Zack blinked at her and then began to laugh. “Okay, you almost had me there. Everyone knows that as long as the person is a ‘Traveler’ then they can go through any portal.”

“Not that portal, not anymore in any case.” Her tone changed, the seriousness of the situation leaking through. “You mentioned last night that we had sealed your status, to which I told you we didn’t have that kind of technology or ability. Regardless, I mentioned the event in the report along with everything else I had learned, on the off chance someone knew something. The Major himself contacted me after reading that report. After making sure I understood how serious and dangerous the knowledge was, do you know what he wanted me to do?”

Zack shook his head and shrugged. At this point, he was having troubles following the conversation.

She gave a dry laugh. “He wanted me to ask you, if you remembered when you lost access to your status page, the specific day or time period?”

“I don’t know. We had been at the intake facility for a few days when it happened. Maybe four or five days by that point. I remember going to sleep, and then in the morning, I felt different. Less. Like I had lost something. My status page was gone, along with the few enhancements it had given me through increased stats.” He was beyond confused at the constant twists and turns in the conversation.

Jean sucked in a shocked breath and softly muttered. “Wow, he really was spot on.”

Zack cleared his throat. “Are you going to tell me how this all ties together now?”

“I am. Just keep in mind, this is all secondhand information that the Major told me. I don’t know all the specifics.” She waited for his nod of understanding and then continued.

“A few days after we rescued you and your sister. The travelers that had been sent inside the portal were forcefully ejected before their time limit was up. They couldn’t remember anything that happened after they entered that day. Then the portal changed. The surface stopped moving and became hard, while all the power rings around the edge thickened and multiplied until it became solid black.”

“And the Major thinks what, that me losing access to my traveler abilities caused that?” Zack swallowed, his mind conjuring one wild theory after the other.

“Like I said, a key. He didn’t tell me any more than that, but I can make a few guesses. I’m pretty sure he thinks that whatever it was the researchers did to you, the thing that allowed you to awaken early. It tied you to the portal there.” Jean flopped back and looked up at the slowly brightening sky. “That’s all I know or can guess for now.”

Zack held his breath, resisting the urge to curse. The Major and Jean had managed to extrapolate a frankly scary amount of information from a single report. No, that wasn’t right. The report had most likely simply confirmed his existing suspicions. The Major had already thought they were the key to the portal before that.

“What now?” He asked in a hoarse voice.

“I don’t know. I imagine that at some point I or someone else will be tasked with bringing you back to the facility and the portal inside. I wouldn’t expect that to happen until you are strong enough to handle whatever monster is on the other side. The monster or monsters that could cause that solid black line will be stronger than anything recorded.” She focused on him. “Now you know why the Major has been doing all of this. Hopefully, you can stop worrying that we want to dissect you, or use you for more experiments, or whatever it is that you keep thinking.”

“Knowing the reason will definitely help, but don’t expect me to suddenly start trusting any of you. That takes time, especially for me and Zara.” Zack turned away from her, his throat convulsing as he fought the urge to vomit. His worst nightmare had come to pass.

The Major, and the military, as a result, knew that he, and possibly his sister, were different. The only upside to the matter was that the Major didn’t seem inclined to use them for more experiments. He could take a small amount of comfort in that.

Zack swallowed and breathed in and out, working to control the overwhelming panic he was feeling. “Well, I admit the timing is certainly odd, but wouldn’t it be easier to just look through the research materials and find out what they did? If you can learn what they did to me in the first place, surely that would provide the answer.”

Jean snorted, her eyes carefully roving over him, taking note of his reactions. “We can’t. The researchers were using magitech we had never seen before. Instead of writing everything on paper, they would somehow insert the information into a large boxy device. The military eggheads have dubbed it a ‘Thinking-Box’, the rest of us just call it the ‘Magic-Box’. Either way, even now they have only managed to figure out a little about how it works. They can turn it on, but all the information it displays is encrypted, and therefore unreadable.”

Zack gazed at the distant trees, the motion of the waving branches calming his frazzled nerves. “Are you going to get in trouble for telling me all of that?”

“Nope, since all of this directly concerns you, the Major had already said it was fine to tell you this much. As for the magic-box, keep that to yourself for now. The government plans to release their own version of it to the public soon, so it’s mostly fine for you to know about it as well.”

His situation gradually came into focus as he relaxed. This was fine. They had some suspicions, and a long-term goal for him. The important thing, however, was that they weren’t trying to use him right then. It would give him the time needed to decide if he could trust them. How he would act when the time came would depend on that trust.

“Come on, we really should leave before it gets too bright outside.” Jean stood and raised a brow. “Your face is looking much better, and that gash below your hairline is completely gone. Not bad.”

Zack wanted to curse at himself again. He had forgotten about that gash. It was a very visible representation of how fast he could actually heal. “It must not have been as bad as it looked then.”

She nodded slightly. “Remember what I said before and stay close.”

With a sigh of relief, he stood, making a show of keeping the pressure on his ribs to a minimum. “How close do you want me?”

“Right on my heels, and duck down a little to hide your face.” She clicked her tongue in annoyance. “I should have thought to bring a mask or a pillowcase to hide your face.”

Zack recoiled. “Why a pillowcase? You know what, never mind. I’ll just…” He inspected his button-up uniform shirt and the bandages on his stomach. “That would probably be worse. How about I just keep my face down and between your shoulder blades?”

“That’ll be fine.” She agreed.

Together they walked through the portal, the scenery changing in an instant. Cold concrete replaced the warm grass, and large broken walls blocked the wind.

The surroundings were still and silent. They were alone for the moment; regardless, Zack kept his face pressed against her back. The broken walls provided plenty of places for someone to peer inside. Not to mention the dark corners of the room could be hiding anything.

Quickly, they shuffled over to her fancy carriage. Jean opened the back door and pushed him inside. “Stay down, and out of sight until we get back to your dorm.” She commanded him in a voice that allowed for no arguments.

“How is this going to affect me going through the portal with the class next week?” He asked her once he felt they had been moving for long enough to be clear of any people.

“It is a problem. I’m sure you noticed the rather bright light you gave off earlier. That will happen with each student, and it will be rather obvious that you have already awakened if you don’t sparkle like the rest.” He heard fingers tapping the leather of the steering wheel. “We may have to stage an accident of some sort that ends with you being pushed through the portal first. After that, we can just tell the inspector that they missed the light show.”

Zack felt his jaw slacken. Was this how the military approached things, making it up as they went along? He shook his head. No, that wasn’t right. It was more likely that it was because she was the one in control this time. He didn’t think that Specialist was a rank typically involved in planning missions. Then again, the squad she was a part of was different from the rest. So, what did he know?

“We’re back,” Jean announced, the vehicle smoothly slowing to a stop outside his dorm building. The sun was still below the horizon, if only barely. Anyone who managed to see him would only glimpse a human-shaped blob with no details.