[The Shift: City Within the Forest] - Chapter 1 - Sci-Fi Horror

Space was concealed behind a wall of darkness. Beneath it, only a tiny circle of light could be seen.

 

A faintly mechanical voice echoed from somewhere ahead... or above... or perhaps from the darkness itself.

 

"Subject. Your mission is to gather information at any cost. Do not fear death. Fear the consequences. You will face them should you fail to carry out your orders. Deployment to the epicenter will commence in ten... nine... eight..."

 

She wanted to say something, though she had no idea what.

 

The countdown reached zero.

 

A blinding flash swallowed everything.

 

Some time later, she found herself lying among dense vegetation. She didn't recognize any of the plants, yet she somehow knew they were ordinary Earth flora.

 

With some effort, she pushed herself upright. More bushes and brown tree trunks surrounded her on every side. She slowly rose to her feet, like someone recovering after a hard fall.

 

Lights caught her eye in the distance.

 

A city.

 

She started walking toward it, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do once she arrived.

 

After a while, the trees disappeared from the edges of her vision. For the first time, she lifted her eyes toward the grayish-purple sky. Countless tiny white specks were scattered across it, completing the strange picture without drawing attention away from it.

 

For some reason, she liked looking at the sky, though she wasn't even sure she liked anything at all.

 

Nothing could have pulled her away from that quiet evening canvas...

 

...until something moved.

 

"Hey!"

 

A teenage boy's voice broke the silence.

 

She immediately turned toward the sound.

 

A tall boy wearing a school uniform stood behind her. He was lean despite his height and looked to be about fourteen, roughly her age.

 

"Hi! I'm Perseus, though everyone usually calls me Percy. What's your name?"

 

"H-Hi... Um... Perseus. I..."

 

She hesitated.

 

Did she even have a name?

 

And why had she never wondered about it before?

 

"Are you okay?" the boy asked.

 

"I think so... It's just..." She frowned. "I... I don't know. By the way, where are we? What year is it? And... why did you come over to me?"

 

"Whoa..."

 

The boy instinctively took a cautious step backward.

 

After a long pause, he finally managed to ask,

 

"Are you... actually human? Or at least from our world?"

 

"I honestly have no idea," she admitted. "But I asked you several questions... and I'd like you to answer them."

 

She tried to sound as confident and intimidating as possible.

 

Instead, the boy quietly burst into laughter.

 

"Are you alright?" she asked, slightly annoyed by how long he had taken to answer, though she was also beginning to worry about him.

 

"It's nothing," he replied, still smiling. "You just remind me so much of Albert. He's just as funny whenever he tries to sound serious! Besides... you're already talking like me."

 

"Really? That's exactly what I was afraid of... By the way, who's Albert? I think we've drifted away from the topic."

 

"Alright then, Miss Bad Cop." He grinned. "Albert's my best friend. He's kind of a snob, but he's a good guy overall. He was with me just a little while ago, but he went home because it was getting late. I bet he's afraid of the dark!" Percy laughed before continuing. "Anyway, welcome to Ravenrich! The year is... 2025. Yeah, 2025. It's August... I think the 30th... no, wait, the 31st. As for me, I just wanted to meet you." He smiled warmly. "You look smart... and beautiful. I think we'll get along just fine."

 

He slowly stepped closer and held out his hand.

 

"Thank you... for the information. And for the offer."

 

For some reason, the thought of making a friend filled her with happiness. She timidly, yet confidently, shook his hand.

 

At that exact moment, a calm, low female voice came from behind her.

 

"Good evening, Perseus."

 

The girl turned toward the voice.

 

Standing there was a tall woman who appeared to be in her thirties or forties. Her eyes were unsettling, with black sclerae and white irises. Her skin was unnaturally pale, almost as though all the blood had drained from it. At a rough estimate, she stood nearly three meters tall.

 

Despite her extraordinary height, she was remarkably slender, making her look more elegant than monstrous. A gentle smile rested on her face, untouched by wrinkles despite her apparent age.

 

The girl couldn't have sworn she had ever seen an adult before, yet she somehow knew adults weren't supposed to look like... this.

 

Judging by his expression, Percy was just as startled by the woman's sudden appearance, though he recovered almost instantly.

 

"Good evening, ma'am."

 

Without taking her uneasy eyes off the towering figure, the newcomer quietly asked,

 

"Percy... um... who is she, if you don't mind me asking?"

 

"This is Esther Taylor, my math teacher," Percy answered.

 

The woman's smile widened, revealing rows of unnaturally sharp white teeth.

 

She let out a quiet laugh, almost to herself, before stopping as abruptly as she had begun, as though etiquette forbade laughing for more than a few seconds.

 

"Hello, Miss Taylor," the girl said hesitantly.

 

"Hello, dear." Esther's voice remained calm and friendly. "I see you've already become friends with my student. What's your name?"

 

"...To be honest, I don't know."

 

She sounded almost apologetic.

 

"That's alright." Esther smiled. "Let me guess... this is your first time here?"

 

"Yes!"

 

"And do... outsiders arrive here often?"

 

"Not very often," Esther replied. "But there are certainly a few living in this town."

 

"Wait," Percy suddenly interrupted. "People can get in from the outside? Then that means they can get out too!"

 

"They can get in," Esther answered calmly, "but getting out... is another matter entirely."

 

"The mechanism behind it remains unknown to me, and apparently to our scientists as well. Though, to be fair, I can't be completely certain of that."

 

"Don't jump to conclusions, Percy."

 

The boy could only nod in confusion.

 

"Now..." Esther turned back to the girl, curiosity glimmering in her eyes. "Let's get back to you."

 

"I'll take you to the police station so they can find somewhere for you to stay..."

 

She paused thoughtfully.

 

"...or, if you don't mind..."

 

Another brief pause.

 

"...I could adopt you myself."

 

The girl fell silent.

 

The woman clearly knew a great deal about this place and could answer many of her questions.

 

On the other hand...

 

She looked terrifying.

 

But were those fears really justified?

 

Percy doesn't seem afraid of her at all...

 

Maybe black-and-white eyes and being three meters tall are perfectly normal in this place.

 

"I'd like that," she finally answered, gathering as much determination as she could.

 

"Good choice," Percy said with a grin. "Miss Taylor is really kind and caring... even if she's a little boring sometimes."

 

The woman shot him a playfully irritated look.

 

"Right... sorry," Percy muttered sheepishly.

 

"Then shall we?" the girl asked.

 

"Of course," Esther replied.

 

"Can I walk with you?" Percy asked hopefully.

 

"Thank you, Perseus," Esther said, "but isn't it getting rather late?"

 

"I already texted my dad. I've still got some time."

 

"Excellent." Esther nodded. "Then there's no reason to waste it."

 

She asked Percy to escort the girl while she made a phone call, promising to catch up with them in a moment.

 

She raised a small communicator to her ear.

 

"Control, this is Taylor. The target has been secured. Proceeding to phase two."