The Gateway - The Complete Story

By Carl East

Victoria and Kate are archeologists and stumble across an ancient magical gateway that transports them to a world of mythical creatures and endless adventures. With dangers and excitement around every corner they soon learn that life is full of surprises.

 

This tale is graphic in nature and is intended for adults only. All characters depicted are 18 or older. Enjoy 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carl East
• Release date: Jun 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393353829

Carl East

Carl East was born in 1956, in the City of Hull (officially Kingston upon Hull), in Northeast England. He began his writing career after turning 40, beginning with imaginative tales and then moving onto short stories. In the years that followed, he improved his writing skills with the help of other writers and online authors who gave of their time and skills, to offer advice and constructive criticism.  His vivid imagination took off as his writing explored the various genres of Science Fiction, Horror and Romance. He attained his greatest success while writing Erotic Fiction as he weaved stories of lusty encounters with distinctively entertaining characters to tickle the fancy of the growing fans of Erotica.  The years of heading out the door to a factory, manufacturing, or service job is now a thing of the past. Instead, he spends his time in a pleasantly chaotic home office, legs stretched out as he ponders his next story. With a steaming hot cup of tea and snacks by his side, the keyboard silently awaits, for the next “Ah Ha Moment” when another story begins.

Book preview

The Gateway Pt.1

IT ISN’T HARD TO UNDERSTAND how boring archeology can be for certain people. People, that are more into adventures and not the painstaking work that archeology is famous for. However, occasionally we archeologists come across some incredible finds and it’s hard to believe there would be anyone unmoved by them. The gateway was one such find. In fact, you could say it was the find, of my life and I seriously doubted that I would ever top it.

My name is Victoria but a few close friends called me Vicky. I was given an assignment that no one else wanted and it was located in the Cook Forest State Park in Pennsylvania. Apparently, someone who had wandered deep into the 2,200-acre forest had discovered ancient carved stone blocks with unknown writing on them. Obviously, this demanded a closer look, but for whatever reason the museum I work for didn’t give this assignment much of a budget. In fact, I was only able to take one apprentice, so I chose my own personal assistant. Her name was Catherine but I called her Kate. Truth be told we were quite close friends, although I didn’t let that information go too far. I didn’t want the museum thinking that I played favorites.

Kate had recently turned nineteen years of age and I had a secret crush on her. She had no idea though, and that’s how I intended to keep it. I figured without a professional association with my apprentice and personal assistant, people would start to notice and Kate loved Archeology, so I kept it all professional and didn’t reveal how I felt about her. I had a feeling she knew something but she too was ever the professional.

Anyway, we soon found ourselves being guided by the same person who had found the stone blocks and set off into the forest. Until that day, I’d never realized how big some of Pennsylvania’s forests were. The trek into the forest was quite the eye opener. It took us over ninety minutes to reach the spot and the guide told us that the only reason he knew where to locate it was that he’d followed the stream that cut straight through the forest. Once there we set up our large tent with the guides help, and then he told us that he’d come back the next day to guide us out again. I thanked him for that and after he left, we unpacked our rucksacks and decided to have the sandwiches we’d made before coming out that day.

As you can imagine, I was eager to take a closer look at these stones. So, after we’d eaten and shared a flask of coffee, we started work. The three stones in question were all lying next to a large mound of over grown shrubbery and bushes that grew taller than us. I was taken aback almost immediately by the writing on the blocks because I couldn’t recognize it and I thought I knew them all. I decided to clean the blocks off a little and take photos rather than writing the symbols down. It was while I was doing that, that Kate found something interesting. She pointed out that the shrubbery and bushes were concealing a dirt mound and more blocks. Luckily, I’d thought to bring some wood cutting tools and a couple of strong knives.

I handed a machete to Kate who started to lay waste to the various different vegetations that blocked this mound and within twenty minutes we’d cleared the main mass of it and discovered an archway. I could see where the three stones had fallen from and how the symbols ran on all around the archway.

Vicky, what have we found here? said Kate.

I don’t know, but these stones are hundreds if not thousands of years old and by the look of it the moss that surrounds them is what’s holding them together, I replied.

I then noticed Kate taking a very close interest in the symbols on the stones.

You know, I can’t help thinking that I’ve seen these symbols before or symbols like them, she said.

I then watched her trying to get a connection with her tablet but couldn’t find a signal. As luck would have it, I had a small aerial that folded away nicely and once attached to the tablet it picked up a weak but sustained satellite connection. Kate took some pictures of the symbols and then did a google search to see if anything would pop up. What happened next was an eye opener. There was indeed a match for the symbols, which led to a page of old folk lore and talked of magic runes and the lost magic arts of long ago. Yeah, pretty fanciful, but it made for a good story. This page couldn’t help us decipher the symbols but it did give us a starting point.

Tell me Vicky, have you ever believed in magic? asked Kate.

As a real thing you mean?

Yes, as something that could be used to conjure up things. Real magic, I mean, replied Kate.

I’ve read stories that were very believable such as King Arthur, the wizard Merlin and the enchanted sword Excalibur, but those stories are just that, stories. They entertain us but have little to no basis in fact. It is said though that stories like Arthur and the round table were based loosely on some characters that date back thousands of years. In answer to your question though, I seriously doubt that magic ever existed. I would like to point out that I wish I was wrong because the thought of magic being real is an exciting one to me, I replied.

Well, someone believed in magic but why construct an archway out here in the middle of nowhere and what was its purpose? said Kate, more to herself than to Vicky.

Victoria decided to clear the vegetation from the other side of the archway to get a better picture of what it would have looked like, once it was completed. Kate helped and within the hour they had cleared a good path.

Wow, this vegetation must have been growing over it for hundreds of years to be able to hide it so completely, said Victoria.

Once we had cleared it all we stood back to see the entire thing and I laughed.

What’s so funny? asked Kate.  

Oh, it... kind of reminds me of that sci-fi series I used to watch called Stargate. The one where they travelled to different worlds, I replied.

Yeah, I know which one you mean. Judging by the foliage I’d say that that was not even a possibility, said Kate.

After we examined the stones up close, I decided to do some research in the tent before calling it a night. What I didn’t know was that Kate had brought a bottle of wine with her, which was a nice surprise. We must have talked for the next three hours and I suddenly realized that it was getting dark already. I had to go for a pee, so I unzipped the tent and poked my head out and what I saw was nothing short of breathtaking. The archway was lit up with a light green color. There was a mist covering the floor and after looking around and up I realized that there was a full moon.

At first, I figured the moonlight was reflecting off the mist that seemed to be creeping up the stones and in-between the stone archway. I also figured that the hint of green within the light was probably coming from the moss colored stones. I called Kate out of the tent to witness what I was seeing.

Wow, that looks otherworldly, commented Kate.

We both walked up to it together and must have thought the exact same thing because we both reached up to place our hands into the shimmering green light and that’s when it happened. We both felt something tugging at our hands and arms and as we struggled to pull ourselves away from it, a swirling small vortex started to appear in the center of the archway, it started off small but was getting bigger and bigger. We were now caught in its grip and no amount of pulling was about to set us free. It was when it started to hurt that I suggested we allow it to pull us in. Kate agreed and could just hear me over the vortex counting down from three.

Three, two, one, now... let go, I shouted.

I felt myself being pulled off my feet and seconds later being dumped unceremoniously onto the ground on the other side of the archway, alongside Kate.

What in God’s name just happened? said Kate as she helped me to my feet.

I immediately looked at the archway and noticed something strange, it was clear of any moss. I then looked around me and saw that we were surrounded by what I assumed were people. They were just in the shadows and as I started to say hi, Kate made me turn my head toward the archway. It looked pristine from this side of it and the swirling vortex had gone. That’s when we both noticed several things at once.