From Chapter Eleven:

Into the Palatki Portal

"A shaman I know told me what the elders believe," says Leela quietly. "He said that this doorway is where the spirits of the mountain made the journey between their world and ours." She closes her eyes and goes silent for what seems like forever. The heat is stifling. "I have a feeling it’s right around this corner."

We go around a huge rectangular hunk of rock just beyond the Zia symbol. Dead end. Or is it? In the shadows formed by the rock is a little alcove, totally in darkness. I break out my flashlight and look around. A rock bench, strange markings on the wall, a gloomy, damp, eerie feeling. I back out quickly, bumping my butt against a jutting rock.

"That’s the portal?" I ask Leela in amazement. "Do we just go in there and then pass through solid rock into the twenty-third dimension, or what?"

She laughs. "No, silly, we don’t pass through anything, except maybe time and space. You just sit down on the rock bench, close your eyes, go inside, and quiet the mind. Just like meditating in the red rocks. Go as quiet as you can, and see what happens. I’ll go first. If I’m not out in, say, 15 minutes, come in and get me."

Leela enters the alcove. The rest of us plop down in the hot sun with our backs against a red rock. It must be at least 100 degrees out here. I look at Hacker; he shrugs and shakes his head. I look at Jill; she is grinning from ear to ear, as if she is in line for the best E ticket ride at Disney World. My heart is pounding. I stand up and pace back and forth in the small space.

In less than a minute Leela stumbles out, looking about half-mad, a lopsided grin creasing her face. "Omigod! Omigod!" is all she manages to say. I grab her and hold her tightly next to me. She is trembling and soaked with sweat. "How long was I gone?"

"About a minute. What happened in there?"

"It felt like hours, maybe days, years, eons, hard to say. I’ll t-t-tell you later what happened. But I was right! I was right! Great God Almighty, I was freakin right!"