Chapter 2: The Man from the Stars
“I shouldn’t be here,” I thought, blinking rapidly as I tried to make sense of my surroundings.
The spacecraft hummed quietly around me, its familiar white walls and sleek metal edges exactly where they should be. But something was… different. The constellations outside the window were strange, twisting into patterns I didn’t recognize, like an unfamiliar puzzle that didn’t belong in the sky. Where had all the familiar stars gone?
I swallowed hard, my throat dry, and glanced around the cabin. The other passengers were still asleep, their heads slumped against their seats, oblivious to the fact that we might not be where we were supposed to be.
My heart raced as the events from earlier rushed back: the ship stopping, the world shifting, the strange man with the stormy eyes. And the bracelet—still glowing softly on my wrist—was at the center of it all.
I touched the charm, feeling its warmth seep into my skin. The man had mentioned something about crossing a boundary, but I hadn’t understood what he meant. Had I really crossed into another time? Or… another universe?
Just then, a soft chime echoed through the cabin, and I heard a voice from the front of the ship.
“Attention, passengers. We are experiencing a minor temporal displacement. Please remain calm as we work to return to our original trajectory.”
A temporal displacement? My heart pounded louder. So this wasn’t just a dream. Something had actually gone wrong.
The bracelet pulsed again, almost as if it was reacting to the announcement. I stared at it, my mind spinning. What are you?
But before I could dwell on it any longer, I felt a presence behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and I turned, expecting to see one of the flight attendants coming to check on me.
Instead, I saw him.
The man from the field.
My breath caught in my throat as he stepped forward, his tall, broad frame casting a shadow over me. His eyes were just as intense as I remembered, deep and stormy, like the sea before a storm. He was wearing the same strange mix of ancient and futuristic clothing, the fabric flowing softly as he moved. He seemed completely out of place in the sterile, modern cabin, and yet… somehow, he belonged.
“How did you—” I stammered, my voice barely a whisper.
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he glanced around the cabin, his eyes scanning the sleeping passengers, as if making sure no one else was awake. Then, he looked at me, his gaze sharp and piercing.
“You’re not safe here,” he said quietly, his voice low and urgent. “You need to come with me. Now.”
I blinked, confusion mixing with fear. “What do you mean? I—”
“There’s no time to explain.” He reached out, taking my hand in his, and I felt that same strange current run through me, like an electric shock. His grip was firm but not forceful, as though he was trying to reassure me even as the urgency in his voice grew stronger. “If you stay here, you’ll be caught in the rift.”
The rift? I didn’t know what he meant, but something about the way he said it—the seriousness in his eyes—made me believe him.
I glanced at the bracelet again, the charm glowing faintly against my skin. Whatever was happening, it was tied to this, and somehow, this man knew how to stop it.
“Okay,” I whispered, my voice shaking.
Without another word, he pulled me to my feet, guiding me toward the back of the ship. The passengers around us remained blissfully unaware, their bodies slumped in their seats, as if frozen in time. My heart pounded as we moved, my legs feeling shaky beneath me.
When we reached the rear of the ship, he stopped in front of a small, inconspicuous door. He pressed his hand against the panel beside it, and to my shock, the door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a dark, narrow corridor beyond.
“This way,” he said, leading me through the door.
The corridor was tight, the walls pressing in on either side, and the further we walked, the colder the air became. My breath came in shallow gasps as we moved deeper into the ship, my mind racing with questions. Who was this man? Why was he helping me? And why did I feel this strange connection to him?
Finally, we reached another door at the end of the corridor. The man turned to me, his expression unreadable. “What’s happening to you—it’s dangerous. But it’s not your fault.”
I stared at him, my heart hammering in my chest. “What do you mean?”
He sighed softly, his stormy eyes softening just a little. “That bracelet. It’s a key, of sorts. A relic from an ancient civilization that once had the power to travel through time and space. But the power comes with a cost. It’s unstable. If you don’t control it, it will pull you through time, whether you want it to or not.”
I looked down at the bracelet, fear gripping me. “I didn’t ask for this. I don’t even know how I got it.”
He nodded. “I know. But now that you have it, you’re in danger. The rift—it’s already started.”
Before I could ask what that meant, the ship jolted violently, throwing me against the wall. I gasped, clutching at the man’s arm to steady myself. His hand wrapped around mine, warm and reassuring.
“Stay close,” he said, his voice low and calm, despite the chaos unfolding around us.
As the ship shuddered again, the lights flickered, plunging us into darkness for a brief, terrifying moment. I clung to him, the sensation of weightlessness creeping over me again, like the world was starting to dissolve.
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, everything went still.
I opened my eyes to find that we were no longer in the corridor.
We were outside, standing on the edge of a massive cliff, the wind whipping around us, carrying the scent of the sea. Below us, waves crashed against the rocks, their rhythmic roar filling the air. The sky above was dark, the twin moons casting a silvery glow over the landscape.
I gasped, my heart pounding in my chest. “How… how did we get here?”
The man didn’t answer right away. Instead, he released my hand and stepped closer to the edge of the cliff, his eyes scanning the horizon. “The rift is opening,” he murmured, more to himself than to me.
I took a shaky step toward him, the ground beneath my feet feeling unstable. “What is this place? Where are we?”
He turned to me, his gaze softening again. “This is where it all began,” he said quietly. “And where it will end, if we’re not careful.”
I frowned, confusion swirling in my chest. “I don’t understand.”
He took a step closer, his presence calming and magnetic. “You will,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “But for now, you need to trust me.”
I stared into his eyes, the stormy depths drawing me in. Despite the fear and confusion, there was something about him—something that made me want to believe him. To trust him.
And in that moment, standing on the edge of the world, with the wind howling around us and the unknown stretching out before me, I did.
He reached out, his hand brushing against my cheek, and I felt a warmth spread through me, like the sun breaking through the clouds. His touch was gentle, but there was an intensity behind it, a connection that went deeper than I could explain.
“I’ve waited a long time for this moment,” he said softly, his voice tinged with something I couldn’t quite place. Regret? Sadness? Hope?
Before I could ask what he meant, the ground beneath us rumbled again, and the sky above began to fracture, cracks of light splintering through the darkness.
The man’s expression darkened. “It’s too late.”
He grabbed my hand, pulling me back from the edge as the world around us began to break apart. The rift was opening, and it was pulling us with it.
***
As the world dissolved into chaos, the last thing I saw was the man’s stormy eyes, filled with both determination and a secret he hadn’t yet told me. The bracelet on my wrist pulsed wildly, and then—everything went black again.