The Price of Success

On a lonely Utah highway, a chance ride introduces Trey, a young hitchhiker, to Paul Wentzel, a restless dreamer with ambitions far beyond his station. Years later, Trey discovers Paul has become the charismatic leader of a booming spiritual movement, promising followers a shortcut to enlightenment through a mysterious gateway called the Rift. Trey stifles his skepticism and joins his movement. But the Rift is no harmless illusion. Too late, Trey realizes the truth: some doors were never meant to be opened. (Originally published in Professor Feiff’s Transdimensional Travelogue.)