I’m A Park Ranger At Tower 9. My Partner Just Looked At Me With A Hollow Smile And Said, “it’s Beautiful Beneath The Ground.” I Don’t Think She’s Human Anymore.

*”Won’t stop a full Class 4 exposure if you stare directly into an active aperture, but it’ll buy you a few extra seconds to look away.”*

The walk to the breach site felt longer than it had yesterday. Every tree looked threatening now. Every shadow might hide something watching.

We passed the spot where I’d seen the camping family. Their tents were still there, but the area was cordoned off with yellow tape. Through the trees, I could see shapes moving: response team members in full containment suits, probably doing exactly what they’d done with Denise.

When we reached the clearing with the stripped trees, I stopped dead. The crack in the ground had grown exponentially since yesterday. What had been 3 feet wide was now easily 12 feet across, a gaping wound in reality that pulsed with that same blue-white light.

The air around it felt heavy, like trying to breathe underwater. And the singing? I could hear it clearly now, even through the protective suit. It was not just one voice, but dozens, maybe hundreds, all harmonizing in a language that bypassed my ears and spoke directly to something deep in my brain.

*”Don’t look directly at it,”*

Mills reminded us. His voice crackled through the suit’s internal radio.

*”Keep your eyes on the instruments.”*

He handed me a device that looked like a modified Geiger counter. The display showed wavelength readings that spiked and dipped as I moved closer to the aperture.

*”The numbers represent reality stability. Anything below 30% means physical laws are becoming optional. Below 10%, you’re in immediate danger of spontaneous molecular dissolution.”*

I looked at the current reading. 23%. We were already in the danger zone.

Lawrence and Mitchell were taking readings from different angles while Mills coordinated with the containment team through the crackling radio. I heard someone say:

*”Seal charges are ready. Need to know if the perimeter is clear.”*

Mills checked his tablet.

*”Three heat signatures still in the contamination zone, 200 yards northeast. Unresponsive to hails. Probably Class 3. We need to extract or neutralize before we conceal.”*

*”I’ll check it out,”*

I heard myself say before my brain caught up with my mouth. Mills looked at me evaluatingly, then he nodded.

*”Take Mitchell with you. Stay on radio contact. First sign of compromise, you retreat immediately.”*

Mitchell and I headed northeast, following the direction Mills had indicated. The forest here looked wrong. Trees grew at angles that defied gravity. Leaves were simultaneously green and purple, colors that didn’t have names.

The reality distortion was spreading, infecting everything within the aperture’s expanding field. We found them after about 5 minutes of walking. Three more rangers were sitting in a perfect triangle formation around a small clearing.

All were wearing the same empty smile. All were staring at something in the center of their formation that I couldn’t see.

*”Base, we’ve got three confirmed Class 3 individuals,”*

Mitchell reported.

*”They’re arranged in some kind of pattern. Looks ritualistic.”*

*”Can you identify them?”*

Mills asked. Mitchell moved closer, checking name tags.

*”Rangers Whitman, Kowalski, and Tran.”*

*”Wait, Kowalski? I thought you said she was already in containment.”*

*”Different Kowalski,”*

Mills replied, but his voice was tight.

*”Whitman and Tran were reported missing 6 weeks ago. Officially, they wandered off trail and never came back. We found their vehicles but no bodies. Now we know what happened to them.”*

I approached one of them—Whitman, according to his name tag. Up close, I could see his skin had a weird translucent quality, like you could almost see through to something beneath. His eyes tracked my movement, but that smile never wavered.

*”They’re singing,”*

I said into the radio.

*”I can hear them singing even though their mouths aren’t moving.”*

*”The singing is psychic contamination,”*

Mills explained.

*”Your brain interprets the infectious pattern as music because it doesn’t have another frame of reference. Do not listen to the words. Do not try to understand the melody. Focus on your breathing and keep moving.”*

But it was hard not to listen. The song was beautiful in a way that made my chest ache. It promised understanding, acceptance, and peace.

All the loneliness and fear and exhaustion of the last 24 hours could just go away if I just listened a little longer. If I just sat down with them. If I just looked at what they were looking at in the center of their circle.

*”Callahan, your readings are spiking!”*

Mitchell grabbed my arm.

*”We need to move now!”*

He pulled me backward and the spell broke. I could breathe again.

We retreated to the safe perimeter while the containment team moved in with what looked like modified cattle prods. The three compromised rangers didn’t resist as they were sedated and loaded into transport vehicles. I watched them go, wondering if somewhere deep inside those hollow shells, Whitman and Tran and the other Kowalski were still aware, still screaming.

Mills gathered us together near the command vehicle.

*”The aperture is approaching critical mass. We need to seal it now or lose this entire sector. The charges are ready, but I need to know: any of you experiencing Stage 1 symptoms? Hearing the singing clearly? Feeling drawn to approach the breach?”*

Lawrence raised her hand slowly.

*”The singing… it’s getting louder. And it’s starting to make sense, like I’m almost understanding what it’s saying.”*

Mills nodded, not surprised.

*”You’re out. Mitchell, escort her back to base medical.”*

*”Sir, I’m fine!”*

Lawrence protested.

*”I can still function for now.”*

*”Stage 1 progresses fast near an active aperture. Another hour of exposure and you’ll be Stage 2. Get to medical before that happens.”*

Lawrence was led away, leaving just Mills, Mitchell, and me along with the containment team. Mills pulled up a schematic on his tablet.

*”The seal charges need to be placed at eight points around the aperture perimeter. Each charge contains a quantum stabilizer that forces reality to reassert itself when detonated simultaneously. They create a cascade effect that closes the breach and neutralizes the contamination field. In theory.”*

*”In theory?”*

I asked.

*”We’ve sealed 92 apertures using this method. 87 were successful. 5 resulted in complications.”*

*”What kind of complications?”*