Chapter 5: Next life if there is any

Henry walked near the building where the portal is meant to be and waited to go inside just like everyone else. They have to board a specially built hovercar that can hold up to one hundred people and ride inside the building before the portal opens and will be locked inside the building until the portal is activated. When they leave through the portal and reach the other side safely, the portal will be deactivated. One hovercar after another was safely crossing to the other side and it was almost Henry's turn to board a hover.

Henry looked at the big building where the portal is kept and operated from and felt emotional.

Henry sighed, "Oh God, please make this journey worthwhile."

The middle-aged man who was beside him added, "Don't worry. God said, knock and I will open, beg and I will give, ask and I will answer. As long as you are sincere, God will answer your prayers without you realizing it."

The tall guy from previous jeered at the middle-aged man while drinking a cup of hot coffee,

"What a joke. Were you really praying to God? How come you lost every time you gambled. If even a gambling addict like you cannot be sincere enough when he is risking all his money and sucking his thumb, I don't know how much is demanded from others"

The middle-aged man was pissed for getting poked on his sore spot and retorted,

"You stupid twig-looking sucker. I bet your business went bankrupt because you have such pessimistic thoughts all the time and were not sincere at all. You always like to look at things simply and in a direct way when you are a businessman. I wonder who your mentor is or did you usher into the business world without any?"

The tall guy felt like his face was getting hot when he was asked that particular question. He couldn't answer so he just sipped his coffee in silence. The short guy who likes to smoke speechlessly asked, "Are you for real man? You didn't learn much but you still went for it. I have to hand it to your father for passing you such heroic balls."

The tall guy angrily kicked the short one in the butt as if he was kicking a ball, "You of all people can't say that. Was I the one who was caught trying to make and export new drugs? You are lucky you only left prison after 7 years because it was your first offense. If my father passed me heroic balls, then what did your father pass you? I bet your balls are called daredevil."

"Group 4 -6, it's your turn. Please board the hover in front of you"

A man in a white coat urged Henry and his group while they were arguing and bickering with each other. They stopped their quarreling and hurried to the hover. After they boarded, the hover silently floated and went inside while hovering silently. The big door closed, and the big portal started humming a heavy sound after confirming and activating it. The air started warping and the people inside the hover felt nauseous even before going inside the portal.

Everything was going according to the plan when suddenly, a projection appeared from nowhere inside the car that was holding Henry and others.

A message was displayed,

"Oh, my pitiful sufferers of this beautiful suffering planet. How are you doing? You may not realize your situation but I will enlighten you before you go. Do you have any idea of where you are sending yourselves to? Do you know that you are just cannon fodder in the greater scheme that is brewing for another World war on the new planet? Do you think they really want pioneers or volunteers when they can do it themselves? They are just going to use you as examples to attract others and span their reach to millions of people. The big countries decided to have their battle for resources on this new planet and the teleportation technology was discovered ten years ago. They have already transferred their weaponry to the new planet long before you knew. I will not allow the selfish desires of the wicked to be fulfilled. Though I am deeply aggrieved of letting you go to your deaths this way, remember your sacrifice has meaning. I am the greatest hacker alive to this day and you should know who killed you at least. I was going to destroy everything initially, but I guess I was held up with a bit of challenge and could only start with your group. Blame your bad luck. That's all you need to know cause there is no use in telling you more. The portal will misfunction. It will wrap and displace everything around it for 10 kilometers to a random place in the galaxy in thirty seconds. I hope you are born enlightened in your next life if there will even be one. Farewell. 59, 58, 57.."

The hovering car suddenly went off and almost crashed to the ground. Luckily, emergency plans were set in place for such a situation and a short boost was activated to slow its fall while deploying its emergency wheels that are only used these days if any malfunction happens to your hovercar.

The enlightened folks felt goosebumps and began shaking in their sits after realizing their misfortune.

A young fellow who volunteered for the adventure or so he thought and was sitting near the projection stood up, "HOLY SHIT."

He looked like he burned his finger while trying to play with fire and started regretting following his testosterone hormones and giving a deaf ear to his parents' advice.

Other people were panicking and hurling curses at the mysterious person's 18 generations while each having their own regrets.

"FU#K YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE ANCESTOR HISTORY"

"F@CK ME TOO AND MY STUPID BRAIN"

"I SHOULDN'T HAVE COME HERE. WHO WAS IT THAT SAID I WILL GET RICH AFTER THIS."

The driver at the front was already turning the now disabled hovercar using the manual mode to accelerate and ram into the gate but alas with no hope. The gate and its building were made of heavier and denser metal to contain the portal. The disabled hover couldn't even make a scratch let alone a dent. And the worst thing is, the people outside were watching a projection showing everything inside the portal seeming normal with no issue and smiling at the successful operation so far. Everyone except Henry jumped outside from the unfortunate hover and started looking for any kind of button that can open the big gate but lady luck seemed to have abandoned them all. Some started crying while others were banging the gate with their body desperately with all rationality gone.

Henry was really afraid of death and was panicking like everyone but he also felt thrilled for some reason at the same time not knowing why. While others were checking for solutions outside, Henry was looking for solutions inside the hover. He moved back and forth inside the hover a couple of times to no avail until he looked at the empty seat of the driver. The driver was also out there kicking the gate as if the pain he felt in his unfortunate legs is a sign of hope that he was making a tiny effort.

Time was running out and only 30 seconds remained. Henry had to make a choice he never dreamt of making in his entire life. Though he watched many movies, and dramas or read heroic novels when he was young, nothing could prepare him for the decision he was about to make. Henry slowly stood near the hover door and looked at all the people panicking. He breathed in to calm himself and shouted to get everyone's attention and say his last goodbyes to his homeless buddies.

"EVERYONE"

Silence ensued. Everyone looked at Henry and looked surprised. They looked at him with hungry eyes desperately hoping he found a solution even though most of them didn't know him. That was the only way they felt he could justify wasting their precious remaining time.

"I signed up for this journey to find my reason for living. Though it's meaningless now that we may die, I don't regret my choice but I hope what I'm about to do saves you all from this misfortune. My fellow homeless buddies, If you manage to have a tiny piece of a chance to go back alive, I implore you to cherish your remaining life and remember my previous words. Cherish your reason. Bye and see you again if there is a "next life" as the hacker said."

Henry closed the hover door and went back to the driver's seat. He turned the car fast enough like he was drifting and accelerated straight to the portal while it was at its peak and ready to unleash a big disaster to everyone within the vicinity.

One of Henry's friends came back to himself first after the shocking revelation and screamed with all his might at the sight of the accelerating car,

"HENRYYYYY YOU IDIOT. WHAT THE F@CK ARE YOU DOING?"

His other buddies woke up from their confusion and shouted furiously, "S-STOP. SOMEONE STOP HIM."

The rest of the people just stood stumped and wondered what the weird fellow was doing after making a corny speech.

Henry couldn't even hear what the people were saying. He was just concentrating on his final and the most fulfilling choice he ever made.

He howled just milliseconds before ramming the hover onto the portal gate,

"I'M COMING MOTHER."

BOOM BANG BOOM