Ethan Reyes sat in the cramped kitchen of his Brooklyn apartment, his fingers tapping idly on the weathered surface of his laptop. The buzz of the city filtered through the open window, a distant symphony of car horns, voices, and the occasional rumble of the subway. Outside, the sky was overcast, promising rain later in the day. A typical Thursday in New York.
He leaned back in his chair, glancing at the clock on the wall: 9:15 AM. He was supposed to start his shift at the tech startup at 10, but the thought of sitting in a windowless office for another eight hours made him sick. The last few weeks had been especially grating—staring at endless lines of code that never quite worked the way they were supposed to, dealing with a boss who had the social skills of a brick wall, and co-workers who seemed to care more about getting retweets than actual productivity.
Ethan had been thinking about quitting for months, but he hadn’t yet worked up the nerve. Jobs in New York were hard to come by, especially ones in tech, and he knew he’d probably regret it. Still, he couldn’t help but feel like he was wasting his life. The steady, familiar ache in his chest reminded him of that every day.
"One more day," he muttered to himself, rubbing his temples as if to chase away the thoughts. "Just get through one more day."
His phone buzzed on the table, lighting up with a notification. A quick glance at the screen told him it was from Jen, his roommate and best friend since college. Ethan swiped the screen and read the message:
"Yo, you up? Wanna grab lunch at the new ramen place today? 1 PM?"
He smiled despite himself, replying quickly:
"Yeah, I’m in. Need something to break up the monotony."
Jen had been a godsend since they moved to the city together two years ago. While Ethan had been stuck in his dead-end job, Jen had soared, landing a gig with an up-and-coming design agency. She was always bouncing from one project to the next, full of energy and ideas. They balanced each other out: her spontaneity, his pragmatism. If it weren’t for her, Ethan wasn’t sure how he would’ve survived the grind.
His phone buzzed again.
"Sweet. See you at 1. Btw, did you hear about the weird light thing over the Hudson last night?"
Ethan blinked. He hadn’t been paying much attention to the news lately—too caught up in work and a general sense of apathy about the world. He tapped the notification to open up the news article Jen had sent him. A few lines in, his brow furrowed.
"Mysterious Flash of Light Over Manhattan: Experts Baffled."
The article was sparse on details, mostly speculation. According to witnesses, a bright, vertical beam of light had appeared in the night sky for a brief moment, vanishing as quickly as it had arrived. Scientists were investigating, but there were no clear answers. Some thought it was a meteor or atmospheric disturbance, while others leaned into the more bizarre theories—aliens, government experiments, or even a sign of the apocalypse. Classic New York, always a conspiracy around the corner.
He shrugged and tossed the phone onto the table. "Just another day in the city," he muttered to himself. He closed his laptop, deciding to push the idea of work out of his mind for a while. Maybe a walk before his shift would help clear his head.
----------------------------------------
The streets of Brooklyn were quieter than usual that morning. Ethan zipped up his jacket as he walked, the cool autumn air brushing against his skin. He found himself wandering aimlessly, trying to avoid the inevitable trek toward the subway and the office. The sounds of the city hummed around him—life moving forward as it always did, even if he felt stuck in place.
A coffee shop caught his eye on the corner of the street. The sign above the door read "Grounded," one of those trendy places that seemed to attract freelancers and people who talked about their startup ideas more than actually working on them. He hesitated for a moment, then decided he could use the caffeine.
Inside, the smell of freshly brewed coffee hit him like a comforting blanket. The place was half-empty, a few early-morning regulars typing away on their laptops or staring at their phones. Ethan ordered his usual black coffee and found a seat by the window, where he could watch the world go by.
As he waited for his drink, his thoughts drifted to his parents. They had moved out of New York a year ago, leaving behind the city for a quieter life upstate. His father had retired from the NYPD after 30 years, and his mother had finally convinced him to trade the chaos of the city for a small house near the Catskills. Ethan couldn’t blame them—New York was a lot, even for him, and he’d grown up here. But something about their departure had left a hole in him, one he hadn’t quite been able to fill.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
His phone buzzed again. This time, it was a message from his mother:
"Hey honey, just checking in. How’s work? We miss you! You should come visit soon. Dad says the fishing up here is great this time of year. Love you."
Ethan felt a pang of guilt. He hadn’t visited in months. He tapped out a quick reply, promising to visit soon. As much as he loved his parents, there was something about the quiet, rural life they had chosen that made him uneasy. He needed the noise, the energy of the city—even if it wore him down sometimes.
His coffee arrived, and he took a sip, savoring the warmth. The sky outside had darkened, and a light drizzle began to fall. He watched as people hurried past, umbrellas popping open like colorful mushrooms.
His phone buzzed again, but this time it wasn’t a message. A news alert flashed across the screen, and Ethan frowned as he read the headline:
"Unexplained Object Detected in Earth’s Atmosphere – Scientists Puzzled."
Ethan clicked the link, skimming the article. The story was still developing, but early reports indicated that a large object had appeared in low-Earth orbit sometime during the early morning hours. It wasn’t a satellite, and it wasn’t any known man-made object. Scientists were scrambling to figure out what it was, but for now, they were keeping quiet about its size and purpose.
He sighed and set the phone down, leaning back in his chair. "More weird shit. What else is new?"
As the rain pattered against the window, he couldn’t help but feel a creeping sense of unease. Maybe it was the stress of work, or maybe it was the strange, inexplicable events that seemed to be piling up lately. Either way, something about today felt off.
----------------------------------------
By noon, the rain had picked up, turning into a steady downpour. Ethan checked his watch as he stepped off the subway near his office, already regretting agreeing to meet Jen for lunch. His jacket was soaked, and his sneakers squelched with every step. He hurried down the sidewalk, dodging puddles and avoiding the crowds under awnings.
The ramen place Jen had picked was a small hole-in-the-wall spot on a side street, but the smell of broth and spices hit him before he even reached the door. He stepped inside, shaking off the rain as the warmth of the restaurant enveloped him.
Jen was already there, sitting at a booth near the back, waving him over with a grin. "About time you showed up!" she called, her bright blue hair standing out against the muted tones of the place.
"Sorry, subway was packed," Ethan replied, sliding into the booth across from her.
Jen was already halfway through a bowl of ramen, chopsticks in hand. "You look like you’ve had a day," she said, raising an eyebrow.
Ethan sighed. "Work's been hell. And on top of that, the news has been weird lately. Did you see that article about the object in orbit?"
Jen nodded, her eyes widening slightly. "Yeah, I saw that. It’s freaky, right? First the light over the Hudson, now this? What do you think it is? Space junk? Alien spaceship?"
"Probably just some malfunctioning satellite," Ethan said, though even as he said it, he wasn’t entirely sure he believed it.
Jen smirked. "Come on, Reyes. Where’s your sense of wonder? I thought you liked sci-fi."
"I do, but I don’t need it bleeding into real life."
"Maybe real life’s finally catching up to the movies," Jen said, slurping a noodle. "Imagine if it was aliens, though. Like, how crazy would that be? They show up, and we’re all like, 'Hey, we’ve been making movies about you guys for decades.'"
Ethan couldn’t help but laugh. Jen had always had that effect on him—making him see the lighter side of things, no matter how heavy his mood. "Yeah, right. They’d probably just get pissed off about how inaccurate our movies are and leave."
"Or they’d beam us all up and make us watch every Star Wars movie on repeat as punishment," Jen added.
They spent the next hour joking, talking about work, and avoiding the heavier topics that had been lurking in the background of their lives. By the time they finished lunch, Ethan felt lighter—like the weight of the morning had lifted, even if only temporarily.
As they stepped outside into the rain, Jen checked her phone. Her eyes widened, and she let out a low whistle. "Dude, you gotta see this," she said, turning the screen toward Ethan.
It was a live news feed. The headline read:
"Large Anomalous Object Now Stationary in Earth’s Orbit – Military on High Alert."
The screen showed grainy footage of what looked like a massive, dark shape in the sky. It was hard to make out any details, but the size of the object was undeniable. It hung in the atmosphere, a silent, looming presence.
Ethan felt his stomach twist. "That’s not normal."
"No shit," Jen muttered, staring at the screen.
They watched in silence for a few moments before Jen spoke again. "You think... I mean, you think this is serious? Like, should we be worried?"
Ethan didn’t know how to answer. Part of him wanted to brush it off as just another strange news story that would blow over by tomorrow. But another part of him—the part that felt the chill run down his spine—couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was happening. Something they couldn’t stop.
"I don’t know," he finally said, his voice quiet. "But I’ve got a bad feeling about this."
They stood in the rain, watching as the world began to change, and for the first time in years, Ethan felt the weight of something far greater than himself pressing down on him.
Something was coming. Something they weren’t ready for.
And it was already too late to stop it.