Fractured | The Portal Series book 1

Chapter 40 - Jessica

6:01 a.m. SWT – 9/14/341 U.M.

9:01 p.m. BTS – 9/13/341 U.M.

We reach the hallway to the portal room. This time, it is crawling with guards.

"You take out those two, I'll get the other three," Tess whispers in my ear, "Dylan, stay here."

I sneak up on the two Tess pointed out, and send them to the floor with two well–placed neck strikes.

Glancing over, I see that Tess has already taken her guards out, and is waiting impatiently by the door. I pick the lock, and we slip inside the hazmat room. It is empty, with no sign of Jack.

"Now what?" I ask Tess.

"We need to check the next room," she replies, "Is that where the portal is?"

"Yeah."

She pulls open the door to the airlock.

"There's no fog," I say, surprised. The thick plate of glass shows an unclear view of the mirror–turned–portal. Without the fog to cloud my vision, it looks even stranger to see it welded to the floor. I take off my gloves and wipe my sweaty palms on my pants. It occurs to me that all of us are still wearing our day–to–day clothes instead of mission garb.

"Let's go," Tess says, opening the next door. We step out of the airlock, which closes behind us with a resounding click.

"Wait a minute," I say, approaching the mirror, "I broke the glass before, I'm sure of it." Now, it is completely intact. I reach out to brush my fingers curiously over the glass, and end up with my palm flat against the glass. Belatedly, I realize that my gloves are still off. I'll have to wipe my fingerprints before we leave.

"Did you do this?" Tess asks from across the room. She is gesturing to the lever, which is pulled out of the wall. To my pleasure, I see that there is yellow tape around it, since apparently no one has had time to fix it.

"Yeah," I say, "but this thing was broken too." I start to move.

Suddenly, I jerk to a halt, my hand still pressed against the glass. Alarmed, I whirl around and try to yank my hand off. It feels like it has been attached with superglue.

Gulping, I grab my wrist with my free hand and yank.

"Um... guys?"

"Yeah?" Tess says, turning around.

"I'm stuck."

"You're what?" Dylan asks blankly.

"Stuck. I'm stuck." There is a slight tinge of panic in my voice.

"How can you be—?" Tess starts.

The glass grows warm, and then starts getting hotter and hotter. It starts turning green, and then blue. Before my eyes, the age spots disappear, and the wood frame seems to be turning fresh and new again.

"Um...um, guys?" I try to pull my hand away, and Tess and Dylan grab my arms and pull, but nothing is separating my hand from the portal.

Blue light explodes all around me, momentarily blinding me. Immediately following this, I get the sensation that space is nothing. Just a mere step away. All the planets that I know of come to mind, and some that I don't.

With a gasp, I bring myself out of the reverie, where sharp reality crowds in, but whispers of impossibility.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I murmur, "What the hell?" Almost absentmindedly, I back away. It takes a moment to realize that I am no longer stuck to the portal.