The Gate Traveler

As we set off for Pueblo, I asked Mahya and Al to take full responsibility for the wheel, and focused on warning Earth about the impending danger. I drafted a warning that explained what was happening on Earth, the reason for all the problems we saw in the CNN article, how easy it was to gain new skills, and recommended learning some martial arts, meditation to feel the mana and weapon use. The article was about three thousand words long, summarizing the situation and how to prepare. I planned to post it on social media and websites frequented by preppers, survivalists, and the like.

After finishing the draft, I reviewed the content, trying to put myself in the shoes of someone reading it. I facepalmed, shaking my head helplessly. If I had come across it, I wouldn’t have believed a word and would’ve been certain some nutcase posted it. I’d have moved on without a second thought.

Instead, I opened a new document and started writing everything that had happened to me since the day I discovered the Gate. On one hand, I expected some people would consider it a work of fiction, but on the other hand, even if only a handful trusted me and began getting ready, it would be worthwhile. On purpose, I included various details that people could verify to ensure that I was a real person and not an imaginary character.

“Hello Reader,

My name is John Rue. I’m either 45 or 49 years old—but I’m not sure with the time skips, and it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Despite growing up in the foster care system in Birmingham, Alabama, I managed to make my way into the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Afterward, I spent nine years patching up bullet and knife wounds and stitching up broken lives in the ER at St. Bernard Hospital in Chicago. But don’t take my word for it; check the records if you think this is all a fairy tale.

I’m writing this as a last-ditch effort to warn you about what’s coming. What you do with this information is up to you. You might think I’m a coward for leaving, and maybe you’re right. But the truth is, I’ve got nothing left here. My wife’s gone, my family disowned me before I even knew them, and the only connections I ever made died with her. So, I’m not sticking around to play hero...”

The drive to Pueblo was very short, about an hour, so we arrived before I even finished writing the Prologue. In Pueblo, we did the usual round of shops and I also added toy shops to the list. Mahya discovered Pueblo is called “Steel City” because of the Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel Mill and bought all the steel stock—raw material and finished products. Pueblo is famous for its green chiles, so naturally, I bought a large supply. We didn’t visit any drug dealers.

After two days in Pueblo, we continued our journey to Colorado Springs. In Colorado Springs, we did the usual round of shops and also bought a lot of outdoor gear. I stocked up on a vast supply of Enstrom’s almond toffee, while Mahya purchased a large quantity of Rocky Mountain whiskey. We didn’t visit any drug dealers here as well. After spending two days in the city, we proceeded to Fort Collins.

This pattern continued as we made our way to Lethbridge, AB, in Canada, stopping at every major city along the route. We emptied every store that piqued our interest and bought some fascinating local items before moving on. Al didn’t ask me to find drug dealers even once, which led me to realize that the big deal we encountered was more significant than I initially thought, and he seemed satisfied with the amount.

In Lethbridge, Mahya found a jeep mechanic willing to teach us for a more modest sum of $2,000. We eagerly went to learn to be Jeep mechanics. Al even joined us, though I suspected his motive was to earn another ability point rather than to learn mechanical skills.

After a week, we all gained the ability and this time, we decided not to continue leveling it up. Expressing our gratitude to Albert, we redirected our focus to other matters.

We wanted nothing linking us to Calgary, so we handled the contributions we wanted to make from Lethbridge. We went over the list of stuff I “liberated” from the warehouse in Vegas and decided which items to donate. I wanted to donate the entire list to foster homes, but Al preferred to donate some items to LGBTQ+ youth shelters.

Mahya wanted to keep all the electronics, even if they wouldn’t work. She had plans to use the ‘dead zone’ in my house to study them and possibly convert them to Magitech.

“We might as well keep all the stolen electronics and phones,” she suggested, storing the boxes. “They could be useful for metals and basic materials, or maybe future Magitech experiments.”

“Fine by me,” I replied. “At least it empties my storage a bit.”

After my massive food purchase, my Storage overflowed again despite all the points I’d invested in it. We divided the rare coins among the three of us, each taking our share. Both of them insisted I keep the gold bars and silver ingots since I was the one who did all the “work” getting the stuff.

“Let’s burn all the stolen identification documents and credit cards,” I suggested.

“Agreed,” Mahya said, and Al nodded. We gathered the papers and tossed them into a fire.

As an experiment, we took a fuel canister, and I poured mana into it. Afterward, we checked the fuel, and it looked normal. Pouring some into a metal bowl, I set it on fire. It burned just fine.

“Looks like we’ve got some extra campfire fuel,” I said with a grin.

Al, meanwhile, had claimed some of the fetish and bondage equipment for himself. Mahya and I couldn’t help but giggle.

“Remember the Shibari workshop we attended in Paris?” Mahya asked, nudging me.

She turned to Al and said, “Maybe you should find a workshop for your private pleasure.”

Al’s face turned the color of a ripe tomato. “Very funny,” he muttered, looking away.

We threw away the adult DVDs, magazines, inflatable dolls, and the rest of the fetish equipment Al didn’t take. They were just taking up space.

“And this prank candy?” Mahya held up one box with a look of disgust.

“Definitely trash,” I agreed. “That stuff is repulsive.” We tossed it in the bin and continued sorting through the remaining items.

After all the sorting, trashing, and burning, we had a full donation list.

After an online search, we made a list of places to donate, bought boxes, and started packing. Four days of hard work later, UPS came to pick up the packages to send them on their way to their new homes.

After all the shipments were on their way, we checked our financial situation. We had a little over two million dollars left. I couldn’t believe that with all the shopping, we barely made a dent in our funds. We raided every shop in the city, buying everything we could find from every store and supermarket. I suspected that we might have created a shortage in the city because of our extensive purchases.

We managed to reduce the money to just below one and a half million dollars.

“I want to set aside fifty thousand dollars for our expenses before we cross the Gate,” I suggested.

“A sum of twenty thousand should suffice,” Al countered, leaning back in his chair. “If that turns out to be incorrect, we can always pay an unexpected visit to a drug dealer.”

I frowned, not liking the idea. “I don’t want to risk us in Calgary.”

He waved off my concern. “We can travel for an hour, perhaps even two, to pay them a visit.”

“I just want us to be safe,” I insisted.

“We will be,” Al reassured me. “Rest assured, we have the capability to manage it.”

Reluctantly, I nodded. “Alright, we’ll keep it in mind, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Except for the twenty thousand dollars we put aside for our final push on Earth, we went to visit jewelry stores and spent the entire remaining amount on jewelry. We then divided the loot among the three of us.

With that, we were almost ready and headed to Calgary.