There's no Place like Home Chapter 19

There's no Place like Home

Chapter Nineteen:

Today's the day, I thought as I crawled out from under my blanket and off of my mattress later that morning. Today I'm going home!

As excited as I was, I was still sad and almost dreading the day ahead of me. Like Jay had said the night before, the portal could be a one-way ticket. I may never see Jay, Raphaelle, or the others ever again. The thought was scary …

Slowly, I pulled on my blue blouse and my black pants, along with my boots. I made sure my PJs, my halter top dress, the dress I'd worn at the Inn (which Sara insisted I keep), and all of my other random items that I'd acquired or had brought with me were in the duffle bag Sara also insisted I have. I made sure to keep my camera out so it would be easier to take pictures of everyone before I had to leave.

All my jewelry was in the bag, except for my oval angel pendant, which was around my neck. I ran my finger over it, just barely feeling the engraving of the angel on it. I released it and let it fall against my blouse.

Sighing, I turned and hoisted my bag over my shoulder.

My shoes hit gravel and that's when it hit me. My eyes filled with tears. I quickly blinked them away.

We didn't have a picnic planned for this trip. Nope, this time we ate brownies. "Raphaelle, I want your recipe!" I said dreamily as I flopped over on our blanket after devouring three of her delicious creations.

"I thought you'd say that …" she said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded index card. I took it from her and unfolded it. It was her brownie recipe!

I threw my arms around her, "I love you Raphaelle!"

She laughed and hugged me back, "Love you too, Kisa!"

I placed the card into my bag and finished my fourth brownie. After snapping a few pictures with my camera, it was time to head to the ruins.

The piles were just as we'd left them. It took Austin a good twenty minutes to set up the machine. It was a tiny thing really, maybe the height of a cereal box and as heavy as a gallon milk jug. As he set it up, I walked around and took more picture of everyone.

Finally, Austin stood up and hollered over to me, "Hey Kisa! Are you ready?" I turned and shut my camera off before setting it on the ground next to my bag.

Austin handed me a small green device and an alcohol swab, "This will-"

"It'll prick my finger so you can get a drop of my blood." I explained as I swabbed my index finger with the alcohol swab. Everyone stared at me, "What? I took a medical class last year. We had to prick fingers all the time."

After pricking my finger and placing it on the machine's sensor, I stood back, bandaged my finger, and waited. Austin had had already explained to me how the portal would work. One portal would open here and another would open in my world; a tunnel of sorts would connect the two. He wasn't sure if the original portal functioned in the same way, but this was the only way he and Delbert could get it to work. I was told to get through the tunnel as quickly as I could because no one knew how long it would stay open. If I were to get trapped in the tunnel I would be stuck in No Man's Land, or the space between the two worlds, forever. I shuddered at that thought.

The machine started to beep and a moment later the swirling portal opened. I gasped; there was Earth! There was my house! There was home!

I hoisted my bag over my shoulder and turned to everyone, "Thank you guys, for everything. I mean it." I gave them all a weak, sad smile. Goodbyes are always bittersweet.

Raphaelle gave me one last hug before handing me an envelope, "These are for when you get back home." She whispered and hugged me again. Finally, we let go and she went to stand by Jim. He put an arm around his wife's shoulders and held her close. I let my eyes wander to everyone else: Angela stood in front of Gabriel, his arms around her waist; Austin stood my Jennifer, holding her hand in friendly support, and Iris stood huddling with Adelaide and Nerita. Morph floated above all of them, looking as sad as could be.

Finally, my eyes came to rest on Jay; I could tell by looking at him that he wasn't going to be moving from his spot anytime soon. So I guess he made his decision, I thought, feeling hurt. You only have yourself to blame! You should have told him sooner…

"Bye." I gave a small wave as I turned to face the portal. Tears finally began to run down my face. I wasn't sure if I was crying because I was leaving, or because I was leaving without Jay.

I took a deep breath; in the back of my mind I swore I heard a voice whisper, "go with her." But I wasn't sure, so I shook my head slightly and stepped into the portal.

Or I tried to. I got one leg into the portal anyway. A hand was gripping my upper arm, stopping me from going any farther.

"Kisa, wait."

I turned to find Jay holding my arm and looking into my eyes, "Do you think I could- I mean, can I- I mean-"

I chuckled and nodded, "yeah Jay. You can come with me." He beamed at my response before bending down and giving me a quick kiss on the lips right in front of everyone. And you know what? Despite what my blush said, I didn't care. I was actually glad he did it; it proved that we finally knew that we liked each other.

"You two lovebirds better go before the portal closes," Austin advised. Blushing, we laughed, said a final goodbye, and stepped into the portal.

The inside of the portal was, in a word, amazing. It was like a long blue tunnel made up of neon lights.

"This would be so cool if it wasn't so … so …" I blanked.

"Freaky 'cause we don't know what's going to happen?" Jay finished.

"Yeah, that." I mumbled.

Suddenly the tunnel shifted, "I vote we get out of here." His voice had an edge of panic to it.

I wanted to say, 'I second that vote!' but I turned and looked back. I could see Raphaelle staring at us through the portal and I could hear Austin's voice shout that the portal was breaking.

Raphaelle ran up to portal and placed a hand on it, but it wouldn't pass through. Our trip really was a one-way-ticket. I could see the tears forming in her eyes as I felt them form in my own.

"What's happening?" I questioned in a calm of a voice that betrayed my emotions.

"The portal's collapsing; you'd better get out of there quickly." She answered; her voice sounded so far away.

I nodded, "Goodbye Raphaelle, I'll miss you." I could feel my throat tightening as I tried desperately not to cry.

"Goodbye Kisa." Her voice cracked as she took a step back and waved.

With one last look I grabbed Jay's hand and we ran to end of the portal. We leaped through it and began freefalling as the portal closed behind us. A few more seconds and we would have been lost in No Man's Land forever.

The portal had opened a good ten feet above the ground. The free-fall made my stomach drop as the grass came up too quickly.

When we hit, we hit hard. I landed on my back with a force so hard it knocked the wind out of me. That same force threw my head back, slamming it down in the grass. My scull erupted in pain and my vision went fuzzy.

I thought I could hear a chorus of voices scream, "Kisa!" but before I could make sense of it, my world faded to black.