The explosion tore through the heart of the city, a sudden, unrelenting roar that shattered windows for miles. Aiden was one of the unlucky ones close enough to see it—an office building collapsing in on itself as if the air had been sucked from the foundation. It wasn't a bomb, at least not one anyone could explain.
Within seconds, the structure dissolved. Walls crumbled into powder. Steel beams disintegrated into shimmering fragments. And then it was gone.
No rubble. No smoke. Just absence.
Aiden stood on the street, his breath caught in his throat. The crowd around him erupted into chaos, people shouting, filming, or running in terror. His chest felt tight, his skin prickling with a sensation he couldn't name. He could feel it, like an invisible thread pulling at his ribs, tugging him toward the empty space where the building had stood.
"Aiden!"
The voice cut through the noise. He turned to see Lila pushing through the crowd, her brown eyes wide with panic. Her hand clutched his wrist before he could speak, dragging him away from the gathering mob.
"What are you doing?" she hissed. "We have to get out of here!"
"But...did you see that?" Aiden stammered. "It just...vanished. There's nothing left."
"That's why we're leaving!" Lila snapped, her grip tightening. She pulled him into an alley, away from the commotion. "Jesus, Aiden, you're shaking."
He looked down at his hands. She was right—they trembled like leaves caught in the wind. He pressed them against his jeans, trying to calm the storm brewing inside him.
"I felt it," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper.
Lila frowned. "Felt what?"
"The building," Aiden said, his gaze distant. "When it disappeared...it felt like it was being pulled somewhere else. Like something was...calling it."
Lila stared at him for a long moment. She didn't laugh or dismiss him like she might have on any other day. Instead, she placed a hand on his arm. "Let's just get out of here, okay? We'll figure it out later."
He nodded, but as she led him away, he couldn't shake the sensation. It wasn't just the building. It was everything—the explosion, the emptiness, the pull.
Something was happening to the world. And deep down, Aiden knew it wasn't going to stop.