Portals

by Eleanor Cross

Teddy Weiss is sick of it all: the jerks who constantly bully him because he is smarter than they are, being poor, and the frustration of being so close to changing lives with an incomplete invention because he is too poor to afford the materials.

When Teddy’s uncle comes into a lot of money, Teddy is nearly able to finish his invention at last, until wrongfully accused, Teddy is beaten severely by those who are constantly bullying him and he seeks revenge; to dire consequences. He is spurred to finish his invention but not to use it for its original purpose. Instead he and an accomplice decide to give his attackers a taste of their own medicine.

Teddy finds himself a suspect in a triple homicide and the second time he uses his invention he receives the greatest shock of his life: A chance to make it or break it on another planet, in another galaxy, with other humans, and the Omniscients.

ISBN 978-1-61386-106-6 Mystery, Suspense, Science Fiction

Part I

Prologue

Portales, New Mexico

August 2011

Bastard! Hatred and rage coursed violently through his veins like molten lava threatening to consume him. Just for now he squelches the powerful emotions until the time is right; they will be released. All of the emotions built up inside of him will be let go; and then will come the war. He lights a cigarette, inhaling the smoke deep into his lungs, holding it waiting for the nicotine to touch every high-strung nerve. He is calmer now as he releases the carbon monoxide from his lungs.

It is pathetic the way love can make you act like a fool. You trust someone completely until they stomp on you crashing your whole existence around you.

Taking his special binoculars from beside him on the truck seat, he peered through them into the partially open curtains of the house that he was across from. Adjusting them slightly, he found his target. There they were, entangled in the sheets together without a care in the world, believing no one knew their secrets. Zooming in closer to ensure that he was seeing them in clear view, he began recording from his binoculars. There was someone that he wanted to see this.

The only one Teddy had ever loved was Tara until she just decided she wanted to be friends. Teddy had never experienced mental and physical pain of that magnitude before. It was excruciating. There was no need to give his heart away again so he built up walls and defenses and squelched the emotions to protect himself from the unwanted curse. He learned to harden his heart.

Teddy continued to watch them through the binoculars recording the entire episode until they were through. He felt pity for Tara because she did not know what her boyfriend did when he was not with her while she was at home studying to go to college. Briefly he wondered if her boyfriend would miss her long chestnut hair. It was beautiful way the sunshine kissed each strand making it shine. How stupid he will feel when she finds someone who will treat her like a queen. Teddy wondered if Tara's boyfriend, Everette, would miss the light sprinkle of freckles across her nose and cheekbones right under her gorgeous sea-green eyes that are so lovingly specked with gold, or if he would miss her small feminine five-three petite frame. She deserves better.

Everette stood up to put his clothes back on but glanced down at her where she was lying on the bed with a sheet covering her body. He smiled. What the hell? What the hell is he doing? Teddy groaned inwardly. He had enough evidence. Knowing that no one would ever know that he was there because his truck was inconspicuous, Teddy started up the engine. He had to get out of there. He couldn't watch it any longer. Besides, there was something he needed to do. Teddy turned the truck around and headed for home.

Chapter 1

"Everette, stay," she pouted with her full lower lip jutted out. "Please?" she begged. She knew she was irresistibly sexy when she did that.

"You know I can't. I gotta go," Everette said standing up letting the sheet slide from his body to retrieve his clothing.

She snorted. "Yes, you have to go back to her," she said disgustedly, plopping down on the pillows.

"I'm sorry, darling. I have to go. She's going to get suspicious; you don't want that, do you?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Yeah, I do. That's exactly what I want so that we can be together," she admitted glaring at him shamelessly.

"I'm sorry, honey," Everette sighed pulling on his shirt. "I will be back soon, though. You know I can't resist you," he said chuckling as his eyes slid down her voluptuous curves.

"I don't even know why you're with her, Everette. What does she have that I don't? She doesn't even make love to you!" she said angrily. Red patches rose high on her cheeks only making her even more beautiful.

Everette stopped and turned to her. "Her family is wealthy. When I marry her, I'll have all of that, and then I will divorce her, take half of what she has and marry you. Then we'll have it all," he repeated for the umpteenth time.

"Everette, please stay. I need you," she begged again.

He leaned down and kissed her full lips. He could still taste her vanilla lip gloss. "I gotta go," he said apologetically.

"You won't even stay for this?" she asked sitting up and letting the sheet fall off of her naked breasts.

"Damn it!" he groaned abandoning all pretenses as he took his shirt off with one swift motion. He was back in bed with her in another.

***

"Teddy, I don't know why you're here. You know Everette doesn't like you coming around," Tara said uneasily glancing out across the beautifully manicured yard.

Teddy sighed. "I have something that might interest you, that's why I came," he said leaning casually up against his maroon car. "Besides, I thought we were friends? Do friends not hang out together?" he asked lowering his eyes to the gravel drive and kicking at a rock broodingly.

Tara glanced at him intrigued. "What is it?"

Teddy grinned in spite of himself. The only thing he did not like was the fact that the information he procured recently was going to hurt her. He withdrew a small disk from his pocket where he had gone home and copied the scene from the chip in his binoculars to his computer and then put it on the disk. The sunlight cast rainbows on the ground from it. "Here," he said handing it out to her.

Tara looked at him suspiciously. "Is it one of your inventions you promised to show me?" she asked keenly reaching for it. About the time she was going to take it, Everette pulled up into the driveway in one of his parents' sports cars. She withdrew her hand guiltily leaving Teddy standing there with the disk still outstretched in his hand. Damn, so close.

Everette glared at him as he got out of the car. "What are you doing here, Theodore? I thought I told you not to show your ugly face around Tara again?" he said nastily striding over to Tara and wrapping his arm possessively around her tiny waist.

Teddy flushed angrily. "You can't control me, Everette," he sneered unflinchingly.

Everette glanced down at the disk still outstretched awkwardly in Teddy's hand and grinned maliciously. Before Teddy could react, Everette snatched it from him. "What is this? Another one of your little inventions?" he said mockingly as he turned it over in his hands.

"Everette, stop. You're being a jerk. He wasn't doing anything," Tara interjected trying to take the disk from him, but he was too quick for her and held it up over his head.

"No, idiot. That's actually called a disk. I didn't invent that. I invent far more interesting things. You know? Stuff you'd never be able to comprehend."

Everette's face formed into a hard frown. "Sure. Let's see what's on this, shall we?"

Teddy grinned. "Yeah, why don't you do that, Everette? I think you'll like what you see," he said encouragingly.

Everette glanced at his expression and his attitude faltered. "Do you now?" he asked quietly holding the disk up to his face. "What's on it?"

Teddy laughed. "Go on, go watch it. It's quite interesting. I enjoyed it immensely," he lied. "And if you need to know how to watch it, please, let me know because I'm sure you're too stupid to understand how it works."

Everette studied the little unlabeled disk for a moment. Finally he shrugged. "Nah, I have a better idea," and he snapped it in two, and then in three, until it was nothing more than broken shards of useless plastic. The bastard had the balls to try and hand it back to Teddy. When he reached out his hand to take it, Everette dropped the ruined particles on the paved driveway. "Oops, sorry."

Teddy stared transfixed at what used to be his evidence. Then the rage that consumed him earlier welled up from the deepest parts of his guts and exploded throughout his body. Slowly, his eyes moved upward until they found his. Everette was mocking him.

"Now, pick it up," Everette commanded pointing at the broken shards.

"Fuck you, you piece of dog shit," Teddy said disgustedly.

"No thanks, you're not my type," said Everette smirking.

Teddy took a deep, steadying breath. He needed a cigarette. "I'll get you for this you piece of shit. I promise you that," he said dangerously. Everette laughed. Before he did something stupid, Teddy turned and got into the front seat of his car. All he knew was that he had to get out of there.

As he spun out of the yard, Teddy heard Tara shouting at Everette for being a jerk. He glanced out of his rearview mirror and saw him shouting back at her. Teddy shook his head and lit a cigarette. Oh, he was going to get his revenge, and soon. Teddy wished Tara had chosen someone else. Someone who was not such a prick. What did she see in him, anyway? Teddy shuddered as he realized he did not care to know.

Teddy turned into the driveway of his home and cut the engine quickly. Stepping out of the car, he ground the rest of the cigarette out with the heel of his shoe. He knew there was only one thing left to do. Teddy ran to his bedroom with a quick 'hello' to his mom who was in the living room and slammed the door.

His computer was still on. Teddy quickly and expertly went through files on his computer's database and found what he was looking for. He recopied it to another disk, waited for it to finish, and sealed it into a large envelope. He neatly wrote Tara's name and address on the front. Just as he was about to place a stamp on it to mail it the next day, his phone rang. Retrieving the cell phone from his pocket, Teddy glanced at the number and smiled.

"Hello?"

"Teddy? I'm sorry! I didn't know Everette was going to do that! Was that on the disk very important? Did you have a back up copy of it? Oh I am so sorry!" Tara rambled without a breath.

"Tara! It's all right. Don't worry about it! I have a backup and I already made another copy. I have it in an envelope for you right now," he said reassuringly.

"Really?" she asked eagerly. "You never did tell me what it was?"

Teddy laughed setting his pen down on the desk. "Well, it's a surprise, isn't it?"

"Teddy!"

"Oh, all right. I decided to give it to you tomorrow at school instead. Just make sure when you watch it that Everette," he said the name with as much contempt as he could muster, "isn't there to spoil it for you. You can show it to him when you get done watching it, all right?"

"Thank you, Teddy," she said happily. "I'm so glad to have a friend as smart as you are. I'm glad I can talk to you."

"Don't thank me yet," Teddy said uneasily, hoping his voice didn't betray his guilt. "Just wait until you watch it and then you can tell me what you think."

"All right. I can't wait. I'll see you later, Teddy," said Tara as she hung up the phone. Damn it. Well the only part about this was that he didn't want to hurt her. But she had a right to know! With that comforting thought, he picked up the envelope with the disk in it and laid it on his desk so that he wouldn't forget it; he was hoping she wouldn't be upset with him for telling her what she deserved to know.