Volume 3 Chapter 43 : all things end Eventually

The doorkeeper spots Josh on the horizon and rushes towards him, leaving Jacob behind to catch up. As he gets closer, he shouts, "Josh!"

"Doorkeeper?" Josh shouts in return, slides down the side of a dune, and tumbles and lands on the doorkeeper; they slide down to the bottom of the hill.

Jacob finally catches up to them both. He sees them sitting a few inches apart from each other, talking in hushed tones.

"Not every door works the same. Not all times work the same," the doorkeeper says.

Josh is pointing the way he came. "Well, that makes this tough," he says, looking at his friend. The 2D body is so strange to look at; it's not that he lacks depth, he is just flat from every perspective.

Jacob sits down next to them, tired and worn out. "So how do we get out?" he asks.

They both look at him and shake their heads in sync. "Don't know," they say together.

"Have to make it to the library again," the doorkeeper says quietly. "We should go now," the doorkeeper demands.

Josh looks at the worn-out-looking Jacob. "I don't think he can go much further today."

"We must go back. Gods might come; gods might find the key and the lock," the doorkeeper protests.

Josh digs in the pocket of his jumpsuit and pulls out a hunk of fruit leather; he tears it into three pieces and passes it out. "I talked with Jack Harrington; the gods are busy looking for a divorce, not trying to find you."

"Anyone can find the door and just come in; we have to hurry," the doorkeeper protests again. He stops talking when Josh puts a hand on his shadow-like body.

"What are you doing?" the doorkeeper shivers.

"Calming you," Josh says calmly to the doorkeeper.

A wide range of emotions plays over the doorkeeper's face. He leans against his friend and relaxes. "We can take a few minutes," he mutters and turns his bright yellow eyes away from Josh.

Jacob watches with concern on his face. Did Josh just seduce the doorkeeper? He questions more than he should about life.

Jacob slides tighter to Josh's back and falls asleep. When he wakes, Josh is leaning on him, and the doorkeeper is nowhere to be found. "Josh, wake up!" he nudges the priest of the holy order of the truck stop.

Josh wipes saliva from his chin and looks around him. It's hot, the lights are back up, and he wants nothing more than to be out of this room. He stands up and wipes the sand off his uniform. "Where did the doorkeeper go?" he asks.

"I don't know," Jacob says, standing. He covers his eyes and looks over the sand dune. "I don't see him."

The doorkeeper pokes Josh's shoulder, and the large mechanic turns around, ready for a fight. "It's me. I was looking for Path," he says.

"Did you find one?" Josh asks, his heart slowing down.

"Yes and no. Found doors, didn't find the best door, but many doors leading toward the door," the doorkeeper rattles out and points to a strange A shaped door off in the distance. "That leads to the archive."

Together the three cross the burning sands, and when they arrive, the doorkeeper opens the door, and they step inside. Jacob can see the same leather people as before, all looking at them. Josh goes to speak, but the doorkeeper covers his mouth and mimes the "shh" sign. They cross the room, and the doorkeeper pulls open a trapdoor. and mimes for Josh to go first. As he gets close, the doorkeeper pushes him, and then with a struggle he throws Jacob down the hole. They are falling, the tentacles whipping out to try to catch them. At first they are all screaming. But after a few minutes they stop. Other than the wind, it's quiet; the tentacles can't actually catch them, and the pit is mostly endless, with the end leading to another chamber.

"All this is inside your door?" Josh shouts loudly, holding hands with his two companions.

"Kinda," the doorkeeper whispers and shrugs.

"Guys!" Jacob shouts.

"What?" Josh shouts back.

But they are too late, and they slam into the ground and fall through the floor, ending up in the Victorian library. The rows of shelves are tall and endless.

They pick themselves up from the ground. "This is good, right?" Josh says, shaking off the fear and the adrenaline of the fall. "This is where I was when I first came through the door."

"You got lucky," the doorkeeper whispers.

and looks at the row and column number on the brass tag at the intersection of shelves. "We are far; it will take hours," he grumbles and leads them towards the door.

The three trundle through the library. Each one is alert for trouble, but trouble never comes. They talk, they laugh, and they joke. as much as the doorkeeper can joke. Soon they are at the entrance, and the doorkeeper pushes them out into the gas station.

As soon as he does, the door flashes away.

"That was insane!" Jacob shouts and lies on the ground hugging the floor.

Josh walks over to the shelf and grabs a bag of salt and pepper potato chips and pops the bag and begins munching on them. "So that's what's in the door," he mutters.

"That's what's in the door," Jacob whispers.

The door reappears 5 times, jumping small distances, until it stops this time, looking like a biohazard recycling center door with huge warning signs. He resumes his guard of the door. "Three outsiders getting inside my door in less than a month is unacceptable. First the smelly child, then the smelly adult, then the strange movie lover—it is unacceptable." The doorkeeper shames himself.

"What about a child?" Jacob asks, feeling like maybe now he has found the question he needs to be asking.

"The small one, the one who has scales," the doorkeeper grumbles.

"Yeah, but where did it go?" Jacob asks, his eye fixed on the shadow peeking out from behind the door.

"The bad place had no light and smelled like minotaur." The door creaks as the keeper closes it all but a fraction of an inch; the door latch is poised to click.

"So you think the child is in the what? The labyrinth?" Josh asks, deep concern on his face.

"Possible," the doorkeeper whispers.

"I have to go tell the cat," Jacob says, tired and exhausted. He makes his way to his SUV. He sits in the seat and takes a moment to absorb all that he has learned and to process all of his trauma. He dials Izzy