Sam-
Yesh University, Students Dorm
Terra, Gaea Solar system
Milky Way galaxy, Charlie Sector
Neutral Free Zone
January 15th 2019
They say that time heals all wounds. That with enough distance, even the sharpest pains dull, and the trauma of past experiences fades like a forgotten scar. At least, that's what Sam had been told after her father died. She'd heard it from well-meaning neighbors, whispered it to herself at night, and clung to it when the grief was too heavy to bear. But as she grew older, she realized it was a lie. Time had no hand in healing. Time did not soothe, nor did it erase. Instead, Sam came to believe that time was nothing more than a warden, a silent overseer of the cage that trauma built. Trauma wasn't something that vanished as the days stretched on; it was a prison, chaining one to an endless loop. Sometimes the past surged forward, becoming the present all over again. Other times, the present devolved into a relentless cycle, each moment echoing the last with no hope of escape. That was exactly how Sam felt on the train ride back to her dorm. The steady rhythm of the wheels on the tracks did nothing to drown out the images replaying in her mind. She couldn't stop reliving what she'd seen in Dr. Dingle's office. Over and over, her thoughts circled back to it, her heart twisting in denial. She wanted to believe it was all in her head, a cruel trick of the imagination. Anything but the truth. But no matter how hard she tried to rewrite the memory, the grisly scene remained vivid.
Sam shuddered, clutching her jacket tightly as if it could protect her from the horror lodged deep in her mind. She had never seen the inside of someone's burnt eyes before. The thought made her stomach churn, bile rising in her throat. It was the kind of image that etched itself into the soul, a sight so grotesque and unnatural that it defied forgetting. She had lost track of how many times she'd replayed it in her head, trying to make sense of it. But there was no sense to be found, no explanation that could make what she'd seen less horrifying. For the fourth time, she wondered what the hell Dr. Dingle had been involved in.
The ride stretched on endlessly, her sense of time warped by the haze of her thoughts. She was so consumed by the memory that she failed to notice the train slowing, the overhead announcement, or the shifting presence of the few other passengers. She was trapped, drowning in her trauma, until a voice cut sharply through the fog.
"Hey! Lady. Hey! Missus."
Sam blinked, startled, as the world snapped back into focus. A train conductor was standing in front of her, his expression impatient but not unkind.
"This is the last stop for the red line," he said, jerking his thumb toward the open doors. "You getting out or what?"
"Oh," Sam muttered, her voice hoarse. She scrambled to her feet, gripping her jacket tightly to ensure the files hidden inside didn't slip out. "Sorry." Without waiting for a response, she rushed off the train, her shoes hitting the platform with hurried steps. Her heart was still racing as she hugged her stomach. The train station was nearly empty, the quiet broken only by the faint hum of electricity and the distant patter of rain. Outside, the world was dark and damp, the clouds obscuring the moonlight. Raindrops fell sporadically, cool and light against her face, but she barely noticed. The glow of the streetlamps provided enough illumination to guide her back to the dorms, and she walked quickly, her mind still spinning. When she finally reached her residence building, she froze. A familiar figure stood waiting for her near the entrance, leaning casually against a lamppost. Her stomach dropped.
Henry.
He noticed her immediately, slipping his phone into his pocket as he straightened. His expression was unreadable, but his presence was anything but welcome.
Sam hesitated, her heart pounding loudly in her ear. She didn't have the strength for this confrontation—not tonight. But there was no avoiding him now.
Here's the refined and detailed version of your scene:
"Sam! Where have you been?" Henry called, his voice tinged with equal parts relief and frustration. He took a few steps toward her, his phone still clutched in one hand. "I've been calling you—"
His words faltered when his gaze fell to her clothes. Dark, ruddy stains marred the fabric, stark and undeniable under the glow of the street lamps. His expression shifted to alarm.
"What happened to you?"
Sam didn't answer. She didn't have the patience for him—not now. Her nerves were frayed, her mind racing, and the last thing she needed was Henry's concern or his endless questions. She pushed past him without a word, her pace quickening toward the building's entrance.
"Sam, wait!" He reached out, his fingers grazing her arm.
The reaction was instant and visceral. Sam jerked away, pulling back as if his touch had burned her. "Don't," she snapped, her voice sharp and trembling.
Henry froze, his hand dropping to his side. His face betrayed a flicker of hurt, a flash of pain that quickly settled into something quieter, heavier. He had always known this about her—that physical contact was a struggle, that it made her anxious in ways he couldn't fully understand. He had tried to be patient, to tread carefully, and even now, he bit back his frustration. But her rejection stung nonetheless. Around them, murmurs began to ripple through the sparse crowd near the dorm entrance. People whispered and stared, their attention drawn to Sam's disheveled appearance and the bloodstains on her clothes. Henry noticed the weight of their gazes and took a step closer, lowering his voice.
"Sam," he began, gentler this time, "just tell me what's going on. Please."
Before she could respond, a voice interrupted them. "Is something wrong?"
Both Sam and Henry turned toward the stairs of the residence building. Rosa was standing there, her arms crossed and a deep frown etched across her face. Concern flickered in her dark eyes as she descended the steps, moving toward them with a steady, purposeful stride. Rosa's gaze fixed on Sam, taking in the bloodstains, her pale complexion, and the wild, frantic look in her eyes.
"Sam… what in God's name happened to you?" she asked, her voice soft but firm.
Sam opened her mouth, trying to find the words, but before she could speak, the ground beneath them began to tremble. A sudden, violent rumble split the air, and a sharp, jagged crack tore through the pavement at their feet. The tremor rippled outward, shaking the foundation of the dorm and sending students scrambling for safety. Sam stumbled, her balance lost as the ground pitched beneath her. She fell, but before she hit the ground, Rosa's hand shot out with startling speed, catching her by the arm. Her reflexes were unnervingly sharp, faster than even Henry could react as he struggled to regain his footing amidst the chaos.
The tremor intensified. Across the campus courtyard, trees swayed wildly, their branches thrashing against the wind. Windows shattered in the nearby dormitories, shards of glass raining down with a piercing sound that cut through the air. Screams erupted around them as people fled in every direction, desperate to find shelter. Sam felt Rosa's grip tighten on her arm, anchoring her in place. But as Rosa's hand made contact, something strange happened. A rush of emotion coursed through Sam—not her own, but something external, something foreign. A calm, soothing wave washed over her, steady and controlled. The panic that had gripped her chest all night began to dissipate, replaced by a profound sense of tranquility. It wasn't just a distraction; it felt as though her very mind had been steadied, her frayed nerves smoothed over by an unseen force.
Sam blinked, dazed and confused by the sudden shift in her emotional state. She looked at Rosa, who met her gaze with a knowing expression but said nothing. Rosa's attention shifted upward, and instinctively, Sam followed her line of sight. High above them, the night sky had changed. A dark violet dot, almost imperceptible at first, began to expand. It grew rapidly, spreading like a stain across the stars until it blanketed the entire campus in an eerie, otherworldly hue. The air crackled with energy as the dot elongated, transforming into a massive pillar of light that reached down from the heavens and struck the heart of Chicago. The violet beam pierced the skyline, its radiance illuminating the city in an unnatural glow.
Sam's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the ominous phenomenon. Whatever this was, it wasn't natural. It wasn't normal. And in the pit of her stomach, she knew—it wasn't over.
***
Bodies. Bodies. Bodies.
The battlefield was awash with death, a grotesque symphony of chaos. Warriors clashed, their weapons ringing like funeral bells, each swing a gamble for survival, each thrust a grim exchange of life for death. Blood pooled in uneven rivulets, soaking into the dirt like ink on a crumpled page, while severed limbs littered the ground like discarded refuse. The air was heavy with the metallic tang of blood and the acrid stench of charred flesh. It was chaos—no, a marketplace of death. The push and pull of bodies mimicked the crowded frenzy of shoppers at rush hour, but instead of goods, the wares on offer were the fleeting moments between life and annihilation. Cries of pain and triumph intertwined, creating a haunting cacophony. In this grim bazaar, the vendor of fates stood tall: an emerald-armored girl with hair as green as a verdant meadow, her broadsword carving paths of death and salvation. Her blade was her ledger, and the price she exacted was steep.
A new sound emerged amidst the bedlam—a mechanical chime, cold and detached.
Gaea System interface initiated. Enlightened must awaken and walk the path of ascension!
"Sam! Sam! Sam!"
Her eyes snapped open, her breath hitching as reality crashed into her. She was on her back, slumped against a crystalline wall that glowed faintly with a soothing azure hue. Blinking rapidly, her vision focused on a face hovering above her—Rosa.
But Rosa was different now. Her black hair, usually loose, was tied into a tight bun, and her tall, lithe frame was clad in sleek, obsidian armor that gleamed under the faint light of their surroundings. Across her chest, the insignia of the Golden Dawn stood prominent: a rising sun flanked by crossed sabers. Rosa's expression was stern but laced with urgency as she grabbed Sam's hand, pulling her to her feet with surprising strength.
"Get up!" Rosa commanded, her voice cutting through the distant screams that filled the cave.
Sam's senses caught up, and she finally took in the chaos around her. They were no longer on campus. Gone were the brick facades and manicured lawns of Yesh University. Instead, they were in a cavernous expanse, its walls formed of jagged crystal that pulsed faintly as though alive. The terrain glowed with an ethereal blue light that cast eerie shadows on the ground. Around them, the chaos continued. Students—her classmates—ran in every direction, their screams echoing off the crystalline walls. Massive, horse-sized ants with exoskeletons of a deep, glistening red stormed through the crowd. Their mandibles snapped with grotesque precision, grabbing students and crushing them like twigs before dragging them away. Blood sprayed in sickening arcs, painting the luminous ground a grotesque shade of crimson.
"What the fuck?!" Sam yelled, her voice breaking as sheer terror took hold. "What the fuck is going on?!"
Rosa gripped her arm tightly, shaking her once to snap her out of her panic. "We have to leave. Now!"
Sam barely registered the words. Her eyes were glued to the carnage as a monstrous ant lunged at a boy she recognized from her biology class. Its mandibles clamped down, severing him at the waist. Scarlet rained down like droplets of death, pooling beneath the beast as it fed.
"Sam, move!" Rosa barked, dragging her away with surprising force.
The two ran, weaving through the panicked crowd. Students shoved and trampled one another in desperation, their faces twisted in primal fear. Sam could barely process what was happening. Her legs moved on instinct, her mind screaming at her to stop, to make sense of this nightmare.
"Run faster!" Rosa commanded.
They rounded a sharp corner, and Sam froze in horror. In front of her, three massive ants were tearing into a group of students, their razor-sharp mandibles slicing through flesh and bone with ease. One ant reared up, lifting a girl into the air before biting clean through her torso. Her upper half fell to the ground, lifeless, as her screams abruptly ceased. Sam wanted to stop, wanted to turn away, but Rosa yanked her forward. A black spear materialized in Rosa's right hand, shimmering with an otherworldly energy. With a practiced motion, Rosa spun the spear, the blade gleaming as it cleaved through the air. In one swift arc, the heads of the three ants were severed, their lifeless bodies collapsing in a twitching heap. Rosa didn't stop. She pulled Sam forward, their pace frantic as they raced toward a large hole at the far end of the cavern. The screeches of the ants behind them grew louder, a chilling reminder of the horde that pursued them. Ahead, a bottleneck had formed as students fought to squeeze through the narrow opening. Their panic had turned them against each other, shoving and clawing as they scrambled for safety.
"Out of the way!" Rosa yelled, her voice amplified by a burst of spiritual energy that sent a ripple through the air. The students hesitated, momentarily stunned, allowing Rosa to drag Sam through the chaos and toward the opening. They emerged into blinding light. Sam shielded her eyes, blinking rapidly as her vision adjusted. When she looked again, she gasped. They stood on the edge of a vast crystal chasm, its walls shimmering with prismatic colors that danced in the light. Platforms of jagged crystal jutted out at odd angles, forming precarious pathways that crisscrossed the cavern. Below, an abyss stretched endlessly, its depths glowing with an ominous red light.
Behind them, students poured out of the tunnels, many giving Rosa a wide berth as they fled. Sam turned just in time to see the last of the stragglers emerge, their faces contorted in terror. But their escape was short-lived. From the tunnel, the ants surged forward, their mandibles dripping with gore. They tore into the fleeing students, dragging them back into the darkness as screams filled the air. Sam's stomach churned, her knees threatening to buckle as she watched the massacre unfold.
It was too late for them
"They can't get through," Rosa said, her voice steady as she dismissed her spear with a faint shimmer of light. The weapon dissolved into glowing particles, vanishing as if it had never been there. She stood tall, her posture calm and composed, a stark contrast to the Rosa Sam once knew—the Rosa she had shared nervous smiles with across café tables and strolled beside under the city lights. This Rosa was different. Her armored figure radiated authority, her face hardened by something Sam couldn't yet grasp.
"There's a seal that keeps them inside," Rosa continued, her tone brisk and almost impatient. "We just happened to transport inside their territory. Come on." She gestured toward a spiraling staircase carved into the side of what looked like a jagged mountain.
Sam hesitated for a moment, her eyes drawn upward to the cavern's massive ceiling, where enormous crystalline formations jutted out like jagged teeth. The crystals emitted a faint luminescence, painting the vast underground expanse in hues of blue and white. The scale of it was overwhelming, the ceiling stretching so high it seemed to merge with darkness. She followed Rosa down the staircase, each step bringing her deeper into this alien, underground world. As they descended, the air grew cooler, damp with the scent of earth and minerals. Sam's gaze drifted to the people trickling out of the cave ahead. Some stumbled, their movements sluggish and uncoordinated, while others simply sat in silence, their eyes hollow and lifeless. It was more than just her fellow students. There were adults dressed in work uniforms, people in pajamas clutching blankets, and others in casual attire—like they had been yanked from their everyday lives without warning.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Sam's breath caught. The space opened into a cavernous chamber, its floor scattered with enormous crystal boulders. Around these rocks, clusters of people sat or lay sprawled, many of them bloody and bandaged, their faces etched with pain. Some were murmuring, while others stared ahead, their expressions vacant. It was chaos and despair brought to life. Sam's heart clenched as she realized just how many people were here—hundreds, maybe more. It wasn't just her school. It felt like the entire city of Chicago had been uprooted and thrown into this hellish place.
"Sam! You're alive!"
The familiar voice yanked her from her thoughts. She turned to see Henry sprinting toward her, his face alight with relief. His clothes were stained with blood, but otherwise, he seemed unharmed. Sam barely had time to react before he reached out to grab her, but Rosa stepped between them, her armor gleaming faintly in the crystal light.
"It's you," Henry said, his voice dropping as his eyes landed on Rosa's armored figure. His expression twisted with shock, his mouth opening to say more, but before he could speak, a scream tore through the air behind him.
"This is crazy! This is insane! Stay back!"
The voice belonged to a woman in a police uniform. She was pacing erratically, her hands trembling as she pointed a gun at invisible threats around her. "This doesn't make sense—this can't be real!" she cried, her voice breaking.
"Enough!"
The word came like a crack of thunder, and in a blur of motion, someone lunged forward, grabbing the gun from the cop's shaking hands. With startling efficiency, he kneed her in the stomach, forcing her to collapse to the ground with a choked gasp. Sam's eyes widened as she recognized him—Callum Oyedepo, a classmate she'd barely spoken to. Callum straightened, the gun in his hand bending with an almost lazy twist of his wrist. The metal groaned under the pressure, folding like wet clay, and he tossed the ruined weapon aside. His dark eyes bore into the cop, who was clutching her stomach and gasping for air.
"I'm sorry for what you've been through," he said coldly, his voice calm yet unyielding. "But you need to accept reality. This is real."
"Callum," a girl beside him said softly, grabbing his arm and pointing toward Sam and Rosa. Callum's gaze shifted, his brows lifting slightly in surprise when he saw Sam approaching.
"Sam," he said, his tone softening, though there was an edge of uncertainty in his voice. He had tried so many times to befriend her, but she had always kept her distance. Still, seeing her alive brought a flicker of relief to his otherwise guarded expression. That relief was quickly overshadowed as his eyes landed on Rosa's armored figure.
"Rosa," he said, his voice sharpening.
"Callum," Rosa replied evenly. Though they were all the same age and had sat in the same classrooms, there was now an unmistakable gap between them. It wasn't just Rosa's armor or Callum's effortless display of strength—it was something deeper, an unspoken understanding that neither Sam nor the others could grasp.
"So, you're a Mystic too," Callum said, his tone carefully neutral.
"Yes," Rosa said simply, her words weighted with a quiet authority.
Callum's eyes flicked to the symbol engraved on her armor, his expression tightening. The girl beside him sucked in a breath.
"You're a Guardian," the girl said, her voice tinged with awe. "Is Golden—"
"Hey!"
Sam's voice cut through the tension like a blade. She stepped forward, glaring first at Rosa, then at Callum. A surge of frustration bubbled in her chest, threatening to spill over. How could they both stand there so calm, so composed, when everything was falling apart? She jabbed a finger toward Rosa's armor, her voice trembling with suppressed rage.
"You knew," she said, her words sharp and accusing. "You both knew something about this—what's going on? What the hell is this?" Her chest rose and fell with the force of her emotions, the weight of everything crashing down on her. She didn't understand what was happening, but one thing was clear—Rosa and Callum weren't as lost as the rest of them. And Sam wasn't going to stand by without answers.
"Sam..." Rosa began, her voice softening, but before she could continue, Henry jumped in.
"She's right," he said, his tone edged with frustration and disbelief. "How the hell did we get here? And what is this place?"
Henry's fists clenched at his sides as flashes of the chaos he'd witnessed replayed in his mind. When he'd opened his eyes in this sprawling, alien cavern, he'd been surrounded by terrified people. The screams had come almost immediately—blood-curdling cries of fear and pain echoing off the crystalline walls. People had surged from the large walls riddled with dark, gaping holes, some staggering with wounds so severe it was a miracle they were still alive. Others weren't as lucky, their bodies mangled or missing parts entirely. He'd tried to help where he could, pressing his hands to a stranger's chest to stop the bleeding, but the man had died anyway, his blood pooling across the stone floor. In the aftermath, he'd learned that Callum and the girl—Trini, that was her name—had been instrumental in helping some of the survivors escape whatever horrors lay within the tunnels. But that didn't explain the bigger picture, and the lack of answers gnawed at him.
"This is an Echo Field," Rosa said finally, her voice cutting through the silence. "The pillar of light transported us here."
"Echo Field?" Sam repeated, the unfamiliar term weighing heavily on her tongue. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Rosa turned to face her, her expression a mix of patience and resignation. "An Echo Field is a type of pocket space," she explained.
"Pocket space?" Sam said, her brow furrowing as her frustration deepened. "What does that even mean? Speak in something other than riddles for once."
Rosa sighed, glancing at the glowing crystals above as if searching for the simplest way to explain. "Think of it as... an extra space within the planet," she said. "It's like an extension of the Hidden World of Terra."
"The hidden world?" Henry echoed, his voice sharp with disbelief. "Rosa, none of this is making any damn sense."
Rosa turned back to him, her armored shoulders stiff as though bracing against the rising tide of questions. "I know it's hard to understand," she said, her voice quieter now. "But this isn't something I can explain in a few sentences. The Hidden World isn't like the world you know. It's... layered. A separate reality that's connected to ours but invisible to most people."
Henry's jaw tightened. His eyes darted to Callum, then to Trynr, as if searching for confirmation. Both of them remained silent, their expressions unreadable. Sam's head was spinning. The glowing crystals, the towering cavern, the people bleeding and dying around her—it all felt like a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.
"And we're just supposed to accept that?" she snapped, her voice rising. "That this 'Echo Field' or whatever is normal? That there's some secret, hidden world no one knows about?"
Rosa sighed again, the weight of her armor seeming to press down on her. She reached out, gently taking Sam by the arm and leading her toward a large, flat crystal jutting out of the ground. Its surface shimmered faintly, casting a soft, soothing light.
"Sit down," Rosa said, her voice firm but not unkind. "You need to rest. This... this is going to be a long discussion." Sam reluctantly sank onto the crystal's surface, its coolness seeping through her clothes. Henry stayed standing, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he glared at Rosa.
"Start talking," he said. "And don't leave anything out."
Rosa nodded, but her eyes flicked to Callum and Trynr, who were now quietly approaching. "Fine," she said. "But this isn't just my story to tell."
She gestured toward the others, her gaze lingering on Callum. "We're all going to have to share what we know. Because the truth is... this is just the beginning."