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.

He gestured vaguely toward the northwest sector.

*”They become permanent exclusion zones that we’ll be monitoring for decades.”*

*”The people who live near here… what do you tell them?”*

*”Toxic waste leak. Federal cleanup required. Area off-limits indefinitely. Most people don’t question it. The ones who do get bought out at above-market rates and relocated. It’s expensive, but cheaper than the truth.”*

I thought about Denise. I thought about Whitman and Tran and the camping family with their hollow stares.

How many people had been compromised over the years? How many were still out there walking around with fragments of those entities in their minds, spreading infection without knowing it?

*”Director Mills!”*

A young technician appeared in the doorway, tablet in hand.

*”We’ve got a problem.”*

*”What kind of problem?”*

*”The exclusion zone perimeter. It’s not stabilizing. Current expansion rate suggests it’ll reach Route 89 within 8 hours.”*

*”That’s the main highway into town. Roughly 2,000 vehicles use it daily.”*

Mills stood up, his expression grim.

*”Show me.”*

We followed him to the operations center where a large monitor displayed a real-time satellite feed of the northwest sector. The aperture showed up as a bright anomaly, and I could see it growing in real time, consuming forest at a steady rate.

*”Current radius is approximately 0.8 miles,”*

The technician explained.

*”Projected stabilization point was 1.2 miles, but it’s not slowing down. If this rate continues, we’re looking at a 4-mile radius by midnight. That’s 50 square miles of contamination zone.”*

*”50 square miles covers two towns and parts of three others,”*

Mills said quietly.

*”We’re talking about evacuating 15,000 people.”*

*”Can we seal it?”*

I asked.

*”Bigger charges? More quantum stabilizers?”*

*”Not without making it worse. The failed seal attempt destabilized the aperture’s formation structure. Another detonation might collapse it, or it might trigger exponential expansion. We’d be gambling with hundreds of thousands of lives.”*

*”So what do we do?”*

Mitchell had joined us along with Lawrence, who looked pale but functional.

*”We have one option,”*

Mills said slowly.

*”It’s never been tested outside of simulation. The theory is sound, but the practical application is…”*

He trailed off.

*”What option?”*

*”We send someone through the aperture into the other side. If they can find the source of the breach, the anchor point that’s keeping it open, and disrupt it, the aperture should collapse on its own.”*

The room fell silent.

*”You want to send someone into that thing?”*

Lawrence’s voice was barely above a whisper.

*”Based on what we’ve seen, anyone who goes through would be immediately compromised. Class 4 or 5 contamination. Complete ego death within seconds.”*

*”Under normal circumstances, yes,”*

Mills agreed.

*”But someone with high natural resistance might survive long enough to complete the mission.”*

“Might” being the operative word.

*”The simulation success rate is roughly 12%.”*

He looked directly at me.

*”You have the highest resistance markers we’ve ever recorded, Callahan. Higher even than Mitchell or Lawrence. If anyone could survive crossing the threshold, it would be you.”*

*”You’re asking me to commit suicide,”*

I said flatly.