1

Daniel walked in and immediately noticed that he was not at headquarters.

The room was large, with soft lighting and wooden walls and floors. Luxurious rugs dotted around the floor from different parts of the world. There was a fireplace dead centre in the room lit with logs, a blue fire rippling and crackling, a large wooden desk cluttered with files, a PC, and a printer, with two chairs in front of the desk. A large oak-sculptured chair was behind the desk. Daniel looked to his right, and he saw a large glass frame on the wall. Inside the frame were ripples of blue and grey lights.

'You're here.' a male voice that came through the door across the room. A man entered the room, tall with a good physique for a man in his sixties. He wore blue trousers and tie with a white shirt. He walked past the various bookshelves filled with old books.

Coming more into the light, the distance made him look younger than he actually was. He had grey-haired streaks across the sides of his head. Some would call him a silver fox. Dimples on his checks covered by a rugged greying beard. Many would call him distinguished. 'You almost got sucked into a portal.' He walked past Daniel and sat in the more grandiose chair behind the desk.

'Well, I was busy, sir.'

'I know, but the needs must be met, and for this particular case, The man stopped and then checked what he heard. 'Did you just call me sir?'

'Well, you are my superior.' Daniel countered.

'Call me by my name, Daniel.'

'Alex, Alexander, or Mr Bolton? I can never tell which one, sir.' Daniel looked and smiled.

'I'd say that for this very moment, Alexander would suffice and stop calling me sir.' Alexander Bolton said: 'Sit down.' Daniel did. 'Please take that mask off.'

Daniel took off his mask. His light brown skin gleamed as the blue fire turned to the natural colour of flame. Then it flashed an almost violent red. Daniel noticed this but did not question it. He had learned long ago not to question whatever happened in this room. 'What's the case?'

'Straight to the point. Good. I need you to go to Pennsylvania. North-Eastern Pennsylvania.' Alexander looked at the first page for the nearest file. 'Greater Preston. Outside Preston City,

'What happened there?' Daniel asked as Alexander passed the file.

'Take a look.'

Daniel did and read something that made his eyebrows raise. 'Fuck.'

Alexander laughed with some exhaustion behind it. 'Hence, I need my best agent to investigate this and solve it.'

'Twelve?'

'Yeah.' Alexander said. 'For this one, you won't be al...'

'You tell Petretti?'

'What?'

'That I'm your best man.'

'Best agent. What makes you think I don't tell him the same thing?'

'That's the answer. I thought you'd give. Can I get a portal to get changed?'

Bolton smiled. 'All already arranged soon as you step out that door and before you ask, all your details are in your office. Visa, identification, weapons, your favourite choices of uniform, well, lack of.'

'I have style.'

'Well, lack of.' Alexander smiled.

Daniel shook his head. 'I never got why people said you were funny cause they're scared of you.'

'There was a time you were, and you laughed at those jokes.'

'Thank fuck, that time is long past. Why do I need the Visa when I can portal out of there? and I assume I'll be portalling back and forth between here and... Daniel looked at the file again 'Greater Preston?'

'You may need to stay in the state for this one. Hence, I got you both cash and booked into a motel. You know the Americans get funny about this type of thing. The mayor and governor and the chief of police, Larry Anderson, know you are on your way.'

Daniel looked with the same amount of confusion as a man from the street asked about using Calculus. 'All of them give a shit about me?'

'Good. You were listening throughout. Hence, you're my guy for this. Yes, all of them. You'll be with a young agent needing experience, time, and boots on the ground.'

'No.'

Bolton smiled like he knew this was the reaction Daniel was going to give. 'No negotiation for this one, Bridgewater. She's going with you.'

'You know I work better alone. I can't be holding the hand of some newbie for any case, let alone this fucking one. You know the one with twelve bodies.' Daniel argued.

'There's no negotiation for this one. The thing is, I've seen how this plays out and I know this is good for you. This whole lonely detective thing. I don't like it, despite the results. You've gotten too good at being alone. Interaction is key for a healthy life and I do wish that for you.' Alexander answered as he sat forward.

'You told Larissa that?' Daniel smirked.

'I did. She almost called me, her father, by the way, a fool.'

'Well, she's always had a good perception of people.'

'She figured you out, didn't she?'

Daniel's smirk was gone. 'I can't get out of this?' Alexander shook his head. Daniel then asked, 'Where is she now? This rookie. On the scene?'

'She'll meet you at headquarters.'

'And her name?'

'Erica. Erica Chandler.'

'Chandler?'

'Yes.'

'I've heard that name before.'

'Yes. He was a character in the sitcom Friends.' Alexander smiles.

'My chest hurts with all this hilarity. Can I go?'

'Yes, and I forgot to say, your local liaison in Preston is lead investigator Detective Royce Drysdale. You'll see him as soon as you both portal nearby the scene.'

'Both.' Daniel remarked with a shudder.

'Don't be a prick to this woman. She's special. It reminds me of you.'

'She local? Like from around here.'

'No, she's from Chicago.'

'AH, WHAT?'

'Goodbye Daniel and good luck.' Alexander waved his arm in the air and a wave of light hit Daniel, and he was in his office.

2

Daniel walked to the locker to his left. He opened it with no ease; no one other than Alexander and Larissa Bolton would dare come in. The office was more modern than Alexander's home office. Thick glass walls, but with frosting on the outside so no one could see in. glass table with the usual technology on it was near the large window overlooking Tower Bridge in London. Bookshelves are full, as are file cabinets. Now these should have been gone and saved, but Daniel had other plans.

He looked at his gear. Thick black boots, dark blue cargo trousers, and a black top. To top it all off, there was also a long, dark grey jacket. Daniel smiled. He got dressed. He also took out his vertical gun holster with the Glock 17 Gen4 pistol and magazines and put it on. Daniel loaded it, ejected out the clip and then loaded it again.

He placed the rifle he had inside the locker with the other clothes, stood up, and walked to the door, but stopped before grabbing the handle. He could see that someone was waiting outside.

'Here we go.' He sighed and took a deep breath. Then he reached for the handle and stepped outside of his office, and there she was.

'Daniel Bridgewater?'

'Yeah.'

'I'm Erica Chandler.' Erica effused with a big, excited smile across her face. Erica looked young; her mid-length hair straightened and tied. Clear brown skin and the whitest teeth Daniel had seen in years. She wore a navy-blue pants suit with a white shirt, buttoned near to the top. Black boots with a little heel to them, like every female agent chasing respectful femininity and career professionalism. Daniel could see she had a chain of stars across her neck. She put out her hand, and Daniel, with some reluctance that Erica noticed, took it and shook. 'Strong grip.'

'You say that to every guy?' Daniel asked.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

'No.' A shocked Erica said with such surprising gusto. Her voice caught the ears of nearby workers who stopped typing or talking.

'That was loud.' Daniel joked.

'That was a question.' Erica's quick response.

'Walk with me.' Daniel was prompt, and he walked, and Erica followed. 'I see you have the file.'

She looked at that same file in her hands. 'Yeah, it's going to be quite a scene.'

'Were you resourced or did you ask to be here.'

'I still have no real clue what this is. I mean, I know the principles.'

Daniel asked. 'There's no office in Chicago?'

'There is, but Mr. Bolton sourced me out himself.' Erica answered. 'He said it would be more beneficial for me to be here, plus with all these portals, I can be at both.'

'So, Erica. I guess the real question is, what can you do?'

'Me?' Erica pointed at herself.

'Yes, for Alexander Bolton to seek you out himself must mean you can do something special. Some abilities, like flight,. Can you read minds? Do magic?'

'He says I can, but I haven't figured out yet what my power is.'

'Could be powers... You'll figure it out.' Daniel mused.

'What can you do?' Erica asked Daniel.

'If this case goes the way some do,. You'll see it up close.' Daniel declared and stopped. 'Listen. You're going to get some resistance from me. I play no games. I like to work alone. I'm not going to mindfuck you. But I see the details with my own eyes and I'm going to need you to catch up because I won't wait for you. You got it?'

'Right upfront from the start. I can respect that,' Erica said, 'I'm a quick learner. You don't need to wait for me.'

'We'll see.' Daniel replied and carried on walking.

They entered a big room that looked almost like a warehouse space. A bright light shone on navy blue flooring. The white walls were to the left and right of Daniel and Erica, and there was nothing other than a big world map in front of them. The lights go down the map gets brighter. A portal started to open as London began to light up on the map.

Erica looked at the map, which started to create a gold line from London across the Atlantic. Then to North-Eastern Pennsylvania and Preston City. 'Greenland looks so big on this map, but it is in no way near the size of Africa. Did you know that?'

Daniel shook his head.

'You want to know why?' Erica asked.

'Sure.'

'This map uses the Mercator projection. This makes the Countries in the northern hemisphere look bigger. When several countries in the southern hemisphere are larger by land mass,'

'No shit.' Daniel commented and tried not to sound impressed, but he was. As the portal grew, a large, humming sound reverberated across the room.

They both heard a booming voice amongst the gradual humming. 'Portal ready.'

Daniel looked at Erica, who looked forward at the shimmering waves of bright golden light. 'This is going to be pretty. I mean for your first proper case.' He paused and then looked at her with concern. 'Where are we going? Are you going to be ready? These things usually start off as sprints before they become marathons.'

'I need to be.' Erica answered with his own focus as her eyes first focused on what was in front of her and then she looked at him.

'Let's go.' Daniel smiled for a moment and they walked into the portal, where the golden waves of light enveloped them.'

3

Royce Drysdale stood in the middle of a wet country road. Rain fell hard, like it had a problem with him. He had a problem with all this. Royce felt the two-week stubble across his chin. His black hair felt course, and the smaller hairs bristled against his fingers. He promised his wife he would shave later in the week. He promised her a lot of things.

He once promised to grow his hair out, like Richie Sambora, as he once looked like and idolised the singer. That plan only lasted a week. Royce kept his hair at the same decent length and in the same shape and size throughout his adult life. Yet at times, he stared at ever-emerging grey hair at the sides of his scalp.

Royce had a lot to celebrate before this morning's events. His wife had decided, after a brief, well brief for her, what felt like an age for him, separation. She wanted to give their marriage another chance.

She had moved in as Royce left for work. This was after Royce finally listened to his friends. He should try to enjoy this separation. Enjoy life. That he would forget about her. The plan worked; he went out, got a little drunk, focused on his work, cleared a few cases, and met with women. He slept with them too.

As soon as, in the briefest moment, he started to move on, she called him and asked to meet. Despite the initial resistance, he couldn't fool himself. He was glad she called. He was happy that she took some of the blame for the initial collapse of their marriage. It wasn't all him. It was at that moment that he knew that they would be getting back together.

This should have culminated in a long-overdue sexual encounter with his wife, but then he got a call from his chief. and when he arrived at the crime scene, he could not believe what he saw and what his police chief told him next.

He told Royce that a team from a specialist division would be coming to help with the investigation. Royce asked from where, and his chief said a world division. Royce wanted to ask more questions, but Larry Anderson gave Royce a look that screamed.

Don't question me.

Larry had the look of a man who did not want to be there and made no attempt to hide the fact that he'd rather be in bed than out there. Royce thought Larry was the kind of inspirational leader this department needed. He had been wrong about that thought ever since it entered his mind.

'Make sure that you meet them. That no one sees how they got here.' Larry demanded as he rubbed his head more out of pure frustration.

'Why?' Royce asked.

'They are going to come here by a portal. They'll be coming in from another country too.' Larry said.

'Another country?' Royce asked with even more confusion. 'Wait a fucking portal?'

'Royce for Christ's sake, don't question it. They are here to help with what we found. I mean, do you know what the fuck is up there?' Larry asked.

'No way, Chief. I ain't seen anything like that.' Royce noted. 'This division is coming. They got authority here?'

'They got jurisdiction everywhere.' Larry barked at Royce. 'Meet them about; I don't know about a mile away from here. Somewhere, their entrance doesn't cause even more confusion.' Larry said. He looked at the large warehouse surrounded by police cars and ambulances.

The Forensic unit pulled in. An officer started to tape around the area surrounding the warehouse.

The warehouse sat on top of a hill. The area itself was hilly, surrounded by green fields and farmlands. Thick Forests and a two-lane country road. Long, spanning hills with peaks covered by the emerging mist of the early morning. It was five in the morning and light was coming into this part of the world. The rain had already come and looked to stay to add to the already shitty proceedings. The sky was forming into a deep and cloudy grey, full of the ominous rumblings of thunder.

An hour later, Royce stood by the country road, waiting for whoever would show up. He wanted to take out some smokes and puff his thoughts away. Those thoughts started and ended with the whole What the fuck did I see? But he promised his wife that he wouldn't smoke. They both made promises. He intended to keep his.

The air felt fresh up here. Birds chirped in the distance. To Royce Drysdale, this was peace. For a few seconds, he forgot why he was standing in this spot and then remembered. Some eight minutes away was a scene of carnage most would only have nightmares about. Royce felt like he handled it well. One officer threw up as soon as they entered the warehouse. Royce's eyes widened and his stomach felt like it had done a few flips, but he kept his professionalism. He needed to be the lead investigator. Someone had to.

Still, the sounds of nature in this part of the state reminded him why he loved Pennsylvania. To Royce that was a whole lot more than the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. There was honesty here in the smaller cities and townships. They all have character and hearts. People looked after each other. This small city had small ears, and someone was going to spread this to the rest of the city. Then all hell would break loose.

It looked like hell was already here.

He looked at his watch and muttered 'Fuck' to himself. 'Where the hell are they?' Then on cue, a portal opened, and a black man and woman walked out from the portal.

Royce Drysdale could not even move or blink if he even tried to. He stood like a rigid structure. The man put his hood up and the woman fashioned an umbrella out of nowhere and flicked it open. She put it above her head, covering herself from the rain.

They walked up to him as the portal closed behind them.

'Hi, Officer Drysdale, right?' The man asked. His accent did not sound like the local dialect, let alone American.

'Yeah, and you are?' Royce responded.

'My name is Agent Daniel Bridgewater, and this is Erica Chandler. We are part of the Atlantic Division's investigation agency of supernatural crimes.'

4

'You're dealing with what you saw—better than expected, Daniel noted to Royce. The three walked down the rocky country path.

'I've seen some shit. Not, eh, portal opening shit. But some weird shit nonetheless.' Royce replied.

'That feels like a lot of shit,' Erica pondered.

'Aint that the truth. Nothing though; nothing compares to what you're about to see.' Royce stated as they were near the other units.

They saw various EMTs and the police line.

The three walked down a rocky hill. The rainfall became thicker. The mud on the ground became more slippery. All three kept their balance.

'How long have they been there?' Daniel asked.

'Since last night.' Royce replied as another officer stood in front of the three.

'Can I ask you something?' Erica asked Royce.

'Sure.'

'You seem really cool with all you've seen. How much do you know about us?' Erica asked.

'Only what I'm supposed to know. You have a boss; he advised my boss. The chain of command always coalesces. Plus, I've seen what you're about to see.' Royce said, 'After that, I'm going to shut up and see what the experts say.'

'We're the experts,' Daniel responded as he sensed the very clear sarcasm, 'but even I have to see this.'

'Well, it must be something as you were on another,' Erica stated before Daniel shot her a look of don't continue, rookie. That stopped that sentence dead. Erica shook off the awkwardness of that moment. Daniel strode forward with a little more intent.

The officer was tall, had an athletic build and had intense poise. He looked at Daniel and Erica with noticeable confusion. 'Sorry, who are they, detective?'

'Help.'

The officer looked more confused. 'Help with what?'

'With figuring out how to make the office Wi-Fi better. What do you think?' Royce confirmed his annoyance.

'I'm thinking I don't know these people; they haven't shown me any ID.'

'They are with me. To help with the investigation, Officer.' Royce replied with a forceful tone. 'Please step out of the way.'

'I'm asking.' The Officer named Russo gave his own retort.

'And I'm telling. Officer.' Royce firmly placed his tone to let Russo know there was a clear chain of command.

Russo looked at the three and nodded. He moved out of the way. Daniel watched him as he walked past. Russo did not blink and did not look phased.

Neither did Daniel.

They walked up three little hills that led up to the warehouse on the left. The tracks led to a large car park and towards the large warehouse. They reached the warehouse and went in as the lights flickered on and off.

They walked past a few small offices. Blood was splattered across the walls on either side. Daniel could smell death here. It was a smell he was familiar with and was comfortable with. He watched as Erica poured into every detail. He remembered being that young, not knowing the world he was about to get into. He was sure he had the same look she had. A close combination of focus, excitement, and the underlying fear of the unknown.

To be that young and green again.

They went into the large space, and they saw it. All twelve dead bodies were suspended across the high ceiling.

Royce leaned close and asked Daniel. 'You seen anything like this expert?'

Daniel leaned into Royce. 'Nope. But now I'm glad I'm here. This is for me for sure.'

'For you?' Erica asked.

Daniel shook his head. 'No. But for the case, Bolton knew this would get me.' He looked at the bodies. Each one. 'I'm in.' He paused. 'No one tried to get them down?'

'We've tried. The bodies seem stuck like magnets to that ceiling. Held by some invisible force.' Royce replied.

Daniel's eyebrows rose. A thought came into his head and that same thought spilled out of his mouth. 'They are still here.'

'What?' Erica and Royce spoke at the same time.

'Whoever's done this, they are still here.'