Follow The River

Chapter 5

When morning came, Till felt awful. The combination of sleeping on the ground and the news of Aaron's killing had taken a toll on him.

"So," he began, "I guess we keep going."

"What if we come across the people who killed Aaron?" Kate asked.

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it, but we have to keep moving."

To keep going at that point was a torturous ordeal, but Till knew they had no choice.

It was just about midday, and Till's body was killing him. It was as if every muscle in his body ached. Nobody was talking. The previous night's news meant that no one was in the mood for conversation. Suddenly, however, the silence was broken by a zapping sound in the trees.

"The hell was that?" Till asked.

"Let's see," Kate said.

They stepped into the trees, and Till began pushing the branches out of his way. After about 10 seconds, they came across a small clearing. Looking at the ground, he saw what appeared to be a circular piece of metal, greenish blue in color.

"Oh my god," Doug said, "That's the same kind of circle that the men were standing near yesterday."

Kate gasped.

"What is it?" Till asked, "It's just a piece of metal."

"Look closer," Kate said.

Moving slightly closer, Till could see that it wasn't just a circle. It looked almost like a tube going down into the earth. The inside of it seemed to be glowing slightly, and there was a barely audible hum.

"It must be...some kind of portal," Till said.

"Do you really think so?" Kate asked.

"I'm not sure what else it could be. Besides, based on everything we've seen, the sky, the fish, the dragons, it would make sense this was a place different than Earth." Till's mind was racing at this point.

"Till," Doug interjected, "Honestly, you're starting to sound crazy now."

"Tell me what else you think it could be."

Doug said nothing.

"I think we should go in."

"What?!" Doug and Kate said almost at the same time.

"Look, at this point, I don't think we have much to lose. We haven't come close to finding a way out, and we're just about out of food. I think this is a chance we have to take."

"Till," Kate said, "For all we know, it could lead to a place just like the one we're in."

"Suit yourself," Till said, "I'm going in."

With that, he stepped forward into the circle. There was a flash of color and a zapping sound before he fell onto a dirt-covered ground.

Looking up, he found himself in almost exactly the same area. The clearing looked just like the one they had just been in, and there was the same circle on the ground right next to him. What was different was the people there. There were two men Till couldn't recognize standing about 5 feet away, one of whom was clean-shaven and the over having a goatee, each with an open briefcase in front of them. At seeing the men, he felt a surge of relief.

"What the hell?" the one with the goatee exclaimed.

"Oh thank god!" Till said, standing up "Look, I need your help."

The men ignored him, however.

"You know what to do," said the clean-shaven man.

"Yeah, just like the last one," the other one said, reaching down into his briefcase and pulling out a pistol with a silencer.