Keagan tried banging his fists on the door. He tried shouting. He ran his hands along every square centimetre of the smooth plastic walls, searching for a gap or seam or something that might show a way out. There was nothing. He slumped into a corner of the white room.

He was trapped!

This is so weird, thought Keagan. He’d been led to this other world by an urge to touch the key and explore. Now that he was here, that eagerness had faded. Maybe under normal circumstances (Keagan almost laughed out loud … there was nothing normal about any of these circumstances) he would have wanted to find out more about this white city where everyone looked the same. But he was worried about what had happened in his own world. Had the darkness made it through? Or had Matilda closed the doorway and stopped it in time?

And then there were the pickles!

He needed to get back to his own world.

He let out a long sigh.

The door slid open and 55-A-1 and 55-A-2 came back in. 55-A-2 was carrying a notebook-sized sheet of clear hard plastic.

Keagan jumped to his feet. ‘Why did you lock me in?’

‘So we could find your way home,’ they answered.

Keagan felt his hopes rising. ‘Did you find it?’

‘Perhaps,’ said 55-A-1. ‘Based on what you have told us, we instigated a city-wide scan for dimensional disruptions.’

‘And?’ Keagan was getting excited now.

‘We discovered none.’

Keagan’s shoulders slumped.

‘We extrapolated the scan,’ continued 55-A-1. ‘We did discover some unexplained readings in Corridor HD07.’

‘A residual type of energy we have not previously encountered,’ added 55-A-2.

‘From this we can assume that that is where you arrived,’ finished 55-A-1.

‘It was a long white corridor,’ said Keagan.

The two clones looked at him with blank expressions. ‘They all are.’

‘Oh, yeah.’ Keagan felt a little foolish.

‘We do not have the capability to open a portal,’ continued 55-A-1.

‘We do not know how,’ clarified 55-A-2.

55-A-1 glanced at her fellow clone, her face momentarily losing its calm appearance. Keagan wondered if she was annoyed.

‘However,’ said 55-A-1, ‘we theorise that your presence may reopen the portal you came through.’

‘Theorise,’ repeated 55-A-2.

‘Well, what are we waiting for?’ said Keagan.

‘Nothing,’ answered the two clones.

‘Huh?’ Keagan was confused.

‘Nothing,’ they repeated.

‘We were answering your question,’ said 55-A-1.

‘As in, we are not waiting for anything,’ said 55-A-2.

‘We can proceed immediately,’ they said together.

‘Ah.’ Keagan felt foolish again. ‘Yeah. Okay.’

The door opened and the clones led the way out into the corridor.

There were two people dressed in black waiting just outside – same height; same build. Even though their blue eyes were the only facial features visible through their balaclavas, Keagan assumed they looked like everyone else. As they followed, Keagan peeked over his shoulder at them with a little apprehension. Despite their lack of weapons, they seemed threatening.

Two white-clad clones, younger than the 55-As, but otherwise identical, passed them. Keagan stared hard, trying to determine their gender.

‘So … except for age, you’re all kind of the same,’ said Keagan. ‘I’m finding it hard to tell who’s a man and who’s a woman.’

‘Gender is irrelevant,’ said the 55-As. ‘An unnecessary difference.’

Keagan didn’t know what to say to that. They continued on in silence.

Several identical corridors later, they arrived at the original one. Not that Keagan could tell. The clones assured him this was where he’d come through the doorway.

‘Stand there.’ They indicated a spot in the centre of the space.

Nothing happened.

55-A-2 held up the plastic sheet. Readouts appeared on the plastic.

It must be some sort of portable computer, thought Keagan. Cool. Despite all that was happening, he wanted to get a closer look at it.

‘The residual energy is fading,’ said 55-A-2, flashing her co-supervisor a pointed look. ‘Our theory is thus proved incorrect.’

Keagan sighed. Did this mean he was going to be stuck in this strange world of boring sameness?

55-A-2 ran her fingers across the plastic. The readouts changed.

‘55-A-3, 4 and 5 are running further diagnostics,’ 55-A-2 announced. She studied the readouts then continued. ‘New theory. The closing of one portal may trigger the opening of another.’ Her fingers moved in a blur across the plastic. ‘Residual energy in Corridor HD07 extinguished.’ Fingers continued to tap away. ‘New energy signature detected.’

Keagan inhaled sharply as he felt an odd tugging feeling inside him. That was strange, he thought. Was it simply the hope of possible escape, or something more? Something to do with the doorway?

‘New fluctuating energy signature detected outside the parameters of this city,’ said 55-A-2. ‘It is weak, but potentially a portal.’

Keagan felt a surge of hope. ‘Let’s go.’

‘Negative,’ said the clones. ‘We cannot leave the city.’