Annie Nicholas: Scent of Salvation

By the wall, her staff stood guard at their computers, attention focused on the warm-up sequences and not on the gun-toting marines at their sides.

She entered her lab and pushed her way through the military personnel. Everyone turned to face her, and all her bravado wavered at being the center of attention, the butt of the unspoken joke. Leader of the DOUG project tricked by her supposed supporter and now an employee of the US military.

“Dr. Barlow?” An important-appearing, middle-aged man approached. “I’m General—”

“Don’t bother with your name. I won’t remember it by the end of the day. Kate, start it up.” She left General Buttinski gaping as she circulated to each workstation.

With a whispered request, she sent each member of her team on individual missions outside the lab. Her heart galloped as she changed the settings on DOUG’s start up to maximum power and glared at the thieves observing by the back wall.

If the military moved their uniformed asses fast enough, they’d make it to the exit in time and wouldn’t be hurt by the possible explosion. She really didn’t know what would happen with the overload.

Wiping her sweaty palms on her coat, she listened to the increasing hum of the crystal rods and faced her audience. “DOUG was created to open gateways between dimensions. I’ve studied multi-dimensional science long enough to see a pattern that integrated reality with mysticism.” She gestured toward her creation and blinked away the tears burning behind her eyelids. “It’s the next best thing to space exploration.” By some miracle, she’d kept her voice steady.

Heart drumming, Susan caught a glimpse of the red alert warning sign on the computer screen. The overload grew, and it would be seconds before the audio alarms outside her lab went off—before there was no turning back. “Naturally, some would claim it’s a supernatural phenomenon, but I assure you that solid science has been used to develop this technology.”

A blue glow formed around the rods as they shed the extra electrons produced. The protons remained trapped within, building a concentration strong enough to puncture a hole through reality and create a bridge to a parallel dimension. She only needed to hit the switch to release the energy, but that wasn’t the plan.

Her fingers itched and she rubbed them together, relieving the ache to stop the process and end her madness. Could she escape the lab in time if it exploded?

The screens flashed red and the sirens outside her lab rang. Startled by the sudden noise, she jumped and pointed to her audience. “Everyone out! It’s going to blow.” A low vibration ran through the floor, and loose objects on the tables rattled.

As one, the mob crowded toward the exit.

The rods shook. A blue halo surrounded DOUG. She couldn’t look away from the swirling light gathering in the center of the rods. It faded at the edges into nothing. The power within the Gate thrummed through the building. She’d never poured so much energy into the device. What would happen?

All she wanted was to make a difference in the world. Instead, she’d be a footnote in some military manual and a stain on the lab wall.

Blinded by the light, she shielded her eyes and turned to follow the last person out of the lab. She took an unsteady step, but a powerful blast rushed past her legs, knocking her off her feet. Gasping, she flailed and tumbled forward, heels over head, yet never hit the wall.

Round and round she fell. Her head spun and nausea flipped her stomach. If this was the road to heaven, they needed a better engineer.

With a sudden halt, she hit something hard. Her back ached with the impact. She tried to scream but nothing came out. Flopping onto her side, she gasped until her lungs remembered how to work. Next time she blew up something, she would get out of the freaking way faster.

Stars flashed in her vision. Air finally flowed into her chest, and she let out a groan. She felt more like she’d fallen than been blown to pieces.

Something cool and soft touched her cheek. She flinched and tried to sit up but only managed to roll onto her stomach. That didn’t help her nausea, and she struggled to keep breakfast down.

Fuck it. The blast hadn’t killed her so the military could clean her puke. Then they could haul her ass to jail—or the hospital.

Resting, she waited for Jeff’s yells for her arrest and execution, but the only sounds came from birdsongs. She jerked her face off the moist ground and grunted.

Birds? Had she blow the roof off the building?

Cool.

She rubbed her blurry eyes and blinked. Her heart did a double beat. She shook her head and blinked again.

Surrounded by lush green plants, Susan sat on a carpet of soft moss. She rose onto shaky, numb legs. A giant tree loomed thirty feet over her head. Three grown men touching fingertips might be able to hug the trunk.

There wasn’t a forest for miles, yet here she stood in the middle of one. She did a slow three-sixty. Tree, tree, bush, tree, building. Bingo.

Before her towered a stone structure overgrown with flowering vines. Taking one slow step at a time, she approached it. The steps were swept clean of any debris or growth. She climbed, listening for aything inside. Huge gaps in the walls let the sunlight in between the stone slabs, and deep, worn engravings covered them. She traced one with her fingertip and didn’t recognize the language. Hell, she couldn’t even read the symbol. Where was she?

Sucking in a sharp breath, she clapped her hands over her mouth.

DOUG had worked?

She was standing in another dimension.

Alive.

Her trip had been unintentional yet successful. She needed to high five someone. It had worked just like she’d said it would. All those people who’d laughed at her idea could shove it up their collective—

Twisting around with a foolish grin cramping her cheeks, she saw only rainforest. Shadows covered the ground since the trees’ canopy blocked most of the sunlight. Her grin faded and she broke into a cold sweat.

Oh shit, it had worked.

A vacuum of dread sucked the excitement from her body. The explosion must have punctured a hole through the dimensional veil and thrown her through. She couldn’t see the blue portal light. Without the machine, the gateway couldn’t remain open. Or ever open again since it should be slag with the rest of her lab. She shivered and pulled her coat tighter.

She was alone. Stranded God knows where.

For all she knew, T-rex lived over the next hill or worse, the Nazis had won World War II.

Taking a shuddering breath, she closed her eyes. She was a brilliant scientist, graduating at the top of all her classes. The unknown wasn’t something to fear but to be embraced and studied. However, field operations had never thrilled her. She was a lab geek with delusions of exploration. She’d always pictured herself guiding those brave souls who would step onto a new world from the safety of Technocon, not being that person. Glancing over her shoulder at the forest, she took a steadying breath.

What lived out there?

Birds sang, loud and uninterrupted by the hum of cars or machines. She couldn’t see any electrical lines or other buildings. Please, let there be some kind of path or road to follow. How long could she survive in the wilderness? Probably a couple days before something ate her.

The birds fell silent. She froze, facing the forest. Nothing moved. Her heart galloped as she searched the gloom. She backed into the building, not wanting to take her eyes off the woods. A crack in the floor caught her heel, and she stumbled while her arms pinwheeled until she caught her balance.

All right, she needed to get a grip. Just because things were quiet didn’t mean she should panic. Breaking her leg would be a death sentence. She kicked off her shoes. The logic was sound but the adrenaline coursing through her body told her to screw off and run. A cold sweat broke out over her skin, and a cool wind made her shiver.