The Portal

Chapter 15

     The two of them sat there, looking back at him with somber faces. Just the two words left them in awe, but considering what they witnessed that morning and the fact that David was still alive was something they had to consider before just tossing it aside.

     "Time travel?" Lindsay said, "You've got to be kidding."

     "Here," David said as he pulled out a small bag of Cracker Jacks. He tossed it over to Jerry, "Read the expiration date."

     "August twelfth... nineteen forty-seven?" Jerry said as he looked back at David. "But this bag looks brand new!"

     "Open it up," David said, "It's pretty good too."

     Jerry opened the small bag and took a few pieces into his hand and ate it. He looked back at David and nodded, "They don't make the stuff this good anymore. I should know, because I used to eat this stuff all the time at Shea Stadium when I was a kid. Where the hell did you get this?"

     "Ebbets Field," David said, as he grabbed the Dodgers cap off the coffee table right beside him. "Same place I got this hat."

     "You were at Ebbet's field in forty-seven?" Jerry asked, trying to put this altogether. "Why would you go there?"

     "To see Jackie Robinson play," David answered, "Duh."

     "So you're telling us that you can travel through time?" Lindsay said, trying her best to grasp it.

     "A few hours ago, you were here." David told Lindsay, "You came to the house to tell me that Jerry was dead. He went to take my hummer back to the Marshal's office and it blew up the minute he hit the ignition. You were deader than Dillinger boss, so I went back to stop that from happening."

     "So when you were at the parking lot," Jerry started, trying to figure things out, "That was you time traveling?"

     "Kind of," David said, "Ricky told me that it was more of what we call an astral projection. So when I got shot, that flung me back to the present time. That's what the bang was about; my dying causes the time travel to end prematurely."

     "So you weren't shot?" Jerry asked.

     "Oh, I was shot." David said, groaning as he buttoned his shirt and opened it up. In the place where the bullet should have been was a large bruise but there was no broken skin nor was there any sign he had been shot. "It still hurt like a mother fucker."

     "How the hell does this work?" Jerry asked.

     David went on to briefly tell them what the Portal was, and basically how it worked. As he explained it, the more interested his two guests listened to what he had to say. David talked about the two trips he took with Ricky but passed on the trip he took alone cause he didn't want to discuss the his encounter and discovery of the Foundation just yet.

     "That is amazing," Jerry said, "And if you told me this yesterday, I would have called it all a bunch of hogwash."

     "I know," David agreed, "But after what you've seen, it's not something you can easily dismiss. I'll be honest; a month ago I would have called bullshit too. I'm just getting a grip on all of this too."

     "Well, the good news is you're still here." Jerry said, as he saw Ricky return with the scotch and three glasses. "Yes, I'll take one please."

     "None for you," Ricky said to David, "Not yet, wait for the drugs Ousla gave you to wear off first. Drink your juice."

     "Alright," David grumbled as he sipped his juice.