Total darkness surrounded him. Jake couldn’t see or hear anything at first. He felt himself hurtling through the vast emptiness, the sense of weightlessness overwhelming him. He tried to scream in horror, but to his surprise, no sound came out. The sensation of free fall lasted only a few seconds, and then he found himself lying on his back on the solid ground. Quickly sitting up, he gazed around in astonishment. The sky displayed various shades of purple, with a massive thundercloud swirling like a vortex directly above him. The ground beneath him was a brownish-red hue, and sparse vegetation—or what appeared to be plants—dotted the desolate landscape. It was an alien world he found himself in.

What the hell? Where am I? This isn’t Earth!

Jake released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. As he attempted to inhale, a chilling realization dawned on him—the air in this alien realm was not breathable, at least not by human standards. Before he could get really scared by that fact, he felt a powerful force pluck him out of that strange world. Once more, he found himself in total darkness, the sense of free fall overwhelming his senses again.

After a few moments, the darkness dissipated, revealing a new environment. Instantly, he recognized that he was submerged underwater. The intense pressure enveloping him was so immense that he marveled at his body not being instantly crushed. With visibility limited to about a dozen feet, Jake watched luminous creatures gliding through the water around him. Some bore a resemblance to jellyfish, while others looked so bizarre he couldn’t even liken them to any earthly creatures he knew.

At least, they are not predatory.

As soon as he thought that, his sense of safety shattered as he noticed a malevolent being emerging from the shadows. The creature was so dark and stealthy that he only became aware of its presence when it was within three feet of him. The creature bared its jaw, displaying rows upon rows of large teeth. The monster aimed either to swallow him whole or take a massive bite out of him.

Just as the creature’s teeth were about to tear into him, he was once again yanked out of the water world by the unseen powerful force. After a few seconds of free-falling in total darkness, he suddenly landed in what seemed to be a cave. The walls were covered in a luminescent growth, bathing the cavern in an eerie greenish glow. Transparent cocoons, resembling replication pods, dangled from the high ceiling. Inside them were weird-looking creatures in different stages of development.

Jake found himself trapped in one of those cocoons.

In a panic, he attempted to punch the pod enclosing him, but his efforts were futile. The pod’s walls were composed of an elastic material that stretched outward when struck, only to quickly revert to their original shape. Jake thrashed his arms and legs, his movements sluggish and slow in the fluid-filled pod. Despite his efforts, he couldn’t break free from the cocoon. His clothes started to dissolve as if the liquid within the pod was acidic.

Suddenly, a black splotch materialized in the liquid, resembling ink spilled into the pod. However, it was no ink. Whatever it was, it seemed to be a living organism of some kind. Several more of these splotches emerged around Jake and began to drift toward him like jellyfish. They adhered to his body, causing intense pain wherever they made contact. The number of black creatures within the pod continued to grow, surrounding him from all directions until all he could see was darkness. In seconds, his entire body felt as though it were engulfed in flames. He had no idea what was happening, only aware of the excruciating pain engulfing him. At that moment, the agony he experienced was all he could think about.

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Suddenly, he experienced the familiar feeling of free fall, indicating that the unseen force had removed him from the unsettling cave. Within moments, his vision cleared, and he found himself hurtling toward the grassy ground. A second later, he collided with the earth with a heavy thud. He lay still for a moment, his gaze fixed on the sky. Which was blue and adorned with white clouds drifting across it. The grass beneath him was of the familiar green hue. It dawned on him that he had returned to his own world.

He turned his head slowly to look behind him, his gaze fixing on the Dark Void about fifteen yards away. Lying at the edge of the black circle of scorched earth, he came to the realization that the anomaly had ejected him much like it had done with the ex-human leaper before.

He had to distance himself from the Dark Void.

Jake tried to get up only to realize he lacked the strength to stand. His knees gave way, causing him to collapse to the ground again. He resorted to crawling, primarily using his hands to propel himself forward. His fingers dug into the earth, clutching at the blades of grass as he dragged his exhausted body along. He could see that his arms were wrinkled and blackened as if charred. He had no idea what had happened to his body or whether he would survive, but as long as he was alive and could move, he was determined to get as far away from the Dark Void as possible. He vaguely remembered how the anomaly ignored the beefed-up leaper after disgorging it. So, perhaps, now that the Dark Void was done with him, it might pay him no mind from now on as well. The anomaly’s pull no longer affected him, which supported his take. Still, just to be on the safe side, he wanted to put some distance between him and the Dark Void.

He kept crawling across the clearing, too weak to stand up. The world around him had reduced to the sensation of the gritty soil beneath his palms and the harsh pull of grass slipping through his fingers. He once again wondered what happened to his skin. It was as black as ink and had a strange rough texture to it. Whatever had happened to him in that pod had left him feeling frightened. He was exhausted and couldn’t think straight. A thought crossed his mind that he might be dying, so there probably was no point in straining himself trying to crawl away from the anomaly.

And still, he pushed on. With grim determination, he continued to drag himself across the clearing, inching closer and closer to the tree line. His legs, weakened and unsteady, kicked behind him, seeking purchase in the ground and pushing him forward. As he dragged himself across the unforgiving terrain, he heard a mutant scream somewhere behind him. With fear tightening its grip on his heart, he glanced over his shoulder, half expecting to see the mutant lurking nearby. To his surprise, there were no mutants behind him; the clearing was empty and devoid of any threats. What the heck? He had heard the mutant’s scream so clearly, as if the screamer was nearby. How come there weren’t any creatures anywhere to be seen in the clearing?

Jake shook his head, dismissing the thought for now. His immediate concern was more pressing. He needed to reach the relative safety of the trees where the anomaly’s pull wouldn’t be able to reach him if it suddenly changed its mind about him. He continued to crawl across the ground, inching closer to his goal. With a final desperate lunge, he finally reached the threshold of his destination. Dragging his body into the thick bushes lining the edge of the clearing, he slumped onto the ground, his strength completely spent. His body trembled with exhaustion. He expected to hear his breath come in ragged gasps, but there was nothing. He couldn’t hear himself breathing at all, as if he had already succumbed to death.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the world around him plunged into darkness. A moment before his consciousness completely shut down, a question arose in his mind: would he wake up?