Jennifer didn’t know how long she had been trapped inside the void, watching abandoned houses, cars, and structures floating through the air. A thick blanket of fog always enveloped the world. Whenever she reached for an object, fighting the fog, the object immediately faded like a mirage. She wondered if the object or the whole void was a fabrication of her mind; whether she was dead.
No emotions, no hunger, no pain—nothing.
When she remembered snippets of the past, her mind drifted into strange places, terrifying her. It was like peeking through a fractured window that wouldn’t allow her to make out anything on the other side clearly.
She knew there used to be a place before the void. There had to be. Words like sister, mother, and fiancé sounded familiar to her, although nothing else accompanied the words. All she could recall of herself was her name.
* * *
Jennifer stood on top of a snow-clad mountain. A fierce wind howled; its force enough to stagger even an experienced mountaineer. But it didn’t bother her. Only her hair ruffled, and the freezing wind stung her eyes.
A house flew above her, inches away. She watched it approach and then float over her shoulders. Soil and dirt spilled from it with tendrils of grass still clinging to the sides as if it had just been lifted off the ground.
However, no object had been so close to her before. She hurried to collect some snow, made a snowball, and threw it at the house.
If it hits, the house is real. She comforted herself with the thought.
But before it made contact, the house vanished as if it never existed. She sighed in disappointment, looking toward where it had been.
Despite the void being mostly silent, Jennifer sometimes heard hushed voices. They were audible then. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sounds. Distorted whispers filled the air, “No, I saw—but that’s—Quiet—and how long—Eve—I said—Oh, God—what—okay.”
She opened her eyes and rubbed her forehead.
Suddenly, a long, drawn-out whisper drifted through the air: “Jennifer!”
Startled to hear her own name, she backed away. Her stomach lurched, and a chill went through her body. It was the first real sensation she felt in the void. The heel of her foot hit a rock, and she dropped to the ground.
An ache sprang up in Jennifer’s leg, and she sat up with a groan. The mountain disappeared; she was in the middle of a road: a desert highway. With the fog obscuring the sun, only a faint glow remained in the sky. She hadn’t been to a desert in the void before. Curious, she walked ahead.
Dunes shifted with a gentle breeze wafting through the air and a few cacti greeted her along the way. Her pulse raced when a distant object glistened ahead of her. She immediately sprinted toward it. As she neared, the rear windshield of a gray hatchback emerged. To her surprise, it didn’t fade away but remained present, tangible. She brushed her fingers through its dust-covered surface and her touch left a faint trail, evidence of the connection. She stooped to read the license plate but couldn’t. The engraved words and letters made no sense as if written in an alien language. Examining the vehicle, she walked up to the front. It was positioned at an odd angle, more to its left than it should have been. The frame was warped. Her bare feet pressed on scattered shards of glass and metal, yet caused no pain.
She peeked inside. It was empty. What the hell happened here?
From the RV resting ahead, she understood the car had crashed into it. Although the impact smashed the entire front section of the vehicle, the damage to the RV was insignificant.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” she said, pounding on the RV’s door.
Silence ensued.
She tried to look inside the RV and even tugged on the doors. They were stuck. The tinted windows hindered her view.
Maybe no one’s hurt inside. She calmed herself with the thought.
Just when she abandoned the RV and stepped back, the corner of her eye caught something in the car. A person appeared in the driver’s seat. She darted toward it without wasting a moment, both excited and scared. Her pace slowed when she spotted a bloody hand protruding from the front door. A puddle of red formed on the road, trickling down the door.
“Hello?” she asked.
As she got closer and stared at the person, her gut twisted and a shiver coursed through her. The person was her—unconscious, head turned to one side with her chest-length brunette hair tumbling around in a disarrayed cascade. She was covered in blood, her clothes drenched.
What the . . . Jennifer’s heart thumped wildly against her ribcage. Her mouth dried, and her breath stuck in her throat. The other Jennifer wore the same half-sleeved, lightweight shirt as her.
While she processed the whole thing to make sense of it, another person appeared in the next seat, bathed in red in the same lifeless state. Jennifer couldn’t make out the face as a smoking coverage blocked her view. She rushed to the other side of the car. But before she got there, the fog enveloped her in swirling tendrils that became so thick that she could barely keep track of the car.
Jennifer wasn’t about to give up. Desperation fueled her as she pressed toward the passenger side. The glass and metal on the road stung her feet, and she felt all the pain this time. Yet she continued. Eerie cries and screams came from all around. But when she turned to look, there was no one. The road cracked in thin rivulets, tremors starting as if something underneath wanted to push its way out. An ominous hissing came from her left, then from her right. The surrounding sand dunes shifted and rippled wherever the sound materialized. Her eyes darted in every direction but spotted nothing.
As soon as she finished her pursuit and reached the other side of the car, it disappeared instantly. The scene changed again. The road was gone, along with the cracks, the sun, the desert, and the sounds. An infinite expanse of fog surrounded her.
She balled her hands into fists, looked up at the sky, and yelled, “Why are you doing this to me? Why don’t you just kill me?”
* * *
Jennifer thought about the incident for what felt like an eternity. Who was that other person? Why did I see myself like that? Did something happen to me? Am I really dead?
The next time the indistinct chatter became audible, she focused on it with a determination to learn more. Understand more. Confused by a prolonged mumbling, she finally caught a full sentence, another whisper: “Please come back to us!”
It didn’t scare her anymore. She was sure the voices came from outside the void, which meant there must be access to that place. If she could just find it, she might be able to get out.
Her surroundings renewed, and she was back on the highway. The sun, the desert, the car, and the RV returned. Despite the fog still shrouding the place, it had become less dense than the last time. She leaped toward the car, hunched over the passenger’s seat, and looked inside. The other person was a young man about her age. He remained unconscious like before, cuts and bruises covering him. His clothes and blond hair were matted with blood. A tiny hole in his right shoulder constantly spewed blood. As Jennifer kept staring at him, the back of her neck prickled. She knew him, but couldn’t remember how or where from.
Suddenly, her head jerked back, and a flood of memories rushed to her. Flashbacks flickered, revealing previously concealed images from deep within. She dropped to her knees and moaned as her brain turned to chaos with bright echoes and loud noises, but none were coherent. Barely able to catch her breath, she clutched her head. Shutting her eyes and clenching her teeth, she strained to find meaning in any of it.
* * *
The flurry of flashbacks subsided, and Jennifer’s mind relaxed. She found herself inside a car, the same wrecked hatchback—now undamaged and heading down the desert highway. A distant mountain loomed under the clear sky, and any trace of the fog had dissipated. The sun tingled against her skin, and the wind whipped through the rolled-down windows, carrying the scent of desert weeds.
She was the one driving the car. The same young man she had seen earlier sat next to her. His hazel eyes sparkled with concern as he watched her closely.
“Jen? Jen? You okay?” he asked, furrowing his brows.
She groaned in disorientation, taking shallow breaths. The steering wheel slipped from her grasp, and the car swerved sharply.
“Whoa, careful there!” he cried, rushing to take control of the wheel.
Jennifer forced herself to regain her composure, but the exact opposite happened. Her memories continued to occupy her mind. The more they did, the more she lost grip on her body. Her movements and emotions became instinctual as if a spirit possessed her.
“Talk to me, babe. Is everything all right?” he winced while he remained leaning close to her side. His frantic breaths, brushing against her skin, brought a familiar sensation. “Let me drive if you are not okay.”
“No. I’m fine,” Jennifer responded, fully losing control over her body.
Their backpacks, sturdy hiking boots, and the cameras stacked in the backseat reminded her of a trip to the mountain of Crimson Crest. They were on a mission to monitor wildlife activity in that area following reports of shady biodiversity changes. As field biologists, their job was to identify any conservation needs and notify the facility they worked for. She also remembered who that man was, Sam, her fiancé.
When the car steadied, Sam retreated to his position. “You had me worried for a sec, hon.”
“Sorry,” she said, scratching her head and glancing at him over her shoulder. “I guess my mind is still reeling from all the craziness last week.”
“I understand.” He gave her a thoughtful look, his tone turning serious. “I’m also trying to connect the dots.”
She let out a deep sigh. “I mean the fact that it’s been going on for so long and we had no idea about it just blows my mind.”
Jennifer understood what they were talking about. The facility she and Sam worked for had been secretly involved in illegal poaching activities in the area. They allowed the poachers to carry out their deeds and took a cut of the profits in return. Jennifer’s world had been torn apart when she learned about it last week. In fact, one of her supervisors, Mr. Declan, conducted the poaching himself. She and Sam had discovered the man’s work ID at the last poaching site while following the trail of an injured Sonoran pronghorn’s blood. Jennifer had been questioning the point of her dedication and wondering who else within the facility might be corrupt.
Silence stretched between them like a dark void.
“Jesus, just look at all the animals that have gone extinct because of their greed,” she fumed, barely containing her rage. “How could they do this? What is the facility for if it doesn’t care about the animals? This isn’t why I became a field biologist.”
Sam was about to say something but Jennifer went on. “And you know what the worst part is? I was recruited by that asshole Declan himself. I admired his achievements and looked up to him my whole life. But now, all I see are lies.”
“Jen!”
Jennifer felt her blood rushing to her face with each passing second. “And why are we even going on this stupid mission anyway? I’m sure our reports are going straight to those poachers’ ears. The animals in those mountains will also die no matter what we do to save them.”
“I know, hon.” Sam turned toward her. “But listen, it will stop now because I have a plan.”
“What?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “What plan?”
He smiled before replying, “You remember when Declan visited your office asking for the Redwood report on Tuesday?”
“How can I forget that?” she snarled. “My skin was crawling the whole time I was with that man.”
“Well, since he was busy with you, I took it as the perfect opportunity to sneak into his office, and put a little virus into his personal computer.”
“What?” Her grip on the steering wheel faltered again.
“Don’t freak out. He’ll never know a thing.” Sam tilted his head and raised his brows. “All the virus does is monitor his activities and feed it straight to me. So next time Declan makes any deals with the poachers, I’ll see it.”
“Jesus.”
“Relax, you know how nerdy I am when it comes to tech stuff.”
“No, no, no,” She whispered. “Why did you do that? There are countless things that could have gone wrong, you realize that? What if you were caught sneaking into his office? What if someday he finds out about it? What if he already knows and is planning to kill us on this trip right now? Maybe that’s why he is sending us to this remote location. Oh God!”
“Hey, hey, calm down. None of that will happen. Like I said, the virus is elusive—as if it doesn’t even exist. He could hire the best hackers in the world, yet it’s undetectable.”
“What if he does someday? You know how clever he is.”
“Trust me, Jen. I know what I am doing. If he were to suspect us, it would probably be over his ID, and he would have taken action by now.”
Jennifer nodded, realizing he was right. “But damn you, Sam. You should have told me about this.”
“Sweetheart, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry for no reason. I saw how distressed you were lately, so I wanted to do something about it.” A glint of determination flashed in his eyes. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
She reached over and squeezed his hand. “Baby, I’m not mad at you. But next time you plan something like this, don’t go solo, okay?”
“All right, I promise.” He tucked a loose strand of Jennifer’s hair behind her ear.
She turned toward him with a smile.
But then, a loud crack shattered the calm as the windshield splintered into a spiderweb of glass. Baffled, Jennifer gasped and looked in front of her. A person on top of a still RV came into view a few feet away. He had a sniper rifle aimed directly at them. Before Jennifer could react, another bullet pierced the windshield and lodged in Sam’s right shoulder. He cried in pain, clutching the wound as blood seeped through his fingers.
“Hang on!” Jennifer shouted.
She yanked the steering wheel to turn the car around. The tires screeched under her command. Midway through the turn, another shot rang out and the bullet hit one of the tires. The car lurched violently and spun in a dizzying 360-degree rotation. Shockwaves surged through Jennifer’s body as she realized all hope was lost. Her hands gripped the steering wheel while her head lolled back and forth, left and right. The glove compartment flew open, and its contents spilled around like confetti. Shards of metal and glass struck their faces while everything inside continued flying around in the chaos. The roof of the car imploded as metal groaned and twisted. Her breath caught in her throat before they crashed into the RV.
Darkness took over.
* * *
Jennifer stood beside the car, staring down at Sam’s lifeless body. Her chest constricted in pain and her soul crumbled into fragments, tears flowing down her cheeks.
The car faded into the haze. She was back in eternal oblivion. Unsure of how long she stayed that way, her senses returned when a voice echoed. Sam’s voice.
“Jennifer,” he spoke again, crisply now, less like an echo.
She looked up with watery eyes. Sam emerged a few feet from her.
“Sam?” she asked in a shaky voice.
Sam stared at her. His face was free of bruises, cuts, or emotion. “You shouldn’t be here!”
“I’m sorry . . . Oh God, I am so sorry. This shouldn’t have happened,” Jennifer choked, the tightness in her chest intensifying.
“It wasn’t your fault. You have nothing to apologize for. Declan did this to us. You have to go back and do the right thing.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere . . . I want to stay here with you!”
“You don’t understand.” Sam’s voice rose. “This place isn’t for you. You are running out of time.”
“I don’t care what this is,” Jennifer cried. “I can’t lose you again.”
The fog enveloped them. Sam began to disappear.
“No, wait, please . . .” Jennifer ran toward him.
“Goodbye, Jen. I’ll always love you!” his voice echoed one last time before vanishing with his image.
“Sam? Sam!” Jennifer shouted.
No response came. Tears welled in her eyes as an unshakable sadness settled in her bones.
A few moments later, the ground shook. A violent tremor rippled through the void. She looked around in confusion. The air crackled with energy. She flinched when a deep, guttural groan emanated from beneath her. Giant cracks opened and revealed dark, empty chasms. Her blood ran cold.
The shaking increased. She staggered, teetering on the edge of a gaping gorge. Huge, scaly tentacles emerged from the abyss, slithering toward Jennifer. Her heart palpitated and her hands grew clammy. The groaning increased as more tentacles appeared. When she lifted her gaze, two black dots hovered overhead. The same hissing sound she had heard earlier echoed again, closer this time. She made out a fleeting, indistinct shape that sent chills up her spine. Suddenly, it darted to one side at an incredible speed and caused the sand to erupt in cascading motion.
The fog thickened and wrapped itself around her. The pounding of her heart escalated when she caught a silhouette approaching, gradually growing larger and more defined. She strained to understand what it was. But then she had to jump to avoid its path as it came faster than expected—an entire house tumbled from above and crashed a few inches away from her. Debris scattered in every direction, and a jagged splinter pierced her arm. It was her house, the one she lived in with Sam.
She barely had time to react before another object—a car—fell from the sky, hurtling toward her. It was the hatchback. Carefully eluding the cracks, she ducked at the last moment and watched it land behind her with a deafening crash. Shards of glass flew past her, some scratching her cheek. She was about to run, but the vast ravines made her reconsider. Everywhere she looked, more objects descended from above.
Oh, God. She gasped. Her hair and clothes fluttered in the chaos.
The shaking threw her to the ground. More fissures snaked toward her. The tentacles almost reached her while the back dots reappeared in the sky, swooping down. She understood there was no escape. She put her hands over her head and squeezed her eyes shut in surrender.
Please make it stop. Please!
The world fell silent.
* * *
Jennifer opened her eyes. A white ceiling stretched overhead, lit up by bright fluorescent lights. She lay on a soft bed. Machines beeped and monitors surrounded her, displaying vital signs. An intravenous line was inserted into her left hand, while an oximeter was clipped onto the right hand’s forefinger. She breathed through a nasal cannula.
“Mom, did she . . . did she just wake up?” a young girl exclaimed, rising from her chair next to a middle-aged woman.
“Oh, lord!” The woman gaped at Jennifer, her voice trembling.
Jennifer stared at them before she said feebly, “Mom . . . Eve?”
“Oh, Jenny.” Jennifer’s mother, Agatha, smiled and ran her fingers over Jennifer’s forehead.
Jennifer’s sister, Eve, tearfully clasped her hands over her mouth.
“Sam? Where is Sam?” Jennifer asked.
Agatha’s face blanched as she stared at Eve. Eve mirrored her mother’s blank expression.
“Mom? Is—is he okay?” Jennifer forced the words out, coughing.
“Relax, honey. You need rest,” her mother said.
“No, tell me what happened,” Jennifer demanded.
After a pause, her mother said, “Do you remember an accident, sweetie? Sam and you were going to the Crimson Crest?”
She nodded.
“Sam, um, he didn’t survive it . . . oh, Jesus, it was horrible . . . And you went into a coma for three months.”
“What? Oh, no!” Jennifer sobbed.
“Mom, let’s not overwhelm her.” Eve stepped in. “She just woke up.”
Her mother turned toward Eve. “I’ll go and get someone.”
The room went quiet.
Jennifer’s heart wrenched as grief hollowed her out. “I’ll always love you too, Sam,” she whispered as tears spilled from the corners of her eyes, promising herself to complete the work they had left unfinished. She would expose the facility’s wrongdoings to the world and make sure that it never happened again.