A bright blue, shimmering portal opened above the sand. Elias stepped out of the portal onto the beach and took in his surroundings. The wiry 20-year-old felt relieved to see the orange rising from the water to its place in the purple sky. After taking a few minutes to appreciate the rare sight he turned to look up and down the rest of the beach. It surprised him to see beach-goers sitting around him ignoring the fact that he appeared out of thin air.
He found a picnic area with benches and sat down to plan his next move. This Earth did not seem to be as bad off as the other ones he visited and he decided to stay as long as he could manage. After an hour he decided to see about getting some money. As he stood from his bench he noticed a tall woman in a white suite walking toward him. Her dark eyes locked with his and left little doubt that she intended to talk with him. Elias checked his sides to look for a different way to leave. He found one other exit from the picnic area, but a burly well-dressed man blocked it. Elias sighed and raised his hand in the air to leave the Earth, but the woman spoke up to stop him.
“Hello!” she stopped several feet away and smiled. “I’d like to talk to you if you’re not in a hurry to leave,” she said.
“About what?” Elias asked. He kept his hand in the air, ready to open a portal if needed.
“A job opportunity,” she replied. Elias dropped his hand, and the woman closed the distance between them. Once she stood in front of Elias she extended her hand. “Dana Sharp, and you are..?”
“Elias Montenegro.” He shook her hand, and sat down on the bench again. “You came straight to me with a job offer…” He looked up at the dark-haired woman. “You know what I can do?” Dana nodded. “How?”
“You’re far from the only one,” she replied. “But you are rare enough that I want you on my team.”
“What would I do on your team?” Elias asked.
“That’s for you to decide. Thanks to your ability, I have dozens of opportunities you can choose from. Whether you accept or not, you’re welcome to stay in company housing. I’m assuming you don’t have anywhere else to stay on this Earth yet, right?” Elias nodded.
“I”d appreciate that, thanks.” Dana turned around to walk away, but she gestured with her hand for Elias to follow her. She led him to a white limousine. Once they were both in Elias realized the large man that blocked his exit earlier was her driver.
“Mundo’s,” Dana told the driver. He nodded in the rear-view mirror and started the limo. “Before you decide there’s a lot you need to learn about yourself, and I don’t have the time to explain. Mundo can fill in all the blanks for you.
“Here.” The driver called back.
“Really?” Elias looked at Dana. “I didn’t even feel the car move.” He saw a dark sky outside the windows, though the sun was still out when he got into the car.
“You’ll see.” Dana nodded towards the door and Elias took the hint that he should step out. The moment he stepped out of the car his skin tingled. It felt like when he entered a new universe the first time, and he understood it immediately.
“Your car travels through universes too?” Elias asked. He stepped back to give Dana room to get out, but she only scooted far enough to grab the door.
“No, the driver does. Whenever you’re done here Mundo will let us know and someone will
