Episode 9: The Rift Opens
272 Words
A deep tremor rolled through the black plain. The sky above them—twisting, shifting—began to fracture like shattered glass. Something was coming through.
Captain Voss clenched his fists, heart pounding. “What’s happening?”
The Keepers of the Rift stood motionless, their hollow eyes fixed on the growing cracks in reality. “The threshold is breaking. Something stirs beyond.”
Dr. Rao’s breath came fast. “Something? What do you mean—”
A low, guttural sound rippled through the air. Not a voice. Not a machine. Something far older.
A shape moved behind the cracks. Massive. Writhing. Endless.
Ng staggered back. “No. No, no, no… that’s—”
A claw—if it could be called that—pierced through the rift. Long. Jagged. Dripping with shadows that moved on their own.
Voss grabbed his comm. “Luma! Get us out of here!”
Static. Then—
“Captain… the Rift is interfering… I can’t—”
The ground beneath them shuddered. More cracks split open, revealing glimpses of something that should not exist.
One of the Keepers finally turned to face them. “You must leave. Now.”
Holt raised her weapon. “How?! We’re trapped!”
The Keeper lifted a hand.
A blinding white light erupted around them.
Voss felt his body being torn away—not in pain, but as if he was being unmade and rebuilt somewhere else.
Then—darkness. Silence. Cold.
And suddenly, he was back on the Aurora’s bridge.
The Rift… was gone.
But the Signal was still playing.
And this time… it was an
swering something.
To be continued…
- Writer
