Caterpillar snuffed out the cigarette and leaned on the table. Staring eye to eye with Alex. His voice low, “There’s no present. There’s only the immediate future and the recent past. Now, you tell me, what do you want?”

Alex opened his mouth and closed it. He took a deep breath and said, “I want to know why we are here.”

Caterpillar leaned back and laughed, “Ah, I see, you’re here because you stepped through the portal.” He pushed his chair from the table and stood. Reaching for his broom, he started whistling again.

The four looked at one another frantically. “Wait!” Jessica called. “That’s it?” She asked.

“Is there more?” Caterpillar looked at her in mock surprise.

Her eyes were wild as she looked around her as if searching for some lost words floating in the atmosphere.

Caterpillar actually felt a twang of pity, “To obtain the answers you seek, you must ask the correct questions.” He sighed, “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”