The Portal

David stood there for a moment and thought about it, as it was something he was curious about considering the entire time travel phenomenon. What happened if he got shot? Drowned? Got hit by a train? His father said the body going back to the past was a projection and not the actual body, so it would make sense for the mind to go back to the body if the projection is destroyed. He looked back at his brother and finally responded to him.

“Were you planning on tell me this soon,” David started, “Or were you going to let me die first and learn it on my own?”

“That’s how Dad taught me,” Ricky replied, “He didn’t want me to run around like I was invincible and be careful and cautious right from the beginning. He wanted us to avoid that at all costs because you still die. If you get shot in the gut you will bleed out and suffer till your heart stops. You will experience death and that’s not a pleasant feeling. I would recommend you avoid it as much as you possibly can.”

“How many times have you died in there?” David asked, curious about it himself since Ricky had been traveling for quite some time.

“A few times,” Ricky vaguely answered, “Trust me brother, it sucks.”

“So if we want to come back, why can’t we just off ourselves if we want to exit early?” David asked.

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Ricky said, “There is a possibility that you might mimic that action in the cave and really kill yourself.”

“Good point,” David said, as it made sense. “So if we meet our maker any other way, the Portal will bring us back unharmed?”

“Yes, with no injuries.” Ricky confirmed, “But you’ll still remember the trauma of the actual death.”

“That would suck,” David agreed, “But at least it’s good to know that if we make a mistake or get ambushed, we come back here instead of to the afterlife. That was something that I was actually afraid of.”

“What was?” his brother asked.

“I was afraid that if we died in the past,” David explained, “That we would also die in the cave as well.”

“I’m not exactly sure how the Portal does its thing,” Ricky said, “But when our projection dies, the only thing we retain is the memory of it and how badly dying at that particular moment blew. So try to avoid it.”

“You think?” David said, laughing.

“Look,” Ricky said as he started to walk David towards the cave. “Gail doesn’t think you’re ready, but you actually know more than I did the first time I traveled through time alone.”

“Dad was always like that,” David agreed, “He was the kind of guy who would push a kid into the deep end to teach him how to swim. Let the desperation of the moment be a motivator.”

“Yeah, that was Dad.” Rick said as they walked closer. “Look, think of a nice place or time that you’d like to see. The more precise you can be the better. I’d also recommend not going somewhere where you might bump into your younger self. That can cause problems, not to mention Dad and Gail would get super pissed at me as well.”

David stopped walking, “Where did you go your first time alone?”

“I can’t tell you,” Ricky said, smiling. “If I tell you, there’s a chance you might go there and that might be awkward. Do you need a minute?”

“Yeah,” David said as he took out his cell, “Let me look up some dates so I can be precise in my timing.”

“Good idea,” Ricky said, “Let me know if you’ll need to change.”

“I’ll try to avoid that,” David said as he checked his phone for a few ideas. He thought if he did something in the last twenty to forty years, jeans and boots will not stick out and he’s be fine in what he was wearing. He was only pretending to look at his phone, as he had already picked a date and a place but he didn’t want to tell Ricky about it or even hint to it out of fear that he might try to stop him.

“Do you need any cash?” Ricky called out, “I can get you some bills if you tell me what decade you’re going to.”

“The seventies!” David called out.

“Are you staying in the US?” his brother asked.

“Yes, so green backs will do.” David said as he watched his brother walk to the same shed where they changed into their clothes the last time.

Ricky walked back up to him with what was a handful of one hundred dollar bills from that era. “This should hold you over.”

“You think?” David asked, “There has to be at least a thousand here.”

“There’s three thousand actually,” Ricky confirmed, “That should be more than enough to get a hotel, a few good meals and have a good time where ever you’re going. Where are you going, by the way?”

“To a party.” David answered, “That’s all you’re going to get.”

“Just be careful.” Ricky replied, “If you get arrested, they’ll take all your personal effects and you might beam back to the portal without them.”

“I’ll be alright,” David said, as he stuffed the bills into his pocket.

“Good luck brother,” Ricky said, slapping his shoulder like his dad would. “I’ll be back up in a few hours, to check up on you. Just close your eyes and think of the place and the time you want to go, and the Portal will do the rest.”

“Seems easy enough,” David said, “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

David walked into the cave alone for the first time since he was first informed about it. The cave seemed a little darker and more intimidating than it had the last time. Maybe it was because he didn’t have his brother there to distract him from the darkness. Ricky’s confidence was also contagious, but if he could do it then David was quite sure he would be alright. He slowly walked deeper into the cave and as he did the light shining in from the opening the cave would get lower than a few steps ago. David finally stopped walking and figured he was deep enough to get the thing to start up. David checked his pockets to do an inventory, make sure he knew what he had before he left, making sure not to leave anything behind when he came back. He stood there, adjusted his ball cap and then closed his eyes and thought about the time and place he wanted to travel back to. It wasn’t’ a very original idea for the location, but it was the time that he wanted to see more than anything else, as it was a day he thought about often. David had kept his eyes closed but the cave started to rumble like it had the two times before when he had traveled in time with Ricky. Instead of taking a peek, David instead decided to keep concentrating on the time he wanted to travel to, and took a deep breath and waited for the Portal to do the rest. As he finally felt that strong wind hit his body, it was replaced by another breeze as he was back outside and in a very familiar place. David opened his eyes and for the second time in three trips, he was back at the old family house. The only difference this time was the date. He was right in the middle of the driveway, but there were more than a few cars in the long driveway. That had told David that he had arrived at the date he was asking for, which made him smile.

“Excuse me,” a voice called out. A man who looked to be in his late forties started walking over to him. “Who are you, where the hell did you come from?”

“Who wants to know?” David asked him.

“I asked you first smart ass,” the man scoffed back at him.

David smiled, “I’m here for the wedding.”

“Whose side of the family are you on?” the man asked.

“Both,” David replied. “What about you?”

“I’m the father of the groom,” the man replied, “How the hell can you be here for both the bride and the groom?”

“I happen to be related to them both,” David said, smiling at his grandfather. “At least, not yet.”

The old man’s eye widened upon hearing that statement. “Wait a second, are you trying to tell me...”

“Yes,” David told him. “I’m in the cave right now.”

“Shit,” the man said, grabbing David by the arm. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“What do you think?” David replied, “I’m here to see my parents get married.”

The old man walked David around to the side of the house. “What’s your name?”

“David,” David replied.

“Hello David,” the man said, shaking his hand. “My name is Harvey Jones, but you can call me Harv.”

“Pleased to meet you, Harv.” David said, smiling at him. “Are you sure I can’t call you Grandpa?”

“Shit,” Harv said again, “Just call me Harv for now. I don’t want anyone else around here getting confused.”

“Sure thing Harv,” David said, having fun meeting his grandfather for the first time. He never got a chance to meet the man before he passed away. He was a little bit taller than his father and he was dressed up for the wedding.

“Just sit at the back and don’t make contact,” Harv said, “Minimal contact will prevent paradoxes. You hear?”

“I hear you,” David confirmed, “Just happy to be here. I know I’m a little early. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“We’re just setting up the chairs, come on.” Harv said as he gestured to the back yard. “Let’s go this way so we can talk more.”

“Just to let you know, this is the first time travel I’ve done by myself.” David informed him as they walked towards the back, “I just thought it would be safe to go somewhere familiar the first time rather than somewhere new.”

“That was a good idea,” Harv said, nodding his approval. “You’re walking before you try to run; I appreciate your humility in the face of this awesome power. Rather than beam into the middle of fort knox on a Friday night, or in Vegas to make some bets... you wanted to spend time with family. That tells me a lot about you and your character, David.”

“Thanks Harv,” David said as he started to pick up chairs and move them to the area where other people were setting them up.

“Just a tip for you, kid.” Harv said, as he also grabbed a few chairs, “If you ever travel back and end up speaking with someone else in our family that knows about the Portal, all you have to do is tell them that you’re here on Family Business and they’ll know exactly what you’re talking about.”

“Nice,” David said, “That makes things a hell of a lot easier.”

“It’s something only we know,” Harv reminded him, “So don’t tell anyone else except family what that means and no one else catches on.”

“Fair enough,” David replied, “Mum’s the word.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Harv asked.

“Sorry about that,” David apologized, “It’s a term from my time that means I’m going to keep my fucking mouth shut.”

“It’s terrible,” Harv honestly called back.

“I guess so,” David concurred as he went back to grab more chairs.

“Quickly and very softly,” Harv said as he leaned into David as he passed by him. “What year are you from exactly?”

David paused for a moment, “Two thousand seventeen.”

“Okay,” Harv said, looking back at him, “You must be a late bloomer if this is your first time going solo.”

“I didn’t join the family business first,” David admitted to him, “I went off and did my own thing for a while before finally giving it a try.”

“That’s interesting,” Harv said, “What was your own thing?”

“Law enforcement,” David answered.

“Good for you,” Harv said, “I could tell you had the posture of someone with authority. A cop makes perfect sense. I should also note that’s the best job you could have had before jumping into the family business. I bet you’re a good shot too, right?”

“Sure am,” David said, “First in my state for pistol and shotgun competitions.”

“Good for you, son!” Harv said with a proud smile, “And doesn’t your momma hates guns?”

“I’m well aware of the irony.” David added, “She gave me a lecture yesterday when I visited her about fifteen years from now.”

“I bet she did,” Harv said, still laughing.

“If looks could kill,” David continued, “I would have been back in that cave the moment she realized I was armed.”

“Haha!” Harv said, almost coughing from laughing so hard. “You had the balls to walk into the house armed!”

“I’m packing right now.” David confessed.

“You are?” Harv asked, “Where is it?”

“They’re both on my person,” David replied. “One holster behind the small of my back under my shirt, and the other is on my ankle.”

“Keep them under wraps.” Harv said, “I’ve got one on my ankle too.”

“Nice to know I’m not the only time traveler who didn’t want to travel without a little protection.” David said, as he went back to work.

“You’re not,” Harv said as he took more of a supervisory role. “I prefer to pack protection as well, but you have to make sure that you adjust your guns so nothing advanced is accidentally left behind.”

“So I’ve noticed.” David said, “I’ll work on that more in the future, or past... or... you know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do.” Harv said as he held a cigar in his hand but refrained from lighting it. “I assume you just got here?”

“Yes, that is correct.” David answered.

“I’m staying at a hotel in town,” his grandfather continued, “I’ll book you a room and we’ll talk more later.”

“Sounds good to me.” David said, “I’d like that very much.”

“Would you mind hitting a firing range later?” Harv then asked, “Shoot some clay pigeons?”

“That depends,” David countered, “Would you mind getting your ass kicked?”

“Those are fighting words,” Harv said, chuckling again. “This is nice. I don’t know a lot of gunmen in our family.”

“There isn’t any in the future either,” David told him, “We’re a rare breed.”

“Yes we are,” Harv concurred.

David helped get the rest of the chairs out while Harv tested them out by sitting down and taking a break for a while. Over the next few hours, a few more people started to trickle in. When it was all said and down there were about fifty to sixty people sitting down in the seats before the ceremony started. Like Harv had told him earlier, David sat at the back, to stay out of the way. Harv took his place at the front as the groom had come out to take his spot at the altar. David had a good view of the groom and his Dad looked pretty sharp in his suit. Moments later, the music started as a small band played the traditional wedding theme as the bride walked up to the altar. David couldn’t help but smile as he watched his mother walk up and take her place beside his dad. David had heard his parents talk about this day, so now that he had the ability to travel in time it only seemed fitting for a child to go back and observe the days his parents got married. He knew they got married in the yard behind the house, so his presence wouldn’t stand out. He also knew his grandfather was there too and based on how well they were getting along Harv was almost stealing the show. David had taken off his hat and adjusted his hair as he sat in the back and watched in awe as his own parents made their vows, and the ceremony had gone on without a hitch. Many people were smiling and some were shedding tears. Even tough guys like Harv were wiping their eyes. When it was all over, the bride and groom went out to the front yard to take their wedding photos. Many people who were not in the wedding part where talking and mingling amongst themselves. While the pictures were being taken, ladies were bringing food from the house, and setting up a massive buffet for people to eat from. Harv walked over to David who was still watching from a distance.

“Come on, kid.” He called out, “We have tables to set up for the reception.”

“Yes Sir,” David said as he immediately put himself to work.