chapter Two: The Name 'Chronos'
304 Words
There was something unnerving about the desert before dawn the way the sand soaked up silence like it was hungry for secrets. Sophia stared out the cracked window of the rental van her thoughts looping like a broken time circuit. Theo sat beside her tapping anxiously on the GPS as the signal flickered.
"No cell. No data. Just static " he muttered.
Sophia didn’t reply. Her mind was somewhere else or maybe some when else. That etched message on the glass haunted her more than she'd admit. The First Breach. It wasn’t a warning. It was a beginning.
The coordinates led them off road deep into government restricted territory. Faded signs warned of unexploded ordinance and trespassing penalties. Theo looked nervous. Sophia looked determined.
They parked near what looked like a collapsed missile silo. But her scanner a miniaturized spectral field analyzer buzzed violently.
"Underground " she said. "They're here."
Theo turned toward her. "What if this is a trap?"
"It is " she said without hesitation. "But it's also a message. They're flaunting their reach. They want me to see what they’ve done."
The ground trembled beneath them.
Then a hatch opened.
Out stepped a man in a clean black suit and mirrored glasses. He was smiling.
"Dr. Patel " he greeted. "Chronos has been expecting you."
Her fists clenched. "You stole my work."
"No " he said. "You offered it. You just don’t remember."
Theo stepped forward. "What the hell does that mean?"
The agent turned gesturing toward the stairwell. "Answers. This way. Time is not as linear as you'd like to think."
Sophia exchanged a look with Theo.
She knew this would be a one way trip.
But she stepped into the shadows anyway.
And as the door sealed behind them a soft chime echoed through the corridor.
Second Breach Initiated.
- Writer
