The biting winds whipped at my insulated clothes and permeated my very bones with its chill, but I kept on marching toward the no-mans-land. My buddy, a Russian man named Dmitri, was a few paces ahead of me, shivering and hugging his body just like I was.
I jogged forward to catch up to him, and to warm my own body up a little, before saying "Hey, do you know where we're going?" Dmitri glanced at me from under his visor and said "No. But I do know that we are going to be fucked if this thing turns out to be a trap." I sighed and thought 'Always the optimist, eh old friend?' as I shook my head with a smile.
"Johnson, keep your head up and keep quiet, or else you'll be doing 80 when we get the camp set up." I looked over my shoulders to see my Squad Leader, Petty Officer First Class, Naomi Park, with her hands on her gun ready to fire at any moment. I laughed and said "Lighten up Naomi. I guarantee that this "portal" isn't going to be shit."
She wasn't having any of it. "Make that 120. In the snow with no shirt." I bit my tongue and cursed myself for my carefree attitude as I stared at my friends who held back their laughs as to not get the same punishment. The birds (He calls helicopters and planes birds) above me silently floated along, keeping pace with us as their sleek black surfaces became dotted with snow.
I always thought about how far America has come, especially when looking at things like plasma weapons, giants mechs, hovercrafts, and the advanced VTOL aircrafts we had above us right now. They truly were marvels of engineering. Looking back at the ground far below me, I realized just how far we had travelled after being airdropped.
"Hold. I think that's our target right there..." I looked forward and saw a massive blue circle that was, at least, two miles tall and three miles across. "Yep, that is indeed our target. Red Hawk reporting to base. We found codename Big Blue, over." I pulled out a pair of binoculars to look at the portal from a better angle as Naomi tried to contact home.
"Shit. There's no signal..." I turned and cocked a brow at Naomi, and was about to speak when the VTOLs above us suddenly grounded. "What happened, why did you land? Your orders were to stay airborne until we reached the designated campsite!" Naomi was talking to the squadron leader of the VTOLs when, suddenly, a loud horn echoed through the air.
We all took our guns out and turned the safety off as we frantically swiveled our heads, trying to find the source of whatever the hell made the sound. I edged closer to the front of the mountain we were on and I saw nothing but an expanse of snow ahead of us with the massive portal a few miles out ahead of us. We had at least a couple of hours of non-stop jogging if we wanted to get there before sundown.
"Get the thermals up and see if you can spot anyone down there by the portal. Now!" I grabbed my binoculars and tried to find anything that even remotely resembled a person, but there was literally nothing but snow. We were already on edge earlier, but now we were on the verge of panicking despite being used to situations like this.
But we couldn't help it. This was unlike anything we had ever faced before...
We all stood there on high alert as the VTOL pilots tried to get their planes up and running, but the engine would just crackle before dying. "Damnit! Red Hawk to base, do you copy!" Naomi tried to contact HQ, but the radio was silent. That was enough to start pushing us over the edge. "This is all your fault Johnson! If you would've kept your damn mouth shut, we wouldn't be out here!"
Many voices began to shout their approval when another, louder, horn sounded out; this time it sounded like it was right below us. "D-Did that thing just move...the portal, did it just fuckin move!?" I swung my head back and saw the portal floating in the air, but it did seem like it grew a bit...or maybe it really had gotten closer...
"Oh God...if that thing can move..." They didn't even have to finish their sentence for the rest of us to know what they meant. If that thing could move, then we were all dead. We have no intelligence on this portal, and we don't know what it can do. If it's lethal, then we can do nothing about it except for hope that it can't bring anything over to us.
"W-We have to move! If base isn't responding then we need to get some distance before trying to contact them again. Move!" Naomi didn't need to tell us twice as we all holstered our weapons and took off down the mountain, leaving the inoperative VTOLs behind. Suddenly, a voice rang out like it was in my head. "Ah, ah, ah. I can't have my subjects running away...I need you fresh and alive after all..."
It was like an invisible wall was blocking our path, making it impossible to escape. I slammed into the barrier and fell to the ground along with many others that were either ahead of me or beside me. My nose was shattered and my vision blurry, but I still had my wits as I quickly recovered and pulled my pistol from its holster.
"What the hell was that! Did you hear someone speaking!?" Once someone asked the question everyone had, they all began to jump at shadows and accuse each other of making everything up. I held my pistol up to the sky and fired three shots, making everyone go quiet and stare into my stone cold eyes.
"Shut up and listen for once. We might be able to find a way to make the portal disappear if we listen to the voice." I put my pistol down and began to listen closely, almost daring for the voice to speak once again, however, it never did. Instead, we were greeted with another horn that sounded like it was right next to our ears.
The earth beneath us began to tremble and crack as the portal began to creak and expand rapidly. Creatures with gnarled skin and branch-like protrusions began to flood from the portal, leaving us standing there in awe at the sheer size of the invading force. There were giant creatures that walked on two feet with long, dangling arms and two head, and there were even creatures that resembled Dark Elves and Goblins from fantasy movies.
The creatures began to howl and run around, searching for something as their glowing red eyes began to grow brighter. I clicked my tongue and silently cursed myself for my bright ideas before saying "Everyone, get ready for a fight! They're heading this way!"
I drew my sniper from my back and lined the scope up with one of the giant's heads and fired. The giant reeled back and roared out in agony before looking directly at me and releasing a ground shattering yell. My eardrums popped and my aim was thrown off, causing me to miss my next shot and his the giant's shoulder.
Suddenly, the same voice from before ripped through the atmosphere with a commanding voice. "Stop, you fools! Do you really want to be the cause for my experiment failing!?" The giant spat on the ground before mumbling a few words and stomping off in the other direction along with the other creatures.
The voice made a sound like it was clearing its throat before it said "Sorry you had to experience that. Drog can be such an idiot sometimes. Now, you have two options, my pets. You can willingly step through the portal and make my life easier, or I can force you through it...you have five minutes to decide."
I was about to turn around and ask Naomi for advice when three people began to scream like crazy and start shooting the barrier in a futile effort to escape. "Stop! We don't know what that thing can d-" One man turned, his face full of tears, and yelled "I'm getting out of here! I don't want to see whatever is on the other side of that portal! I want to see my family again...you can get yourself killed for all I care!!"
I clenched my hands and walked over to the man before slugging him in the jaw as hard as I could before asking "Do you really think I want to go through that thing? Do you really think I want to take the chance and possibly never see my wife or son again? Do you really think that any of us want to die here?"
The man opened his mouth to speak before closing it again, his face twisted into one of shame. "Now, we have to figure out a way to get out of here. If we go through that portal, there may be a way to get back out. I mean, if we can go in, we can go out. Right?" Naomi shook her head and sighed. "That's the thing. We know nothing..."
I racked my brain in an effort to find a way to get out of this mess when the sound of a bell dinging entered my mind. "Ah, that must be the signal! All right my pets, you can now enter the portal!" I glanced back at my squad, my family, and said "It's risky, but there has to be a way to get back. I'm going in willingly. Who knows what this voice can do if we don't listen..." I stared at the glowing red barrier around us to punctuate my words.
Everyone had hesitant expressions, but none raised objections as they followed my footsteps toward Big Blue. A few of the monsters were guarding the portal entrance, and they were wearing what looked to be full platemail armor with polished black swords belted to their hips. The guards were massive, standing at nine feet tall with two large tusks protruding from their mouths and two thin, sharp horns just above their brows.
The guards nodded toward us and two moved in front of us two were on each of our sides, and another two at the back. The two in the front motioned for us to follow as they stepped through the portal, the other six prodding us forward with an emotionless gaze. I walked up to the portal and though of my wife and son, who would be turning six tomorrow, and I silently apologized as I stuck my hand through the portal.
A tingling sensation enveloped my body as another, clearer voice rang out through my mind. "My Chosen, do not fear. I may not have the power to completely foil Naletherz's plans, but I can at least ruin the first step...good luck, my Chosen. You will need all of it..." Before I could question what I had heard, I felt a sharp tug against my arm and I was forced inside of the portal.
I hit something hard, and I felt myself blacking out as a melodic and refreshing voice reached my ears. "Oru...? Oru! Quick, call the Priestess!" The sounds of feet shuffling were far away, and I could feel a soft sensation around my neck as I tried to cling to my consciousness. A few minutes later I heard footsteps once again, only this time it was accompanied by labored breathing.
"H-He just passed out...we weren't doing anything too strenuous either..." one man said. A woman's voice filled the air as she said "Hmm...leave me to my work. I'll notify you when he wakes." The sounds of footsteps came and went quickly, and I was left alone with this mysterious person. Suddenly, I felt a tight grip around my neck as the woman's voice turned harsh.
"Who are you!? You are not Oru Ulra...Tell me who you are, and I promise not to make your death too painful." The pain washed away like I was in a hot tub as the woman spoke, making it to where I could see. It was pitch black but, when I thought about a light source, the world around me lit up as if I was looking through an infrared device.
"I...don't know what you mean...? Where am I?" I knew I was most likely in a different place since I crossed over through the portal, but I didn't know where I was on Earth. The woman snarled and pulled a nasty looking dagger from her belt and said "I will not repeat myself again. Who. Are. You..." She held the dagger to my throat and drew a small bead of blood, making me gulp audibly as I fought the urge to try and knock her out and sneak away.
My back was against a wall, literally, and I had a psycho priestess interrogating me. Looks like my plan failed already...