Deep breaths. Just chill. This is going to be great, there's literally no way it won't be. So just keep things under wraps. You can do this man. You’ve been waiting for 24 years now, you can do a couple hours.

These shoes are nice. Got that cool click on the tiles. Gloves too, I feel so slick.. Could do without the button up, but if not now when right? 

The man staring back at me in a windows reflection was almost presentable, mop of black hair not looking greasy for the first time in forever, deep brown eyes almost passing for mysterious, and a big hooked nose making me look like some minor villain. Still, it looked better then my usual vibe of ‘aspiring to homelessness’ 

Everything should be fine… So just a tiny sniff.. Okay I still got the cologne scent.. Everything's flying. Gonna be smooth sailing.

I caught a glimpse of blonde hair whipped into smooth waves. Weaving through the crowd of formal suits and dresses until there was a clear, unbroken line of vision between me and him. 

How is it possible that I had absolute certainty this would happen, and yet am still so fucking disappointed it did. 

“Nerian. It's… I see you made it.” 

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Castel.” 

Should I shake his hand..? No. I don’t need to get sick on a day like this.

“Just make sure to keep your mouth shut.” 

“Oh? Rich coming from the screamer.” 

“Ah right, and for the sake of everyone I really hope you’ve brought enough nose plugs for the whole class.” 

“You sure you want to start making a fuss? Be a shame if your girlfriend caught you doing something unbecoming.” 

“Of course, speaking of I thought you were gonna bring your girlfriend with you, so is the sock in your pocket or on your foot?” 

“I expected you'd be dead in your sleep from downing those sleeping pills you love so much. Putting in the effort to tie a rope today?” “Everyone's hoping you’ll find a dumpster to choke and die in.” “Keep talking trash, it's all you're good at.” “At least I’m good at something-” 

“Hey! We’re boarding. Everyone together.” 

Shit, got distracted.

I swung my leg for Castel’s ankle, but he was already scuttling away like a scared bug. At least this will be over soon. Just a few hours. Just ignore him… 

The train car was surprisingly crowded. Nearly a full two dozen people qualified for this trip and these things weren't really made for groups. I was lucky enough to snag one of the seats. Bumping shoulders with some quiet guy and trying to not let my eyes get dragged over to the eyesore. 

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

But even If I could just close my eyes, I could still hear his annoying know it all voice. It was some squeaking chick this time, asking him all kinds of inane questions about rifts and stuff. What the hell was she even playing at? Everyone had to score in the 90th percentile just to get here… And why the fuck is he playing along?! 

Chill. Calm down. I’m sure I could make that piece of shit eat his teeth. But not right now. No matter how hard it is. I gotta keep things together. Just for now. Soon. Soon this won't matter. 

What am I gonna do once this goes off anyways..? Well assuming I make it. There's definitely no guarantee about that. But no one on the internet has even tried so far. No headlines or even warnings. Was I gonna be the first? Never thought I’d be famous for anything… I can see it now. ‘stupid college kid gets himself killed.’ What a legacy… 

Jesus christ he’s still fucking going. What kind of malignant sludge is running between those ears that he’s doing a lecture in the middle of the most important train ride of his fucking life? He must think he’s so clever and aloof not caring while everyone's high strung? Asshole.

I had to look out the window, thankfully the destination was already in view. A huge concrete rectangle. Brutalist as conceptually possible, to the point of impracticality. It was just a big box. No windows. Not a single standing building for blocks and blocks around it. Roads on both sides of it without a vehicle in sight. 

Now if only it was getting closer faster… 

---

The tour guide was talking again, it's not like I could ignore the woman in a too big lab coat when I was standing right up in front, next to her. I tried my best to look interested. But it was all crap about internships and applications. But annoyingly excited women doing their jobs was nothing compared to the piece of trash all but rubbing up against me to the left. 

I didn’t even glance in his direction. I wasn’t sure if I could resist the urge to punch Castel in the throat if I looked at him. So just don’t look at him. There's more important things going on. 

“-And with that, let's get going! We have a live test starting very soon!” 

Just one foot in front of the other. Like I've been doing my whole life. Ignore those tingles all around your body. That thoughtless demand of your legs to start sprinting. Almost there. Just keep it together. A couple minutes. Max. 

I caught a glimpse before a full 60 seconds had passed. Literal feet thick glass without a smudge letting me see into the wide, square room. It was something like a lake, or a pool. Some kind of fluid. Framed by flashes of purple lightning surging in slow motion. And constantly shaking with a pattern of ripples over its surface. 

My breath caught and I had to try very hard to swallow. A Rift. Just like the textbooks and lectures described it. But I'm a visual learner. Just looking at it inspired fantasies. It was something out of books and movies, nothing real looked like that, and definitely. It existed. And that's something that no amount of news headlines or shitty phone cameras could really make me FEEL until this moment. My eyes were starting to water a bit even.

Despite my best efforts at a poker face. I could feel the edges of my lips perking up. Oh well. It wasn’t the worst thing to look a little excited after all… 

We all shuffled inside the room through what looked like a bank vault door. It wasn’t just us in here of course, besides the tour guide, there were at least four guards. Riot gear from head to toe, caressing assault rifles in their hands with at least four more guns visible on their persons. Seemed kinda overkill… And pointless.

And right besides the rift itself was a simple clear plastic box with a little extension bit attached. There was a rat inside, I guess that was the subject of the experiment. The scientist lady/tour guide was going off again, explaining something or other about the testing process. But I just couldn’t rip my attention away from the rift. 

It was so big, probably as wide as a highway, and even taller than it was wide. It honestly looked more like a barrier than an entrance. Everything about it was just ‘dont touch me’. But that was the exact opposite of what every fiber in my body was screaming at me to do. Even if it swallowed me up forever, its not like I had any home to go back too. 

“Excuse me ma’am. Would it be okay if we got closer to the experiment?” 

The disgustingly familiar tone of Castel drew my attention back to the here and now. What I was supposed to be doing. And tension started to build in my chest. 

“As much as we respect our guests from Orion university, there’s no way we could get any closer, even this much could be a ris-” 

The woman cut off, or I stopped hearing her as my feet shot into action, arms too, pumping the air as I lunged forward. When was the last time I ran as fast as I could anywhere? It was more like falling then running. Falling towards that big black pool. 

There was a sudden rush of animation in the room, the woman screaming something in surprise. Reactions from the other members of the trip. Yelling from the armed men shuffling towards the Rift. And the second pair of sneakers sprinting across the feet of concrete between us and the way out. 

But it was slow, surprisingly slow. Everyone was reacting kinda late. By the time the closest guard took a step I was already halfway there. Was I fast? Or did they really just not expect some dumb kids to make a run for it. I didn’t have time to think about it. I just kept sprinting. 

Some part of my instinct told me to slow down before I ran into the pool of black, opaque ripples. Overridden. Go even faster. I’m almost there. Almost out of this pathetic, papery world. 

The last thing I heard before the rift swallowed me up was a deafening bang.