her brow. “Wizard’s Point? Is that where this cave is at?”
“Maybe,” Shawn said. “If it even is in a cave.”
“He mentioned a long, dark tunnel. What else could it be?”
“How do we know he’s even telling us the truth?” Oliver asked. “He could be sending us in the wrong direction.”
“He said to ask people about ‘Wizard’s Point.’” Jessica stared off towards the horizon. “Maybe we should start by doing that.”
“Sounds like the name of a mountain,” Shawn said. “And caves are usually found in mountains.”
Jessica’s mouth twitched. “I thought you said it wasn’t a cave.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” Shawn said. “I’m just throwing out the possibility of it being something else.”
Oliver looked out towards a clearing, noting buildings in the distance. He pointed towards them. “That looks like it could be some sort of town. Maybe we could start there.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2RmRZX0KP
and then Add to home screen.