"Wait a minute, I remember…" Shay's voice trailed off as her fingers froze over the open page of her notebook. Her mind whirled, grasping for clarity amid the sudden rush of fragmented images. The energy pulse she had witnessed in the barn felt achingly familiar, as though a distant part of her past had reawakened.
"Shay, what is it? What do you remember?" asked Alena.
"When I was a kid, I remember visiting my grandparents' farm. There was…something. An energy, like what I felt in that barn. I didn't think much of it back then, but now…it feels connected."
"Do you think it's tied to the Masks? Or the truth-tech?" asked Drake.
"I don't know, but it's not just Htrae. This…this was on Earth. I need to write this down before I lose it." She began scribbling furiously in her notebook, her black felt-tip pen moving with purpose.
"So, we're saying this isn't just Htrae's problem? That whatever's happening here has a ripple effect back home?" asked Marcus.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Shay replied without looking up. Her pen paused mid-sentence. "Drake, do you remember anything from the briefings with Grandma Shay? Anything that might connect the Masks' activity to Earth's past?"
"Nothing concrete. But if the Masks have been experimenting on both dimensions, it would explain a lot—especially why their influence feels... coordinated."
"If it's connected, then why now? Why would this memory suddenly resurface?" asked Alena.
"It wasn't until I saw that pulse in the barn. It triggered something—like a missing piece sliding into place. Maybe I buried it because it didn't make sense at the time. But now…"
"If this energy pulse was on Earth too, it means the Masks have been playing the long game. But why?" asked Drake.
Shay looked up from her notebook. "That's what we need to figure out. And fast."
"Fine. But how much do we actually trust what we're seeing here? That barn didn't just randomly light up; it was designed to do that. Someone wanted us to see it."
Shay and Drake exchanged a glance. "You think it was a trap?" asked Shay.
Marcus shrugged. "Maybe not a trap, but a signal. Someone, or something, wants us to follow breadcrumbs."
"If that's the case, then the real question is: do we follow?" asked Alena.
Shay closed her notebook with a decisive snap. "We don't have a choice. If the Masks are reaching into Earth, it's not just Htrae that's at risk. It's home... Earth. We can't let that happen."
"Then we investigate, but carefully. Whatever's going on, we stick together."
The group fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Outside the farmhouse, the wind stirred the alien grass, carrying an eerie calm that seemed to mock the storm brewing within their mission.
"I don't know where this leads, but I know one thing for sure. Whatever's coming… we'll face it together," said Shay, holding her notebook tighter.
"Damn right we will."
"I will note it later." I must note in my notebook later: Masks. Earth. Htrae. Same enemy, same game—but what's the prize?
When they arrived at the unkept barn, inside the barn, they met up with Shay2, Drake2, Marcus2, and Alena2.
Shay2 led the group into a narrow hallway, her tone clipped. "It's base, not a home. It's functional, and that's what matters."
Shay, Drake, Alena, and Marcus followed, and their counterparts were behind them except for Shay2.
"This place feels like a contradiction," said Shay, her gaze fixed on the faint shimmer of light filtering through a window. "It's advanced but... broken."
Shay2 led the group into a narrow hallway, her tone clipped. "It's base, not a home. It's functional, and that's what matters."
"What kind of base? A storage site? A command center?" asked Drake.
Shay2 didn't answer Drake. The hallway opened into a larger room where worn blueprints and crinkled paper lined the walls. Strange symbols filled the margins, etched in ink that seemed to glow faintly. Everyone, all eight of them, was in the room at last, looking at maps on the walls.
"Here," Shay2 said, gesturing toward the largest blueprint pinned to the center of the wall. "This was our starting point."
Marcus moved closer to the blueprint and noticed the complexity. "Dimensional stabilizers? These look like they were never finished."
"It's what's left of them. We ran out of time," said Marcus2.
Shay studied the blueprints intently. Her fingers brushed over the intricate markings as she jotted notes in her notebook. "And the Masks? They completed it?"
Shay2 turned to her sharply. "They corrupted it."
Drake picked up a small, cube-shaped device from the table. Its surface pulsed faintly, and a low hum vibrated through his fingertips. "Truth-tech?"
"Modified," said Marcus2. "Scaled for larger applications."
"Which means?" asked Alena.
Shay2 hesitated before answering. "Which means it's no longer just a tool for detection. It's a weapon."
The tension in the room thickened. Drake placed the device back on the table. "Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?"
"Because you didn't need to know," Shay2 snapped.
"That's not your call to make," said Alena.
"We need to know everything," said Shay firmly. "If we're going to trust you, there can't be secrets."
Shay2 folded her arms, leaning back against the wall. "Then you'll have to start trusting me first."
The silence stretched as the two Shays locked eyes, the air between them charged with unspoken tension.
"Fine," said Shay, breaking the standoff. She turned back to the blueprints, her pen moving quickly across the page. "But if you hold back again, I'll find out anyway."
Drake exchanged a glance with Shay, his voice low. "This changes everything."
"It changes nothing," Shay replied, her grip on her notebook tightening. "Except now we know what we're really up against."
Back at Earth's farmhouse, Grandma Shay adjusted the holographic map hovering over the dining table..
Threads of energy pulsed faintly across the surface, tracing patterns she'd been monitoring for hours. Her eyes narrowed as she tapped a section near Cannon City, zooming into a faintly blinking signal.
"Det. Ques, you're sure this is linked to the cell updates?" asked Grandma Shay
Susie answered without looking up from her laptop. "Positive. The patterns match. Whoever's behind this knows how to stay hidden. These messages aren't just random; they're coordinated."
"Encrypted too, but not well enough. Whoever wrote them wasn't expecting anyone to dig this deep," said Det. Mary Prose.
Grandma Shay looking over a faint red line connecting Cannon City to three other locations across the country. "And the phrase 'The Barn' keeps showing up?"
"Almost every message," Mary confirmed. "Along with 'The Rod.' I'd bet it's code, but for what, we're still figuring out."
"Figure faster," said Grandma Shay. "We don't have the luxury of time."
In another corner of the room, Billy sat on a stool, scribbling quietly in his own notebook. He'd been watching the immortals all day, tracking their movements and noting small, almost imperceptible behaviors. His pen paused as he looked toward the table, catching the faint glow of the hologram reflected in Mary's glasses.
"Billy," Myra said softly, sitting down beside him. "What are you writing?"
He shut the notebook quickly, his tone guarded. "Just… observations."
"About them?" she asked, nodding toward the immortals.
Billy hesitated. "Do you ever feel like they know more than they're telling us?"
Myra chuckled lightly. "Of course they do. That's their whole thing, isn't it? Saving the world without explaining how."
Billy didn't respond, his grip tightening around the notebook. Across the room, Bob Barkson stepped inside carrying a tray of coffee mugs, his expression warm but weary.
"Thought you could all use a pick-me-up," said Bob, placing the tray on the counter. His eyes lingered on Myra for a moment longer than necessary, but she either didn't notice or pretended not to.
"Thanks, Bob," said Myra, reaching for a mug.
Grandma Shay's voice cut through the room. "Quiet. Look."
Everyone turned toward the map as one of the faint red lines began to pulse erratically. Grandma Shay's expression darkened.
"What does that mean?" asked Susie.
"It means we've just found their next move," said Grandma Shay.
"Fantastic!" said Mary.
Back on Htrae, the farmhouse had settled into an unusual calm, the earlier tension from Shay's revelations and Marcus's doubts temporarily easing as the group retreated to their respective spaces. Outside, the twin moons of Htrae cast a pale, silvery glow over the rolling fields. The alien sky shimmered faintly, the unfamiliar constellations above a reminder of how far they were from Earth.
Shay sat by the farmhouse's wide window, her notebook open on her lap, though the pen lay idle beside it. The events of the day churned in her mind like a restless tide. She pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to coax clarity from the chaos.
"You look like you're solving the universe." Drake's voice was soft, but it carried the warmth she'd come to rely on. She turned to see him leaning casually against the doorframe, his dark green eyes watching her with quiet intensity.
Shay managed a small smile. "Feels like it. I can't shake the feeling that there's something I'm missing, something that connects all of this."
Drake crossed the room in a few steps and took a seat beside her. The faint glow from the moons softened his face, but there was no mistaking the concern etched in his expression. "You're carrying too much of this alone, Shay. You don't have to figure it all out tonight."
She sighed, her shoulders relaxing slightly under his steady gaze. "I know. It's just… if the Masks are reaching Earth, then everyone back home is in danger, too. We barely understand what they're doing here, let alone what they could do to Earth."
Drake reached out, his hand brushing hers lightly. "We'll figure it out. Together. You're not alone in this."
Shay looked down at their joined hands, her lips curving into a faint smile. "You always know how to say the right thing, don't you?"
Drake chuckled softly. "Not always. But with you? I try."
The moment stretched between them, unspoken words lingering in the air. Shay leaned her head against his shoulder, her eyes closing briefly as the steady rhythm of his breathing grounded her.
"Do you think we'll make it through this?" she asked quietly.
Drake's arm slid around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "I know we will. You're the strongest person I know, Shay. If anyone can unravel this mess, it's you."
For a long moment, they sat in silence, the alien world outside fading into the background. The warmth of his embrace and the steady beat of his heart were the only things Shay needed to focus on. The chaos could wait, at least for tonight.
"Come on. Let's go to bed," said Drake, while taking her hand and leading her to a prepared bed for them. He stopped and kissed her gently, and she…
Across the farmhouse, Alena and Marcus sat on the front porch, the faint hum of the reinforced dome above them barely audible over the soft sounds of the Htrae night. Alena stretched her legs out in front of her, her gaze fixed on the glowing constellations.
"You ever wonder what your alternate self thinks about all this?" Marcus asked, breaking the silence.
"I'm more worried about what she's hiding than what she's thinking. She's me, after all."
Marcus chuckled, the sound low and warm. "Fair point. But at least you're honest about your scheming."
"Honest? Sure. Open? Not a chance," Alena teased, nudging his shoulder lightly.
Marcus turned, his expression softening as he studied her. "You know, you've got this way of making all of this seem a little less crazy."
"Oh, so I'm your emotional support, huh?"
"Something like that." His tone was playful, but there was a depth to his words that Alena didn't miss.
She reached out, placing her hand on his chest, where she could feel the steady beat of his heart. "We're in this together, Marcus. I'm not going anywhere."
His hand covered hers, his grip firm yet gentle. "Neither am I… except to bed." He stood up, and she followed him to the room set aside for them.
"Good move."
"I try my best."
Alena put her arms around his waist and gave him a big hug. "So, what's your next move?
"How about this," he said as he leaned in and kissed her.
"Good start," said Alena, giggling.
Both couples found a rare moment of tenderness, the calm before the storm that they all knew was coming. As the farmhouse fell into a deep, almost otherworldly silence, the group unknowingly braced themselves for the challenges that awaited them with the coming dawn.