CHAPTER 2 – SETTING A BEACON

Johnny dreamed he was in a losing battle. The ground was dead and lifeless. The terrain was potted with craters from explosions that expanded as far as the eye could see. The ground was littered in bodies of rift eaters and alliance members. The sky was dark as night with a fiery horizon. The girls were covered with wounds and blood. He himself was trying desperately to shoot at every rift eater he saw.

“You know you can’t save them.” A voice boomed over the fighting. It was the loathing one’s voice. Johnny watched as the sky turn into a twisted smile of a face from the burning horizon. “I can not be defeated. All of those you love will perish.”

As soon as the loathing one finished speaking. A planet sized object came hurtiling towards Johnny. He tried to run but everything was flattened in a split second…

Johnny woke with a scream. In two seconds everyone was in his room. Julia and the others had their weapons drawn. He looked over in shock before clearing his throat. “Sorry, I ust had a bad dream…” The other looked at him before sighing or grumbiing as they went back to bed. Julia was the only one to stay.

“I have a solution that could help. I can cast a sleeping spell for pleasant dreams. I learned about it when I was here with the alliance. It helps me deal with the trauma of my world being devoured.” She offered Johnny.

He looked over at her and just nodded. Julia cast the spell over Johnny as he was quickly out. He dreamt better that night…

Morning soon came around as Johnny was woken up by Albert. “Thanks for getting me up again Albert. It is too bad they don’t have alarm clocks here.”

Your welcome. Replied Albert in his head as Johnny got up and met with the others. He wasn’t sure how they knew when to get up. He kept on meaning to ask but kept forgetting. He met everyone in the dining area of their living quarters for a good breakfast.

Johhny ate a bacon and cheese omelet. He was curious what the others were eating this morning. The all had different delicacies from the worlds they knew. He had asked to try one time before. Thinks didn’t go so good for Johnny as Julia had to heal him from a ruptured stomach. The five of them mingled about things they missed and other gossip. The mood at the table was dread. This was their first portal beacon mission. They knew of the horror stories that not many people survived and returned.

After eating, Johnny and his group met up outside the workshop. There they met up with the portal mage and her guards. Followed by Orion and some other higher ups.

“Looks like everyone is here.” Said Orion in a neutral tone. Everyone was nervous. “Johnny here is going to be your transport escort. You are to follow his orders while he drives what ever the thing he has come up with.” A few of the portal mages guards began to mutter. Some of them didn’t seem to trust Johnny.

Orion had everyone shuffle into the workshop. Everyone who hadn’t seen the prototype before gasped in shock. Julia and the others were use to the changes but had a look of excitement on there faces. Except Margaret, since she saw the vehicle change yesterday.

Orion then gave the floor to Johnny. He gave a gesture for Johnny to speak. Johnny was nervous as he took a deep breath. “I decided to go with a troop transport back from my world. I would have gone with a Humvee, but since there were more than six of us. I had to accommodate for more room. Anyways, my team will be manning the vehicles weapons. The portal mage and her guards are to remain in the back while we get to a suitable location to setup a beacon. Any questions?” Johnny finished.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

A few of the portal mages guards barked in outrage demanding why they had to follow his rules. They said they could be just as useful on what every weapons there were. Orion was quick to end that dispute telling them that was an order. If they didn’t hearbye the order they could be reassigned to another role. They all shut up at that. They treatment they got for protecting a portal mage was on the high end.

Johhny gave out his orders. He had the portal mage step into the back of the transport with the rest of her guards. He had Lisa take the front mounted seat, next to him when he climbed in. Next, he had, Qin and Margaret took the side seats. Where he had Cleo take the rear seat after the portal mage and her group climbed in. Johnny decided for Julia to man the 30 mm cannon on top.

With everyone in position and ready they drove out of the workshop. A platoon of guards then followed them to a portal gate. The platoon of guards wasn’t for Johnny’s security but rather for any stray rift eaters that tried to break through the portal. Johhny looked around in awe with the amount of people. Lisa spoke to Johnny as she pointed at a figure who was dressed in mage robes. “That gentleman over there is the head of all the portal mages. That is why there is a ton of guards around. He must be always watched by at least four guards. He will drop us into the world we need to go to. The mage we have with us will return us.”

Johnny admired the mage for his tough job. I can’t even imagine how many assassination attempts have been tried on his life.

The all-clear signal was given as Johnny inched his way up to the portal gate. He would have to be fast. The alliance would only keep it open for Johnny to drive in and the connection would be cut. Johnny was given a count down. As soon as it hit one the portal buzzed to life in a spilt second. It glowed bright in radiance as Johnny floored it into the unknown.

The portal opened with Johnny driving into a swampland. The tires were up in two feet of swamp water. “Be on your guard.” Julia responded to the others as they looked for threats.

“Albert, can you scan for any hostiles and report them to Julia. I need get a better look at our surroundings.” Johnny asked as he crawled his way through the muddy world.

Johnny was amazed by the world they had entered. Yep, this definitely looks likes something out of the carboniferous period. Johnny thought to himself as was seeing bugs the size of house pets. The flora was bigger than anything Johnny had ever seen. Some of the trees he could see off towards the north were tall and round as skyscrapers. To the south he could see the swamp continued as far as he could see. To the west there was a mountain range, taller than the Himalayas. The peaks didn’t have any snow on top of them. Some he could see had smoke rising out of them. To the east, the terrain was less swampy. There were more trees, but not as big and less scattered.

Johnny got on the intercom to relay the message to the portal mage. He asked which would be an ideal place to start scouting. The mage told him to head east. The west option would be out. Since the alliance was trying to set up an outpost as quickly as possible. They would need to build above the swampy water. North and south were a no go since there would be no room to set up an outpost once the beacon was set. For now, they needed a low spot that could easily be accessible. A few bugs had tried to attack them while he had waited, but were swatted away by the group.

Johnny did as he was told and headed east. He only drove for a few miles before trouble began. Albert alerted everyone of a hostile presence coming from the radar. “Possible hostile coming from the clouds. I am picking up something big.” Replied Albert. The four elites looked up waiting to shoot something. Julia climbed out on top of the turret. She had a machine gun from a radiant weapon in hand.

A shadow began to form among the clouds. It got darker and darker as Albert was now detecting even more threats. “This thing has to be even bigger than what we are driving.” Albert said. The figure burst from the clouds. It was an airship…