“I don't know, it's the craziest thing. I couldn't find it either, and C.J. has just been lying here the entire time. He's breathing, that's the first thing I checked, but I can't get him to talk to me. He looks perfectly fine, he just hasn't said anything.”
“C.J.?” Chris said. “Can you hear me?” The blank stare remained for a moment longer, and then C.J. turned to look at his dad. Chris didn't like the way C.J.'s eyes looked, it sent a shiver up his spine. They made him feel uneasy; the way the blackness had spread through them.
“Yes, Dad. I'm okay. I don't think I got hurt.”
“I see that. It's... amazing.” The tears began again, this time from relief and happiness. “Will you get up please? We need to get you into the portal.” Without waiting for a response, Chris grabbed C.J.'s arm and began to pull him to his feet. They would have time to ponder the miracle of the bullet not harming him later. For now, he needed to get him into the portal. Who knew how long it would remain open.
Mike picked up the hint and grabbed the other arm. Together they were able to get C.J. to a standing position and lightly walking toward the portal. Step by step, on the way toward the portal, forward movement became more difficult. Eventually they slowed to a point where it didn't seem like they were even moving any longer. Chris grunted, and Mike had his jaw clenched, but their physical exertion got them nowhere. They were forced to a halt a solid six feet from the portal. It was right there, just two arm lengths away.
“What the hell?” Chris said. “Why can't we get closer?” He could feel the pull of the portal on him, begging for him to walk forward. He knew that if he wasn't trying to approach with Mike and C.J. he wouldn't be able to stop from going through the portal. “Mike, what do you feel right now?”
“I feel it pulling me toward it, but for some reason it won't let us take C.J. forward. It's pushing him back. I'm trying as hard as I can, but it really doesn't want him to approach.” Mike looked to Chris, but Chris refused to meet his gaze. He knew what Mike was implying, and he didn't want to consider it. They had to get C.J. in.
“Let's try again, and let's each pick up a leg, too. We'll make an impromptu chair,” Chris said. It was awkward for Mike, as he found it difficult to dig his injured leg into the ground to make forward progress. He didn't want to disappoint Chris though, and tried as best he could, but they were still unable to advance beyond their current position.
“It's not happening, Chris,” Mike said, placing C.J.'s legs back on the ground.
“No! This can't be it!” Chris screamed. “We've made it here. We just have to get him in! I refuse to let this be it!” Chris couldn't catch his breath, and he felt so frustrated that he could just explode. He picked C.J. up in his arms as if he were still a young baby and tried running forward, but was stopped dead in his tracks. He relaxed, took a forced deep breath, and tried again. Once more he strained to no avail.
“Dad,” C.J. said. Chris tried again, ignoring him. “Dad, stop. Put me down.”
Chris paused, his breathing loud, and lowered C.J. to stand on his own feet again. Chris bent at the waist and placed his hands on his thighs, breathing deeply. He was light-headed and afraid he was going to puke.
In a flash, sentinels appeared, one directly behind them, and two flanking them. They had been so focused on getting C.J. into the portal that Chris hadn't even thought about the sentinels. They were so close to the portal that the tell-tale swirling balls that announced their pending arrival hadn't even been visible. Now not only could they not get C.J. into the portal, but they were also surrounded by sentinels and couldn't retreat.
“Chris, I th–”
“Just go, Mike. It's fine. Thank you for all of the help you've given us, you are a good friend.” He looked up and saw Mike's nod of acknowledgment. Mike tousled C.J.'s hair with a hand.
“It was great knowing you, C.J. You're a heck of a kid.”
“Thanks, Mike. Go with him, Dad. I can't go,” C.J. said.
“No. I'm not leaving you behind.”
“You have to, Dad. I have a different path to travel, and I see things clearly now. This is the first time that I can see things as they truly are, and I wish I had time to explain it to you, but we don't have the time. Please, Dad, you just have to trust that we may see each other again. You need to be with Mom and Angie. I love you, Dad, but you have to go.”
The sentinel behind them began to charge toward them. Mike took a couple of steps toward the portal and then finally gave up and just ran in. Chris watched Mike's body disappear and then turned his gaze back to the sentinel. If it was going to kill C.J., then he would stand his ground, making sure the last thing he did was try to protect his son. He wouldn't just leave C.J., and he didn't think he could force himself to if he had to. Chris rose from his bent-over position and prepared to do battle with the beast.
C.J. turned to face the approaching creature and raised a hand in a stop gesture. The sentinel immediately stopped in its tracks. It didn't slow to a jog, or a walk, or anything of a gradual nature. It was as if the sentinel had ran into an invisible wall, and it stood suspended exactly as if time had frozen.
“How did you do that?” Chris asked, perplexed.
“I told you, Dad. I have a different path now. I don't need your protection, and there's nothing you can do for me. You need to go in the portal before it disappears. Please tell Mom and Angie that I love them, and I wish I could see them.”
“I can't leave you. I just can't,” Chris said, his eyes welling up with tears. The sobs tore at his throat, causing his voice waver. He fought against them and took a deep breath.
“Maybe we'll see each other again, and we'll get to play catch or something. You never know.” C.J. smiled. “Goodbye, Dad.” C.J. raised his other hand in the same manner as the one that had stopped the sentinel, and Chris was slammed in the chest by an invisible force.
“No!” Chris cried, but the image of C.J. grew smaller in his vision as the invisible force pushed him into the portal involuntarily. The tug of the portal increased as he neared, and he accelerated into the swirling mist. The warmth and tingly feelings he had previously experienced surrounded him, consoled him into no longer caring that he'd had to leave C.J. behind, and then everything went black.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Daddy?” The sound reached his mind from a distance. “Daddy, can you hear me? Wake up.”
Where am I? Chris thought. He tried to piece together what had happened last night, but couldn't remember. His eyelids felt heavy, and he just wanted to pull the covers up over his head and go back to sleep. He reached his hands down to do just that and realized that he didn't have any covers. Had he fallen asleep on the couch? The fog in his memory lifted, and in an instant he remembered everything.
He opened his eyes, and Angie's smiling face greeted him. “Hi Daddy! I'm glad to see that you made it! You're going to love this place. You won't be hurt anymore, and there's so many fun and interesting people to meet.”
He jumped to his feet and hugged Angie hard. “Oh, I'm so glad to see you! I've missed you so much. Please tell me this isn't a dream! Where is your mom?”
Angie laughed, and smiled even bigger. “No, this isn't a dream, Dad. Come with me and I'll take you to Mom. We were watching you, and we were both so happy when you finally made it.” Angie grabbed his hand tightly in hers and started pulling him forward. “There's so much we have to show you. This place is better than you could have ever imagined.”
“You were watching? So your mom knows that C.J. couldn't come?” This place felt odd to Chris, but in a good way. He should be worried and distrustful, he knew he should, but he just couldn't seem to. Everything just felt... better. His body was no longer fatigued, and everything felt like it was exactly as it should be. He touched his stomach where Steve had shot him, and found that there was no longer a wound there. The hole in his shirt remained, but the wound underneath it was gone.
Angie smiled. “She knows. It's not a bad thing like you think it is.
C.J. has his own path to follow, and he has a lot of work to do. He has some choices to make which will affect a lot of things, and the power to decide which side he'll be fighting for. I know it's confusing when you first get here, but you'll know everything before too long.”
The problem was that Chris didn't even know where here was. He appeared to be standing in a field, but when he looked up, it was a dark pink sky that met him rather than a blue one. It looked like the most gorgeous sunset he had ever seen, but there was no sun. It didn't even appear to be crouching at the edge of the horizon, as it sometimes does when it's in the process of disappearing for the night.
Chris allowed her to pull him forward by the hand, and together they began to walk through the field. “Come with me, Daddy,” Angie said. “I have so many things to show you.”
Good luck, C.J., Chris thought. I love you, and I'll be doing everything I can, from wherever it is that I am, to help you.
Did you like the book?
I would really appreciate it if you would take a second to leave a review for Portals on Amazon. Here’s the link, if you would be so kind: http://www.amazon.com/Portals-Dustin-Johnson-ebook/dp/B01AR1SMF6
Want free stories?
I’m going to send out free advance reader copies of future books and free short stories taking place in the Portals universe (and others) that will be exclusive to my mailing list. You can be included in the free loot by signing up for my email list on www.dustinwrites.com. I hate spam just as much as you. I promise not to contact you unless I think it’s something you’ll enjoy. I’ll never share your email address, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
About the Author
Dustin is a storyteller, software engineer, father, husband, reader, and all-around human being. He has written books since the age of 5, his first consisting of a talking chair and its human friend. He particularly enjoys reading and writing speculative fiction such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, and supernatural thrillers.
Website: www.dustinwrites.com
Follow on Twitter: @JohnsonDustinP
Email: [email protected]
Portals Page 19
