The Portal by Grant Frazey

Grant with his twin brother Garrett and a friend
8th Grade

            It had been a long hard day for young Joey. When he got home, he went to play outside with his dog. He and his dog played for a while, when Joey noticed a large hole in one of his trees.  He threw the ball at it when he was playing catch.  The ball went into the hole, but it never came out! His dog got angry and followed the ball into the hole. Then Joey did the unthinkable!  He went in after them. Joey thought, “It must be some kind of a portal.”

When he got up from the ground, he was in a lush, grassy field full of trees and mountains. Just as he turned around, he found his dog running toward a waterfall.  He chased his dog to the waterfall and watched as his dog drank the water. His dog soon began to become bigger and bigger, until his dog was so big he was taller than an elephant! He had also changed in other ways – his bark sounded frightening, his teeth were sharper, and his eyes were red!  Joey got terribly scared and ran for the portal! But wait. Where was it?  “Where is the portal!” screamed Joey.

Then his dog forced him closer to the rock face of a mountain. The dogs beating eyes looked at him.  Then he growled and began to attack!  Joey, in distress, looked for a way out of this horrible nightmare.  As he struggled, he saw the portal under the dog’s feet. He jumped towards the portal and his dog jumped after him. 

Then Joey found himself back in his yard.  His dog had returned to normal and was lying beside him. Over the years, Joey tried to use the portal, but it would never work. After many years went by, the tree was removed and Joey’s awful experience nearly forgotten -- but Joey never looked at his dog quite the same again!

Short Story