Gray rain lingered past Christmas in Cedarwood, hanging low through the trees. Water crept off rooftops, gathering where the lanes turned soft and slick underfoot. The Sandhills looked known at first glance but somehow sharper now, less welcoming. Sunlight hadn't reached full strength since the holidays began, leaving everything soaked in stillness. Morning noises felt heavier than they should - shutters rattling without hurry, footsteps dragging across wet planks, a train's call slicing far off like something meant to keep people back.
It started with odd things he couldn't ignore. Light jumped once behind a sealed window, then vanished. Beyond the tall pines, something shifted at the very edge of sight. The air carried a tremor, soft but steady, underneath the usual sounds of Cedarwood. Not loud - more like a breath held too long. Every hint felt placed on purpose. As if streets and trees knew where he needed to go.
Later that day, along the rusted tracks, Markus spotted a piece of metal lodged in the grit, its surface carved with marks like wiring or maybe words from another world. He bent down, lifted it, then noticed a pull inside his ribs, quiet but sharp, sending tingles across his skin. Brief as it was, the sensation lingered - soft, odd, impossible to ignore - a hint of weight behind the ordinary.
Quiet now, Cara stood still when he stepped close. A piece of twisted metal rested in his palm as he looked at her. Days had passed since she last smiled. The air between them felt heavier than before. He wondered if she noticed it too.
She studied it, brow furrowed. "I do. And so does… something else. Something that watches. We are not alone in Cedarwood anymore. It's been building, I think. You've felt the hum too, haven't you?"
Markus nodded. "Yes, and it's stronger than before."
Cara glanced nervously toward the thickening pines. "The locals talk about… strange experiments. Places where they push power beyond the normal. And there's a name, whispered, half-forgotten: Stra. That's all I know. Nobody goes there and comes back the same."
Just then, words still hanging in the air, Markus felt it click - those hidden spots, faint murmurs, vibrations beneath his skin. Each piece tugged at something deeper, pulling him forward. A snare loomed ahead, sharp and quiet. Not just danger but a test waited there. Power stirred like wind before storm, around him, inside too.
Later that night, shadows swallowed the horizon faster than usual, heavy clouds lit by odd glowing veins. Moving quietly beside Cara near the pines, Markus noticed a soft blue-green light flickering beyond the trunks, beating like a slow heartbeat. He spoke low. The place we're looking for. Stra Lab
A shape stood sharp against the fading sky, just as they started forward. Quiet, tall, narrow - still as stone - it didn't speak, but the earth underfoot pulsed like breath. Everything in Markus locked tight. His skin prickled when Cara's fingers dug into his sleeve. A hush came from her lips: "We're seen.".
It hit Markus right then - Cedarwood wasn't playing by normal rules anymore. Things were moving, watching, pushing against him in ways he hadn't expected. Each hint left behind, each dim glow in the corner of his eye, even the quiet drone under the streets whispered of what came next. Trouble had been piling up just out of sight. Now it stepped forward, loud and close. Running wouldn't help.