# ALIEN EXODUS: THE PORTAL WAR
## Chapter 2: The Cold Wait
The cold inside the freezer was deep. It went through their clothes. It bit their skin. Their breath made white clouds in the air. The light was dim. It came from a small bulb on the ceiling. It flickered sometimes. Then it stayed steady.
Kael sat near the door. He kept his back against the wall. The knife was on his knee. He did not take his eyes off the handle. The black blood on the blade was dry now. It looked like old paint.
The chef and the waiter sat in the corner. They were close together. They shook from the cold. The chef wore thin white clothes. The waiter wore a black vest. Neither was made for this weather.
"We cannot stay here," the chef said. His teeth chattered. "We will freeze to death."
Kael did not look at him. He listened to the door. The scratching had stopped. But the feeling was still there. The cold presence on the other side. It was not moving. It was waiting.
"We stay until it is safe," Kael said.
"It will not be safe," the waiter said. His voice was high. He was scared. "Did you see that thing? It had no face. It bent the door. We are dead."
"We are not dead yet," Kael said.
"You are just a dishwasher," the chef said. He was angry. But Kael knew it was fear. "You do not tell us what to do. I am the head chef. I am in charge here."
Kael looked at the chef. His eyes were dark. Calm. "You do not know what is out there. I do. So you listen to me."
The chef opened his mouth. He wanted to argue. But he looked at the knife. He looked at Kael's hand. It was steady. The chef closed his mouth. He nodded slowly.
"Okay," the chef said. "You lead. But tell us. What is happening?"
Kael turned back to the door. "I do not know what it is. But I can feel it. It is outside. It is waiting for us to open the door."
"Feel it?" the waiter asked. "How?"
"I just do," Kael said. He did not want to explain. He did not understand it himself. The voice in his head was quiet now. But the feeling in his spine was still there. It was like a second sense. Like he could see with his skin.
"How long?" the chef asked.
"Until it leaves," Kael said.
"It will not leave," the waiter said. "It wants us."
Kael did not answer. He focused on the door. He pushed his mind against the metal. He tried to feel what was on the other side. At first, there was nothing. Just cold metal. Then he felt it. A shadow. A hunger.
It was not gone. It was just still.
"Why did it come here?" the chef asked. He rubbed his arms. "We are just a restaurant. There is nothing here."
"It came through the Gate," Kael said. "The thing on the TV. The silver ring."
"The Venus Gate,"# ALIEN EXODUS: THE PORTAL WAR
## Chapter 2: The Cold Wait
The cold inside the freezer was deep. It went through their clothes. It bit their skin. Their breath made white clouds in the air. The light was dim. It came from a small bulb on the ceiling. It flickered sometimes. Then it stayed steady.
Kael sat near the door. He kept his back against the wall. The knife was on his knee. He did not take his eyes off the handle. The black blood on the blade was dry now. It looked like old paint.
The chef and the waiter sat in the corner. They were close together. They shook from the cold. The chef wore thin white clothes. The waiter wore a black vest. Neither was made for this weather.
"We cannot stay here," the chef said. His teeth chattered. "We will freeze to death."
Kael did not look at him. He listened to the door. The scratching had stopped. But the feeling was still there. The cold presence on the other side. It was not moving. It was waiting.
"We stay until it is safe," Kael said.
"It will not be safe," the waiter said. His voice was high. He was scared. "Did you see that thing? It had no face. It bent the door. We are dead."
"We are not dead yet," Kael said.
"You are just a dishwasher," the chef said. He was angry. But Kael knew it was fear. "You do not tell us what to do. I am the head chef. I am in charge here."
Kael looked at the chef. His eyes were dark. Calm. "You do not know what is out there. I do. So you listen to me."
The chef opened his mouth. He wanted to argue. But he looked at the knife. He looked at Kael's hand. It was steady. The chef closed his mouth. He nodded slowly.
"Okay," the chef said. "You lead. But tell us. What is happening?"
Kael turned back to the door. "I do not know what it is. But I can feel it. It is outside. It is waiting for us to open the door."
"Feel it?" the waiter asked. "How?"
"I just do," Kael said. He did not want to explain. He did not understand it himself. The voice in his head was quiet now. But the feeling in his spine was still there. It was like a second sense. Like he could see with his skin.
"How long?" the chef asked.
"Until it leaves," Kael said.
"It will not leave," the waiter said. "It wants us."
Kael did not answer. He focused on the door. He pushed his mind against the metal. He tried to feel what was on the other side. At first, there was nothing. Just cold metal. Then he felt it. A shadow. A hunger.
It was not gone. It was just still.
"Why did it come here?" the chef asked. He rubbed his arms. "We are just a restaurant. There is nothing here."
"It came through the Gate," Kael said. "The thing on the TV. The silver ring."
"The Venus Gate," the waiter said. "My brother works at the site. He said it was safe. He said it was for travel."
"It is not for travel," Kael said. "It is a door. And something opened it."
The waiter put his head in his hands. "My brother. He is there. At the site."
Kael felt a pang of sadness. He did not know the waiter's brother. But he knew the feeling of loss. He had felt it many times. He was used to being alone. But he knew what it was like to worry about someone.
"We cannot help him now," Kael said. "We need to help ourselves."
The waiter nodded. He wiped his eyes. "Okay. Okay. What do we do?"
Kael stood up. His legs were stiff. The cold made his joints hurt. He walked to the door. He put his ear against the metal. He listened. He heard nothing. No breathing. No movement. Just the hum of the freezer motor.
"It is still there," Kael said. "But it is quiet."
"Maybe it went away," the chef said. He stood up. His legs shook. "Maybe we can check."
"No," Kael said. "It is hiding."
"How do you know?" the chef asked.
"Because I can feel it," Kael said. "It is like... static. Like when the TV loses signal. It is right there."
Kael put his hand on the handle. It was icy. He did not turn it. He just held it. He closed his eyes. He tried to push his feeling through the door. He wanted to know where it was. Was it close? Was it far? Was it alone?
He felt a pulse. A slow beat. It was not a heartbeat. It was something else. A rhythm. Like a machine. Or a heart that beat once every minute.
"It is patient," Kael said. "It can wait longer than us."
"That is not good," the waiter said.
"No," Kael agreed. "It is not."
Kael walked away from the door. He looked at the shelves. Boxes of frozen chicken. Bags of french fries. Blocks of ice. There was no water. No warm food. No weapons. Just the knife in his hand.
"We need water," Kael said. "If we stay here, we need to drink."
"There is no water," the chef said. "Just ice."
"We can melt ice," Kael said. "Do you have a lighter?"
The chef checked his pockets. He pulled out a small plastic lighter. It was red. He flicked it. A small flame appeared.
"Good," Kael said. "We can use that."
Kael took a metal tray from the shelf. He put some ice cubes in it. He held the lighter under the tray. The flame was small. The ice did not melt fast. But it started to drip. Water fell into the tray.
"We take turns," Kael said. "One drop each. Do not waste it."
The chef and the waiter nodded. They watched the water. It was a small thing. But it gave them something to do. It made them feel like they were surviving. Not just waiting to die.
Kael went back to the door. He sat down. He kept the knife ready. He watched the handle. He watched the gap under the door.
Time passed. It was hard to tell how much. There were no clocks in the freezer. The light did not change. But Kael could feel the shift. The air got colder. The hum of the motor got quieter. Maybe the power was failing outside.
"Kael," the waiter whispered. "What is your name?"
"Kael," he said.
"I am Tom," the waiter said. "He is Mark." He pointed at the chef.
Mark nodded. He did not speak. He was holding the lighter. He was watching the flame.
"Tom. Mark," Kael said. "Remember these names. If we get out... remember what happened here."
"Why?" Tom asked.
"Because people will not believe us," Kael said. "They will say we are crazy. They will say we are scared. But we saw it. We felt it."
Tom nodded. He looked at the door. "I will remember."
The scratching started again.
It was soft. Just one scratch. Then another. It was near the bottom of the door. Near the gap.
Kael stood up. He raised the knife. He motioned for the others to be quiet. They stopped breathing. They froze.
The scratching stopped. Then something pushed against the door. Not hard. Just a pressure. The metal bent slightly. A small gap opened at the bottom.
Kael could see through the gap. It was dark outside. But he saw something move. A shadow. It was low to the ground. It was sniffing.
It was smelling them.
Kael stepped back. He pulled his feet away from the gap. He did not want it to smell his shoes. He did not want it to know exactly where they were standing.
"It is sniffing," Kael whispered. "Do not move."
Mark turned off the lighter. The darkness was total now. Only the small light from the ceiling was on. It was very dim.
They waited. The smell of ozone came through the gap. It smelled like burnt wire. Like blood.
The pressure on the door stopped. The scratching started again. But this time it was higher up. Near the handle.
"It is learning," Kael said.
"What?" Tom whispered.
"It tried the bottom. Now it tries the top. It is learning how to open doors."
"That is not possible," Mark said. "It is an animal."
"It is not an animal," Kael said. "Animals do not think like this. This is smart."
Kael moved to the side of the door. He was not directly in front of it anymore. If the door opened suddenly, he would not be the first thing it saw. He wanted the advantage.
"Mark," Kael said. "Give me the lighter."
Mark handed it to him. Kael flicked it. The flame was small. He held it near the gap. He wanted to see what was outside.
He saw a eye.
It was not a human eye. It was large. It was black. It did not reflect the light. It just absorbed it. It was looking at the flame. It was looking at Kael.
Kael dropped the lighter. He stepped back.
"It saw me," Kael said.
"What do we do?" Tom said. His voice was shaking.
"We wait," Kael said. "It knows we are here. It will try to come in."
"Can we fight it?" Mark asked.
"One of us might live," Kael said. "But not all."
The handle turned. Slowly. The lock clicked. It was not breaking the lock. It was picking it. Something thin was pushing inside the keyhole.
"It has a tool," Kael said. "Or it has fingers that are thin enough."
The lock clicked again. The handle turned all the way down.
Kael tightened his grip on the knife. He bent his knees. He was ready to jump.
The door opened. Just a crack. An inch.
A hand came through. It was gray. The fingers were long. They had too many joints. They curled around the edge of the door.
Kael did not attack. He waited. He wanted to see more. He wanted to know where the head was.
The door opened wider. The head came through. It was smooth. No eyes. No nose. But Kael knew it was looking at them.
It stepped into the freezer.
It was tall. It had to bend to fit through the door. It stood up. It filled the space. The cold did not bother it. It did not shake. It did not breathe.
It looked at Mark. Then at Tom. Then at Kael.
It stopped on Kael.
*You,* the voice said in Kael's head. *You are different.*
Kael did not speak. He held the knife. He watched its chest. He remembered where he had cut the other one. The side. The soft spot.
The thing took a step. The floor shook.
"Run," Kael said.
He did not wait. He lunged. He stabbed at the side. The knife went in. It felt like cutting through rubber. It was hard. But it went in.
Black blood sprayed. It hit Kael's face. It was cold. Like ice water.
The thing screamed. It was a loud sound. Like metal tearing. It swung its arm. It hit Kael. He flew back. He hit the wall. His ribs hurt. He could not breathe.
The thing turned to Mark and Tom. They were screaming. They tried to run to the back of the freezer. But there was nowhere to go.
Kael stood up. His side was on fire. He grabbed the knife. It was still in the thing. He pulled it out. More black blood came.
The thing turned back to Kael. It did not look hurt. It looked angry.
*You bleed,* the voice said. *But you do not die.*
Kael spat blood on the floor. "Come on," he said.
The thing lunged. Kael ducked. He rolled under its arm. He stabbed again. This time in the leg. The thing stumbled. It fell to one knee.
"Out!" Kael yelled. "Go out the back!"
"There is no back!" Tom yelled. "It is a wall!"
Kael looked. He was right. The freezer was a box. There was only one door. The door the thing was blocking.
"Then we fight," Kael said.
He stood in front of Mark and Tom. He held the knife with both hands. His arms were tired. His side hurt. But he did not move.
The thing stood up. It looked at the knife. It looked at Kael. It seemed to think.
Then it stepped back. It went out the door. It pulled the door shut. The lock clicked.
They were locked in again.
Kael fell to his knees. He breathed hard. His hands shook. The knife was covered in black blood.
"Why did it leave?" Tom asked. He was crying.
"I do not know," Kael said.
"Did we win?" Mark asked.
"No," Kael said. "It is still there. It is just... testing us."
Kael stood up. He walked to the door. He listened. The scratching was gone. The feeling was gone. It was really gone. For now.
"We cannot stay here," Kael said. "It will come back. And next time it will not stop."
"Where do we go?" Tom asked.
"Out there," Kael said. He pointed at the door. "Into the kitchen. Into the city."
"It is dark," Mark said. "It is dangerous."
"It is more dangerous in here," Kael said. "We are trapped. Out there, we can move. We can hide. We can find help."
"What help?" Tom said. "The world is ending."
"Maybe," Kael said. "But I am not dead yet. And you are not dead yet. So we move."
Kael wiped the knife on his apron. He put it in his pocket. He checked the lock. It was secure. For now.
"We open the door on three," Kael said. "We run to the back alley. Do not stop. Do not look back. Just run."
Mark and Tom nodded. They stood up. They were still shaking. But they were ready.
"One," Kael said.
He put his hand on the handle. It was cold.
"Two," Kael said.
He took a deep breath. He focused. He tried to feel if anything was outside. He felt nothing. Just the cold city air.
"Three."
He opened the door.