A New Beginning

The time following the initial announcement by the US president was followed by leaders all over the world making similar statements to their people. The internet was completely a buzz with possibilities. People trying to group up and form teams for exploration. There were also the groups trying to get rich quick to bring stuff back to earth that we were lacking.

It had been almost 3 weeks since the announcement of the Infinite Vale. Today was Roux's official transfer date. To say that it had been the longest 3 weeks of his life would have been an understatement.

It started with about 8 hours straight of forms. These forms ranged from asking about his grandparents medical history all the way to recent girlfriends he had. They even asked about trips to the zoo and what were his favorite animals. How any of this information pertained to him leaving earth for the Infinite Vale was beyond him.

A week after his paperwork grind he received notification of his physical and doctors visit. This was much more straight forward. Roux had been blessed with good eyesight and above average hearing(or so the doctor said). He had to spend almost 30 mins walking or jogging on a treadmill. He was told although there are forms of transportation in the Infinite Vale the majority of the time walking or running would be the mode for travel so this test made sense. No use sending someone who will be sitting down to rest shortly after arrival to a new world.

Following his physical he was required to see an allergist. This was by far the worst part of the day. He had never particularly like getting stuck with needles and the amount of times he was pricked today might have exceeded the previous 21 years. Luckily for Roux he had come out with no allergies of note.

The following two weeks were the worst though. They required a background check. This in Roux's case should have been the easiest part. He hadn't even gotten a speeding ticket let alone committed any crimes. Yet everyday he waited and expected to receive his transfer date but it hadn't come. Why was it taking so long? Had Roux committed some crime he was under investigation for and he didn't even know it? We're the police going to raid his house any given moment after they finally figured out where he lived?

Of course Roux was fine. He was so worried his plan was going to fall thru that he stopped and forgot the most important thing. There were probably millions of people going thru the same thing he was. That means whatever government agency that was handling all of this was surely swamped with information. How could they even begin to handle the sheer volume of what was being sent them in a timely manor.

Finally after the stress had all but boiled over he received it. His "hogwarts" letter as he had begun to call it. He had received it certified mail at around 1 in the afternoon. He couldn't believe it. He read it over and over again. He was accepted for transfer and it was in 2 days. He would be asked to make his way to one of the transfer stations set up in a nearby city. Roux would be asked to leave behind all electronic devices and was only aloud the clothing on his back.

This made Roux rather nervous. He was starting over in a new world with 1 set of clothing. No money. No change of clothes. No guarantee that things would be okay. He had read on the internet that although you took nothing it wasn't difficult to acquire the stuff you would need to survive but what if he couldn't? Would he starve to death in his first few days? Or freeze if the weather was cold? Roux was regretting not taking the last few weeks to learn survival tips and tricks. Who knew what he was going to be getting himself into.

———-—

Roux arrived the morning of his transfer in front of a large government run building with more security than he had ever seen. He waited in a queue to get in that was far more strict than what he was used to at airports. People who didn't follow the intended instructions were immediately sent to the back of the line. There were no second chances or polite suggestions.

After an hour of standing in line Roux had finally made his way thru and was now standing in a much shorter line to wait. This was to verify his appointment date and identify. This shorter line did not move any faster than the one before. Almost another hour later he was finally thru this checkpoint. Here he was standing in a room with only 3 other people.

"Good afternoon everyone! I hope the lines and process weren't too grating." A woman's voice came from behind startling everyone present. A rather small woman was standing there with a very well practiced smile on her face. She was wearing the traditional lab coat and carrying a clipboard. "If you would all follow me we can get you prepared and ready for transport."

They went thru the door opposite of the one they entered. This was a long white hallway. The kind that seemed to never have an end although there were tens of doors they passed. After what seemed like forever the woman came to a stop and called out for one of the others to enter a specific door. After they had entered they went to the next door before she called out for the next person. Once again they moved to the next door. This time she had called our Roux's name.

Taking a deep breathe he stepped forward thru the doorway. What he saw there was a middle aged man sitting at a computer next to a circular archway. This looked straight out of a sci-fi novel. The archway was clearly the teleportation device.

"Welcome. I'll be going over how this works and then sending you along your way. Some of it may seem confusing but I will be trying to explain it clearly. First please have a seat." The man had said this without ever even looking up. He had probably gone over this hundreds of times by now.

Following his prompt Roux sat down in the only seat in the room. On the opposite side from the man at the computer. After a few minutes the man had stood up and went to one of the cabinets along the wall. Here he had pulled out a handheld injection gun.

"This will be placing a small capsule into your arm near your bicep. This will help tether you to our world should you ever want to come back. It will also be used to identify you and should you send any items home be treated like your account." As the man explained this he had already cleaned the injection site on Roux's arm with practices motions. "Do you understand?"

"Huh? Oh. Uhh. I guess so. Yes." Roux quickly responded not realizing the man was expecting a response.

Without waiting for anything else the man had pressed the nozzle against his arm and pulled the trigger. The pain only lasted an instant but he could clearly feel something being pushed into his arm.

"Alright with that I will start the portal. It will take approximately 2 minutes to fully boot up. It will create a bit of a wind current so do not be alarmed. You will stand behind the line painted on the floor in front and wait till I alert you to enter."

With that the man walked back to his computer and began to press buttons at lightning speed. Roux complied with the instructions and stood a few inches behind the red line that was located about 3 feet from the entrance.

"Oh before I forget." The man stopped typing and looked directly at Roux. This action gave him goosebumps. He could clearly see the seriousness on the mans face of the next statements. "If you step past the line before the portal has stabilized there is a very high probability you will be ripped into shreds." With that he went back to what he was doing on the computer.

'ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?' Roux was clearly afraid. Who wouldn't be afraid that something so clearly serious was almost overlooked. Roux subconsciously took a step back. He wasn't leaving a small inch or two buffer anymore he wanted some space.

"Ready" the man asked with a polite smile on his face. Roux wasn't even sure when he stopped typing. How many seconds was he watching Roux internally panic before breaking the silence. The only reaction Roux could give was a slight nod.

The man stood up and walked towards the portal. He leaned against the one side and looked at Roux as though he was eyeing a wounded animal. Not to be outdone Roux stared right back at him expecting something to come out of his mouth. Without any warning the man lowered on of his hands and pressed a small button.

Before Roux knew what happened a wind was pulling him towards the swirling red and black matter that instantly covered the inside of the archway. For the next few seconds Roux struggled with all his might to not get drug towards the line on the floor but he was failing miserably. The man next to the portal was clearly laughing.

In the next moment Roux was airborne and being drug directly into the center of the portal.

*POP*

With that Roux was gone. Sucked into another dimension. Roux thought as he went thru that he heard the man say "gets them every time" before he had disappeared.

'If I ever see him again he's going to die' was all Roux could think before being swallowed into the void.