Max’s last day on Earth started and ended with people in suits after him.

Early in the morning, he looked out his window to see someone that didn’t belong. Max lived in a rundown apartment complex east of Columbus, Ohio. The man’s threadbare suit would have marked him as poor in most places, but here he was overdressed. Max opened the door as he walked up, envelope in hand.

The man twitched, but recovered quickly. “Max Kraft?”

“Yes, that’s me,” he replied.

The man handed him a manila envelope and said, “You’ve been served.”

Max sighed and turned back to his apartment. He threw it onto the pile. The jackass in charge of Grau Construction was relentless.

Maybe Max shouldn’t have broken into that safe. He knew he had been doing the right thing to give his coworkers back their passports. With their passports no longer held hostage, his former coworkers left for construction jobs that weren’t exploitative. But maybe he should have had the police do it. Then the company couldn’t claim he stole from them and sabotaged their business. 

He sighed as he looked around. His apartment really was a dump. Construction paid well, but lawyers were expensive, and he didn’t feel like spending his limited money on rent. No one but him ever saw this place. No family on Earth and his friends never visited.

Not that it mattered anymore. He wouldn’t be returning. He strapped on an extra large backpack and picked up a heavy metal case. The contents of that case had cost more than he was willing to admit, but he was sure it would be worth it. He left the apartment door unlocked on his way out. He wouldn’t miss this place.

On the way out, Max saw someone he knew. “Theo, I haven’t seen you in forever! How’s it going?”

“Been better, man. Been better. The last job interview didn’t go well. I think the sweat stains from biking over torpedoed my chances,” Theo said with a wan smile.

Max hid a wince. He hadn’t even known Theo had lost his job. An idea popped into his head. “Maybe this will improve your mood,” Max said and tossed his keys over.

Theo fumbled and almost dropped them and said, “What’s this?”

“Keys to your new used truck. It’s a shitbox, but it’s yours now. Title’s in the glove compartment.”

“Wha what? Why?”

Max ignored the question and waved without looking back. It was a risk to give up his car. Making the portal wasn’t guaranteed, as he knew from last time he tried. He told himself it didn’t matter. This time was do or die, missing the portal wasn’t an option anymore.

He headed across the parking lot as Theo continued yelling in confusion. Max was meeting his friend at the entrance to the apartment complex and couldn’t stop to explain everything.

Halfway there, he had to stop and take a short rest. He was in top shape, but this backpack was heavy. It was about two hundred and fifty pounds and the case was another forty. The combined weight was well over what he could comfortably carry. He expected to have to walk a lot after he went through the portal, but that’s what the case was for.

He made it just as James drove up. Max’s eyes went wide as James rolled down the window to the sleek black SUV.

“What’s this, James? What happened to your Tacoma? Did you rent a car just for this trip?” Max said.

From the passenger seat, a young woman leaned forward. Max flinched back like he had seen a ghost. He quickly schooled his expression, he knew Lily. His mind was just playing tricks on him. She had straight black hair and pale skin, but she looked more like an Asian heiress than the girl from the ring.

Max was letting the stress of the day get to him. He took a deep breath and told himself to calm down. He had been planning this day for years, everything would be fine.

Lily said, “The BMW’s mine actually. James’s driving because he’s better at it.”

James scoffed, “You don’t even have a driver's license. Of course I am a better driver.”

“I’ve only been in America for six months, give me a break,” she said and folded her arms.

“Yeah, yeah," James said and turned. "Max, I don’t know if you remember, but this is Lily. She’s coming with us to the portal, and she provided transportation.”

Max gave her a nod. “Hi, Lily. I remember you. James introduced us at the last portal convention. You’re cool. By the way, James is colorblind. Are you sure you want to trust your life into his hands?”

“Hey! I’m a great driver. I haven’t run a red light in years,” James huffed back.

“Are you sure about that? How would you know?” teased Max.

“Whatever, man. Just get loaded up,” James grumbled good naturedly.

As they talked, James popped the trunk and Max brought his stuff to the back. There were already two large bags in the back but neither as big as his own. He stuffed his luggage in and hopped into the back seat.

Max said, “So, are you really coming with us all the way, Lily?”

She turned back to him and narrowed her eyes. “Why? Don’t think I’ll go through with it?”

“No, no. I just wanted to verify the plan. James didn’t mention you were jumping through the portal this year.”

“Things changed,” Lily said and turned back to the front. She folded her arms and Max could tell she was frowning.

James piped up. “She told her dad that she wasn’t coming home and he didn’t take it well. Mr. Keong sent men after her. They have orders to kidnap her and bring her back to the Philippines.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. He’s supervillain rich and thinks he can do anything he wants.”

“James. I told you not to tell anyone,” Lily said as she folded her arms.

“What? He’s our friend. He’s on our side. He’s probably going to be in our adventuring party,” said James.

“Don’t worry, Lily. I won’t tell anyone. If James trusts you, I trust you,” Max said. 

Lily grunted and they were quiet for a bit. She said, “It’s not like I don’t want to go. I’ve always wanted to go through the portal and get magic. I just didn’t want to be forced to go through. I always planned on going through in a few years after saying goodbye to Nenek. There is usually a portal in China that I could have used. My father took that away from me, and I’ll never forgive him for it. But I have always planned on going through the portal and never looking back. I’ll be a good party member.”

“I have no doubt about it,” Max said. “You can be the party’s rogue, James will be our wizard, and I think I’ll be the ranger or the healer. Depends on the magic system, really. I’m only picking a class that comes with awesome magic powers.”

“You and me both, buddy,” James said.

Max reached forward and patted him on the shoulder. James and him had been friends since high school. They were physically very different, James was short and pudgy with spiky black hair and Max was tall and fit with wavy brown hair. But their interests aligned almost perfectly. They both loved video games, anime, and especially portal stories. Over the years they had spent hundreds of afternoons talking about books they both liked and optimal builds for various magic systems.

Lily was an enigma. As they drove down the highway, Max remembered a few things about her. Her dad was ungodly rich. She was 17 or 18, somewhere in there.

“Lily. James has mentioned you a few times, but I don’t remember if he told me how you two met,” Max said.

Lily turned around in her seat and said, “That’s funny. He talks about you all the time. You and James are old friends, right?” When Max nodded she continued. “I’ve only known James for half a year. We met at Portal Con back in September. We talk all the time now, we know everything about each other. We are almost a couple.”

“Couple of besties!” James said. “All my best friends in the same car, heading out for an adventure.”

Lily’s face fell and she turned back to the front. She straightened her green blouse and smoothed her designer pants. Her high end style was drastically different from the boys with their almost homeless chic. Hopefully her father’s goons didn’t find them. It really looked like they were kidnapping an heiress.

They stopped in the south of the city and got out their phones.

James raised his hand in the air and yelled, “Social media to the rescue!”

Max chuckled and started scrolling. The three of them were looking for any mentions of a portal nearby. There were a few in America every year but they changed position by hundreds of miles each time. The government would triangulate the energy readings and announce the position of the portal, but they were slow. Social media was the fastest way to get updates before the portal closed.

An hour later Max yelled out, “Kentucky! It’s just outside of Lexington, Kentucky!”

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“Are you sure? They fake it sometimes for likes,” James said.

“It looks legit, there is a video and everything,” Max said. James slowly pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the highway. 

“I got confirmation!” Lily said with her fist raised. “Go, go, go!”

James put the pedal down and they raced forward within moments they were going eighty on highway 71.

“We’re going to make it,” Max said. “We’re going to make it, for real. We’ll get there a half hour before the portal finishes forming. This is it. We won’t miss it this time.”

“Woh. This is really it,” James said, slowing down to seventy. Then he hit the gas and shot back up to eighty. “Woo!”

Lily and Max laughed as he wove through traffic. They happily chatted as they drove. At one point, Lily placed a hand on James’ arm as she laughed. He shifted out of the way. Max had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing.

As time wore on, the adrenaline slowly wore off. The anxiety remained. Max had to remind himself that this was really happening. They were really going to make it. As they drew close to their exit, the highway slowed down to an almost stop.

“Dammit. I should have realized there would be traffic and gone around,” James said as he clenched the steering wheel tight.

Max leaned forward and patted his friend on the shoulder. “Actually, this is perfect. Look over there.”

James saw where he was pointing and grinned. He turned off the highway and into a farmer’s soybean field.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Lily said. “We need to follow the map.”

“This is a shortcut. Just look ahead,” James said.

On the far end of the alfalfa field there was an impromptu parking lot. Dozens of cars were haphazardly parked in a circle with a large crowd of people in the middle. In the center a purple light shone, bright enough to be seen in the middle of the day.

Max perked up. He knew that purple. That was the portal. They were here. They made it. He was giddy with excitement. The SUV threaded through some of the other cars and parked as close as they could get.

They all hopped out of the car as James popped open the trunk. It was time. Max pulled out his heavy pack and dropped it on the ground next to him.

“That thing looks like it weighs a ton,” Lily said as she walked up. “You know they probably don’t have cars on the other side of the portal? We are going to have to walk a lot, it’s a fantasy world, right? People always walk everywhere in a fantasy world.”

“I know, that’s what this thing is for,” Max said and patted his case.

The case was heavy and silver and had the words ‘Onyx Exoskeleton’ stenciled across it. Max flipped the latches and opened the case. Inside were a series of rods and pistons with straps and buckles.

“What is it?” Lily said.

“It’s an exoskeleton. It goes on my legs and back. It will help me walk easier and I can carry a lot of weight. It looks complicated, but it’s easy to put on,” Max said, matching words to action.

Lily slid on her own pack and said, “So, what. It’s like Iron Man or Gundam?”

“He wishes,” James said as he came back around. “But this is the real world and it’s just a few rods and actuators.”

“It’s more than that. It’s got an onboard computer with a learning AI. It learns my gait and makes everything easier. It can’t walk for me, but it does take the weight off,” Max said and attached his backpack to the exoskeleton at his waist. The top of his backpack reached above his head.

“It doesn’t even attach to your arms. It’s just fancy legs,” said James.

“You’re just jealous because you couldn’t afford your own,” Max said with a smile in his voice.

James threw up his hands, “Yes! It’s insanely cool and I want one. It’s just so damn expensive. I don’t know how you bought it yourself.”

“I’ve been saving,” Max said with a shrug. “I would have bought you one too if I could have afforded it, you know?”

Lily sighed. “It’s too bad you didn’t mention it to me earlier. I could have bought one for all of us.”

“Oh, I wasn’t sure you were going to come this year so I didn’t include you in my plans. I’m sorry,” James said.

“It’s fine. I didn’t know I was coming this year until my dad sent his goons after me,” Lily said. “What do you have in your enormous backpack anyway, Max?”

“I’ve been preparing for years. I have food, clothing, shelter, weapons, and entertainment. I even have a small bag in case I have to ditch the big bag. I am ready for anything!” Max said with a manic grin and an upraised fist.

“That’s a red flag if I have ever heard one,” James said.

“Oh, shit. You are right. Pretend I didn’t say that. I’m just a humble camper over here. No need for crazy events to prove me wrong right away,” Max said.

Lily laughed and led them towards the crowd in front of the portal. It was kind of funny seeing the five foot girl pushing through the crowds. There were three distinct sections of people attending the event. First were the people that wanted to go through the portal, milling about directly in front of the slowly forming purple disc. Off to their left were the looky-loos. They were just here to see some magic and had no intention of going through the portal.

The final group was the loudest. They were shouting and waving signs, barely held back by the police. The majority of the signs said something about the “devil’s whisper”. It was the name for the voice behind the portal. That voice told people about the next world and magic, so naturally, these people thought the voice was tempting people into sin.

Max shook his head. It was just some woman inviting people to come to her world and these people thought she was the literal devil. He did his best to ignore the wackadoos and followed Lily to the group of portal jumpers. As he walked, he paid special attention to his exoskeleton legs. They were working well, gliding along without noise. Walking was effortless and he couldn’t feel the weight of his pack. Excellent.

Their trio walked up to the group and awkwardly stood nearby. No one talked to them, everyone was in small groups or standing alone, studiously ignoring everyone else. Max wasn’t surprised. If you were well adjusted and social, you wouldn’t be leaving the world through the nearest portal. The group here would be mostly social outcasts.

“How much time?” Max said.

“Six minutes, forty seconds ‘till the portal opens up,” James said, looking down at his phone. He was texting someone, probably saying goodbye to his parents.

Max pulled out his own phone and made a few posts online. There weren’t a lot of people who would care, but he didn’t want anyone to worry. When he was done, he stood there awkwardly as the other portal jumpers stayed glued to their phones. He took a moment to look around.

The jumpers closest to him must have been gun nuts, each of them had at least four visible guns strapped to their person. The rest of the jumpers weren’t visibly armed, but Max bet that most of them had brought a gun. Max was probably in the minority since he hadn't packed a firearm.

The sightseer group across the way was mostly just standing around and taking pictures. The religious nuts were another story altogether. Ostensibly, they were here to convince people not to go through the portal. In reality, Max could tell they were here just to yell and spew vitriol. Screaming and waving signs wasn’t a good way to convince people to change their mind.

As he was looking through the crowd, Max saw something that made him wince. There was a huge man yelling and waving his sign. Standing next to him was a waif of a woman and an eight year old girl. The woman and her daughter clearly didn’t want to be there. They flinched back with every yell and the mom tried her best to protect her kid from the worst of uproar.

Max fiddled with the straps on his backpack. He assumed they had been dragged here by the nutjob father of the family and neither of them really loved them. Max wanted to help them, but there wasn’t much he could do. A stray thought had him reaching for his wallet.

He walked over to the religious group and it grew quiet around him. They couldn’t believe that one of the portal jumpers was actually walking up to them. Max pulled out the cash from his wallet and hid it in his hand.

He knelt down in front of the little girl and said, “Hey there. I bet they don’t use dollars on the other side of this portal, so you can have my money. There’s probably only enough for ice cream, but it’s all yours now. You can give your mom some too, but not your dad. He’s too loud.”

She laughed and looked up at her dad, then tucked the money away in her overalls. Max smiled and walked away. The yelling picked up again, no one louder than the dad he had just snubbed. Max hoped that the little girl would give her mom the money and really keep it from her dad. He had just given her seven hundred dollars in large bills. It was money had been saving for emergencies on this trip, but he wouldn’t need it now.

Max winced as he saw James standing there with his arms folded. James often got on him for acting like a white knight, always riding in to save people. Then Max looked past his friend and smirked. James turned around to see what he was looking at. Lily had gone to the other crowd and was doing the same thing, handing car keys and money to the bewildered single mother there. James refolded his arms and rolled his eyes dramatically.

Lily came back to their group with a wide smile, met by Max’s own. She was about to say something when a voice cut her off. It was a soft voice, one that everyone nearby could easily hear despite the crowds. It pierced into their awareness, like someone whispering directly into their ear.

Hello, I am Architect Ruby. The portal before you leads to our world. It is a world of danger and opportunity. We need your help. Please step through and join us in our endeavor. You will be given magic cards and the chance to grow continually better as you destroy monsters. Join us and level up to be the best version of yourself.

The instant the voice finished, a purple flash spread through the clearing and the portal finished forming. There was now an oval disc hovering a few inches in the air. It had a purple glowing rim, but the center was pitch black, like a chunk of reality was missing. 

Max knew what to expect, but the experience of hearing the voice in his head shook him. That was his first brush with real magic. Everyone always heard the voice in their own language, no matter what that was. 

“Woh. That was something else,” Max said.

“It’s happening! Architect Ruby is so wonderful. I can’t believe she’s talking to me now,” Lily said, bouncing up and down.

“Eh, it’s just a short recording now. They used to be new every year, but for the last three years it’s been identical. This message didn’t even mention dungeons or adventure,” James said.

Max pushed his friend and said, “Don’t try to act all cool, that was amazing.”

“Yeah, whatever,” James replied and pushed him back.

Max stayed rock steady, the exoskeleton legs had automatically adjusted to keep him upright. He stuck his tongue out at his friend. As they talked, a line formed and the portal jumpers started walking through. Their bodies disappeared into the horizon like stepping behind a curtain. It would be a few minutes before it was their turn since their trio got there last.

“James, we need to go now,” Lily hissed.

“What?” James said and turned around.

Lily was hunched over and hiding her face. She whispered, “Don’t look now, but there are a couple of my father’s goons here. We need to go now before they find me.”

Max couldn’t help himself. He looked. On the edge of the crowd were two Asian people in suits and sunglasses. A young man and a woman. They looked like movie versions of secret agents, focused on looking cool instead of blending in. They were searching the crowds, walking towards the portal.

“Ok, yeah. Let’s go,” James said with a shaky voice.

Max got out of line and walked alongside the row of portal jumpers. Lily and James followed him close behind. As he drew close to the front of the line, he could hear a frustrated conversation. It seemed like a few of the people in the front of the line were having problems working up the courage to step through the portal.

“Excuse me. So sorry, it’s an emergency,” Max said in an overly polite voice. “Sorry sorry, just stepping through,” he continued and gently pushed people aside so he could walk through.

It was a trick his older brother Micheal taught him once. If you were gentle and polite and didn’t give people time to think, you could get away with a lot. Max shepherded Lily and James through the portal before anyone could complain about them cutting in line. He glanced back to check on the suits.

The Asian woman was sprinting towards the portal. Max’s heart fell as he watched the suit bolt towards him. He frantically turned and tried to jump through the portal. The sudden movement was blocked by his exolegs, they thought he was falling. He panicked and pushed through, forcing himself to move forward against the motors on his leg. As he touched the portal, he felt something hit his pack. Then everything went black.