Technomancer (Unspeakable Things: Book One)

door was quiet and felt cool to the touch. The air that seeped beneath it smelled of the outdoors.
    I moved to the hidden door. I could hear the sounds of voices from beyond it—possibly having an argument. I slipped on my sunglasses and put my fingers on the handle.
    “Are you crazy?” hissed Holly, tugging at my arm.
    “We have to find the other rip,” I said. “We have to jump back through it before it closes.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but there are crazies behind that door.”
    “I’ve got a gun.”
    “What if they don’t care?” she asked. “Look, let’s just try the other door first.”
    I hesitated. She could be right, but I was afraid the pathway to the hotel room might close soon. Then we would be left with finding a new way home. Maybe we were on our Earth, maybe we weren’t.
    I decided it was worth giving Holly’s choice a chance. I stepped up to the first door and the sunglasses worked like a charm. Metal squeaked as if the door hadn’t been used much, but it swung open. Leaves blew in over my feet, giving me the immediate impression of a normal Earth environment. Beyond the door, we found concrete steps that led upward and a night sky beyond. I closed the door behind me, knowing it would lock itself again in a few minutes when the metal hardened again. I’d been gentle with it.
    I moved up the stairway with Holly close behind. I paused at the top, looking around. What I saw filled me with relief: trees and a cinder-block fence. There was the stucco wall of a large building behind me. The sky was lit with the pale radiance of earthly streetlights. I now felt certain we were on our home world—or were we? McKesson had indicated there were many worlds, and some looked a lot more like home than others.
    We were inside some kind of compound or large yard, so we followed the walls to the left, looking for an exit. I passed windows that were closed, but showed very normal-looking blinds behind the glass. Everything was the right size and shape. We reached a walkway of concrete and came out to the front of what was now clearly a large house—and then I knew the truth.
    I recognized that front yard. I knew the dry fountain, the large circular drive and the powered iron gates out front.I was in Henderson, Nevada, on the grounds of the mini-mansion McKesson and I had investigated few nights earlier. Things rapidly clicked into place. Holly had mentioned crazy people who liked to cut up meat. It appeared that they hadn’t all vanished into the unknown. I’d run into them again. The cellar Holly and I had escaped had to be close to the wine cellar where McKesson and I had fought the Gray Men. Perhaps the hidden door even led to the wine cellar.
    Ironically, I was disoriented. I’d been so certain I was in some other place. The last time I’d gone through a rip there had been extra moons and a dozen other differences. I’d been left expecting strange vehicles and cities built of cubes…
    I wasn’t out of danger, but I could walk home, or hail a cab, or call McKesson, or—suddenly, I realized I’d been an idiot. I took out the cell phone I’d been using for a flashlight. The batteries were low, but I had two bars of service. I shook my head. The next time I stepped out to an unknown place, I would check my cell first to know instantly if I was still home or in Neverland.
    “Great,” said Holly in my ear. “Now, let’s get the hell out of here before someone comes looking for me. They are going to find the body of their friend down in that cellar and see that I’m missing.”
    I took her to the street. We got there without incident. I walked her downhill to a corner that looked perfectly normal. Insects buzzed and a bat flew overhead, snatching them from the air.
    “Let’s go get something to eat and a place to stay,” she said, holding onto my arm. “I want to get as far from here as I can.”
    I had to admit she was making excellent suggestions. But I wasn’t done here yet. “Let’s walk to the nearest public place.”
    I took her to a quickie-mart at the bottom of the hill. The guy behind the counter smiled with bad teeth.
    “Disappear,” I told her. “I’ll call you later. I have to go back and get something.”
    “You’re going back up
there
?” she asked, her tone indicating she thought I was crazy.
    “Yeah,” I said. “I’m finally close to these guys, and I want information.”
    Holly searched my eyes. She must have seen I wasn’t