Chapter 5

Friday arrived.

The four of us demolished the zombies in less than two hours. In her boredom from not needing to heal me, Katie discovered that healing zombies would kill them. That alone sped up our progress immensely at the end of our first run. Our total time inside the Gate was one and a half hours. The three of us killed the ghoul easily, with Kate keeping watch in case anything else arrived.

Nothing did. I allowed the girls to keep the silver from our kills on our first run. When we made it to the white room exit, which the girls fought against, they all wanted to keep going, I discovered that I had Leveled; giving me two Status points to place anywhere on my Status board. I postponed on deciding where to place the points until later.

“Why didn’t you want to go down? We were on a roll!” Nat demanded of me.

“What happens if the next floor is a large open area and Katie would not be back before her stepfather returned? Or you missed school? Or you came back and found out that the police or army were guarding the Portal, then what?”

They didn’t like it, but gave up arguing. Even Katie had wanted to go on. On my recommendation, none of them purchased the potion or scroll. They didn’t have enough money for anything else, the prices in the shop were all too high for us to even see what was for sale.

Since I claimed none of the silver, I couldn’t buy anything either. Leveling was good enough for me. This time.

The terrible trio were all in great spirits when we exited the white room. They were dancing and hugging. Even I received hugs from each padded, winter resistant girl.

“Why don’t I take those clothes to my house for you. You don’t want to get caught when Katie’s dad reports the Gate.”

Sexy striptease from three grinning teens in Carhartt overalls was a unique experience. Not a bad one by any means, when happy yet inexperienced teenaged girls were the perpetrators. They insisted that I sit on a threadbare grandma chair, while they took their clothes off.

Hot and sweaty bods in purple, green and blue small, tight lace undies teased me while giggling. Not that I minded.

Jude wasn’t as energetic as the rest, mostly just faced me while wiggling, but she smiled like the rest.

Playing along, I pulled out my wallet and ‘tipped’ each one as they neared. My singles quickly disappeared, followed by the three of twenties I carried.

“Sorry ladies, I am tapped. Maybe next time,” I smiled over their antics. I had not been to a strip bar since my twenty first birthday. Once was enough.

They all giggled and blushed before running off to dress. I would never tell that I found them all a bit undernourished, cute, but too thin. Their ribs showing against their skin was a telling sign that they needed to eat better.

“Jase can we go in yours?” Nat rushed out half dressed, asking loudly while snapping her jeans together.

“Ask me next week. My Portal is Green.”

Coming to a full stop, “Green?!” she screeched.

“Green.”

The other two came out and asked, ‘Green what?’.

“Jase has a Green Portal.”

I saw the worry in both Jude and Katie, while Nat was all for it.

“Can we do Green?”

“If we are very careful. Rampaging like we did against the zombies will get us all killed. How about we talk about this next week?”

“Okay.” Jude spoke first. Katie was still leery and didn’t reply.

None of the trio had the red Runes on their weapons like my Axe that I could see. I didn’t mention it and they didn’t bring it up. Maybe it was because they were not what Nat called, ‘frontline fighters. I wasn’t sure that was the case. I noticed that Katie was stronger than either Nat or Jude. Much stronger than Jude and ‘somewhat’ stronger than Nattie.

What that meant, I wasn’t sure.

“It’s been a long night. How about you gather up the Carhartt stuff and the armor? I can hide those at my house.

“Okay,” Katie volunteered to do the gathering.

Those were stuffed in empty heavy-duty garbage bags that I brought over. My football pads went in their carry bag. I left my overalls on. They didn’t need to see my stiffy and it was cold outside. Their dance was more effective than they knew, and the lack of oxygen short-circuited my brain.

Before leaving, I received a thank you hug and a brief kiss on the cheek from each.

I needed a shower and time to paint the shower walls with baby batter. I had to admit, those girls got to me.

Home in bed, I questioned the lack of strength of the zombies and the ghoul. My Axe easily sliced through the arms, head and well into the bodies of the undead on every swing. The ghoul boss didn’t do much better even with his speed. He avoided my blows for the most part, but when I did connect, he took about the same amount of damage as the zombies did.

Was it speed, agility, my weapon or something else, that was responsible for the difference in what the girls reported versus what I felt in that dungeon run? I believed that it had to have been more than I was simply that much physically stronger than the last person they ran with.

He died, I reminded myself. Those zombies were slow. Strong but slow. The ghoul was fast, just as strong, but not much faster than I was and probably not any stronger than me at my current state.

Also, I noted, the number of Undead differed from their initial run. They said twenty-five for the first time, we encountered thirty. Would the runs keep increasing on each entry or will it cap out? What about my Gate? Would that increase in numbers per visit and in layout too? I had to plan for it change on my next run.

WAIT!

I called Katie.

“Hi Jase!” Kate sounded cheery, and maybe a tad tipsy.

“If you are positive that your dad will turn in the Gate, tell everyone that you have it, FB, Instagram, whatever you use. Tell all of your friends, Nattie and Jude too.”

“Why?”

“When the feds get there, just say you got home with your friends tonight and it was there. When they ask you about it, plead ignorance; it’s a crime to use it, remember?”

“Oh. Okay. We are doing that now.”

“Can we call the hotline to get the reward?”

“Yes, do that too. Say you were at Nat’s house until 11:00 and just got home. Give those two a call on their cells, pretend you are calling them over from Nattie’s. Get your story straight. Just not perfectly straight. A little deviation is better. Think of the cop shows.”

“They’re here. Oh, I see what you mean. Okay. Bye.” *Click.

That was quick. I hope it worked out for them. The feds can count the days between usage. I sent that to Jude in a text along with asking them to stay away from me for a few weeks.

I didn’t know what else to do. So, I waited and worried.

The week passed and no mention of the Terrible Trio in either the forums, the net or the newsprint. Katie’s Gate was not mentioned either. But the net did mention a military presence surrounding an apartment building on Closter in west Chicago, which was where Katie lived.

On Sunday, I ordered a pizza and salad. Nattie delivered it and was totally professional. She shook her head after I opened the door. I paid and tipped.

That they were followed was not a surprise. I just hoped that they were free from the government’s lockup and fine. I did get a sassy butt wiggle on the way off the steps, which was a good sign.

The following Sunday, I ordered again and Nattie came for my delivery. The Hug I received spoke volumes.

“They arrested Katie but she was let go the same day. All three of us have been followed for the last week, but not this week. We were afraid of coming too close.

“It looks like you did well.” If she was let go hours later, she probably wasn’t really arrested. More like took to the precinct for questioning, then released.

“We decided to wait a week before talking to you again. Is that okay?”

“Sure. If you need to. That is fine by me. Being safe is the best way to do things.”

“Katie had to move, but they are paying for the hotel until her stepfather finds an apartment. He kept the reward. It was his apartment. Katie got nothing.”

“As expected, go, you don’t want your tail to suspect anything.”

“Thanks for the tip, Mr. Jase,” she grinned and fled carrying that red insulated pizza bag behind her.

I didn’t hear from them again until March second. Six weeks. I spent my time working on the project. I put too many hours in. Paula even commented strongly a few times, worried about me. I was fine though. I was used to working long hours. I took my days off, even an afternoon walking the Mile on Michigan Avenue on a sunny snowless day, browsing and taking an expensive lunch.

I made sure that my exercise equipment in the basement wasn’t lonely. Two hours a day kept me in shape. Not training camp shape, but enough to keep me decent.

On the first of March, exactly five months after the Weapons appeared, just under half of the Portals, or Gates, as some of the Netzens; internet dwellers, started calling them, opened. Giant bugs, zombies, and a few skeletons, came rushing out to attack anything nearby. Later we were informed that those creatures were from the unused Gates. New Portals also were discovered by their monster’s sudden presence.

The Weapon gifted part of the population went mad from irritation. They all wanted to go inside and had the perfect opening now. Lawsuits abounded. The government said that to go in was dangerous and they were kept closed for their own safety, yet not going in meant danger for the rest of the populace!

The original laws for Portal entry were closely worded to trespassing on old abandoned mines: Enter at your own risk. Those entering could be fined and or imprisoned. If anything happened once inside, it was all your own fault and responsibility.

There just were not enough active soldiers with Weapons to cover all of the Portals unless they went in solo. Solo was too dangerous in the deeper floors, that information was leaked to the press by numerous unnamed sources, and confirmed by countless other ‘anonymous sources’.

There were few countries that didn’t suffer massive loss of life from the Outburst, as the event was now called. They were all the ones that sold rights to enter a portal to groups of Weapons, who paid to play around with their friends in the upper levels of the new playgrounds for the rich.

Tide of public opinion, along with the danger of unused Portals, as they were now universally called, caused the military to change the way they dealt with the rules behind them now and in the future.

A new agency was brought to the US: USPRA, the United States Portal Regulatory Agency. A fee was introduced, of three silver per person on exit of a Violet Portal, increasing per color Level of Portal or Gate. Indigos; were seven silver per person, Blues; whenever they appeared, were to be fifteen silver and so on. Payment had to be registered with the PRA before any new reservations could be made.

The President acted swiftly, for once, and rightly. Using one of his Executive Orders, he formed a new agency to regulate and administer the Portals and the Weapon holders. He demanded that driver’s licenses be modified to show the magic profession of the Portal divers. If the applicant didn’t have a driver license, then an identity card issued by the new agency, the PRA, would be mandatory.

Cards would be issued for every wannabe Portal explorer. Of course (vomit) names, addresses, and professions (magical ones) were also required for said cards. It was no longer illegal to enter a Portal, just illegal to enter one without registering. Portal entry also required a team of at least three people. An upper limit of six was openly acknowledged as the maximum number of people who could enter at once now.

The states yelled, hollered and screamed. Mostly at the cost and the longer lines, in the already long lines. But wisely, the President threw money at them and, mostly, shut them up. Lost in the shuffle, at least initially, were the illegals. They were left without recourse. The Democrats were at a loss on how much of a stink to make of it in the early months. Yet for once, President Brown’s approval rating jumped above 40%, peaking at 79%. For everyone other than lawmakers and the mixed Mexican semi-legal and non-legal community, that was.

It even stayed there for a whole two weeks, until the party opposition reminded everyone that he was a scumbag, as if it were their obligation to do so.

On the day of the President’s announcement, I went online and made a reservation for the Secretary of State to get my license. I did the same for the other three. The first was a Friday, and I reserved the first four appointments that I could, starting at 9:00, which was when they opened.

Since the Trio was still in school, I sent a group text to the three and went back to work. There was a bug in my latest program that I was having a bitch finding. Paula’s father was a gold mine for both Paula and I, and keeping us busy with high paying, short turnover, contracts.

Jude had a baby-sitting job and couldn’t make it, but Katie and Natalie showed up right after school, bursting at the seams. They wanted to go in Katie’s old apartment right now and explore.

Right that second!

“It’s a locked apartment,” I burst their bubble, reminding them that Kate’s former apartment was still under guard. “Besides, don’t you think that the military will take all the Indigo’s? Those are the best ones.”

A stream of complaints came from the exuberant Nattie. Katie, sat and stared at me in consideration, “when does your Portal open next, Jase?”

“It’s open now.”

“What Level are you?”

“Two, still. I went in twice, the second time I needed five days to clear it, but taking a week off of work isn’t something I can do all the time.”

Nat perked up and shut her mouth, she knew when to let one of her best friends lead.

“How long will it take if all four of us go at once?” Kate asked quietly, after thinking it through.

“Four to six days. Probably five, unless the dungeon radically changes from last time.”

“We can go next weekend? Leave Thursday morning and return on Monday?”

“School?”

“Friday is a PTA day. No school.”

“It’s still two days off.” I countered.

“None of our parents care and we only have two months left of school. No one cares on either end.” Kate played her ultimate trump to my objections.

I nodded. I had forgotten that these girls had little hope of a college education.

“What about Jude and her parents?”

“Won’t be a problem, she can stay at my house.”

“On April first, you three need to take a day off of school, the morning at least. I reserved an appointment at the S.S. to get your license.”

They all smiled at my acceptance and my assistance.

I reviewed the layout change in my dungeon, the extra seven Orcs were all female Orcs married to the hut owner, instead of finding mostly a single one per hut. The women were smarter and more cautious than the males, but not as strong. The boss didn’t change, but I did kill him easier the second time. The ten-minute fight from the first time ended three minutes earlier in the second dungeon run. The kicker was that a few of the hut placements had altered last time in. Something to watch out for.

The other note that I impressed on the girls was that the floor was much larger than theirs was. Probably a hundred times larger. We actively needed to search out the huts and not all the Orcs remained near their huts. Some roamed, one was chatting with his neighbor the last time, and one couple was eating dinner with another couple too. That last one, I left for a different day when they went their separate ways.

Four Orcs at once was a bit much for me without backup.

Nattie worked until midnight most days, so I saw little of her.

Jude visited a few days later, but sat stiffly as if she hurt her back. When I asked about it, she blew it off as a twinge, assuring that it would be ‘better by tomorrow. It always is’.

Katie frowned and changed the subject. She had lost her job when the clothes store she worked at closed at the end of January, and she hadn’t found a new job yet. I had the feeling she wasn’t looking too hard. Not that it was my place to say.

Ever since the announcement, Katie visited almost every day. The exceptions were when the trio had a collective day off, like on that following Monday. They spent the day at her and her stepfather’s new place, doing god knows what.

Jude’s prediction was right, the following visit, her back was in perfect health.

Sometimes, I wasn’t the brightest bulb...

Wednesday, the girls spent the night in my guest room in order for us to get an early start for Thursday’s dungeon run (or Portal run. The terminology was interchangeable to me. Portal, Gate and Dungeon were all the same).

I knew it was a bad idea for them to spend the night together. No one got much sleep that night, as they and I had stayed up too late. Thankfully, their lack of sleep was not detrimental to our dungeon run.

Four polar explorers, at least that was my silent impression of our overdressed group, entered my Green Portal, located in the utility room behind my hot water heater and furnace. I only noticed the four-foot diameter sparking Portal for the first time, after changing my furnace filters. If it hadn’t been for that, the undetectable energy Gate, would have remained unnoticed for who knew how long.

I, alone, carried a full military style overloaded backpack. The girls each had a small pup tent and other camping gear in their school backpacks. Those were to be dropped once we entered the initial clearing. Mine too.

“Remember the first hut is to the right and close; the pigs will let the Orc know that someone is here.”

“Yeah, yeah. You told us,” Nat chided.

The pigs complained when we entered the copse of trees. The girls set down their bags and stood still, waiting for me. Readying my weapon, I shook the tree lightly. We were much louder than I hoped for, immediately attracting attention of pigs and the Orcs.

Two distinct voices echoed in the distance. Shaking the tree again, we clearly heard approaching harsh Orc voices calling out. Once close, the male Orc, bellowed and rushed in the small copse of trees. (Something new for the first hut.) Stabbing worked best in dense foliage. My spike thrust disabled, but not quite killed him, a follow up strike was needed. At his death cry, the female Orc’s higher pitched scream, sounded out and fled!

SHIT!

“Nat! shoot her!” I commanded.

Nattie missed the first shot, but hit the with the second. Both Jude and I rushed out of the small grouping of trees and rushed after the stumbling Orcess, or whatever, the Orc women were called.

The Orc turned and yelled at us, hesitated, then fled again. It was too late, with Nat’s Fireshots and our speed, Jude and I soon caught up to the stocky, bare-chested dark-green Orc, easily putting an end to her life.

“That was close,” Nat called out from her hiding spot.

“Yes, the last thing we want is a hunting party of Orcs looking for us,” I reminded them.

Jude collected the silver nuggets for distribution at the end of the run and Katie stored the weapons. Items in the inventory added a little weight, a tenth of the total, but it was distributed across the body and didn’t feel like much if there was only a little added. Katie was the one that could afford the extra weight the most, as she was the one who needed speed and agility the least from her task as designated Healer. She could do that at range and didn’t really need to concentrate to aid her target.

Nothing extra was gained at the first hut after a quick search. But they all witnessed the humanlike skulls on strings.

I had started thinking of them as horror movie windchimes.

Even the timid Katie was emboldened by the sight. “Humph! They should all just go and die!”

I smirked at her disgust. I agreed though, and so did the others.

The second and third huts went fine; at the fourth one, we encountered a problem. The Orcess charged right past me, immediately after I engaged the male or her mate, as I suspected him to be, heading right at Nattie and ignoring the rest of us.

I had to hurry and finish my opponent. By the time I turned around, the Orcess was clawing at her burning face, with her hair on fire and struggling to stand up. Even without the machete on the ground next to her, Orcs were stronger and tougher than any of the Terrible Trio. A long tear on her jacket showed how close the lady Orc came to hitting Nat, yet her resolute attacks proved to me that the teen suffered no damage. Jude’s bloody daggers told the tale of why the Orcess was on the ground bleeding heavily.

“Jude, finish her, let Nat recharge her mana.” Katie called out, after looking at me standing a dozen feet away watching.

Swapping roles, the Orc died via two stabs in the kidneys. Its oily mane gone, the face and scalp, charred.

Neither girl did enough damage on their own for this Portal.

“Well done. I think we should all save our silver and hope we can upgrade our main weapons as soon as possible. Orcs are tough to kill.”