Gateway Novels & Stories

But I guess I am a coward. I held my bag as I locked my door. It was 8pm now. I made sure all the windows; curtains are closed. I had a bath and I knew I was wet. I bit my lip and dried my body and I walked over to the full-length bedroom mirror. I switched on my lights that were attached to the mirror and switch off the lights of the entire house. I bought 2 vibrators, one green and one pink, and I chose the pink. I sat down in front of the mirror and opened up my legs. I could see my pussy.

I repeated, trying to sound calm. “Yes. The password,” he said, his gaze narrowing. “Oh… okay… where do I… put it in?” I asked, glancing around, utterly confused. He gave me that look again… the one that screamed what a crazy lady. “Say it there,” he said, pointing toward a small statue by the side of the gate. I turned to it. A little wolf figure, carved with sharp detail, almost lifelike, was by the gate. “LunarGate_13,” I said confidently.

“This is a qualitative milestone. The installation should be observed by all system operators.” He, Keila, and I stood in the raw, wooden shell of what would be our private entrance. We watched as the crew fitted the yellow door into its frame, leveled it, and secured the hinges. When they stepped back, Luther handed Keila a small, custom-made brass plaque. It read: A.K. Residence - Primary Access Point. “You may affix it,” he told her. Keila, with great ceremony, peeled off the backing and stuck it beside the doorframe. It gleamed against the fresh wood.

"The ones I could never trace, perhaps this will help get through the barrier." He inserted the access key, and the screen flickered instantly. Bar loading... A Secure Gateway. Then- A map Bright pulses blinking over different countries. Some dim, some blink steadily. "What is this?" I whispered, stepping closer. "A communication network," His voice low. "Encrypted phone lines. Offshore relays. He built something that stays active even if he doesn't." My guts twisted. "Jeff... these signals... some are active." "I see them." The muscle in his jaw twitched. "Right now... live."

“What the heck is this little thing?” “That is a GPS tracker. Gunnach Technologies makes them. They are top of the line, super-small, undetectable to all known bug sweepers, and can be tracked via a phone app. I always want you to have this on you, so I always know where you are. After what happened with Warthog, I’m not taking any chances. I know it’s kind of creepy, but I swear I’ll only track you in case of emergencies, all right?” “I trust you,” Cricket said.

Except this time… it opened to a blank screen. Then displayed a phrase. > WELCOME, NULL.GATE. His heart stopped. He hadn’t typed that. He hadn’t logged in. And yet… The screen showed one more message: > YOU ARE A NEW BRANCH. PREPARE THE OTHERS.

Percival said. Corbin hooked a drive to the seized router and thumbed a series of keys. His face was a map of concentration. He looked at me for a beat and then said, “There is a hit on the SIP gateway that we saw in the kiosk trail. It pings at three different board company adresses.” My throat closed. I felt the room tilt again. The warehouse was not only a place of paper. It was a place where truth had been hidden and hands had been paid.

I went straight for the maintenance panel in the ceiling of the lounge. I popped the latch, my fingers trembling. The satellite router was a mess of glowing lights and tangled wires. I found the primary uplink port and snapped the bridge into place. A tiny green light on the device began to blink. Handshake established. I pulled out my phone and checked the signal. A new, encrypted network popped up: PROJECT_REVENGE.

He walked to the window, lifted the curtain slightly, and pointed his tablet toward the driveway area like he was taking a photo. “What are you doing?” I asked. “Looking at our network logs,” he said. “The receiver kits connect to our internal WiFi mesh when they’re in range. They handshake. They leave fingerprints.” Kane stepped closer. “And you have those logs?” Elias gave him a look like Kane had just asked if he wore socks. “Yes.” He tapped twice, then paused. Then his entire expression went flat. “What?” I said. Elias looked at me, then at Kane.

Aria asked. Gabriel stared at the screen. "I don't know." The screen displayed one message. WORLD COUNT: 4,729,183 Aria's smile disappeared. "How many?" "Four million seven hundred twenty-nine thousand one hundred eighty-three." Ava stared. "And that's how many?" "Worlds connected to the gates." Silence. Then another message appeared. WORLD FIVE HAS REQUESTED ENTRY. Aria looked toward the horizon. A doorway appeared. But this time, there was no darkness beyond it.