Through

THROUGH The portal’s shimmering silver surface was almost alive, twisting and turning in sinuous movements that made it appear similar to a platter full of mercury, being stirred by an invisible spoon. Cain slowly approached it, under the watchful eyes of the men that would give their lives to help him should anything go wrong. He glanced up at the gray wall panels around him, knowing that his invisible protectors were observing him from behind them. In the boxlike dark gray room, the only light was the shimmering portal. It cast an eerie glow on Cain’s face, illuminating everything from his black boots to his silver hair and eyes. His heart pounded against his ribcage, but he was not afraid. The closer he got to the portal, the colder the atmosphere became. The intense chill soaked into his bones, and had it not made itself a part of him he would have been shivering. His teeth would be chattering, and his eyes would be rolling back in his head as he convulsed and became hypothermic. But none of that was happening. He breathed it in, absorbed it, felt the power radiating from the glowing gateway. He was so close to it now, so close. Ten feet. Five feet. He could have reached out and touched it. It was extremely cold now, but excitement surged through Cain’s body. He slowly extended a white, bone-thin hand towards the surface of the portal. The effect was almost magnetic. An invisible force pushed against him, urging him to stop. Cain grinned as he felt the portal’s silent but desperate pleading, trying to keep him back with nonexistent barriers that would soon be broken. In Cain’s world even the unreal could affect and be affected by what was considered the “real world.” Cain parted his thin lips and widened his huge silver eyes, knowing that he would win. Slowly the portal started to give under his pressure. Minutes passed as he gradually stripped away the layers of resistance. Minutes turned into half an hour, yet his unerring patience showed no sign of deserting him in the struggle. Cain concentrated as hard as he could on his goal: getting through. His focus was so strong that the portal’s resistance started to melt away more quickly. His hand got closer and closer, colder and colder. Suddenly, the extra layers vanished. Not expecting this, Cain fell forward, his hand finally connecting with the surface of the gateway. The result was electric. A surge of power rushed up his arm and through his entire body, temporarily paralyzing him. Seconds passed and he could move again, his hand still suspended inside the portal. A thrill flashed through him. He had broken the barrier. The temperature within the portal was…not there. This caused Cain to experience his first misgivings. At least in his gray box it was cold. But inside this thing, there was nothing. What was this power? He began to feel anxious, his heart drumming in his chest. His mouth became dry. But he didn’t dare pull his hand away. Instead, he extended his arm further into the portal, becoming more terrified by the second. His arm was gone, he couldn’t see it any longer. Completely consumed by the portal, like he hadn’t had any effect on it whatsoever. Nor were there any ripples in the silver surface. It swirled ominously, just like before. He began to have the horrible feeling that he’d just been tricked. Trembling, he reached in even farther until he was in up to his shoulder. Real fear began to take hold of him. What would happen to him once he entered the portal? Would he disappear into a third dimension like so many others before him? Would he remain in an undisturbed state of suspended animation forever? Cain could hardly imagine how long forever would be. He shuddered, afraid. Reaching a point of grim decision, Cain realized that he had to do this. Not

because no one else could, far from it, but because he’d volunteered for it. He had made his choice. Now it was time to uphold his part, do his duty. He thrust one leg forward, into the portal. Meeting nothing but empty space, he began to panic even more. It took all of the willpower he possessed to jump with his other leg into the portal, allowing himself to quietly slip into oblivion. Inside, the whole thing radiated with the same silver light. There were no walls. He floated, unmoving. He felt his breathing stop. Felt his heart cease its beating. Inside, there was no time. All that mattered was that he was here. Time was a foreign word here. But where exactly was “here”? Cain wondered if this was what the others had felt like. Not making it all the way through, being trapped in a second dimension, caught in a state of suspended animation. Forever. Strangely, he felt no panic. He knew that whatever was going to happen would come to pass. His heart started to beat again, and his lungs started absorbing oxygen. He was in no worse condition than he had been when he’d stopped. He tested his muscles again, and felt that he could move. There seemed to be no point in it, however. He tried to make swimming and walking movements, but he remained exactly where he was. Suddenly, something shifted in the atmosphere. Cain couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but he had the sense to tell that something was about to happen. A tiny black dot appeared in front of him, gradually getting larger and larger. A thrill shot through Cain. Was this it? Could this be the entrance to the highly sought-after Third Dimension? The hole got wider and wider, stretching itself. Suddenly, a terrifying thought occurred to him. What if this was a black hole, the Second Dimension? Was this really the gateway to the Third Dimension, or was it some horrible void into which he would be sucked and remain forever? The opening expanded even more, until it was larger than him. Slowly it began to pass around him, engulfing him in a black nothingness. Cain struggled to grasp at the last wisp of silver that he could, but the blackness closed over it, cutting off the light. Caught in the dark, he began to shiver. He was petrified with fear, wondering what would become of him. Suddenly, he felt himself being jerked forward by the center of his body, his arms and legs falling behind him, as if by an invisible giant’s huge hand. It was the most peculiar sensation, as there was no wind to break around him and no images to rush past him. But he was certain that he was going somewhere. Although he couldn’t see, he felt the darkness getting smaller and smaller until it started to suffocate him. He could feel his chest tightening and his body being squeezed, but he couldn’t see or feel what was causing it. It constricted his chest, tighter and tighter, and he could barely breathe. All of a sudden, it released him. It was just gone. He gasped and sucked in as much air as he could. He was hurled forward violently through the blackness, and tumbled out of the void and into…a wall. For a moment he remained slumped against it, trying to catch his breath. Then, picking himself up, he leaned against the wall for support. Glancing at it, he noticed that it was a color he’d never seen before. It was almost like gray, but it had a different hue to it as well. It was a light color, as if the original from which it was derived had been several shades darker. He looked across the room and saw a silver mirror hanging on the wall above a white sink. That must have been his entry point. Rubbing his sore shoulder where he’d hit the wall, it slowly dawned on him: He had made it. Cain’s jaw dropped as he stared at his surroundings in wonder, taking all of it in. The grubby restroom sink, the small white toilet hunched against the wall, the hard tile floor. He had finally made it. He was the first success. He had made it into the Third Dimension.