Dust followed Kade wherever he rode.
It clung to his boots, gathered in the folds of his jacket, and rode the wind behind his bike like a stubborn shadow. The Rift had always been like this, covered in dust and rust. Broken buildings leaned on each other like tired old men. Pipes coughed black smoke into a sky that rarely looked clean.
Kade weaved through the narrow street with practiced ease, his delivery bike rattling beneath him. The engine whined softly as he twisted the throttle and slipped between two slow-moving trucks hauling scrap metal.
The smell of hot oil and burnt plastic hung in the air. This was another normal afternoon.
His backpack shifted slightly against his shoulders, lighter now that he had dropped off the package. It was a small delivery of machine parts for a repair shop on the far side of the district. The owner had counted his money twice before handing over Kade's payment of three thin notes, which were barely enough even to buy dinner.
Kade had smiled anyway. You didn't argue over money in the Rift. Not unless you wanted to walk home with broken teeth. He turned a corner and slowed as the street widened into a busy intersection. There was a traffic light hung overhead, flickering between red and yellow like it was too tired to choose one.
Vehicles were gathered in a long uneven line. Kade rolled his bike into the queue and tapped the brakes, bringing the engine to a quiet idle.
The world around him buzzed with the restless noise of survival.
People shouted in the distance. Engines coughed. Metal clanged loudly somewhere down the street.
Across the intersection, a group of workers dragged a rusted generator into the back of a pickup truck. Their clothes were stained with grease and dirt. One of them wiped sweat from his forehead and cursed loudly.
All these were normal Rift music.
Kade leaned slightly on the handlebars and tilted his head upward.
Beyond the endless maze of broken rooftops and hanging wires, something glittered in the distance.
The Scepter.
Even from here, miles away and half hidden behind the massive shadow of the Iron Wall, the towers shone like polished glass. Sunlight bounced off its surface in bright flashes that almost hurt the eyes.
Kade stared at it the way people sometimes stared at stars. He had never been there. No one he knew had. The Iron Wall made sure of that.
The wall itself rose not far from this intersection, the dark metal stretching across the horizon like the edge of the world. It was so tall that the top often disappeared into the haze above the Rift.
Drones patrolled its surface constantly. They were like small black shapes drifting along invisible paths, watching, waiting, and keeping the Rift where it belonged.
Kade rested his chin briefly on his glove. Sometimes, he imagined what life might have been like if he had been born on the other side. Maybe he would wake up in a clean apartment instead of a crumbling house where the roof leaked during heavy rain.
Maybe his mother wouldn't have to work twelve-hour shifts in a factory that barely paid her.
Maybe Max, his ten-year old brother wouldn't cough at night from the dust that crept through every crack in the walls.
Maybe…
He let out a small breath and shook his head. Thinking like that didn't change anything. The light ahead of him remained red.
A battered truck was idle beside him but the engine growled like an angry animal. The driver leaned one arm out of the window and puffed cigarette smoke into the air.
Kade glanced at him without much interest. He was just another guy moving goods across the Rift.
Just as Kade started to look away, the man suddenly twitched. At first, it was a small, sharp jerk of his shoulder that Kade barely noticed.
But soon, his head dipped forward, then snapped up again.
The cigarette fell from his lips.
Kade frowned slightly.
The man's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
His whole body began to shake. Not like someone coughing, but more like something inside him had grabbed his nerves and started pulling.
The driver's head slammed against the steering wheel. Once. Hard. The horn blared. People nearby turned immediately.
Kade straightened slightly on his bike.
The man uttered a dry sound in his throat and lifted his head. His eyes looked wrong. They were wide and glassy, almost like he wasn't really seeing anything anymore.
He began to laugh. As soon as the laughter started, it soon stopped. Then in a split second, his foot slammed down on the accelerator.
The truck roared forward straight through the red light.
For half a second no one moved. Then the intersection exploded into chaos. The truck plowed into the crossing traffic like a battering ram.
Metal screamed. Glass shattered. A motorbike flipped through the air like a tossed toy. Some people in the distance screeched things that Kade couldn't hear.
Kade's heart kicked violently in his chest as he jerked his bike backward, barely avoiding a spinning van that skidded past him.
The truck kept going.
It slammed into a street vendor's cart, sending wooden planks and fruit flying across the pavement.
The driver was laughing again. Kade saw it clearly now.
The man was smashing his head against the wheel again and again even as the truck sped forward.
Blood splattered across the windshield.
The vehicle swerved violently, then drifted sideways. The tires shrieked as it skidded across the road and slammed into a concrete barrier.
The front of the truck folded inward with a deafening crunch. Everything went quiet for a moment. Dust drifted slowly through the air.
Kade's bike engine hummed beneath him. People began shouting. Someone ran toward the wreck.
Kade was glued to a spot as he watched everything unfold. The scene he just witnessed felt like a dream. Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe he would wake up to see that it was all a dream. What was happening?
When it seemed Kade had recovered from the shock, he pushed his bike forward a little.
The truck driver's body jerked again inside the cabin. His head lifted weakly. For a brief second his eyes met Kade's through the shattered windshield. There was nothing in them. No fear or pain or regret. It was just pure emptiness.
Then the man suddenly grabbed the steering wheel and smashed his face into it with horrifying force. Blood instantly splashed across the cracked dashboard. Kade felt his stomach twist. Someone screamed behind him. A woman covered her mouth in horror.
The driver kept slamming his head forward until his body finally went limp.
The horn droned weakly beneath him.
Kade stared lifelessly with his mouth hung open. His fingers tightened around his handlebars.
What the hell was that?
Panic instantly spread like fire. People began shouting over each other. Someone yelled for medics. Others backed away from the wreck like it might explode.
Kade suddenly felt an uncomfortable chill crawl across his skin.
Something about the driver's face made him understand that he didn't do it out of rage or fear, or from being drunk, like he initially thought. It was almost like the driver had already disappeared before he died.
Kade shook his head. He didn't understand it. And standing here wouldn't help.
Sirens were already echoing somewhere deeper in the district. As usual, it would take forever for the cops and medics to get here, and when they did, they would probably walk around for a while before doing their best. They were just as tired as the rest of The Rift.
Kade quickly turned his bike around and slipped out of the gathering crowd.
The streets were a disaster as he rode home. He witnessed more traffic accidents than usual. Something was brewing and it made the hair on his skin stand straight.
A van had slammed into a light pole three blocks away. More people were screaming, but this time, Kade didn't even stop to see what was wrong.
People looked tense like the whole Rift had suddenly forgotten how to breathe. Something was terribly wrong.
Kade pushed his bike harder. He pushed forward in haste.
The familiar route home wound through narrower streets where buildings leaned close together. Their apartment waited near the edge of the district.
It was an old concrete house with cracked walls and a balcony that sagged slightly over the street.
It had been home for as long as Kade could remember. His father had left that house ten years ago. As usual, he had kissed Kade's mother, ruffled Kade's hair, and promised to be back before dinner. He never returned. At first, everyone had searched, then people soon stopped asking questions.
That was the Rift. People disappeared and life moved on.
Kade pulled his bike into the narrow alley beside the house and cut the engine. The sudden silence rang softly in his ears. He swung off the seat and almost tripped running to the door.
The front door creaked as he pushed it open.
"Max?" he called casually.
Soft footsteps immediately pattered across the floor.
A skinny boy burst into the hallway and wrapped his arms around Kade's waist.
"Kade, you're back!" the familiar shrill voice rang.
Kade smiled despite the tension still lingering in his chest. "Easy there, monster."
Max grinned up at him, missing one of his front teeth. His dark hair stuck out in messy directions.
"Kade, did you bring anything?" the little one asked.
Kade sucked in some air and looked around as if expecting a monster to leap out from the walls. "I brought my charming personality," he muttered absent-mindedly.
Max groaned dramatically.
Kade chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair. "Where's Mom?" he asked.
Max shrugged. "Work."
Kade stepped further inside and kicked the door shut behind him. "What about Grandma?" He looked around as he asked.
Max joined him in looking around but just shrugged.
The house felt unusually quiet.
There was no clatter from the kitchen. There was no humming from the old radio that their grandmother liked to keep playing.
Kade frowned slightly. "Grandma?" he called out softly.
There was no answer.
He walked toward the living room with Max trailing beside him.
The air inside the house felt strangely still.
The curtains barely moved. The hallway light flickered faintly.
Kade stepped into the living room.
His grandmother stood near the kitchen counter. Her back was to them. One of her hands rested on the table, and the other held a kitchen knife.
The blade caught the dim light and flashed softly.
Kade slowed. "Grandma?" he repeated.
She didn't turn around.
Max tugged lightly on Kade's sleeve.
"Kade, what is Grandma doing?"
Kade's chest tightened. Something was wrong. He shifted Max gently behind him and took a cautious step forward.
"Grandma… It's me. It's Kade."
Slowly, she turned.
Her eyes met his and Kade froze.
There was no warmth in her face. No recognition. It was just the same hollow emptiness he had seen in the truck driver.
The knife trembled slightly in her hand.
Max's small fingers tightened around the back of Kade's jacket.
"Grandma?" Kade said softly.
She lifted the blade and brought it slowly toward her own throat.
Kade pushed Max back and dashed forward quickly.
"Grandma, stop!"