Chapter 1: This Sinkhole Sucks!
March 1, 2021
Like clockwork, my body jolted into alertness and energy.
Smiling at the fact that I had beaten my alarm's annoying blaring, I grabbed it from my study table and looked at it smugly, as if it had feelings. The clock read 6:25 a.m. Five minutes early.
Take that, clock.
"Yosh! Good morning, world!" I announced as I placed the defeated thing back on my desk.
There was nothing better than getting out of bed and releasing all that pent-up sleep energy with a long stretch.
After my usual morning routine in the bathroom, I got dressed in a baggy sweater with the hospital logo on the chest, faded blue jeans, and my nearly worn-out black rubber shoes.
On my way downstairs, I saw Mom glued to her computer screen, probably finishing one of her proposals about saving endangered polar bears. She was the research head at a wildlife reserve organization.
Dad was nowhere in sight. Most likely still at work. Being a doctor with the worst schedule does that.
What can I say? We're a family of workaholics.
"Mom! It's your turn to do the groceries!" I called out as I rummaged through the fridge for snacks and potential lunch.
Like I always say: work hard, eat hard.
"M'kay! I'll add that to my list. Hey, don't forget the sandwich I made!" she replied without looking away from her screen.
I glanced at her desk and saw the sandwich sitting there, only half-eaten.
Poor sandwich. Looked good, too, but completely abandoned. It'll probably take
I didn't stop packing food into my bag until it looked ready to burst. In my defense, I planned to stash some in my locker. I get hungry a lot, and I don't exactly have the luxury of running to a convenience store whenever I want.
After wrestling my bag closed, I grabbed Mom's famous bacon and cheese sandwich from the counter. Yes, bacon, not ham. Because why not?
"See you later, Mom!" I said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Take care," she mumbled.
As I stepped into the living room, I checked my phone. 7:15. Thirty minutes before I was late.
Outside, my cute orange eco-friendly e-bike waited for me. I hopped on and drove off.
I worked as a part-time medic for a small hospital during my summer break. I handled deliveries—medicine, medical supplies, and the occasional doctor drop-off. The hospital belonged to a family friend and only had a few rooms. It was more like a large clinic than a full hospital.
To handle more patients, they offered home services, and that's where my team came in. You never know when a doctor suddenly needs extra syringes or IV fluids.
The pay was fair, but what I really liked was that the job kept me moving. I've never been good at doing nothing. This job made sure of that.
After a few minutes of driving, I arrived at the hospital parking lot.
I had just taken off my helmet when a nurse ran toward me.
Called it.
"You need to go to N Plaza ASAP," he said quickly. "All the doctors are there. A sinkhole just appeared. Here—take this."
He handed me an emergency pack. His urgency was clear, so I didn't waste time asking questions. I just nodded and headed out.
A sinkhole?
The world hasn't had one of those since the Avengers. And that hole was clearly placed in the sky, not in a busy park. And besides, it was probably just CGI.
N Plaza wasn't far, so I reached it within minutes.
The moment I arrived, I felt it.
Something was wrong.
A massive hole sat in the middle of the park.
My chest tightened slightly, but I forced myself to breathe normally.
No warning. No tremor. Nothing.
That wasn't natural.
And then I noticed the crowd.
Doctors. Police. People who looked like they were from the military. The entire area was packed.
"Okino! Over here!"
The voice snapped me out of it. I spotted one of our doctors treating an injured person and ran toward him.
"Doctor! What happened? "I asked as I handed him supplies, my eyes still flicking back toward the sinkhole.
"Still unclear," he replied. "There are reports this might be happening globally, but nothing confirmed yet. No one has fallen in so far. Just minor injuries."
I nodded and moved between teams, handing out supplies and assisting where I could.
After a while, the urgency around me began to settle into something manageable. Most of the injured had been treated.
I stepped away, walking a few meters from the sinkhole, and leaned against my bike before sitting on the grass. My shoulders were starting to feel the weight of my bag.
Drat. I really should've left this behind.
"At least it can't get any worse," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.
I looked back at the sinkhole.
It was… unsettling.
Like someone had dropped a perfectly round, pitch-black blanket right in the middle of the park. Except this one didn't belong here. It didn't look like something you'd rest on or approach casually.
It felt… wrong.
"Can't you hear it?"
I looked up. A man stood nearby, staring directly at the hole.
"Excuse me?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he started walking toward it.
"…Hey."
No reaction.
Alright. That's not normal.
"Hey—don't—!"
Something in my chest tightened.
I ran after him.
He broke into a sprint and jumped. Not slipped. Not fell. Jumped.
The entire area went quiet, but it wasn't for long because then came the screams.
One by one, people began walking toward the hole and started mindlessly jumping.
No hesitation. No fear.
Just… stepping forward as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Hey! Stop them! " someone shouted.
People tried. They grabbed arms, pulled bodies back, shouted until their voices cracked—but it didn't matter. Nothing worked.
My body went still for a moment.
This… wasn't right.
Then I saw her.
A little girl, walking toward the edge.
No hesitation.
That snapped something in me.
"Hey—wait!" I pushed myself up and ran.
I wasn't going to stand by and watch a kid walk into that. Not happening.
I reached her just as she stopped. I stopped in my tracks, too.
She turned to look at me.
And smiled.
It wasn't a normal smile. Not even close.
Something about it made my chest tighten, but I forced myself to stay steady.
"I knew you'd come," she said softly. "It's in your nature. The ones like you always try to save others."
"I knew you'd try to save this fragile form," she said. "It's in your DNA. But here's a piece of advice—the hero doesn't always live to see the end."
…Okay, that's definitely not normal kid behavior.
"Step back, kid," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "That thing will kill you."
She stood just two feet from the edge.
"Kill me? " she said softly. "No. But what lies beyond the gate might."
Gate?
That didn't sound reassuring.
I stepped closer anyway.
Fear or not, she was still a child.
I reached out, but I froze when she grabbed my hand first.
Her grip was strong. Too strong for a little girl who didn't seem older than 7.
Her smile widened, and for a brief second, everything felt… wrong. If you ever watched a horror movie about possession, you'd get what I'm saying. No normal child can smile like that.
Then she pulled me forward.
Then the next thing I knew was that the ground vanished beneath me.
I was falling.
Now, I've always been clumsy. Falling wasn't new. But this wasn't the same. I wasn't just tripping over some poorly placed rock by the sidewalk.
This fall had no impact. No control. No way to stop.
Just darkness. Endless darkness.
And somewhere in the middle of all that fear, one thought slipped through anyway.
Man… This sinkhole sucks.