The following morning, Ethan woke with a start, his mind still clouded by half-remembered dreams. Something was off. The world felt quieter than usual, like the city itself was holding its breath. He blinked a few times, willing himself to shake off the feeling. He glanced at his phone. Another string of notifications, mostly news alerts, piling up from where he’d left things the night before.

Rolling over, he groaned and checked the first one.

“Object in Earth’s Orbit Grows Closer; Scientists Scramble for Explanation.”

His stomach twisted. The headline was bold and foreboding, but he figured it was just more panic-baiting. They hadn’t figured out what the cube was yet, and the world was good at jumping to worst-case scenarios. Still, something about the news gave him a sense of dread that wouldn’t go away. Yesterday’s unease hadn’t just lingered—it had deepened.

As he got up, he noticed a strange stillness in the air. The usual hum of the city that filtered in from the street was muted. Fewer cars, no distant construction sounds. He pulled back the blinds and looked outside. The streets below were far quieter than usual, with fewer people rushing around. The sky above, however, was a different story.

Hovering ominously in the gray sky, partially obscured by the dense clouds, was the Cube.

It was larger than the news had made it out to be. Far larger. The sense of scale was impossible to describe from the images on TV. Now that it was closer, it filled a significant part of the sky, like a dark monolith suspended in midair. The surface was metallic, but something about it looked alive—smooth but constantly shifting in imperceptible ways, as though it was responding to its surroundings. It was utterly silent, unnervingly still.

Ethan’s pulse quickened, and for a moment, he just stood there, transfixed.

It didn’t make any sense. How could something so massive just appear and move into the atmosphere with no explanation? No propulsion? Nothing? He stared at it for a long time, his mind racing. There were no answers. Only fear and awe.

He grabbed his phone and shot a quick message to Jen.

Ethan: Did you see the Cube? It’s… huge. What the hell is happening?

Jen replied almost instantly.

Jen: Yeah, dude. Been watching it all morning. Freaking people out everywhere. News says it’s hovering over all the major cities, not just here.

Ethan: It’s closer than yesterday. Is the government saying anything?

Jen: Nothing useful. NASA’s giving their “we’re working on it” routine. Rumor is the military’s on standby, but they’re not making any moves. What the hell can they do anyway?

Ethan stared at her last message for a while. It was true. What could anyone do against something like that? He could almost hear Jen’s voice in his head, her usual bravado tempered by the reality of what they were facing. This wasn’t like anything they had ever seen.

It hit him then—something about the Cube didn’t feel random. It was too precise, too calculated. Whatever this thing was, it wasn’t a mistake. It was here on purpose.

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By noon, the city was teetering on the edge of chaos. Ethan had made it to his office, though a part of him had considered staying home. The streets were eerily quiet for New York, but the sense of unease was palpable. People were glued to their phones, watching live streams, news updates, and videos of the Cube from different angles. No one was focused on work. Ethan’s co-workers moved like zombies, more fascinated by the sky than by the endless lines of code they were supposed to be writing.

As Ethan sat at his desk, trying to lose himself in mundane tasks, a notification from Jen buzzed his phone.

Jen: You at work?

Ethan: Yeah, but no one’s doing anything. You?

Jen: Nope. I called in. Figured it’s not like I’m getting fired if the world’s ending, right?

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Ethan: Always an optimist.

Jen: Meet me at Prospect Park later? I want to see the Cube up close. The news is saying the smaller ones are dropping already.

Ethan frowned at the message. He hadn’t heard that yet. Smaller cubes? He switched over to a news feed and scrolled through the latest updates.

Sure enough, there were now reports of smaller cubes breaking off from the larger one, dispersing across the globe. The media didn’t know what to call them yet—“fragments,” “drones,” or simply “secondary cubes”—but they were appearing everywhere, descending from the larger Cube at various intervals. These smaller cubes were the size of large vehicles and appeared to be dropping into urban centers, farmlands, forests, and even oceans.

Some people had reported seeing them pulse with a faint, otherworldly light upon landing, but there were no consistent reports of danger—yet.

The government was urging people to stay inside, though there was no official word on what to expect next.

Ethan looked up from his screen and glanced at his co-workers. They were all doing the same thing—checking their phones, scrolling, murmuring to each other. The office had become a ghost town of half-attentive workers, more interested in the sky than their tasks. Everyone was waiting, wondering what the Cube’s next move would be.

He texted Jen back.

Ethan: Sure. I’ll head over after work.

She responded with a thumbs-up emoji, but it did little to ease his anxiety. Meeting Jen out in the open, with the Cube looming overhead and the smaller fragments falling, didn’t exactly sound like the best idea, but he needed a distraction. Maybe being with her would make the situation feel less surreal.

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By the time Ethan reached Prospect Park, the sun had started to set, casting an orange glow over the city. The air felt thick, oppressive, like the atmosphere was charged with static. A faint buzzing filled the sky—a kind of hum that vibrated in the back of his skull, just on the edge of hearing. He wasn’t sure if it was real or if his nerves were playing tricks on him.

Jen was waiting by the entrance, hands shoved into the pockets of her hoodie. Her blue hair stood out like a beacon in the fading light. She gave him a tight smile as he approached.

“Glad you showed up. For a second, I thought you were gonna bail.”

“Thought about it,” Ethan admitted. “But I couldn’t sit inside anymore. It’s… weird out here.”

Jen nodded, her gaze flicking up toward the sky. “You’re telling me. This whole day feels like we’re living in someone else’s reality.”

Ethan followed her gaze. The Cube was still there, massive and dark, but now there were dozens of smaller cubes drifting down from it. They were barely visible against the clouds, but he could spot their faint silhouettes, moving slowly as they descended toward the city.

“People are saying those things landed in Times Square,” Jen said. “Some in Queens, too. They’re all over the place.”

“What are they doing?” Ethan asked, though he wasn’t sure she had an answer.

Jen shook her head. “Not much, from what I’ve heard. Some of them just hit the ground and sit there. Others give off these weird vibrations. No one knows what the hell they’re for.”

Ethan felt his phone buzz in his pocket, but he ignored it. Right now, being outside, staring up at the colossal Cube and its smaller fragments, felt more important than whatever was on his screen.

They walked deeper into the park, the familiar sights of trees and winding paths offering a brief illusion of normalcy. But every so often, Ethan would catch a glimpse of something unnatural—a shimmering light in the distance, a faint pulse of energy coming from one of the fallen cubes near the park’s edge. He kept his distance, but Jen was fascinated.

“Do you think it’s some kind of signal?” she asked, her voice hushed. “Like… a message?”

“A message from who? Or what?”

“Whatever sent these things. The Cube’s not just hovering up there for fun. It’s doing something.”

Ethan didn’t have a good response. He had a sinking feeling that she was right, but the truth of it terrified him. The Cube wasn’t just sitting there—it had a purpose. And now that it had begun releasing its smaller parts, that purpose was starting to take shape.

They stopped near one of the park’s ponds, the surface reflecting the orange and purple hues of the sky. A faint glow pulsed from somewhere nearby—another cube, no doubt.

Jen crouched down, staring intently at the water. Ethan followed her gaze and saw it too—a faint ripple on the surface, but not caused by the wind. Something was moving beneath the water, a shadowy form, almost cube-like in shape.

“What is that?” Ethan whispered.

Jen didn’t answer right away. She stood up slowly, her eyes locked on the water. “I don’t know. But I think we’re about to find out.”

Suddenly, the glow intensified, and the ripple grew larger. The pond began to vibrate, the water shimmering unnaturally. Ethan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Then, with a loud crack, the surface of the water exploded.

The shockwave knocked Ethan and Jen off their feet, sending them sprawling onto the ground. Ethan’s ears rang, his vision blurred for a moment. He scrambled to his feet, heart racing, and looked up in horror.

Where the pond had been, a smaller cube now hovered just above the ground, pulsing with a bright, unnatural light. It hummed, vibrating with an energy that made Ethan’s bones ache.

Jen was already standing, staring at the cube in awe. “Holy shit…”

Ethan could barely breathe. The cube wasn’t just some mindless object. It was doing something—something purposeful.

The humming grew louder, the light brighter. Ethan grabbed Jen’s arm, pulling her back. “We need to go. Now.”

But before they could move, the cube pulsed one final time, sending another shockwave rippling through the park.

And then, without warning, Ethan’s vision went white, and everything went silent.