The Portal

Once the snipers in the trees spotted the metal barriers coming down to cover the windows, they fired off a few shots in an attempt to get some in before the windows sealed but it was far too late. The bullets popped off the metal sheets like bugs flicking harmlessly off a car’s windshield on the highway. The two kids were startled, while Ousla remained pinned to the wall beside the button she just hit.

“Damn it!” David said, as he hopped out of his chair, “That was close!”

“Is everyone okay?” Gail said, looking around before checking herself for any potential bullet holes. “We’re all good. Now what the hell was that?”

“The foundation,” David said, “Once they knew who I was it was only a matter of time before they followed us back here. We got to get out of here before they try to break in or start firing artillery that might break these walls. I’m sure you guys put in a few emergency exits in this place?”

“We can check the cameras in the old house,” Ousla replied, “If there’s no one over there, then that’s our best exit strategy.”

“She’s right,” David concurred, “We can head back using the turbot lift if there’s no one at the old house. No need to exhaust other emergency exits unless we really have to.”

“Ricky’s still in the cave!” Gail told him, “He’s trapped outside.”

“They don’t know about the cave,” David replied, “These idiots think were using a machine somewhere here in the house, so Ricky is the safest of us all right now. Let’s worry about ourselves and we’ll come back for Ricky later.”

“Alright,” Gail said, aware that David was right at the moment. “I’ll go check the cameras.”

The two kids followed Gail out of the kitchen and Ousla was about to follow them as well but David grabber her arm to stop her.

“Ousla,” David started, “I remember you telling me that the new tech here was only for security and medical bay, but that’s when Gail was around. I want you to tell me the truth: where are the weapons?”

“What are you talking about?” Ousla said, “There are no weapons.”

“Ousla,” David said, not letting go of her arm, “I know you’re hiding from some very bad people, so I know there’s no way in hell you wouldn’t leave this place undefended if there was any chance these people might come after you. I get that you’re scared of them, and I understand you will do anything not to go back. This is your home and if those bastards ever come back here to take you away, the only way they do it will be over mine and Ricky’s dead bodies. I will help you when that time comes and even put my life down if I have to, but right now I need your help. I wouldn’t put you in this position if all of our asses weren’t on the line here. These people are here to kill us and when they realize they can’t use the cave, they’ll destroy it too. Help me take these bastards out before they take us out. So pretty please with sugar on top: where are the badass guns from the future?”

Ousla paused for a moment and then sighed. “Come with me.”

David followed Ousla into what was her den where she worked on clothing and other artistic projects. She moved the sewing machine and underneath it was a hand print scanner. She put her hand on it and once it was successfully scanned, one of the walls opened up to show a whole wall littered with high tech weapons that David had never seen before. She grabbed one of the bigger guns that was about the size of a large assault rifle and passed it to David without hesitation.

“This is the one you want,” She explained, “That thing in the place where the magazine would normally be is a replication system.”

“What does that do?” David asked.

“It replicates,” Ousla replied, “It makes bullets as you need them, which means your supply is unlimited.”

“God damn,” David said looking at it, “A machine gun that doesn’t have to be reloaded... that is sick!”

“Take this too,” Ousla said, grabbing small ear piece from the wall and putting it into his ear. “Do I need to explain that one?”

“Not really,” David said, amused by her sarcasm.

Ousla then grabbed a circular shaped item and then proceeded to press it against his chest. Once it looked pretty well fastened Ousla tapped the glowing blue button in the middle, which caused a small pulse to form around David.

“What the?” David said, looking back at her, as it was apparent that he required an explanation for this one.

“It’s a force field,” Ousla explained, “Its only good for two hours.”

“With this gun, that’s all I’m going to need.” David said as he also grabbed what looked like a handgun that had the same replication tool built into its handle. He put his own gun on the sewing table and put the high tech replacement in the holster. Ousla also passed him a pair of sunglasses.

“This will give you infrared abilities,” Ousla said, as she then grabbed another of the handguns before hitting a button to close the wall back up.

“Get back to Gail and the others,” David ordered, “If the house is clear, take the turbo lift back with them. I’ll handle these guys and try to get Ricky back from the cave.”

“Good luck,” Ousla said, before running out of the room.

David took a few deep breathes and then walked back into the kitchen with his new artillery. He could hear some bullets ricocheting off the walls as the snipers were still trying to look for a weak spot. David watched as Gail and the kids all came back into the kitchen as well.

“There’s no one in the old house.” Gail said, “We’re taking the turbo lift back to the house.”

“Not good enough,” David said as he passed his keys to Gail. “Take them all back to my place and crash there until this passes over. No one’s going to look there because they think I’m dead, remember?”

“Good point,” Gail said as the elevator doors were opening, “What about Ricky?”

“I’ll go get him,” David assured her, “Your priority is them. I’ll take care of Ricky and bring him back. Okay?”

“Alright,” Gail said, giving David a hug. “Be careful out there!”

David watched the four of them go into the lift and after the doors closed, he started to walk close to the back door that led out into the yard. Rather than just bolt out the door, David paused for a minute or two, giving Gail and the girls plenty of time to get to the lift and move back to the old house. Then he remembered Ousla put something in his ear.

“Ousla, can you hear me?” David asked.

“I can,” Ousla replied, “We’re in the turbo lift, and we’ve made it back to the old house. Do you want me to send it back or seal the doors?”

David paused for a moment. “Seal them.”

“Are you sure?” Ousla asked.

“I’m sure,” David said, “Lock it up.”

“They’re locked,” Ousla said, “Good luck out there.”

“Thanks,” David replied, “Keep them safe.”

David put the sunglasses that Ousla gave him on, unbolted the door, and then counted to three before opening the door. He ran directly for the shed and didn’t even bother to open it as he hid behind it for cover. There were no shots fired as he bolted for the shed, so it gave David the impression that they must want him alive. David took a moment to look at the assault rifle he took out with him, and adjusted it to full auto, which he was sure would be more than enough to cut down anyone out there. When he turned on the glasses, the heat patterns he saw walking up to the house through the forest was enough to send a chill up David’s spine. There were at least twenty-five heat signatures but they were approaching the east instead of the south, which would explain why the old house wasn’t full of bad guys. They assumed this was the place where the time machine was so they were ignoring the regular looking house. David moved to the backside of the shed and used it to get a look from the other side, and through his new shades he could see the targets moving towards the new edition of the house. As they started to emerge from the woods, they all looked like swat but had no markings to identify them by. To prevent himself from accidentally firing on legitimate agents of law enforcement, David emerged from behind the shed with his futuristic assault rifle raised up to eye level and called out to them.

“This is your first and only warning!” David called out at the men walking closer. “This is private property. If you work for a government agency or police force, identify yourself then present credentials and a warrant. If you have neither, then I strongly suggest you all get your sorry asses off my fucking property!”

“You’re outnumbered,” the man leading the squad called out, “Drop your weapon and surrender.”

David responded by firing at the man who spoke to him first, the bullets ripping into his torso, killing him. While Jerry reminded him that this might be considered bad form on formal battle ground, the only reason David even spoke up in the first place was because he knew the leader would reply. By stepping up and speaking on everyone’s behalf, all the leader of the squad did was provide David with a preferred target. He knew they were not going to retreat, so it was best to take out the man in command and send the invaders scrambling since that strategy seemed to do well the last time he took them on. After their leader was taken out, the rest of the men seemed to scatter and David didn’t give them a chance to regroup as he sprayed at them on full auto, firing wildly at them. The rifle he had was a loud one, sounding like a freight train as he continued to fire in the direction the men retreated. As he continued to spray fire at the woods, enjoying his all you can fire at the bad guy buffet, David felt a slight push as something hit his arm. The bullet that was fired was meant to go through his right arm, but the shield he was wearing it did its job as the bullet deflected off his skin and did no damage.

David used his high tech sunglasses to find the sniper that fired at him and sprayed a barrage of bullets in his general direction, which caused the man to abandon his post and he turned the hole he was camping in to Swiss cheese. As David was turning his attention back to the woods, he noticed that the few men he had managed to shoot were getting back up. The bullets he had hit them with were not strong enough to puncture their body armor. So while the shots they were taking was enough to knock them over, the bad guy’s numbers were regenerating as the men he shot first were getting back up and rejoining the ranks against David.

“Shit, shit, shit!” David swore as he retreated a bit to check his gun. He looked at the place where the magazine would be for answers, and he notices a button on the side that said modify. After pressing the button, the gun actually started to speak to him.

“Enter modification request.” The gun calmly asked.

“Ammunition,” David replied.

“Please specify preferred munitions.”

David paused for a moment. “Forty caliber hallow points.”

“Request accepted," the gun replied, ”You are ready to fire.”

“Playtime’s over bitches,” David said, aiming the newly loaded assault rifle at the incoming hostiles. “Say hello to my little friend!”

David opened fire on the hostiles and this time he could see their response was more genuine as the hallow points ripped through their bodies like a hot knife through butter, this time sending them to the ground for good. Once the armed men realized their body armor was useless against David’s new ammunition, they began to retreat for cover but appeared to show no signs of a full retreat. They were waiting for David to reload to fire back, unaware that they would be waiting a very, very long time for that to happen. He kept spraying bullets into the woods, as the sunglasses gave him their heat signatures and that made his aim rather accurate for someone who appeared to be just firing into dense forest. David kept firing as he made his way towards the cave, hoping to get closer. Just as he was about to make it to the cave, Ricky started to appear at the mouth of the entrance.

“What the hell?” Ricky said, as he could hear the gunfire.

“Get back in there!” David roared, “Now!”

David continued to fire his assault rifle with extreme prejudice, cutting into the woods again and scattering his hostiles as much as possible before making a run for the cave. He could hear shots firing at him but they all bounced off the shield as he grabbed Ricky by the arm and dragged him into the cave and out of the line of fire. Once they were about ten to fifteen feet inside, David used the walls of the cave as cover and he had a full view of the entrance. No one was getting in without giving David a clear shot with zero cover. There was also at least forty feet of clear cut grass in front of the cave entrance, so there was no cover for anyone to approach the cave with.

“What the fuck is going on?” Ricky yelled at him.

“Obviously the foundation is making their move,” David replied, “We locked the house down and got Gail and the kids out long before this firefight started. They used the lift to get to the old house and took the car to get the hell out of here. I’ve been in communication with Ousla and they’re on their way to my place. They should be there soon.”

“Why your place?” Ricky asked.

“Because until just now, they thought I was dead.” David reminded him.

“Alright,” Ricky said as he then looked at the tech David was wearing. “Where did you get that gun, and that shield?”

“Ousla loves you guys,” David informed him, “But she’s just as paranoid about security as any fugitive from the twenty-seventh century should be. She’s been saving these bad boys for a rainy day, and in case you didn’t notice brother... it’s fucking pouring outside.”

“Damn,” Ricky said trying to peek outside, “How many are out there?”

“Quite a few,” David answered, “But not as many as there was when this fight started.”

“Shit,” Ricky repeated, “How did they know to come here?”

“I don’t know and I don’t fucking care.” David answered, “The problem is we’re trapped in here.”

“Did you bring another of those for me?” Ricky asked.

David pulled out the futuristic handgun he took from Ousla’s room out of his holster and passed it to his brother. “It’s not the size that counts brother, but how you use it.”

“Ha ha,” Ricky said after he took the gun and found his own cover. “Do you have a plan to get us the hell out of here?”

“Harv said you were the brains,” David told him, “I’m just the muscle.”

“You can participate too,” Ricky invited, “I’ll take any idea that comes to you; I’m open to almost anything.”

“Wait,” David said, as he paused to listen. “They stopped firing.”

While they sat there in the cave in silence, David watched as one of the troops walked halfway up to the cave with his hands up. Standing behind him was an older man that looked to be at least in his late sixties.

“David,” the old man called out, “Come out and speak with me, and I promise no harm will come to you or your brother.”

“Who the hell is that?” Ricky asked, looking over at his brother. “How does he know about us?”

“His name is Ferguson,” David answered, “He’s the big boss of the people shooting at us.”

“So what are we going to do?” Ricky asked.

“I’m going to go talk to him,” David said as he handed the massive assault rifle over to his brother. “Pass back the handgun.”

Ricky traded the smaller handgun back to David who slipped in into the holster behind him, and then untucked his shirt to cover over it up.

“I don’t trust him,” Ricky honestly told his brother.

“Neither do I,” David said, “But I’ve got at least an hour left on this shield attached to me so they can’t hurt me. I’ll go out and talk to him and buy you some time to think of a way out of this mess.”

“I’ll try my best but make no promises,” Ricky offered, “Be careful out there.”

“I’ll try,” David said, as he started to walk out of the cave.

“Wait!” Ricky called out just as David was about to walk out.

David walked back into the cave over to Ricky was stationed.

“What?” David asked.

“I have an idea,” Ricky told him.

David smiled, happy to hear someone had an idea. “Give it to me straight. What have you got in mind?”