Connection Lost

Arc 3

The end of the day comes and Sam sleeps over with his friends. Melissa and Valerie return home with their parents. Security in the facilities worldwide are locked down for the night, not allowing anyone to travel through until the morning.

*beep* *beep*

*beep* *beep*

Andrea's phone chimes in her pocket, she takes it out to answer the incoming call. "Hello, who is it?"

"Hi, are you Andrea Cordinth?" The man asks.

"Yes, why?" Andrea replies.

"I'd like for you to come in to answer some questions, are you free today?" He asks.

"Yes, I can be there in an hour, where do you want to meet?" She asks in reply.

"The facility near your home will be fine, and please bring your family too" the man says before ending the call.

"Who was that honey?" Josh asks after leaving the bedroom.

"Someone down at the facility wants to talk with us, they want me to answer some of their questions," Andrea says.

"Do you know what for?" Josh asks.

"No, I don't. And they want our kids present for some reason too" Andrea answers.

Josh goes into their kids bedrooms and wakes them up, they get dressed and ready and walk down to the facility. Civilians and cars pass all around them on their way there, crowds of colored and faded individuals gathering everywhere. Inside the facility is busy and chaotic, the portal is under maintenance and unavailable for use at the moment, making several people unhappy as they wish to return home.

One of the workers there spots Andrea and her family, he greets them and takes them through a door to the left. Down the hall and to the right they're brought into a meeting room, the man who called her sits at the end of the table with a few others at his sides.

"Good morning Ms Cordinth, are you enjoying your day so far?" he asks.

"Mostly, though it was strange to receive your call. What did you want to speak with me about?" Andrea replies.

"Have you seen the portal on your way in? The crowds of people wanting to cross through? We've noticed some of the rings around the world have been becoming slightly less stable than they were a week ago. They're still open and running and can be used at any time, but some of them have started to show a higher risk for traveling. We've tested this with objects like books or clothes, and on the rare chance they appeared damaged on the other side" the man tells her.

"So, what does that mean for us then, what do I have to do with this?" Andrea asks.

"Do you remember that day when you first found this portal a few decades ago? You were with a friend, you showed it to her before leaving. I was nearby watching you, curious to what you have found. After you left I placed a tracker in that alley, and some of my colleagues came to secure the area. You were also brought in after going through it, spending several hours inside the mirror world" he answers.

"You questioned me about that already, I told you what I knew. You've already discovered more ways into that world and have confirmed what I told you. So why are you bringing me back here?" Andrea asks, getting mildly frustrated with this inconvenience.

"The disruptions to some of the portals sprang up overnight, and the number of portals affected have increased steadily over the past week. My concern is that the portals may close and separate the two worlds permanently, either in a few locations or all of them. We have some tests planned for some of our residents and those in the other world, we want to know what might happen if they were trapped in a world that's not their own" he explains.