The Portal

Jason was reading the newspaper at the kitchen table and eating breakfast like he did every day. He noticed a roll of wrapping paper on the table, which he had used to wrap a gift for his girlfriend, Carla. Jason thought he had taken the wrapping paper back to the basement after he was done but thought he must be mistaken, so after breakfast; he took the wrapping paper down to the basement to put in the storage room.

As Jason entered the storage room, a bright light flashed in front of him, which startled Jason, and he was momentarily paralyzed. After Jason regained his senses, he thought, "What the hell was that?" Jason shrugged it off and placed the wrapping paper on the shelf in the room.

Jason went back upstairs and logged onto his computer, and after he entered his password, a prompt came up with the request; "Reset your password." Jason thought for a few seconds and came up with his new password and entered it, and continued.

Later that day, Jason walked into his kitchen and noticed wrapping paper on the kitchen table. Jason thought, "I am sure I took that wrapping paper down to the storage room in the basement this morning. What is it doing here back in the kitchen?" Jason pondered the question for a few minutes, then thought he was mistaken, grabbed the wrapping paper, and headed downstairs. As Jason entered the storage room, a bright light flashed in front of him. Jason was stunned for a second and then remembered that was what had happened to him this morning when he entered the room. Jason turned the light in the room on and off several times to see if he could duplicate the bright light, but it never reappeared. Jason shrugged it off again and was about to put the wrapping paper on the shelf when he noticed it was no longer in his hand. Jason looked on the floor to see if he had dropped it but could not see it, but then he noticed the wrapping paper on the shelf. "Am I going crazy? I am sure I did not place the wrapping paper on the shelf." Jason thought for a few seconds and decided that he was mistaken. He could have placed the wrapping paper on the shelf before the bright lights flashed into his eyes, so Jason went back upstairs to have lunch.

After lunch, Jason returned to his computer and tried to log on, but it would not accept his new password. Jason was unsure why it was not accepting his new password, so he entered his old password, and for some reason, it worked, but then a prompt came up with the instructions: "Reset your password." Jason entered the new password; he thought he had entered early in the day, and it was accepted, and he could continue.

Later in the afternoon, Jason returned to the kitchen and noticed the wrapping paper on the table. "What the fuck is happening? I took that wrapping paper down to the storage room twice today. Am I going insane?" Jason grabbed the wrapping paper in disgust and headed to the basement. Just as Jason was about to open the door to the storage room, Jason remembered: "The last two times I entered the storage room, a bright light blinded me." And then Jason remembered the last time the wrapping paper was no longer in his hand.

Jason looked down to ensure the wrapping paper was still in his hand and gripped it tightly. He took a deep breath and entered the room, holding his other hand over his eyes to shield him from the bright light. Just as he expected, a bright light shone into his face, but this time he was prepared. After the lights faded, Jason looked down and noticed the wrapping paper was gone; then looked on the shelf and saw it sitting there. This time, Jason knew that the wrapping paper was in his hands before the bright light flashed onto him and was on the shelf after the lights faded.

Jason knew something strange was happening in the storage room but was unsure what it was. While trying to figure out what was happening, he remembered watching a movie about a month ago where the main plot was about a portal between alternate realities. He thought, could this be happening to him? At first, Jason thought this was complete nonsense. Still, as he continued to ponder other possibilities, the presence of a portal between alternate realities was the only one that made sense.

Jason wondered how could he prove the existence of the time portal in his storage room. He then came up with the idea to film his experience going through the storage room, so he went back upstairs, found his go-pro, and put it on his head. He started to film, making sure he filmed every part of his house to compare later after he went through the possible portal. After filming every detail of the house, both upstairs and downstairs, Jason prepared to enter the storage room and possibly go through the portal to a possible alternate reality. This time Jason came prepared, as he had also grabbed his sunglasses to deal with the bright flash of light. He put on the sunglasses and entered the room. The bright light flashed the same as he had experienced before. After the flash dissipated, Jason looked around the room to film every part of the room, and after he was sure he got everything, he exited the storage room and then went to grab the go-pro from his head when he noticed it wasn't there.

Jason only muttered the word, "Shit!"

Jason then proceeded upstairs, found his go-pro in its usual resting place, turned it on, and viewed the last images. It did not contain Jason's filming of the house. "Well, that was a total waste of time."

Jason sat down and tried to come up with a new plan. After a few minutes, he came up with plan "B." He went to the garage and searched for his ball equipment. He found the bag, opened it, dug through it, and found a ball. He then proceeded back into the house and down to the basement. Jason opened the storage room door but did not enter. Jason then rolled the ball into the room, but nothing happened as the ball just rolled in, bounced off the back wall, rolled forward, and came to a complete stop. There was no appearance of a bright flash of light.

"Well, that did not work. I guess on to plan "C." Thought Jason

Jason went back upstairs and went to the kitchen and found a notepad and pen. He then wrote a #1 on the pad.

Jason went back downstairs and went through the portal again. As soon as the bright flash dissipated, he ran upstairs to the kitchen and found the notepad on the counter, but the #1, which he had written down, was crossed out and replaced with #4. Jason wondered, does that mean he is in the fourth alternate reality? Jason crossed out the #4 and replaced it with #2. He headed back downstairs and proceeded through the portal. He quickly rushed back upstairs and found the notepad, and this time written on the notepad, he could see #1 crossed out with only #7 on it. Angered, Jason crossed out the #7 and replaced it with "Fuck You!"

Jason again went through the portal, and this time, after he returned, written on the notepad, he could see #1 crossed out as well as #5, and written on it was, "Go to Hell!" Jason laughed and thought, "I think I am already there."

Jason was trying to devise a new plan when suddenly, the front door burst open, and armed police officers ran through the door.

The first cop shouted, "Jason Oliver, put your hands up and lie flat on the floor!"

A stunned Jason was confused as to what was happening, and before he could answer, a second cop threw him to the ground face first and then quickly grabbed both hands and handcuffed him. A third cop joined the second cop, and they both picked Jason off the floor and placed him in a chair.

The first cop shouted, "Are you, Jason Oliver?"

A still confused Jason did not answer.

The cop shouted again, "I asked you if you are Jason Oliver?"

This time Jason answered, "Yes, I am Jason Oliver."

"Do you know a Carla Wilson?"

"Yes, she is my girlfriend."

"Well, we found her beaten, raped, and stabbed to death."

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you saying you know nothing about Ms. Wilson's death?"

"Yes, I would never hurt Carla. I love her."

"Is that so? Ms. Wilson's neighbor, Mrs. Tina Johansen, told us that Carla confided in her and said that she feared for her life and that if anything happened to her, let the police know that the most likely suspect would be you, Jason Oliver."

"Why would Tina say that? I have never harmed Carla; she knew I loved her, and Carla loved me."

"Not according to Mrs. Johansen. She told us Carla said that the two of you have been fighting a lot lately and that several times, you got angry and struck her."

"That's a lie. I could never hurt Carla!"

"Mrs. Johansen gave us a photo of Carla showing a bloody nose and a black eye. Carla took this photo after the last beating you gave to her." The police officer then showed Jason the photo. It was Carla, which showed a bloody nose and a black eye.

"I did not do that to Carla, as I have never hit her."

The second cop picked up the notepad from the counter and showed it to Jason. "Did you write this?"

Jason looked at it and said, "Yes."

"It has a #1 written on it, but it has been crossed off, and then written below it is, "Go to hell." Said the second cop as he showed it to the other cops.

"Is this a message telling yourself to send your girlfriend Carla to hell by brutally murdering her?"

"No, that is not what it means. You do not understand what is happening here."

"Yeah, tell it to the district attorney, as I think we have enough evidence to arrest you and charge you with first-degree murder."

A shaken Jason thought for a few seconds and then pondered. I have to escape this alternate reality and return to my reality where Carla is still alive and we are both in love. Jason looked around and then decided to make a run for it. He quickly got up with his hands still handcuffed and ran his shoulder into the first cop, which caught him off guard, and the officer went flying. Jason then ran down the stairs while being chased by the other cops, flung his shoulder into the storage room door, and was able to blast through it when the bright light flashed into his eyes as he fell towards the floor.

As Jason opened his eyes, he could see he was standing in the storage room, and his hands were free and not handcuffed. He looked back and could not see any police officers chasing after him. Jason checked the storage room door; it looked okay and was not damaged.

Jason quickly thought about Carla, so he raced up the stairs, grabbed his phone, and called her.

A sweet voice answered, "Hi, Jason."

A relieved Jason replied, "Hi Carla, are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Sorry, I have been having a tough day here and was just worried about you."

"Well, I hope that does not mean you are canceling tonight's date. I hope you still remember you promised me you would cook me a romantic dinner tonight."

"No, I did not forget, and dinner is still on."

"Great, do you need me to bring anything, like a dessert?"

"No, I have everything organized, and I have a special dessert prepared for you." Said Jason with a mischievous laugh.

"That sounds great; I will see you tonight then. Love you."

"Love you too," said Jason as he hung up.

Jason breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I think everything is back in order. I have to make sure no one enters the storage room. Tomorrow I will head to Home Depot to pick up some plywood to cover the entrance to the storage room."

Jason looked at his watch and proclaimed, "I better start getting ready for tonight."

Later that evening, Carla arrived at Jason's house as he prepared dinner for the two.

Carla walked over to where Jason was standing and smelled what he was cooking. "Smells good. Are you sure I can't help you with anything?"

"I was thinking of adding a can of crushed tomatoes to the sauce. Can you go to the pantry and grab one? It should be on the middle shelf."

"Okay." Said Carla with a smile as she headed to the pantry. After a few seconds, she shouted, "I don't see any crushed tomatoes here."

"They must be in the storage room in the basement, then." Said Jason

"Okay, I will head down and get one."

After about half a minute, Jason heard Carla scream. Jason thought, "Oh no, dropped what he was doing and headed downstairs. The storage room door was open, but Carla was nowhere in sight. "Carla, are you here?" There was no response. Jason searched the basement, yelling, "Carla, where are you?" But there was no reply, and Carla was nowhere in sight.

Jason quickly ran upstairs, grabbed his phone, and called Carla, but there was no answer. Jason then grabbed his car keys, headed toward his car, and drove off to Carla's house.

As Jason approached Carla's house, he saw the lights were on at her place. He ran to the front door and rang the doorbell, yelling, "Carla, are you home?"

There was no answer, so Jason fumbled with his keys until he identified the key to Carla's house. He unlocked the door, entered, and walked in, but as soon as he entered, he could see Carla's body lying on the living room rug, covered in blood.

Jason wanted to vomit, but he quickly got a hold of himself and ran back to his car. "I must get to my storage room and return to my reality."

He rushed home, quickly ran to the basement, and entered the storage room. After the bright lights diminished, Jason promptly ran upstairs to see if Carla was there, but she was nowhere in sight, so he pulled out his phone and called her.

"Hi Sweety, you feeling better?"

Jason sighs in relief and says, "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. I am worried about you since you canceled our dinner date tonight because you weren't feeling well."

"Sorry, I am feeling better as I slept most of the day."

"I'm glad to hear that, but I am disappointed that you had to cancel tonight's date as I was looking forward to what you had planned for tonight."

"Well, maybe, we can do it tomorrow night."

"That would be great. Why don't you call me in the morning to let me know if you are up to it, and we can take it from there?"

"That sounds great. I will get a good night's sleep and call you in the morning. Love you."

"Love you too."

Jason hung up and looked at his watch. "Home Depot should still be open, so I will head over there to pick up the plywood. I need to make sure no one enters the storage room again."

Jason headed to Home Depot, picked up some plywood, and returned home. He quickly bordered the entrance to the supply room. "That should do it until I can think of a permanent solution to my problem."

A tired Jason returned to the kitchen to get a glass of water before bed. He noticed the notepad on the counter and only saw "#1" written.

"I hope that means I am back to where I started."

Jason headed to bed but did not notice the wrapping paper on his kitchen table.