The car idled at the red light, its engine a low hum beneath the cheerful, melodic tones of Taylor Swift. Gretchin tapped her fingers on the steering wheel in time with the music, her ponytail bobbing slightly as she moved. Outside, the golden afternoon sun bathed the quiet street in warm light, but Charlie, slouched in the back seat, barely noticed.
He was too busy glaring out the window, trying to block out the music assaulting his ears. His arms were crossed, and his head leaned against the window as if sheer willpower could drown out Gretchin's playlist.
"Why do you even like this stuff?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
Amber, sitting in the back seat on the driver's side, lowered her book with a sigh. Her braces caught the sunlight as she frowned at her phone, tapping the screen a little harder than necessary.
"Hey, Gretchin," she said finally, her voice cutting through the music. "Is your phone acting weird today?"
Gretchin turned the music down, tilting her head slightly to glance at Amber in the rearview mirror. "Yeah, actually," she said. "Service has been shitty all day."
Charlie's ears perked up at the bad word, but he bit his tongue, deciding not to test Gretchin's patience.
"Everyone's been saying the same thing," Gretchin added, rolling her shoulders. "It's like the whole network's screwy."
"Did you see that TikTok about it?" Amber asked, setting her phone down in her lap.
"Yeah, I saw it—"
"Hey," Charlie interrupted, leaning forward slightly. "What's the sky doing?"
The conversation stopped cold. Both girls looked up, their faces reflecting the same mix of confusion and awe as they stared through the windshield.
The sky had transformed. Golden ribbons of light shimmered and swayed like liquid fire, twisting and curling through the clouds. It was breathtaking, a surreal display that didn't belong in a small-town spring afternoon.
"What is that?" Amber whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
The lights began to shift, spiraling inward toward a single point. The glow intensified, blinding and mesmerizing, until it condensed into a brilliant orb hanging in the sky. For a moment, everything felt impossibly still.
And then it exploded.
A deafening crack shattered the stillness as the golden light burst outward, painting the world in blinding brilliance. The windows rattled violently, and the air seemed to tremble with an unseen force.
"What's happening?" Charlie blurted out, his voice cracking as he gripped the edge of his seat.
Amber's voice cut through the chaos. "Gretchin, look!"
Gretchin's eyes snapped forward, and her face went pale. Ahead of them, chaos unfolded in an instant. Cars skidded and swerved, colliding with one another as drivers fought for control. Pedestrians were thrown to the ground, their cries drowned out by the thunderous roar of the wave rolling toward them. Houses creaked and buckled under the pressure, windows shattering as roofs crumbled.
A massive, invisible wave of energy was tearing through everything, leveling the world around them.
"Gretchin, go!" Amber shouted, panic rising in her voice.
Gretchin didn't need to be told twice. She yanked the wheel to the right, jerking the car off the road and onto the grassy shoulder. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the wheel, her breaths sharp and shallow.
But the wave was too fast.
It slammed into the side of the car like a wrecking ball. Charlie barely had time to register the sound of shattering glass before the car flipped, tossing them violently.
He felt his body jolt to the side, his head colliding with the window next to him with a sickening crack. Pain shot through his skull, blinding and immediate.
The world spun—a blur of screams, groaning metal, and flashes of golden light—and then everything went dark