DAMNIT MARCO PART 2

Time passed more slowly than ever; the moon rising high into the night sky. Emma shook everyone awake and gathered them together at the door. “Are we all ready?” she asked, holding a roll of red tape in her hands.

         Claire noticed a roll of blue tape in Nicholas’s hands as well. “What are you two doing with tape?” she asked, looking between the two.

         Smiling, Nicholas said: “We’re going to mark the doors we travel through. Why repeat doors?” They seemed so confident in themselves. “We learned a lot in school about how the portals work. It’s just a room with many different connections. The doors don’t change so therefore you can mark them.”

         Claire nodded like she understood, hoping to get off the topic of portals immediately. As they made their way out the door, Nicholas looked back to Claire and grabbed her hand. “Stick close to me and I’ll protect you,” he said, leading her out with Emma in the lead. “I don’t live too far out from the portal station so it should be fine if we walk at a fairly normal pace.”

         “Aren’t you worried about the bots coming after us?” Claire whispered, squeezing Nicholas’s hand as he pulled her along behind him. It was pitch black in every alleyway they took to avoid being seen. Several times, her foot would catch on a large rock and send her into a frenzy of stumbling and grasping for anything to grab and balance herself with. After this embarrassment occurring more than a couple times, Claire let go of Nicholas’s hand so they wouldn’t know it was happening which at least prevented them from stopping so much.

         Despite the nuisance that was her own clumsiness, they managed to get through most of their expedition without problems. Emma gestured for the group to run from the alley, across the street, to the alley directly across from them. Counting off, she sprinted ahead, the rest following suit. And soon, they were all standing at the portal, waiting with anticipation and anxiety, keeping lookout for any bots flying overhead. Claire nervously switched the weight on her feet from right to left and back again, accidentally kicking something more than a few times in the process.

         “Hurry up…” Nicholas muttered more than a few times, waiting for the clock to strike midnight, realizing only now that they had been too anxious and left the house much too early. At last, the portal lit up like a lighthouse guiding boats to safety in the dead of night. Claire, whose foot bumped into the mysterious object once more, looked down and fell backwards in horror, a scream threatening to explode out of her. The bright portal light reflected off of the unmoving body of Ronnie who had been completely cut in half straight down the middle, organs falling out of the sides and gathering between what was left of him. Claire looked up at Nicholas in terror. “The bots must have gotten him,” he said, looking sympathetic to the barely recognizable man. She sat there, immobilized by the sheer sight. Dead bodies weren’t uncommon, but none that she had crossed had been dealt with in such a gruesome and inhuman way. Noticing her lack of response, Nicholas, with great pain, threw Claire over his shoulder and pushed everyone through the portal. With their time running out, they rushed to the first door they could get their hands on, wrapped blue tape around the door knob, and hurled themselves through the opening before any threat of closing made it known.

         A gentle breeze welcomed them on the other side along with the rustling of leaves. “Where are we?” Emma asked, taking in their surroundings. “Where’s the portal station?” She whipped around in all directions only to see that their only company was a family of trees. The peculiarity of the situation was unreal. Portals led to other portals which only resided in set stations. A portal leading to the middle of a forest was unheard of.

         Nicholas set Claire down against a tree and exchanged some words with Dane. They both nodded in agreement and spoke their hypothesis. “The virus must be messing with the portals after all.” Even Claire, who was still in her confused daze, looked shocked and worried.

         “Due to this area lacking a portal and people, I doubt there are any bots around, but we should still find some shelter for the night. We don’t know what is out here,” Dane interjected. “I saw you grabbed a flashlight, Emma. Give it here,” he demanded, swiping it from her hands. Nicholas had Claire climb onto his back and followed Dane through the forest. Tree after tree popped up in front of them and the cracking of branches on the ground made them jump more than a few times. Animals took turns squeaking and screeching with every step they took. Were they getting closer or farther from safety? At last, after disturbing snakes and scaring off the nocturnal birds, a dark cave loomed overhead of them. Examining what he could see with the flashlight from their location, Dane scratched his head, tossing back and forth the idea of this heap of rocks being their shelter.

         Emma, growing impatient, snatched the flashlight from his hands and charged forward into the cave. “I’m not standing out here waiting for you to make a decision,” she growled. Pressing forward, she took them down the left side of the cave until they were out of sight from the opening. Switching off the flash light, Emma confined everyone to the pitch black darkness. “Go to sleep until the morning,” she said, laying down and attempting to get situated.

         The rugged, stone floor was ice cold and offered no comfort during the long night. Claire curled up in her own blanket while the others made sweatshirts and whatever else work for the time being. The night was hopelessly long and left them even more tired than they were before. Hearing the faint song of a bird, Dane sprung up and dashed out of the cave quicker than a rabbit. Claire, after sleeping off that night’s horrifying events, chased after him like a bee to pollen. The forest appeared completely different with the green leaves allowing sunlight to shine through to the grass. Insects buzzed happily around their heads. Claire gasped at the sight of the seemingly untouched world. “Why hasn’t this place been destroyed like all the other ones?” she asked, baffled by this new development. A place in the country that wasn’t in ruins? Was that even possible?

         “There’s no one that lives here,” Nicholas said having dragged himself out of the cave at last. “There’s no reason to kill off or strike fear in the trees. I assume that’s why everything else is in ruin at least. I doubt the Snake is completely heartless.” Although he didn’t appear captivated by the nature, he broke out in a smile after seeing Claire prance around as though she were a spring chicken. The scene was surreal and nearly perfect. Grumbling rang out from a stomach, sending everyone back to reality and reminding them of their purpose.

         Emma and Dane began fighting over the leadership position, their plans conflicting either by misfortune or by the stubbornness they both possessed every time an argument would ensue. After the disagreements were settled, the four split up into pairs and set off in opposite directions for signs of a town or some type of human inhabited area. Emma and Claire set off at once in the left direction where the trees became denser as they went on. “So what’s the deal with you and Nick?” Emma asked out of nowhere.

         Claire, surprised by the random question, stuttered a bit, unsure of the answer Emma wanted. “We’re pen pals from—“

         “Yeah, Nick told me that story already,” she interjected, completely cutting off her story. “I mean, are you two a couple or do you just like him?”

         Blushing, Claire answered nervously. “I don’t like him. We’re just good friends excited to see each other. You’re misinterpreting it wrong.” Claire let out an awkward, nervous laugh, hoping that her answer would be enough to satisfy Emma.

         Emma grinned. “Fair enough. Then what about you and that Dane guy? You two are from the same town, right? Are you two a couple?”

         Her nosiness with a stranger’s business was completely unsettling and made Claire wish she had just paired up with one of the guys. “No. We’re just friends,” Claire said, a bit of her annoyance seeping out. “Why do you even need to know? She snapped, stopping in her tracks.

         Without turning back, Emma laughed and replied. “He seems to like you. It wouldn’t be nice if you were leading him on.”

         With her blood boiling, frustrating oozing, and a scream threatening to escape, Claire glared at the back of Emma’s blonde head. “What do you know? You barely even know us!” she screeched, her face turning cherry red. “And even if you did, it wouldn’t be any of your business so stay out of it. Dane and I are friends and that’s all!” Claire had lit up like a firecracker, exploding and sending the birds around them flying in numerous directions. Emma kept walking, Claire trudging after her.

         The guys veered to the right in their search, the walk being awkward and quiet. “This is pointless,” Dane grumbled, dragging his feet and kicking rocks.

         “Why do you say that?” Nicholas asked being genuinely curious.

         “We’ve been walking for who knows how long and we have yet to see a single sign of anything other than trees. Isn’t it time to head back already?”

         “Do you really miss Claire that much already? It’s hardly been an hour.”

         Dane snatched his watch from his pocket and stared at the time piece. “It’s been two hours, actually,” he scoffed.

         “Notice how you didn’t deny that you missed Claire after only two hours,” Nicholas prodded, grinning from ear to ear.

         “Drop it,” Dane snapped.

         “Why would I do that? Are you that embarrassed by the truth?”

         “What about you then? All your shameless flirting has to been something, right?”

         Nicholas grinned. “Of course, but we’re talking about you—not me. You’re the one that seems ashamed of it.”

         “I’m not ashamed.”

         “Then why are you turning red?”

         Dane grabbed Nicholas by the shirt, shoving him into a tree. Nicholas winced, his injuries still fresh from his fight with Ronnie. “Stay out of my business. Claire and I’s relationship does not concern you!” he screeched.

         Nicholas eased Dane’s hands away from his shirt, being cautious to avoid his rage. “Hey, I’m just warning you. She’s not going to wait forever.” In a huff, Dane backed off and continued on with their walk in complete silence. Following closely behind him, Nicholas held back a laugh.

         Emma and Claire pushed through the bushes, ready to turn around and head back to the cave. On the other side of the barrier was a town, barely touched by Snake’s destruction just like the forest surrounding it. The girls exchanged smiles, the previous fight melting away as hope budded. “Come on, let’s go back and tell the guys,” Emma said, taking off back the way they came in an all out run. Claire, surprised by Emma’s sudden burst of energy, followed after her in a bit of a daze.

When they arrived back at the cave, the guys were already waiting, sitting a great distance away from each other. Nicholas looked up. “Did you two find anything? All we came across was trees, trees, and more trees.”

Emma, who was bursting with excitement, spoke quickly. “We were walking through these bushes and when we finally got through, we saw a town. And it wasn’t just any town; it looked like there was barely any ruin at all as if the Snake hadn’t even reached there. Isn’t that great?” The guys were speechless, struck with disbelief and excitement of their own. As a group, they made plans to take off for the town in the morning just after the sun rose. They all gathered together as a group in the cave like the previous night to discuss their plans. “Let’s be realistic. There are no portals that are going to lead us outside the country,” Emma said, sending their hopes down a notch.

“Then what are we doing here? If you knew that from the beginning, what was the point in letting us get past the city?” Dane asked, narrowing his eyes at Emma who seemed to purposely be shooting down their plans.

“The city isn’t a good place for you to end up,” Nicholas interjected. “Besides, there are other options.” He trailed off, waiting for a reaction.

“And what would that be?” Claire asked, too curious to wait for them to continue on with their explanation.

Nicholas and Emma exchanged looks. It was Emma that took on the task of explaining their personal plans. “If we could portal to the Snake’s hideout, we could reset the program and stop this from getting any worse,” she explained as if it were only a simple task. “We would just have to continue on through the portals until we get there. I mean, he may be an evil genius, but he still needs the portals to get from place to place, right?”

Dane spoke up. “Why would he leave ever leave the computer’s base in the first place though?”

“He can’t survive on computer wires and digital information. He has to leave for food and such,” Emma explained.

“Why hasn’t he been caught yet then if he’s always leaving?”

“No one knows who he is so how could they possibly catch him?” Nicholas asked. Emma froze for a minute, seemingly in deep thought as though a thought had struck her like lightening. “Emma?” Nicholas asked, noticing her odd behavior.

Emma shook her head. “I was just thinking about possible strategies. That’s all,” she muttered, avoiding eye contact. The rest shrugged it off.

“So what, we find the Snake and reset the system? You make it sound simple,” Dane muttered.

“We realize it’s not so if you two just want to continue on with your original plans, we’ll understand,” Nicholas said, his confidence fading.

Claire looked from Dane to Nicholas. “I’ll come with you.”

“Claire, I thought we talked about this,” Dane cut in.

“Think about it. There is truth to what they’re saying. The portals lead to other parts of the country. That isn’t going to help us escape. Besides, this way we can make everything better.”

“Fine,” Dane muttered, turning over and closing his eyes so he could sleep. The rest followed suit soon afterward, all agreeing on the mission of resetting the computer program to get rid of the virus.

Crawling over to the spot Nicholas had chosen for his bed, Claire nudged him gently, whispering to see if he was awake or not. A pair of arms shot up out of the darkness and pulled Claire down next to him. “Hello there,” he whispered, quietly snickering. “What brings you here?”

With her face growing warmer, Claire tried to back away from Nicholas’s face only able to feel his breath against her face. “I just wanted to ask about the whole virus thing. Why do you think we’re capable of finding the program and figuring out how to reset it?” she asked, avoiding eye contact even though it was too dark to see anything.

Nicholas smiled, hugging Claire closer to him. “Believe it or not, I know a lot about computer systems and how they operate. I took a lot of classes on them so I could get a career in the field.”

“I didn’t know that. Why didn’t you two do this earlier, though? And why not tell us before we left the city?”

Nicholas sighed. “We were planning to wait until after Doni got back from his latest scavenger but…” he trailed off.

“But?” Claire asked.

         “But there was no way for to know when that way, and when you showed up at my house, I had to take the chance while you were there.”

         Claire could feel Nicholas’s face getting closer than before, sending her into a panic. “Do you really think we can do it, though?” Nicholas remained silent. “Nick?” Claire asked, wondering if there really was no hope. However, soon, she heard the faintness of snoring coming from Nicholas. She giggled, amazed at how easily he could just fall asleep. Slowly, she escaped from his grip and made her way back over to her own spot for sleep.

         “Of course we can do it, Claire,” Emma said, lurking somewhere in the darkness. “Don’t worry about it too much, though. We’ll figure it out as we go. Just trust us.” Emma’s voice faded out as she dozed off as well, leaving Claire as the only one still conscious. She too let herself slip into the dream world, and when she woke up, she was alone in the cave, everyone else already outside eating food Emma had stashed away in her bag.

Dane smiled. “Morning,” he chirped, tossing her a large piece of bread. Claire smiled back, happily accepting the bread, feeling her stomach grumble and beg to be filled. After devouring it, they all headed out at a fast walking pace in the direction Emma and Claire had gone the day before. The sun was shining brightly and the birds chirped, playing their beautiful song wherever the group walked. Soon, they reached the dense bushes and pushed their way through, arriving at the entrance to the town. After peering into the town as far as they could from the bushes, they all stepped out onto the dirt road that led into town. A sign stood at the entrance saying Welcome to Craterquake! The houses appeared intact, but the streets lacked people or anything living for that matter.

         Slowly, the foursome made their way into town, seeing no signs of life. Splitting up, they all spaced out to knock on doors, trying to draw out someone but with no luck. They all regrouped in the center at a dried out water fountain. “It looks like it’s a ghost town,” Dane said, stealing a few more glances at the houses around them.

         Emma nodded. “It must have been one of the communities that took the conspiracies seriously and got out while they could. You would think that someone would have stayed behind though,” she muttered, scratching the back of her head in confusion.

         “If the majority of the population was leaving, surely the rest would have as well. No one wants to leave their close friends, and when a town is this small and tight-knit, they’re all close friends. Chances are that they all left together,” Claire chipped in, glad to finally add something helpful to the discussion. Everyone nodded in agreement.

         “In any case, let’s search the houses just in case we’re missing something. Maybe they have something we could use,” Nicholas suggested. “I saw the portal station down the street. It’s a surprise that such a small town even has one. How are we going to split up into pairs this time? Although there doesn’t seem to be harm here, we shouldn’t take chances.”

         The four stared uncomfortably at each other, unsure of how the pairs would work. Emma was the first to start walking away. “Come on, Nick. You and I will take these houses,” she said without turning back to check to see if he was following. Nicholas shot Claire a regretful glance before hurrying after Emma.

         “It looks like it’s just you and me, Claire,” Dane said, smiling warmly at her. They walked off to the nearest house and opened the door that no one had bothered to lock. Tables were overturned and articles of clothing were thrown askew. “They must have been in a rush,” Dane muttered, continuing on through the house with caution. Claire branched off into the kitchen area, rooting through the pantries. Dane burst through the door holding a bag. “Put all the food you find into this bag so we’ll have something to eat for awhile,” he said, tossing her the empty bag. Immediately, she began stuffing the bag full of food that was in cans. Dane came back in holding several jackets and blankets. “I grabbed these for next time we have to sleep in a cave.”

         Claire laughed at his joke. “I hope that doesn’t happen again,” she said, grabbing one of the jackets from him. As they walked from house to house, collecting food, they joked about the days before the hack, picking on one another like they used to. “I’m glad we have each other out here,” Claire said, smiling as she watched the sunset start to set in as they approached the town’s center.

         Dane smiled back at her. “Me too. It’s too bad that not all the towns will be like this,” he said, staring off at the sunset. “Or…” he trailed off.

         “Or?”

         “We could just stay here for awhile, living off of what these people left behind,” he suggested, turning so he could see Claire’s reaction.

         She grimaced. “No, Dane. We made a pact, and I plan to keep it.”

         He nodded. “I was only kidding. Don’t take me so seriously,” he said, hitting her playfully in the arm, feeling his lie sink in.

         Emma and Nicholas came running up to them, swinging a bag of their own around recklessly. “We have food,” Emma sang excitedly.

         “We do too,” Dane said, not sounding surprised at all.

         “I found a house we can stay at that looks pretty well put together,” Nicholas said, leading them towards the portal and into the house directly across from it. “Here we can dash out to the portal when we need to.”

         As they all headed for separate rooms, Dane grabbed onto Claire’s wrist. “Claire, can I talk to you about something?” he asked, a bit of nervousness in his voice.

         Claire, panicking, averted his eyes, unsure of what he could want to talk about. Her mind drifted to all the possibilities, some scaring her too much. “Umm…” she stammered, thinking of multiple excuses, but none fitting the situation just right. “Can you tell me tomorrow? I’m really tired,” she lied, faking a yawn.

         Dane smiled. “I’m sorry. Of course, it can wait,” he said, walking off to find a room for the few hours they had to sleep.

         Claire went in the opposite direction, hoping to put as much space between her and Dane as possible for the time being. Her stomach flipped, knowing all she did was prolong the talk that was bound to happen eventually. If he wanted to talk about their relationship again like he had a year or so ago, she wouldn’t be able to face him for the rest of their trip, making things awkward and unbearable. Closing her eyes, Claire forced herself to sleep in the most comfortable bed she had laid on in a long while. “Maybe I’m just misinterpreting things,” she muttered.

Claire woke up to the sound of everyone yelling. “We overslept!” one of the guys yelled. “Claire, we have to go NOW!” they screamed again. Claire shot up, throwing herself from the bed and making a dash for the front door. Everyone else had already gathered, taking off towards the station right as she arrived. In the nick of time, they jumped through the portal. Their eyes darted between doors as Emma wrapped a second piece of tape around the door they had just come through.

         “This one,” she said, taping the door knob and rushing through with the others on her heels. Emma, fell right through the doorway, losing her footing and rolling down the grassy green hill that was on the other side. She landed at the bottom in a crater of dirt, the others landing on top of her one by one. She groaned, shoving them all off. “What the shit just happened?” she cursed.

         Sitting up and looking around, Nicholas rubbed his bruised shoulder. “It looks like the portals are sending us to random places now like last time,” he muttered. Nicholas stood up, pulling the two girls with him. “Let’s just find somewhere to stay and we’ll find the portal later.” They trekked up the large hill, avoiding the craters in the ground. On the top of the hill stood a barn, rotting and splitting, shaking as the wind blew. “That’s our chance,” Nicholas whispered, taking off in a run towards the run down barn. Forcing open the door, they all crept in, only seeing the emptiness that lay in front of them. “Up there.” Nicholas pointed to the top of the barn where a ledge protruded from the inside of the barn. He pushed the girls to the ladder, forcing them both up, following after them. “Come on, Dane, you too.” The top of the ledge was adorned with old hay and was barely big enough for the four of them.

         Claire peered over the ledge, growing dizzy once she saw how high up they actually were. “Is this really safe?” she asked nervously.

         Nicholas took a peek as well, shrugging it off. “Sure, we’ll be fine as long as we don’t fall or anything.” Claire stared at him, bewildered. Nicholas cracked a smile. “Don’t worry about it. Stay away from the edge, and you won’t have to worry about falling off.”

         “Geez, you make it seem so simple. How are we supposed to sleep like this?” Dane asked, sarcasm dripping in his tone.

         “You could sleep sitting up?” Nicholas suggested in a half-mocking tone.

         Dane glared. “Right…” he murmured, propping himself up against the wall.

         The barn door was heaved open, though. The figure of short, stubby man stood in the doorway. He breathed deeply and made no attempt to remain quiet. “I know you damn vermin are in here! You don’t think that I can hear ya, but I wouldn’t mistake this here barn door’s noise. Get out of here before I blow off your heads!” the man yelled, swinging around something slender that he held in his hands. “You asked for it,” he scoffed, aiming at a box and started shooting.

         Claire jumped, covering her ears with her hands and hiding her face in Nicholas’s shoulder. He held up his index finger over his lips, gesturing for everyone to stay quiet. Emma gave him a bewildered look as if he was crazy. In the midst of their gestures to each other, the man was swinging his gun around, banging it against the barn walls. “Get out here, you pests! I’ll be damned if I let you out of here without a scratch this time.” This time, he swung and knocked the ladder to their ledge out of place so it crashed to the floor. “I’ll be waiting for you to come out,” the man said. In a huff, he left the barn, undoubtedly waiting outside.

         Nicholas let out the breath he had been holding and spoke in the lowest whisper he could manage. “That was a close one.” He gave Claire a reassuring rub on the back and pat on the head. “You’re alright.”

         Emma shook her head. “How did he even hear us?” she asked, her eyes locked on the barn door, waiting for it to open and the man to come in shooting again. “And how are we supposed to get out of here with no ladder and him waiting outside for us?”

         Claire sat up, her whisper barely audible. “We could wait until morning and then try to reason with him. Maybe when he sees us, he’ll realize we aren’t going to harm him and let us go.”

         “Claire…” Dane muttered, shaking his head. “Reasoning with this man isn’t going to help us. We’re going to have to get out of here by force.”

         “And why won’t it work?” she argued.

         Nicholas put his hand on Claire’s head to quiet her. “Dane’s right.”

         “I am?” Dane asked, surprised by Nicholas’s agreement.

         “Of course. That man is a violent fool which is understandable. I mean, if something was in your territory threatening the only part of your old life you have, you would be a little crazy too. But, that doesn’t mean we can just give him the benefit of the doubt. If anything, we’ll need to sneak out right under his nose,” Nicholas inquired, turning his attention to the ladder lying on the floor. “Somehow, one of us is going to have to get to the bottom so we can get off this ledge.”

         “And how would one of us manage that? I don’t believe any of us know how to fly or teleport,” Emma scoffed.

         Dane squinted, allowing his eyes to slowly adjust to their dark surroundings. “I see a box below us. If we can lower someone down to where they can get onto that box, they would be home free to pull up the ladder and help the rest of us down.”

         “That’s…a great idea,” Nicholas exclaimed, giving Dane a thumbs up. “So, who wants to be the one to go down there?” he asked.

         “I’ll go. It’s best if there are two of you guys to lower me down so no one is flying off the end and killing us all,” Emma said, taking her eyes off the barn door and focusing them on the box below. “Just don’t drop me, alright?”

         The guys each grabbed one of Emma’s hands as she scooted herself off of the edge, leaving her to hang down as far as they could stretch without going over themselves. “Are you good?” Dane asked, struggling to stay on the ledge. Emma glanced down and nodded. In unison, the guys let go of her, letting her fall the few feet to the box. She landed with a solid clunk. The guys exchanged victorious glances and sat back up, away from the edge. “That was fun,” Dane said sarcastically.

         “I would laugh at that, but I’m afraid that might blow our cover,” Nicholas said with a smirk. His expression faded to one of concern, though when he discovered a peculiar smell. “What is that smell?” he asked, sniffing the air left and right. “It smells like smoke,” he said, now wide eyed and looking around frantically. The old man with the gun was now shooting at something outside, yelling furiously at some unknown force. As the man’s frantic yelling grew quieter, the smell of smoke got stronger. Flames began to lick up from the barn, engulfing more and more in red hot flames. Emma stared at the flames, frozen for a moment. “Emma! Get the ladder!” Nicholas yelled, tossing away the whispers and hiding.

         Emma snapped back to attention, grabbing the old, wooden ladder and heaving it up, placing it right against the ledge. Claire went down first, Dane following closely behind. Nicholas brought up the rear, jumping off the ladder halfway down, tipping it over in the process so it landed with a loud thud on the ground. Upon impact, the ladder brought in half, lying in a heap of broken wood. The flames spread even farther, progressing rather quickly and burning every piece of wood they reached to ashes. “Hurry up,” Emma growled, pushing everyone along as the burnt wood began to collapse in on itself.

         After safely making it out of the burning barn, they turned back to observe the damage. In a matter of minutes, the barn was completely engulfed in flames, the old man nowhere in sight. The sun was coming up over the hillside, a mix of the beauty of a sunrise and the horrifying image of a building crumbling and turning to ashes before their very eyes. The sunrise gave them enough light to finally see farther than a few feet ahead. A vast farmland surrounded them, all the crops dead and gone. The old man was a small ant in the distance, still chasing at whatever had apparently started the fire, and a single run down truck sat alone in the middle of the field, unprotected and for all to see. A smile spread across Nicholas’s face as he made his way toward the red and rusted truck. “This thing is just sitting out here? They must not be too concerned with anyone stealing it.”

         Claire followed after him, worried about what was running through his mind. “You’re not thinking about stealing it, are you?” she asked.

         Nicholas didn’t turn back. Instead, he began a hunt for the truck keys, checking the bed of the truck along with the space above the tires. “Maybe they shouldn’t leave their keys right with the truck then if they don’t want it stolen,” he said, dangling the key ring in front of her face as a tease. “It’s the only way we’re going to get to a portal in a short amount of time.”

         Although his logic seemed to make sense, Claire was not put at ease. Instead, her stomach did flip flops, feeling guilty for even considering stealing something that a total stranger might hold dear. “We have all day to get there. What’s the rush?” she asked, trying to divert their course of action.

         “We might have all day, but then again, it might take all day just to find this place. We don’t know where we’re going or how long it will take there so transportation other than feet would be the smartest thing to do,” Nicholas argued.

         Emma came up behind Claire, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “In times like these, we have to do what we can to get by. These people just lost their barn. I doubt that their truck is going to have much meaning to them compared to that. Besides, it’s a harsh world. The weak get chewed up and spit out unless they step up their game and stand their ground. We can’t afford to let our guilt get in the way of our goal.” Although her words weren’t what Claire had hoped to hear, they reassured her, allowing her to step back and stop worrying about the consequences of the situation.

         “Are we alright now?” Nicholas asked, hopping into the driver’s seat of the truck and sticking the key in the ignition, bringing the car to life. “Get in,” he commanded. The three filed in, giving their blistered feet a rest. Nicholas took off at, the tires spitting up dirt when they turned. He turned onto the dirt path and sped down it at top speed, causing everyone to be thrown in the air when the hit pot holes or rocks inconveniently placed. Ten minutes of driving on the path produced no results, only surrounding them with more and more destroyed farmland and wrecked barns. Nicholas raced up a tall dirt hill, determined to get somewhere that could be helpful to them. Upon driving down the hill, a figure stood in the middle of the path, blocking their way. In a panic, Nicholas turned the wheel and braked, somehow managing to keep the truck sitting straight up and everyone unharmed. The truck stopped far off the side of the path. “Is everyone alright?” he asked reluctantly. Claire was frozen in her seat, her hands gripping the seatbelt as if it were her only lifeline left. Emma held back a scream of annoying while Dane sat there, bewildered and trying to catch back up to speed on what had just occurred.

         “What was that?” Emma scoffed, turning around in her seat and look back at the figure. Her eyes shot open with recognition. Immediately, she struggled to force open her side door, darting out of the vehicle and racing towards the shadow as if her life depended on it.

         “What’s she doing?” Claire asked, making her own way out of the truck, her legs shakily holding her up.

         “Doni!” Emma yelled, throwing herself at the figure and staring right into his captivating eyes. “Where have you been?” she asked, nuzzling herself against him. She gazed lovingly into his eyes, in a trance of some sort. Her behaviors modeled a girl in absolute bliss and love.

         “Are they…” Claire trailed off, unable to look away from the reunion. The rest of them walked closer so they could be within earshot of the conversation.

         Nicholas nodded. “Doni is the one Emma wanted to bring with us in the first place. He travels through the portals, jumping around from time to time, though so it’s difficult to pinpoint when he’ll actually be at home.”

         Doni embraced Emma in a long hug, kissing her on the nose and ruffling her hair as well. “Hey, Em. I missed you, too.” He grinned at her outburst of affection. “But you know what they say, right? Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and I rather enjoy being smothered by your affection.” With a deep chuckle, Doni planted one last kiss on Emma’s cheek and turned his attention to Nicholas. “Hey Nick. I hope you’ve been keeping Em out of trouble. I never thought I’d run into you two here. Hell, I didn’t expect to almost get run over either.”  Doni held out his fist, the broadest of smiles on his face.

         Nicholas tapped his own fist against Doni’s, giving him a wink in the process. “Of course I have. What else could possibly keep me as busy as watching after that monster over there?”

         “I can still hear you,” Emma grumbled, wrapping her arms around Doni’s waist, attaching herself to him as if she were a leech and her life depended on it. “This is great. Now we can travel together,” she exclaimed, her eyes shining brightly with excitement. Doni’s grin turned into a sad smile as he tried to lead Emma away from the group to talk; however, she stayed still and absolute, unmoving from her spot. “What is it? Do you not like that idea?”

         Doni chuckled, holding up his hands as if he had been caught. “No, no. That’s not the case at all, but…”

         “But what?”

         “I have my own agenda to accomplish and I don’t want to slow you down by doing things my own way,” he said, poking Emma in the side in an attempt to cheer her up.

         Her face remained glum and disappointed. “Will you at least stay with us for one more portal?” she asked, forced hope filling her voice.

         Doni grimaced and gave a sigh. “I suppose I can manage that, but just because it’s you,” he said, ruffling her hair once more. “Hey, cheer up. I’ll meet you back at home in no time. In the mean time, just think about how awesome I am when I am around.” With his ego inflated, Doni laughed heartily, pulling Emma in for another hug. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”

         Claire gazed at the two, their warmth towards each other infecting the surrounding area, making her heart ache for some reason that she couldn’t put her finger on. “It’s too cute that it makes you sick, right?” Nicholas asked, causing Claire to jump forward in surprise.

         “Don’t scare me like that,” she said, waiting for her heart to stop racing. “I didn’t think Emma acted this girl like. She always seems to be so tough.”

         “She has this big soft spot when it comes to Doni. They’ve been dating for a good two years if not more.”

         Dragging Doni over to them, Emma started with introductions. “That girl right there is Claire and the guy is Dane. This is Doni. He’s going to come with us for a little bit,” Emma said, reverting back to seriousness.

         Doni nodded his head, offering a smile. “I heard you guys need help finding the portal. If you let me drive your prime transportation over there, I’d be happy to show you to the portal station.”

         His unwavering smile, although it appeared to be welcoming, sent chills down Dane’s spine. While Doni led his old friends to the truck, Dane held Claire back, dropping his voice to a low whisper. “Does he seem a little bit off to you?” he asked nervously.

         Claire raised her eyebrow. “No, why?”

         “Nick made it seem like he jumps from portal to portal all the time. Isn’t that just a little bit suspicious?”

         “We’re doing the same thing, though. Does that make us suspicious, too?”

         Dane shook his head furiously. “It is if there is no purpose to it.”

         “Maybe he does have a reason for it.”

         “How is he making his way back home then if he doesn’t leave any markings?”

         Claire thought back to the city door and the scratch in the wood. “There was a scratch in the Middleton door that I saw before we left,” she muttered.

         Dane stopped, shocked that he was just now hearing about this. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” he asked.

         “I didn’t think it was relevant.”

         “Not relevant? Everything is relevant now. Can you at least tell me something else like that happened?”

         Claire nodded. “Yeah, and you should stop being so paranoid about every person we meet. Nick and Emma obviously know him so he can’t be all that bad.”

         Dane shook his head. “That’s not always true, Claire.”

         “Are you guys coming?” Doni interrupted, everyone else already piled into the truck. The two nodded, crawling into the back seat with Nicholas.

         “What was so important that you two seemed so serious?” Nicholas asked, turning the spot light onto Claire and Dane.

         “We were just wondering why Doni hops around in the portals,” Claire said, completely oblivious to the word secrecy.

         Doni, now driving them back in the direction of the barn, laughed. “If that was all, you just had to ask. I would have told you. Well, one night I was running from Ronnie and the bots showed up after us out of nowhere. My only escape was the portal station so I ran to it and got through at just the right time. I really had no intention of going anywhere. I just needed to hide in the portal until they were a good distance away from me. However, the countless doors that awaited me excited me and presented me with an opportunity of journey and new places. So, my goal is to explore all the portals I can. Although I hate that everywhere I go is in complete devastation, at least I get to see the country before it’s completely destroyed. Is that all you wanted to know?”

         Claire smiled. “Thanks. That clears everything up.”

         Dane jabbed her with his elbow. “Yeah, thanks,” he muttered, remaining quiet the rest of the car ride.

         “Now, it’s only fair that I know your objectives, is it not?” Doni asked with a laugh.

         Emma didn’t hesitate to jump on his question. “Dane and Claire just showed up at Nicholas’s house one night from what I hear saying they wanted to escape.” Emma stopped to laugh. “That’s ridiculous though since the only places the portals lead to are within the country. So, we made a pact that we would stop the Snake and reset the system so things can stop being such a hell.”

         Doni’s response was delayed. His pause was longer than expected. He smiled, though. “Well, you are rather ambitious, aren’t you?” His answer was left open to interpretation. Dane was the only one who seemed to get a rise out of his peculiar response though and shrugged it off as paranoia as Claire had tried to call it earlier. Still, something inside him tugged him to ask more questions and be brutal over his sneaky responses. With a glance to Claire, Dane sighed, letting her embrace in her overly trusting ways.

         Emma chatted, jittery as a squirrel, telling Doni about everything they had seen and all the different parts of the country they had visited. She glowed with exhilaration of having such a familiar face by her side again. Dane sat secluded, staring out the window at the passing farmland, unspeaking and brooding. Claire poked him a few times in an attempt to get his attention, but after a glance her way, he turned his attention back to the window, giving her a cold shoulder as frigid as ice. Nicholas gave her a reassuring smile, signaling for her to give him his space for a little bit. The truck came to a sudden halt in front of an old looking portal station. It was covered in cobwebs, the ground around it cracked and split, making the walkway uneven and barely safe enough to walk on.

         “Wow. It’s in worse shape than I imagined,” Nicholas said, taking note that the portal station wasn’t even in an area with people. Instead, it was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a few farms and barns. “I take it you’ve been here before.”

         Doni nodded. “I’ve been here a lot, actually. My grandparents lived here for a good amount of time before they left the country when the rumors started up.”

         “Then you can tell me why the portal station is in the middle of nowhere, right?”

         “Not all portal stations are in towns and cities. I figured you would know that much at least. Where ever there are a fair amount of people, portal stations will be built and used. Because this place is nothing but farms, they used the portals to transport and sell their crops,” Doni explained as a wicked grin spread across his face. “And there’s a way to manipulate the portals sometimes.”

         Dane and Nicholas’s attention whipped straight to Doni. “What are you talking about?” Dane asked.

         “There’s generally a code that the portal operators used to use so it could be used all times of the day. If you know the code for that portal, you can access it whenever you want. Lucky for you, I know this portal’s code,” Doni bragged, walking over to the keypad next to the portal.

         “And how do you know the code?” Dane asked suspiciously.

         “Like I said, my grandparents lived here. I would hang around the portal station all the time and watched them put in codes.” With his explanation done, he turned to the keypad, entering a series of numbers. Each number clinked as he pressed the key down, making a small song of short sounds. The portal clicked open, unlocking itself. “See?” His bragging was well deserved. Everyone looked between the other, waiting for someone to make the first move. Emma, putting her full trust in Doni’s abilities, stepped through the door, the rest following gradually. Everything appeared normal within the portal. The countless white doors still stood before them, a few with taped door knobs.

         “We actually have time to make a decision this time,” Claire said, looking from door to door.