What Was Left BehindThe air smelled bad, like burnt stuff and a sharp smell, like after a storm but no rain. We walked slowly to some tents, holding our guns ready. The city around us was broken and quiet. It had been many days since things changed. Days of walking on streets that looked like broken bones, buildings twisted in strange ways. Days of being very quiet. Until now.A woman with very big eyes and a child holding her leg came out of a tent. Her clothes were ripped, her face was dirty, but her eyes showed something – maybe hope, or just a feeling of needing help.“Who… who are you?” Her voice shook, almost a whisper.I put my gun down a little, trying to look calm even though I wasn’t. “We’re alive. Like you.”More people came out of the tents – an old man with a stick to help him walk, a young couple holding each other, and an old woman holding a picture. They looked at us with some happiness but also like they didn't trust us.“Did you… did you see it?” the young

The Enemy's MarkSleep was just seeing glowing eyes and hearing a voice in my head: You are the key. Morning showed tired faces.I walked around, giving tea and saying quiet things. My mind was trying to put the strange things together. The doll, tools, tree… there was a line connecting them. The Old Man looked at the cold fireplace. “The birds, girl,” he said quietly. “They don’t sing right. Like the song is wrong. And some songs… I never heard them before.”It was a small thing, but Hemlock knew the woods well, so it felt important. Another piece.The woman was giving out food and told me something else. “The water, Kane. When I went to get water, it looked shiny. Like oil, but with rainbow colors. Then it was gone.”Rainbow shine. Glowing tree. Light from the ground. Colors that weren’t normal.A pattern was starting: small changes to what was real, weird things mixed in with what we knew. Not just things disappearing; things were changing.Michael, still quiet, pointed at

Putting the Pieces TogetherSeeing Ben’s empty, blue eyes were stuck in my head. Martha, Elias’s kind Martha, moved like a puppet with those strange figures… it was a real nightmare. The ground still shook, and the twisted trees looked like monster hands reaching for the sky. We had to get away, but seeing our lost friends made us freeze, a scary warning of what could happen to us.“We can’t fight them here!” I shouted over the weird noises of the changing world. “We need to go back, get ourselves together!”Tony, looking pale but determined, nodded. “He’s right. They’re too strong for us here.” He pulled Elias, who was just standing there, looking at Martha. “Elias, come on!”We ran back to the part of the woods that still looked normal. The blue light went away behind us, like a bad eye closing. The air here was still, the trees looked like they always did, but we all felt really scared.Back in the mess hall, it was very quiet and sad. Elias sat with his head down, crying.

Pieces of a Lost WorldThe blue mark on Gareth’s arm disappeared, but we were all still scared, Kane. It felt like a cold weight in our stomachs. The strange things happening weren't just whispers anymore; they were shouting at us.I watched Darren. He’d been quiet since the motel, always looking worried, like he was fighting something inside his head. His broken memories seemed to bother him a lot. Now, when Gareth told us what happened, Darren looked far away, like he could see something we couldn’t.“Did it… feel like anything you’ve felt before, Darren?” I asked. Maybe his weird remembering could help us understand this.He blinked and looked back at us slowly. He shook his head, looking confused. “No… not really. But… there’s something… a feeling…” He stopped, rubbing his head.“Like what?” you asked softly, but your eyes were looking right at him.Darren waited, looking around. “Like… a lost rule. Something… broken.”A lost rule? Something broken? That sounded strange an

Seeing Things DifferentlyShaky light on worried faces around the bright map. Red lights flashed, showing trouble spreading. Kane looked hard, telling people what to do, a bit worried.My clear memories showed a scary pattern Kane didn't get. She saw now; I remembered long ago.Kane stopped talking. "Another dark spot, Tony. No why, no answer... gone." Her upset voice made me feel bad. I knew that lost feeling."Kane," I said, my quiet voice was clear. Everyone looked. I usually just helped, but the memories needed saying.She turned, tired but a bit sharp. "What, Tony? No time.""Not just happening, Kane," I said carefully. "It's happened before."People didn't believe me. Petrov laughed. "Before? Nothing like this in the books.""Books not complete," I said back, looking at Kane. She looked unsure. "Some truths hidden. Some things are forgotten.""Forgotten things?" Sarah looked surprised. "What are you talking about?"I went to the map, pointing at a dark spot. "Look ho