Later that afternoon, as Michael packed up for martial arts practice, his younger sister, Thea, approached him.
"Brother, are you ready to go home?" she asked, swinging her bag over her shoulder.
Michael shook his head. "Not yet. I've got practice for the upcoming tournament. You go on ahead. If I'm not back by six, just eat without me. Here's some money to buy dinner." He handed her a few bills.
Thea nodded and pocketed the money. "Alright, see you later, Brother!" she said, waving before heading out the door.
As she walked through the village streets, Thea pulled out her phone, catching up on the latest news. Headlines about mysterious portals and monster attacks dominated her feed, each story more unsettling than the last.
"That's terrifying..." she murmured, scrolling through images of cities and villages that had been overrun in other parts of the world. But as she was lost in thought, she failed to notice the sky above her.
High up, barely visible, a small crack had formed, almost like a hairline fracture in glass. It was faint, emitting a dull glow, and for now, seemed insignificant. Thea, absorbed in her phone, didn't look up.
Soon, she arrived home, but just as she stepped inside, she paused. "Oh no! I forgot to buy food!" she exclaimed, slapping her forehead. With a sigh, she turned around and hurried to the market.
As she walked, the sky behind her continued to shift. The small crack slowly widened, though it was still almost imperceptible, a thin, glowing fissure that stretched across the sky. Thea, however, remained completely unaware.
At the market, she picked out some fresh fish and stood in line. "So many people at this hour..." she muttered, tapping her foot impatiently as the line moved slowly.
After paying, she hurried home again, this time with her arms full of groceries. "I hope Brother likes this," she thought as she opened the door to their house, setting the food on the counter.
With music playing softly in the background, Thea began preparing dinner, humming along to the beat as she worked. "This is good with music," she said, smiling as she danced around the kitchen. The ominous news she'd seen earlier seemed far away, a distant worry she could push aside for now.
But as the minutes ticked by, the crack in the sky continued to grow. It was no longer small or unnoticeable—it had widened into a jagged tear, pulsating with a faint red glow. The air around it shimmered with an eerie energy, but the village remained oblivious.
Thea set the table and glanced at the clock. It was almost six, and Michael still wasn't home. "Guess I'll eat first," she murmured, her stomach growling. After finishing dinner, she cleaned up and settled on the couch, flipping through channels. Every station seemed to be reporting on the growing chaos in the world—portals, monsters, destruction. The images were horrifying, but Thea tried to push them from her mind.
"I'm sure everything's fine here..." she whispered to herself, though unease gnawed at the back of her mind. She felt tired, her body heavy with exhaustion. "I'll just take a quick nap before Michael gets back," she decided, lying down on the couch.
But just as she was about to close her eyes, a strange sound filled the air. It was faint at first, like glass cracking, followed by a low, ominous rumble.
"What's that?" she muttered, sitting up. Then, the smell of smoke hit her—something was burning.
Her heart pounded as she rushed to the window. Thea's breath caught in her throat. The sky outside had split wide open. The small crack from earlier had become a massive, gaping portal, and from it poured creatures she had only seen in the news. Monsters—grotesque, snarling beasts—were flooding into the village, setting homes ablaze and attacking anyone in sight.
"No... no, this can't be happening..." Thea whispered, her voice trembling with fear. She had seen this kind of destruction on TV, but now it was real, happening right in front of her. Villagers were screaming, running for their lives, but the monsters were relentless, tearing through everything in their path.
As she watched in horror, she spotted a group of villagers trapped inside their home, struggling to barricade their doors against the monsters. Without thinking, Thea threw open the front door and ran out. "I have to help them!" she thought, her heart racing.
The street was chaos. Monsters prowled every corner, and terrified villagers ran for their lives. But Thea kept her focus. Dodging through the burning debris, she reached the house where the family was trapped.
"Come on! Over here!" she shouted, waving them toward an alley where it seemed safer.
The family hesitated for a moment before breaking free from their barricaded door and running toward her. Thea grabbed the youngest child by the hand, pulling them along as they sprinted to safety. But even as she led them away, she knew the danger wasn't over.
Before she could make sense of the danger, one of the goblins lunged at her from the side. Thea barely managed to dodge, but its claws raked across her side, tearing into her skin. She let out a sharp cry, staggering back as pain shot through her torso. Blood seeped through her clothes, and her breath became ragged as the goblin snarled, ready to strike again.
Another goblin appeared, and before Thea could react, it lashed out at her legs. Its claws tore into her calf, causing her to collapse onto the street. She screamed, clutching her bleeding side, her vision blurring from the shock.But just as the goblins closed in for the kill,Suddenly a familiar figure appeared in the street,a spear sliced through the air, impaling one of them through the chest It was her Uncle Mike, his face drenched in sweat, his spear bloodied.
With danger looming and the chaos around them escalating, Thea felt the weight of uncertainty pressing down—would they survive the night?