The SupraGen Analyzer on the far wall pinged softly, signaling the end of a routine scan. Ethan glanced at it, his sharp eyes picking up the latest update on Claire's deteriorating cellular health. He clenched his jaw, frustration mounting.
Suddenly, A soft sound pulled his attention back to Claire. Her hand moved slightly, reaching for his. He clasped it firmly, his thumb brushing over her knuckles.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice trembling.
"For what?" Ethan asked, his brow furrowing.
"For being… a burden," she said, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
Ethan's chest tightened, and he shook his head vehemently. "Don't ever say that. You're not a burden, Claire. You're my reason. My reason to keep going, to keep fighting. Do you hear me?"
Her tears fell silently, and Ethan leaned in to wipe them away with the pad of his thumb. He cupped her face gently, his voice softening. "You've been through so much. And I know it's not fair. But I need you to hold on, just a little longer. I promise, I'll find a way."
Claire nodded weakly, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. She whispered something too faint to hear, and Ethan leaned in closer.
"Don't leave me…" she murmured, barely audible.
"I won't," Ethan said, his voice resolute. "I'll never leave you."
For a moment, the weight of the world seemed to ease as Claire drifted back into a fragile sleep. Ethan stayed still, his hand never leaving hers. He studied her face, committing it to memory, as though afraid that even a single second of her presence might slip away.
Finally, with great reluctance, he stood up. He adjusted the TempReg Blanket over her, ensuring she was comfortable, and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"I'll be back," he whispered, though the words felt hollow even to him.
'While I want to spend as much time as possible with her, I want to find a cure as soon as possible'
With this thought in mind he stepped back, he took a deep breath and turned to leave.
The door hissed open as the biometric sensors registered his departure. Before stepping out, he glanced back one last time, taking in the sight of Claire's fragile figure bathed in the soft glow of the monitors.
As the door slid shut behind him, the weight of the moment hit him like a tidal wave. He leaned against the wall, his hand clenched into a fist, his mind racing with equal parts desperation and determination.
'I can't lose her. Not like this. Not ever.'
****
Ethan's footsteps echoed in the hospital corridor, his mind a tangled web of worry and fatigue. He glanced at his watch—just past noon.
The faint buzz of his phone in his pocket jolted him back to the present. Fishing it out, he frowned at the dozens of notifications lighting up the screen.
News alerts, social media updates, and frantic messages from colleagues filled the screen, all mentioning the same thing. "The sky…"
Curiosity piqued, Ethan moved to the nearest window and froze.
The sky—once a bright, serene blue—was now a swirling sea of crimson, streaked with tendrils of black mist. At its center loomed an enormous, swirling void, its sheer size so immense it blanketed the horizon. The void churned like a living entity, radiating a faint, unnatural hum that resonated in his chest.
Strange, guttural roars echoed from the void, faint but unmistakable. They sounded beastly, otherworldly, as though some monstrous creatures were just beyond the veil, waiting to descend.
Panic gripped the streets below. Cars screeched to a halt, their drivers stepping out to stare at the sky in terror. Pedestrians crowded together, their faces pale with fear as they pointed and muttered frantically.
Ethan's phone buzzed again, pulling him away from the window. He unlocked it, immediately bombarded by a deluge of messages, posts, and theories on what was happening.
---
Social Media Feed:
@SkyWatcher: "What in the actual hell is this? Is it an eclipse? A military experiment? Someone explain before I lose my mind!"
@ApocalypseNow: "The prophecies were true. This is the End Times. Repent now, or face the wrath of the heavens!"
@AstroFacts: "Astrophysicists are baffled. No prior data suggested a phenomenon like this. This void isn't a natural occurrence."
@EarthDefenseLeague: "This has to be an alien invasion. Those sounds are not of this world. Governments need to act NOW."
@DoomChaser99: "I told y'all the apocalypse was coming. The Four Horsemen are on their way. This is it, folks!"
@SurvivalistDaily: "We're looking at either dimensional rift theory or a catastrophic shift in universal constants. Stock up on supplies. Trust no one."
---
Each theory felt worse than the last, and Ethan's grip on the phone tightened. He opened a live news feed, the anchor's voice trembling as she attempted to deliver updates.
"We are witnessing an unprecedented phenomenon. Experts are unable to determine the cause of the swirling void that has appeared over the planet. Authorities are urging citizens to remain calm and stay indoors."
The feed cut to a shaky video taken by a civilian. In the clip, a shadowed figure—distorted and massive—briefly appeared at the edge of the void before vanishing. The camera operator screamed, and the video abruptly ended.
Ethan's heart raced as he scrolled through more posts. Theories of apocalyptic beasts descending from the void. Rumors of governments collapsing under the pressure. Predictions of humanity's extinction.
His thoughts immediately snapped to Claire. He imagined her lying in that fragile state, surrounded by advanced technology that now seemed utterly insignificant in the face of what was happening. Could she survive this chaos? Could he protect her?
"No," Ethan muttered, his voice trembling. "Not her. Not like this."
He turned, hurrying back toward Claire's room. He needed to be by her side, needed to reassure her—and himself—that everything would be fine. Yet deep down, he knew the world was changing.
Pushing past his shock, Ethan ran the last few steps to Claire's door and burst inside. The monitors hummed softly, oblivious to the chaos outside. Claire lay on the bed, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths, her face peaceful but pale.
Of course she wouldn't be in this room in the first place if this room isn't more secure than other patient's rooms, even if the hospital itself was to collapse this room would still be relatively okay, but it wouldn't if the beast in the sky were to inadvertently target this room.
He moved quickly to check her vitals, his hands shaking. The numbers were stable for now, but for how long? The hospital itself felt like it was moments from collapse.
Another tremor shook the building, and Ethan staggered, catching himself against the edge of Claire's bed. The beast outside released its energy, and the city trembled as a beam of destruction cut through the skyline. Ethan glanced at the window, the distant glow of fire reflecting in his eyes.
Taking Claire's hand in his, he whispered, "I'm here, Claire. I'm not leaving you."
But then, the room trembled again, the lights flickering as the hospital groaned under the strain of the growing apocalypse. Ethan looked down at Claire's sleeping face, his jaw tightening.
"I'll protect you," he said, his voice steady despite the fear gripping his heart. "No matter what happens. I'll keep you safe."
But deep down, as the world began to unravel around him, a single thought consumed him.
How do you protect someone from something this monstrous?
His heart thumped loudly as He stared at his phone, scrolling through more posts, while holding Claire...
As much as he wants to ascertain that she's okay, being a doctor he knew that information was power and the internet was only hope of gathering as much information as possible...
And each one of the info from the posts painted a grim picture of what was to come:
"Creatures from the void are real. A village in the south reported attacks. Entire populations wiped out."
"This isn't natural. Someone did this. A rift between dimensions? A failed experiment?"
"This is no time to be joking pal..."
Of course, there'll be some carefree freaks that'll be enjoying the thrill that this dangerous situation brings...
He clenched his jaw, his mind racing with questions. 'How much time do we have? What are those things? Can I keep Claire safe with all this madness?'
The door to Claire's room was just a few feet away, but for the first time, he hesitated. The weight of what was happening bore down on him, and the thought of failing her—failing everyone—threatened to crush him.
Taking a deep breath, Ethan straightened and pushed the door open. Inside, the monitors hummed softly, oblivious to the apocalypse outside. Claire lay peacefully, her delicate form bathed in the faint glow of the machines keeping her alive.
Ethan stepped inside and closed the door behind him, knowing this sanctuary, however advanced, might not be enough to protect them from what was coming.
For the second time in his life, Ethan Cross—brilliant doctor, unshakable optimist and a well known playboy who always get what he wants—felt powerless, as thing didn't go the way he wanted it too.
The hum of the machines in Claire's room, once a comforting backdrop to Ethan's work, now felt oppressive. It was as if the very air had shifted.
Ethan frowned as the Advanced Air Detectors on the wall emitted a shrill beep, flashing crimson across their sleek interface.
"Warning: Unknown Energy Signature Detected."
Ethan's eyes darted to the readout, and his stomach twisted into knots. Strange energies were rapidly accumulating in the room, the levels rising exponentially with every passing second. The detectors, calibrated to pick up even the faintest abnormalities, were screaming out warnings of an unprecedented surge.
He turned to Claire, her fragile body lying still on the bed. Her chest rose and fell softly, but something was wrong—terribly wrong. Her vitals on the Nano-Vital Monitors began to spike erratically, the graphs fluctuating wildly in colors Ethan had never seen before.
"What the hell…" he whispered, rushing to her side.
He stared at the holographic displays, the data pouring in like a torrent. The energy wasn't just present—it was reacting with Claire's body. Tendrils of glowing red mist, invisible to the naked eye but stark on the monitors, coiled around her like living things, sinking into her skin.
Ethan's medical instincts kicked in. His hands moved with the precision of years of experience, activating the Cellular Regeneration Capsule. It whirred to life, its mechanisms glowing as it attempted to stabilize her failing cells. He simultaneously keyed into the NeuroSync Console, searching for a way to isolate the energy.
"Come on… Come on!" he growled through clenched teeth, his mind racing.
The results only made his heart sink. The energy wasn't just interacting with Claire's body—it was overloading it. Her cells were absorbing the energy, but instead of revitalizing her, it was overwhelming every system, tearing her apart from the inside out.
"No… This can't be happening," Ethan muttered, his voice trembling.
He scanned the data again, desperately searching for a way to stop the surge. His system gave him theoretical solutions—deploying energy dampeners, creating an isolating barrier—but each one required at least thirty minutes to implement. Time he didn't have.
A sharp alarm jolted him as the Nano-Vital Monitors flashed an ominous red. Claire's lifespan—her precious few days—plummeted in an instant. Two minutes.