Chapter 1 – The Portal
I observed the shopkeeper. We've known him for years. We figured out quickly that he was the easiest one to steal from. He was the only worker, nobody buying from him ever noticed or even cared, and he never saw it coming. Plus, his store was outside, which made it easier to get too. Funny. You'd think a man that has been stolen from for the past seven years would smarten up and get some better security. Or at least move his business inside a building. He was always a dipshit.
I looked behind me toward where Travis was setting up the escape. He was finished, and gave me a thumbs-up, signaling me to start my part of the plan. Nimbly, I jumped down to the small sectioned-off area, which contained the man's shipments for the store. He was over attending a customer, and so I was free to take what I pleased. I pulled out my knife and pried open one of the crates. It was filled with apples. I filled about half of my 5-pound bag with them, checking each one to make sure they were edible. I looked up at Alexa, who was my lookout hidden away on the roof of a nearby building. She signaled me to keep going. I opened up another crate that apparently was filled with boxes of Froot Loops. I put two of those in my bag, and then moved on to the third crate, which looked like it was refrigerated. I opened it up and was ecstatic at what I found. Mr. Cream Brand Ice Cream Sandwiches! I loved these things! They were supposed to be discontinued like, two years ago! I stuffed the rest of my bag with them, and then shoved a few into my pockets and jacket.
I looked up at Alexa again. She wasn't there. That wasn't good. I Tied the bag closed, turned around and started to climb back up to the rooftops, but was stopped by two big men with guns. I guess the shopkeeper finally decided he needed a bit of security. "Drop the bag." one of them said. I just stood there. "What did you do with the girl up on the roof?" I asked. "That's known of your concern right now." the second man said. "Give back every item you have stolen or we will use force." "I'll give you the bag if you tell me what you did with her." We were at a stalemate. I figured it wouldn't last too long though, as they both were armed. I tossed the bag on the ground in from of them, then took out my knife and dropped it on the ground too. "Now tell me what you did with her." "She's tied up over in the storeroom over there." The first man nodded his head to the right. Using my peripheral vision, I saw Travis and Crystal up on the building behind the two men, seemingly preparing an emergency escape plan. "Can I leave now?" I asked. "Are orders say otherwise. You'll be coming with us." Before they could take a step towards me, Travis jumped down from the roof and grabbed the clothesline above the two men, and kicked them in the back of the head, knocking them out. I picked up my knife and the dagger and headed for the door Alexa was in. I broke the lock off the door with my knife and swung the door open. She was tied up tightly in ropes up against the far wall, with cloth over her mouth. They were really thorough tying her up. Even her hair, which usually hung below her shoulders, was tied up into a long braid.
I ran over and cut her out while Travis stood guard by the door. Once I got her arms and legs free I yanked the cloth away from her mouth and ran out the door, with her and Travis not far behind me. We quickly climber up the side of the building to the roof, and met up with Crystal there. I looked down to make sure nobody saw where we went. Nobody did. All I saw was the shopkeeper bitching at the two men for not stopping me. I chuckled. "So what'd you find?" asked Travis. I pulled out and untied the bag. "I got some apples, a couple boxes of Froot Loops, and these." I pulled out one of the ice cream sandwiches. They were all amazed. "Seriously?" Crystal said. "I thought they discontinued those!" "They did. But for whatever reason, that shopkeeper had a whole crate of them. And they sure as hell haven't been sitting there for two years. Let's go back home so we can dig into these."
We started jumping across the rooftops back home, which was a small, abandoned penthouse. We got there, and I went over to the giant fridge in the corner and started putting away the apples, leaving one out for myself. I opened up the freezer next to it and put away all the ice cream sandwiches. I put the two boxes of Froot Loops in the pantry. I took my apple and sat down on the couch. "So how did you get caught?" I asked Alexa. "Well, I was just acting as the lookout like I always do, and suddenly a big guy with a gun came and tied me up, then threw me into the storeroom. I guess that shopkeeper has finally found some sense." Travis pulled out a deck of UNO cards and asked if anyone wanted to play. Crystal and Alexa agreed, but I passed. I finished up my apple and went to bed. I fell asleep pretty quickly.
I was walking through the streets with my parents. I was about only eight years old at the time. I was having enough fun imagining what kind of things we were going to, as it was a surprise from my parents for my birthday, and so I didn't know. My parents were talking amongst themselves. But then, out of nowhere, a thin man walked out of the shadows, holding a gun. The man and my father spoke for a little bit, but I was too scared to understand what they were saying. Then the man shot, killing my father. My mother screamed. We both froze. Then the man shot my mother as well. He pointed the gun at me, and I ran past him, out of instinct. I ran through the street while he kept missing his shots, as he apparently couldn't hit a moving target. Then I took a wrong turn and ended up at a dead end. The man caught up to me. Seeing as I could no longer run, my body got ready to fight. I dashed forward and grabbed a metal pipe that was lying on the ground, and charged him at full speed with it held out in front of me. Little did I know the end was sharpened, and so easily pierced his gut, killing him. I ran through the maze of streets again, lost. Then I woke up. It was several hours later than when I went to bed, and it was now the middle of the night. I had been having the dream a lot lately. But why? I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. I got up and went to get a snack. I took out one of the oranges we had in the fridge, peeled it, and began eating the slices. Then there was a loud crash from seemingly out of nowhere. Travis, Crystal and Alexa came out of the bedroom. "Conner, what happened?" Travis asked. Before I could say anything, a bright light appeared in the middle of the room. We all stood staring at it. Suddenly it pulsated, and we all passed out.