The forest near the lake was unnaturally quiet.

  The water lay between the trees like black glass. The air smelled of damp earth and cold pine. Max stopped at the edge of the clearing and listened. Even the frogs were silent.

  “Kristina…” Ruslan called softly.

  No answer.

  “Maybe she – ” he began, then fell silent.

  Max swept his flashlight along the shoreline. The beam caught only fragments – roots, wet leaves, faint traces of footprints that quickly vanished into the dark.

  Then something shifted in the bushes.

  There were no predators here. Were there? Max stiffened. A wild boar, maybe?

  It sounded heavy, like something dragging itself along the ground.

  Ruslan flinched. “Max…” he whispered. “You hear that?”

  Max did not have time to answer.

  Something stepped out from between the trees.

  Too tall for a boar. There were no bears here. Right?

  What if it had already eaten Kristina?

  A cold shiver ran down Max’s spine.

  The creature looked wrong. It rose onto its hind legs, then dropped back down. Its silhouette shifted, as if its body could not decide what shape to hold. Long arms nearly brushed the ground. Its shoulders were too wide. Its head stretched forward at an unnatural angle.

  The flashlight beam slid across it, and Max felt the temperature inside him drop.

  Not fur.

  Not skin.

  No… that was not skin.

  It looked like charred bark, cracked and split, with something faintly glowing beneath, as if embers smoldered inside. There were no visible eyes – only dark hollows.

  Goosebumps crawled down his back.

  “Max…” Ruslan’s voice broke. “What is that?”

  He crouched instinctively, trying to make himself smaller. His legs trembled.

  Max swallowed. Think.

  “A costume?” he forced out. “Someone… messing with us?”

  People at the boarding school were capable of stupid jokes.

  But even to him, it sounded weak. The creature looked too unnaturally alive.

  It was not Halloween. No one moved like that.

  Then the smell reached him.

  No one smelled like that.

  Sharp. Bitter. Like burnt metal mixed with wet soil.

  And then, around the creature – hanging in the air itself – a green ring flared into existence.

  What kind of special effects were those?

  A perfect, precise ring hovered around its chest, slowly rotating. Symbols seemed woven into its surface.

  “…what the hell…” Max whispered.

  The ring shone brighter.

  From the creature’s direction, a sphere of fire shot forward. Max did not see where it formed. It simply appeared in the air.

  “DOWN!” Max shouted, grabbing Ruslan by the jacket and dragging him to the ground.

  They hit the ground hard.

  The air above them erupted with heat. The earth trembled. The blast rang in Max’s ears, and the stench of burning filled his nose.

  He rolled to the side, heart pounding.

  Magic?

  No. That was the last explanation he would accept. Magic did not exist. Special effects? Some kind of weapon? A drone? Gas? Pyrotechnics?

  None of it made sense.

  “Max, I don’t want to die here!” Ruslan choked, pressing himself flat against the ground. “I left my pastry in the room!”

  The creature moved closer.

  The green outline around it flared again.

  And in that same instant, something shifted in the air.

  Space itself seemed to hum around Max and Ruslan. A translucent sphere unfolded over them – like glass, yet alive, subtly changing shape. The next blast of fire struck the dome and spread across its surface without touching them.

  “What was that?!” Ruslan shouted.

  “Some kind of shield,” Max replied automatically, though he had no idea how he knew. He had only seen things like that in movies.

  Then the beam of the fallen flashlight caught movement – figures emerging from the forest.

  They moved fast and with precision. They surrounded the monster as if they had done this many times before.

  And around each of their chests shone a blue ring.

  The rings glowed steadily, evenly.

  Soldiers. Judging by their uniforms, that was exactly what they were. They advanced as a single unit. Someone gave a short, sharp command, and the others immediately spread out, cutting off escape routes.

  The creature roared – deep and muffled, as if the sound rose from beneath the ground itself.

  “Hold the perimeter. Don’t let it close in,” a calm voice ordered.

  It belonged to a man standing slightly behind the others. Around his chest shone a green ring – deeper and richer than the monster’s. Stable.

  He raised his hand.

  The air trembled.

  The attack was brief and coordinated. No wasted movement. Blue light flared, compressing the space around the creature and restricting its motion. Then a short burst from an assault rifle shattered the silence. The creature lunged forward but collapsed instead. Dark liquid sprayed from the wound and soaked into the ground.

  Seconds later, it was over.

  The silence that followed felt painfully loud.

  Max remained seated, watching as the dome slowly faded.

  “Ruslan…” he whispered. “Did you see that?”

  “I saw everything,” Ruslan breathed. “And I didn’t like any of it.”

  The man with the green ring turned toward them. His gaze was focused, measuring.

  “Good thing we arrived in time. You were lucky,” he said calmly.

  Max lifted his head.

  “Where’s Kristina?”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The soldier held his gaze for a moment.

  “The girl is alive, Max,” he replied.

  “You know me?” Max asked, stunned.

  The soldier did not answer.

  Max glanced back at the monster.

  Its body no longer resembled anything alive. Dark, semi-transparent fragments settled onto the ground and dissolved, as if they had never existed. The air still held traces of heat, but the scent of burning faded, replaced by the damp coolness of night.

  Max slowly rose to his feet. His knees trembled – not from fear, but from the strain of holding his thoughts together.

  Fact one: the creature was real.

  Fact two: it had used something that looked like energy – or a weapon.

  Fact three: these people knew exactly what they were doing.

  This was some kind of operation. Were they rescuing him? Max glanced at Ruslan, who was nervously chewing his nail.

  Probably not him.

  “Sector secured, Colonel,” one of the soldiers reported calmly, as if this were a routine exercise. “No additional hostiles. Threat neutralized. But now they know. They found him.”

  The Colonel – the man with the green ring – gave a short nod and ended the transmission.

  “You said they found us,” Max said before Ruslan could interrupt. “Who exactly? Found who?”

  The man they had called Colonel did not turn to him at once. For a moment, Max had the strange impression that he simply did not exist. The Colonel first scanned the perimeter, confirmed his men were in position, and only then replied.

  “I said exactly as much as I’m allowed to,” he answered calmly.

  Max clenched his jaw.

  “Does this have to do with me?”

  “We’re here because of you,” the Colonel said, nodding toward the place where the creature had dissolved. “And that’s precisely why you can’t stay here anymore.”

  “What did that thing want from me? And what do you want?” Max pressed.

  The Colonel ignored the question again.

  “We’re taking you with us.”

  “If you’re taking him,” Ruslan cut in sharply, “then I’m coming too.”

  “Ruslan, stop,” Max said at once. “You need to go back to the boarding school.”

  He sounded harsher than he meant to. But he felt it clearly – if Ruslan went with them, the situation would only spiral further. Nothing about this made sense. None of it felt stable. But Max was not going to drag his brother into something even more dangerous.

  The Colonel watched their exchange in silence, then turned to one of his men.

  “We’re taking those two as well. By the way, where’s the girl?”

  “In the helicopter. We’re bringing her now. She’s shaken, but unharmed.”

  Kristina was led out from behind the trees. The moment she saw them, she broke into a run. Ruslan pulled her into a tight hug, instinctively shielding her with his shoulder.

  The Colonel observed them longer than necessary.

  “Your friend told us quite a bit,” he said to the boys. “About the boarding school. About the supervisor. About the ‘disciplinary methods.’”

  He let the words hang for a moment.

  “You know… I’m not sure where it would be worse for them.”

  Max stiffened.

  “I’d prefer they be escorted back to the boarding school,” he said evenly.

  “As if anyone’s asking you,” the Colonel snorted. “We have our orders. We’re taking all of you.”

  “Are you some kind of secret service?” Max asked.

  The Colonel met his gaze directly.

  “You look a lot like your father.”

  What?

  Max had never heard anything real about his father. No stories. No name. The words struck him off balance.

  Like his father? His real father?

  “I want you to survive,” the Colonel continued. “And for that, you’re coming with us.”

  Stop. What was happening?

  First the monster. Then something that looked like magic. Now his father?

  It felt unreal.

  “You know my father?” Max demanded. “Who is he? Is he alive?”

  But the Colonel had already turned toward the helicopter. Over the rising noise, Max caught his next words.

  “Oh, trust me. You’d be better off if he were dead. The rest you’ll learn after you sign the papers and pass clearance. Unless, of course, you’d rather stay here and wait for the next monster attack. If they found you once, they’ll keep coming.”

  Max did not answer.

  But he already knew he would go.

  These soldiers knew something about his parents. That much was obvious. He could feel it.

  If only he could leave Ruslan and Kristina somewhere safe – but it seemed danger was waiting for them here as well. He did not yet understand how much.

  The helicopter lifted off with a violent jolt.

  Max tensed instinctively as the hull vibrated, as if the machine itself hesitated before committing to the sky. The roar was not just loud – it felt internal, vibrating through his chest, his teeth, his bones.

  He lowered his gaze to his hands.

  Scratches. Dirt under his nails. Fresh marks from branches and soil. Small, painful details he would normally ignore – but now they mattered.

  Proof that this was real.

  That none of it was a dream.

  “Think,” he told himself. “You have to understand what’s happening. You’re responsible for them.”

  Max looked at his brother.

  Ruslan sat opposite him, unnaturally quiet. No chewing. No jokes. He stared at a single point, arms wrapped tightly around his knees. Kristina sat between them, her fingers clutching Ruslan’s jacket in sudden, nervous spasms. The fact that she wasn’t crying felt almost unnatural. Maybe she had already cried everything out because of Marina.

  Max noted it automatically.

  Fear shifting into shock. Into numbness.

  The Colonel sat across from them – back straight, composed, without a trace of unnecessary emotion. A man accustomed to a world built on orders and execution.

  “From this moment,” he said, raising his voice over the rotor noise, “you are under the protection of a classified government service. Everything that follows is a state secret.”

  Max nodded.

  Predictable. Classic. Like stepping into an action movie.

  “You will have many questions,” the Colonel continued. “You won’t receive all the answers. And not immediately.”

  They would tell them only part of the truth. And only if they were lucky, Max thought.

  The base appeared beneath them without warning.

  Floodlights tore the darkness apart, revealing concrete strips, unmarked hangars, watchtowers. The night here did not feel alive – it felt controlled.

  The helicopter touched down softly. Too softly.

  The silence after the engine roar struck harder than the noise itself. They were led out immediately.

  The corridors were too clean. Too straight. Nothing here felt accidental.

  “This way.”

  “Stop.”

  “Hands on the panel.”

  Max walked in silence, observing everything.

  Retina scans. Blood samples. Thermal imaging. Other procedures he could not even identify. In one night, he underwent more tests than in his entire life. It felt as if they scanned him down to the bone – and beyond.

  Devices slid across his skin, leaving a faint cold sensation. Not painful. Just unpleasant.

  “When will this end?” Kristina whispered miserably.

  “Soon, I think,” Max replied calmly. There was probably nothing left to analyze. They had checked everything – even his brain.

  “And you think this is normal?” she asked quietly, twisting a strand of hair around her finger.

  “At least now you know you’re completely healthy. Don’t worry. It’s fine.”

  The calm was fake. But it worked.

  Ruslan snorted.

  “I hate doctors,” he muttered.

  The final chamber was different.

  Circular. No corners. The ceiling vanished into darkness, and thin lines covered the floor, converging toward the center, as if the entire room existed for a single point.

  And at that point hung something that did not belong.

  The far wall looked misplaced, as if it had been taken from somewhere else. The same strange metal. The same unfamiliar symbols. And in the center –

  A dark opening.

  Not darkness.

  A cut.

  A void that reflected nothing.

  Max felt his mouth go dry. Space did not behave like that.

  “This is…” Ruslan trailed off.

  “A portal,” the Colonel said. “Stabilized. Two-way.”

  Two-way?

  Max’s mind seized on the word immediately.

  “To another world?” he asked.

  “A layer of reality that exists parallel to ours,” the Colonel replied dryly. “Names are irrelevant.”

  They matter, Max thought. You just don’t want to say them.

  “Why us? Why me?” he asked.

  The Colonel held his gaze.

  “Because the attack targeted a specific person,” he said. “And that person is you.”

  Something heavy settled in Max’s chest.

  So it wasn’t random. None of this was random. Everything happening to them now was because of him. A portal to another world – and Ruslan and Kristina would be dragged there because of him.

  It sounded dangerous.

  And yet, somewhere deep inside, he felt relief that they would remain together.

  “What happens next?” Kristina asked quietly. “We come back… right?”

  The Colonel paused. Not long – but long enough.

  “Anything is possible,” he said.

  It did not sound reassuring.

  Before stepping through the portal, they were fitted with bracelets.

  Cold. Faintly glowing.

  “Vital monitoring,” someone explained. “And an emergency beacon.”

  “And if it doesn’t work?” Ruslan asked.

  “Then,” the officer replied evenly, “no one will be able to help you.”

  Max nodded, irritated.

  At least it was honest.

  He studied the portal. Its surface shifted like water without reflection.

  If this was another world, then it had rules. Magic, they said?

  Kristina squeezed his hand.

  “You’ll figure it out,” she whispered. “You always figure things out.”

  Max did not answer.

  He wasn’t sure he would this time.

  “Time,” the Colonel said.

  Max stepped forward.

  The air parted without a sound. There was no sensation of falling. No pain.

  Only the feeling that every cell in his body was being examined – rewritten.

  Then the world snapped back into place.

  Max did not know that he would not arrive at the human base in the other world.

  Instead, something pulled him elsewhere first.

  Into a realm where, for a brief moment, he held slightly more power.