Five figures move through a narrow underground passage.

  Dust hangs thick in the air. The ground hums faintly beneath their boots.

  Their combat suits glow at the seams. Visors flicker with scanning data. Rifles steady. Controlled breathing.

  Sgt. Mara: So what brought us all the way out to HELIOS-9, Captain?

  Cpt. Rourke: A suspected Chthryx colony. They’re pushing closer to town. Tremors have increased every hour.

  Cpl. Ash: Man… what I’d do for a drink right now.

  Lt. Elias: Focus on the mission, Ash.

  Cpl. Ash: You keep forgetting we might not survive at all.

  Sgt. Keal: Listen to the Lieutenant, rook.

  Cpl. Ash: Aye, Sarge.

  Rourke raises a clenched fist.

  The squad freezes instantly.

  Boots planted. Weapons lifted. Breath shallow.

  The tunnel shudders.

  Dust sifts from the ceiling.

  Rourke pulls a compact device from his belt. Activates it.

  Beep.

  Slow. Measured.

  Beep.

  Faster.

  Beep. Beep.

  Cpt. Rourke: We’ve got bugs. East. Three clicks.

  Far ahead-

  Something shifts.

  A massive silhouette ripples across the tunnel wall. Too large. Too wrong. Its outline bends unnaturally in the dark.

  The light flickers.

  Cut to black.

  Brightfall.

  Open fields. Long dirt roads. Weathered barns stretching into the horizon.

  A small farming town in the middle of nowhere.

  Peaceful.

  Unremarkable.

  Safe.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Jackson Cross (Thoughts): My name is Jackson Cross. I’ve been helping my parents on this farm for as long as I can remember. This town is called Brightfall. I know… kind of corny. But I like it. Nothing ever really happens here. It’s quiet. Comfortable. The kind of life you don’t think twice about.

  Jackson walks across the farmyard carrying a bundle of hay high in his arms, blocking his view completely.

  He collides with someone.

  Hay shifts.

  A girl stands there, holding a box that hides her face just as well.

  Jane Molera: Oh, sorry, Jackson. Didn’t see ya there. Though… looks like you didn’t see me either.

  A light chuckle.

  Jane Molera: I’ll be seein’ ya.

  She steps around him and heads toward the house.

  Jackson watches her go.

  Jackson Cross (Thoughts): That was Jane. She’s been helping on our farm for years. Our families go way back.

  …Well. Almost everything.

  She doesn’t know I’ve had a giant crush on her since forever.

  Jackson drops the hay onto a stacked pile in the barn. Claps his hands together, dust falling in golden shafts of light.

  He looks up.

  Birds drift lazily through the sky. Wind brushes through the fields in soft waves. The farm breathes with quiet rhythm.

  The ground trembles.

  Subtle at first.

  Then stronger.

  Loose dirt shakes free. The barn groans.

  It lasts nearly thirty seconds.

  Then stops.

  Silence returns.

  Jackson Cross: That was a bit more intense than usual.

  Aby Cross: Hop to it, Jackson! The hay’s not gonna move itself!

  She walks past him carrying two bales, unfazed.

  Jackson Cross: Okay, okay, I got it.

  He smiles.

  Work resumes.

  Hours later.

  The sky burns orange. The sun hangs low, a thin crescent against the horizon.

  Jackson sits beneath an old apple tree on a gentle hill.

  Sketchbook in hand.

  He draws the fields. The drifting clouds. The circling birds. The warm glow of evening light spilling over endless farmland.

  In the corner of the page, he sketches himself beneath the tree.

  Small.

  Content.

  A rustle above him.

  Jane drops down from the branch, hanging upside down beside his shoulder, hair spilling toward the ground.

  Jane Molera: Whatchya doin’?

  Jackson nearly falls backward, scrambling to hide the sketch. The page bends in his hands.

  Jane laughs.

  Jane Molera: Relax, Jack. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.

  She grins at her own joke.

  Jackson Cross: I- it was just sudden.

  Jane Molera: Sooo… whatcha drawin’?

  Jackson Cross: N-nothing. You’ll just make fun of it…

  Jane Molera: Oh, come on now. Let. Me. See!

  She lunges.

  A brief struggle.

  She wins.

  Jane studies the page.

  Her teasing expression fades.

  Silence settles between them.

  The wind moves softly through the grass. The sun catches in her smile.

  Jane Molera: Well… not bad.

  Her voice is quieter now.

  Warmer.

  Jackson feels heat rush to his cheeks.

  And somehow-

  Courage.

  Jackson Cross: J-Jane?

  She turns fully toward him.

  Jane Molera: What is it, Jack?

  Jackson takes a slow breath.

  The world feels still.

  Jackson Cross: There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you… for a long time now.

  Color rises to her cheeks.

  Jane Molera: Y-yeah?

  He swallows.

  Jackson Cross: The thing is, I-

  The earth explodes beneath them.

  Violent.

  Brutal.

  The ground lurches hard enough to throw them off balance.

  The air groans as if something ancient has torn free below.

  Jane forces a small smile.

  Jane Molera: That was… a bit rough. (softly) So then. Go on.

  Jackson doesn’t answer.

  His face drains of color.

  He steps toward her-

  Then past her.

  Jane turns.

  And sees it.

  Light.

  Then fire.

  A massive explosion blooms from Brightfall miles away. Smoke tears upward into the sky.

  Sirens.

  Wind.

  Stillness.

  And then-

  Darkness.