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Some might say they wished they could see the world through a child’s eyes—the first time magic feels real, when everything is discovery and nothing is routine. Cora knew this was that moment. As promised, the world was new and bright, almost painfully alive. The clearing stretched wide beneath an endless sky, colors richer than anything she had ever known. In the distance, rolling fields unfurled like a living ocean until they met a dark tree line. Beyond that rose mountains—jagged, immense, untouched by industry or war.

The group stood scattered in the tall grass, silent in their disbelief, turning in slow circles as if afraid the horizon might vanish if they blinked too long. Some knelt to touch the earth. Others simply stared upward, mouths parted. Cora pushed herself up from the ground. Jack had already wriggled free, intoxicated by movement and space. She watched as his boots sank into the wet soil. He paused, testing it, then let out a delighted laugh and jumped straight into the nearest puddle. Mud splashed up his legs, spotting his pants. For a second—just a second—Cora forgot everything. Her lips curved into a small, fragile smile.

She closed her eyes and tilted her face toward the sun. It touched her skin without barrier, without glass between them. The warmth settled deep into her bones, easing something she hadn’t realized was clenched. A breeze rolled through the clearing, bending the grass in gentle waves and carrying scents she didn’t have names for—earth after rain, crushed leaves, something faintly sweet. Old and new at once.

Behind them, more bodies stumbled through as the last of the group emerged from the Tear—collapsing onto hands and knees, gasping, disoriented. The air shimmered once, twice.Then the Tear folded inward with a low, thunderous pulse and vanished. Gone, then silence followed. Not the hollow, suffocating silence of the holding room. This silence breathed. It carried birdsong, the soft trill of insects, wind through leaves. Forgotten sounds—extinct in their world—alive here.

Jack splashed again, laughing, catching her off guard. 

Then a new sound echoed through the clearing. Low. Deep. A roar rolled across the grass from somewhere beyond the tree line, so vast and resonant it vibrated through the soil and up Cora’s spine. The entire group froze.

[I] “What the hell was that?” [/I] a man whispered to her left.

Another roar answered. Closer.

The birds in the treetops erupted in a violent burst of motion, wings thrashing skyward. Branches cracked somewhere within the forest—heavy, splintering breaks that suggested size. Weight. Cora’s smile vanished. She stepped forward, pulling Jack behind her instinctively, her eyes locked on the tree line.

Movement.

At first it looked like the forest itself was shifting. Then figures burst through the edge of it—ten, maybe more—moving fast and deliberate. Armed. Organized.

[I] “On your feet!” [/I] a woman shouted as they sprinted toward the clearing. Her voice cut cleanly through the panic, sharp and commanding. [I] “No time for pleasantries! We move now! Squad—perimeter!”[/I]

The armed group fanned out in practiced formation, forming a defensive arc between the newcomers and the tree line. Weapons were raised—sleek, unfamiliar designs mixed with older ballistic rifles. 

The roar came again. Closer still. The ground trembled faintly beneath Cora’s boots.

[I] “We just got here—” [/I]someone gasped behind her, the words breaking apart in disbelief.

[I] “This clearing isn’t secure!”[/I]  The woman snapped, eyes never leaving the forest. [I]“We are out of time. Move!”[/I]

Branches split with a violent crack. Something massive shifted in the shadows beyond the trees. Panic surged through the group all at once. The awe, the wonder—it shattered under the weight of survival. Cora didn’t wait. She scooped Jack into her arms, mud and all, his small hands gripping her collar as she turned and followed the escort. Around her, others stumbled, some still looking back toward the place where the Tear had been—as if it might reopen and offer safety. It didn’t.

Behind them, something heavy exhaled from within the trees.

And whatever it was- it was coming.

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