Wolf and I walked to the end of the hall. The tiny buzz had become a creepy, electric throbbing. I stepped forward and depressed the flat door handle. “Hawk!” my partner hissed. “Wait.” He stood at the side of the door, back flattened against the wall. I stepped back…he kicked the door the rest of the way open and charged in with his gun raised. The room was a small, octagonal chamber about four feet across. The walls were lead-plated, and there were no windows. A vent in the low ceiling released cold air into the room. A glowing keypad was to the right of a round hatch leading apparently to another room. Wolf stepped over to the keypad and withdrew a scrap of paper from his pocket. He rapidly entered an eight-digit code and the hatch released with a burst of compressed gas. Nice, I thought. Give him all the frickin’ information. The electric, throbbing hum was louder than ever and resonated in the small chamber. Wolf moved to open the door, touched it…and the noise stopped abruptly. A chill ran down my spine. Creepy… I thought, shaken.

He cut a quick glance over at me, a bead of sweat on his forehead. Without saying a word, he slipped through the door. When I entered the next room, a sickly sweet odor wafted into my nose. The smell of death permeated the air. Wide panels of fluorescent lights flashed quickly and gave a slow strobe effect to the room. The walls seemed to pulse around us, drawing closer as a mild wave of claustrophobia washed over me. The wound on my shoulder felt like it was throbbing synchronously with the walls, and I suddenly found it more difficult to breathe. Wolf hesitated as well, swiftly examining the area. The chamber was donut-shaped and surrounded a circular, sealed-off room in the center. I strode over to a rectangular porthole of thick glass and peered into the inner chamber. It was dark, but a dim red light bathed mechanical structures within. Three angled, narrow pylons made of a shiny alloy sat in a triangle, each curving toward the center. A set of smaller, similar pillars hung from the ceiling. The crimson glow of the room emanated from the perimeter of the room and was dulled by sharp blue light coming from slats in the silver pylons. Black, glossy paneling covered the walls of the chamber. The whole construct looked as though it was some sort of futuristic generator…

A ring of fluorescent lights suddenly clicked on inside, one by one. Wolf had flipped a switch on the wall and was intently reading from a ledger in his hand. His eyes were narrow, his expression grim. He closed the book and tossed it to me, a look of disgust and fear on his face. Stepping away from the porthole back into the failing light, I opened it hesitantly. It was a journal, with entries scrawled in a scientist’s hasty handwriting. I flipped to the back to discover what kind of research was being conducted here…

5/25: The temporal gateway was sustained for 3.2 seconds. Our continued research is able to keep it open for approximately an extra 0.1 sec with each passing day. Director Camp is pleased with our progress, but the integrity of the accelerator is beginning to degrade.

6/4: The team has made unprecedented progress. With the replacement of certain components in the accelerator, flux capacity increased fivefold. The gate should soon be able to stay open for up to a minute. The higher-ups are expressing concerns about the immense amount of energy needed to initiate it, but our budget is secure for now.

6/7: Success! At the 5:00 activation today, our scientists achieved the impossible—the temporal gateway is now self-sustained. By pure chance, our goal of harnessing power sources within the gate was attained, giving it virtually unlimited life. The Assistant Director was overjoyed, but worries that the advance may not have been a result of our lab work, but rather…assistance from wherever the gate may lead.

7/1: Progress is minimal. After the gate became self-sustaining, it remained fairly static for weeks. Two members of the team are convinced that energy is being gathered on the other side, yet they have no concrete evidence to support their claims. I would prefer to think this is not the case…

7/3: An energy spike was detected in the gate reading. No one can explain it, but it remains. I caught myself staring into the vortex today. It’s quite hypnotic. The liquid colors—blues, whites, purples…lovely. I must return to work.

7/4: The portal turned a livid black without warning. Our team is worried… new risks about the project build almost daily. Yesterday’s spike is constantly growing in power. The surge began growing exponentially when the gate darkened, so we pulled the plug. Several of our researchers are threatening to quit.

7/6: Goodson and Yamauchi abandoned the facility. I can’t say I blame them. Although we’re only keeping the gate open for limited amounts of time, energy is still accreting on the other side. Camp won’t tell us why we’re even opening it. I’m growing more uneasy about the whole thing…and it doesn’t help that we’re next to the Pokemon Tower. All those souls…

7/7: The data analyzer identified a singular entity behind the gate. I wish we would just terminate the project and start anew…this is getting frightening. Another staff member left today. Camp is adamant that we continue, and is activating the portal this afternoon. What the hell is he doing?

7/7 PM: Director Camp has been feverishly working all day. He’s been talking to himself, mumbling incoherently. The gate goes up in ten minutes. I want to go home.

The journal abruptly ended, and I closed it gently. It was just a small spiral notebook, probably hidden away in a desk somewhere. I tucked it behind my combat vest and searched for Wolf. I didn’t see him at first, so I slowly moved around the elliptical lab, wary of any danger that might have presented itself. I edged in a tight circle around the gate chamber until I finally reached the other side. What I witnessed is still one of the most abjectly horrifying, nauseating things I’ve ever seen.

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