Caleb Stray's boots crunched over broken glass as the world split open.
It happened without warning. One minute he was at the shooting range just outside town, unloading his final mag into the center mass of a rusted dummy. The next, the sky bled. Not literally as there was no blood but something red pulsed above the clouds, as the sky split apart, it was as if something akin to a second sun had opened its eye and started watching.
The ground rumbled violently beneath his feet, a deep, guttural tremor that rolled through the earth like a living thing. Trees groaned and snapped in the distance, roots tore free from the soil, and dust exploded upward in thick clouds. The vibrations grew sharper, angrier, as if the Earth itself was warning him that something massive was moving beneath the surface, and it was getting closer. Then he saw it, a massive tower like structure was rising from the ground. Then everything stopped. As the distant wind held its breath, the world spoke.
A voice, flat and mechanical, rang out inside his skull.
"All able-bodied individuals between the ages of sixteen and sixty have been selected. Clearance begins now.
Caleb's vision blurred, his hands twitched. He had heard voices in his time comms, screams, commands but this wasn't just a sound. Whatever had spoken seemed to be etched in his skull as if part of him. His head felt dizzy and his ears felt like bleeding.
The next second, the ground vanished.
Then everything went black.
When he came to, the air was cold and metallic. Too cold for late spring. Caleb's boots touched solid glass, smooth and 'black'. All around him, dozens of others stood blinking in shock. People in gym clothes, suits, uniforms. Some teenagers, some older.
They were in a seemingly massive environment with a clear white sky. There layed massive letters in the clear white sky and a giant black door infront of them. With the same words above it.
FLOOR ZERO
A woman near Caleb in panic started sobbing. Another man screamed asking if anyone knew what was happening. While some slightly more curious and braver moved toward the door. Caleb was one of them.
"Hey wait," someone called. A man in a hoodie, seemingly no older than twenty. "You know what's happening ?"
Caleb glanced back. "No" He said impassively as he moved closer to the door.
He reached the massive door. As he got closer, text flickered in the air in front of hv y
Welcome, Caleb Stray.
Designation: Participant
Status: Healthy
Objective: Ascend
Then a smaller message below it.
Warning: Death in the Tower is permanent. Exit is unavailable. Time till Floor Collapse: 10:00
The timer started ticking.
Ten minutes.
Caleb stepped back and looked at the crowd. Panic was setting in. People were yelling now. Some screamed at the air. Some dropped to their knees. A few tried to run, only to slam into an invisible wall that flung them back like a rag doll.
There was no way out.
Caleb had seen this before not this kind of odd environment but the panic. The kind that grips people when control is gone. In the field, they had a name for this kind of moment: the Threshold. The second when everything normal ends.
He raised his voice, sharp, and deep.
"Anyone with military or emergency response experience, form up now."
Some looked at him like he was crazy or with fear, thinking he had something to do with what was happening. Others actually moved. Three men, two women. None looked like they knew each other. However Caleb didn't care.
"Names?" he asked.
The woman in the scrubs answered first. She looked to be in her 30s and her arms looked toned yet delicate. "Dina. EMT. Eleven years."
The tall man beside her: "Soren. Former coast guard."
The others answered in turn. One was private security. One was a firefighter. One was an ex-survivalist. Good enough.
Caleb nodded. "We don't know what's happening and everyone is already in panic. Civilians don't need comfort. They need instructions."
He turned back to the crowd and raised his voice again.
"We have nine minutes. The door will open. If you're not ready, to get in you're in deep trouble."
That got attention.
One girl barely sixteen, shaking like a leaf called out, "What if we don't go in?"
Caleb looked her straight in the eye. "Then the floor collapses and you die.
He didn't lie, he didn't sugarcoat it, the truth kept people alive more than reassurance ever did.
The door creaked.
As if massive gears were turning. The sound was slow and deep, like a dying beast breathing in. The glowing letters above the door flashed.
ENTER
A second timer appeared.
00:09:58
Caleb took point and crossed the door.
FLOOR ZERO Cleared
Reward : Mind Clearance
As the voice spoke as if in a multi-million dollar luxury vacation their mind felt clearer and relaxed.
" Huh" Tf is that"
" Aww feels so good"
They didn't have time to ask questions or dwell on their thoughts for long as they soon entered a room.
Inside the room, it was silent. The air smelled like stone and static. The floor was black and smooth. The walls were too close, and the ceiling was too high.
Then the voice returned.
"Floor Zero: Objective – Eliminate all hostiles."
Reward: All injuries and ailments healed.
Soren raised a hand. "Hostiles? What kind of hostiles?"
He got no answers.
Then 'they' appeared.
Figures melted out of the walls humanoid shapes, faceless, gray-skinned, and featureless faces. Muttering cries similar to a babies. They looked almost human. Almost.
Then something flicked within everyone's vision :
[Tower Database – Entity Analysis]
Name: Greyy
Type: Aberrant Beast
Threat Level: Low
Classification: Organic – Tier 1
Habitat: Floor 1: Rot Hollow Zone
Disposition : Hostile
Vital Metrics:
• HP: 100%
• Stamina: 100%
• Armor: None (Exposed musculature)
• Weak Spot: Larynx
• Aggression Trigger: Proximity or noise
Attributes:
• Strength: 7
• Agility: 10
• Endurance: 8
• Perception: 3
Skills:
• Gnashing Lunge (Active) – A reckless forward pounce with boosted speed but reduced control.
• Pack Frenzy (Passive) – Gains +2 Agility and Strength per nearby Howler.
Behavioral Notes:
• Lacks pain response.
• Highly territorial.
• Hunts in trios but avoids water or reflective surfaces.
Drop Items:
• None
Despite the odd window appearing, Caleb didn't hesitate since it didn't actually block his vision being most transparent yet clearly visible. He tried to pull forward a knife from his boot, he always carried it around only to see that it wasn't there. Keeping his cool he said "Get into formation. Spread. Control your emotions don't panic."
The first creature charged. Caleb ducked low and tripped it using his leg. It on stumbled on the floor. He followed through with a kick on the back of its head, followed by another then another then another.
The thing dissolved into dust.
He exhaled through his nose now his feet covered in blood. One down. He immediately tackled another then jumped holding its neck while spinning immediately killing the creature. He then proceeded to take down 2 more.
The others engaged clumsily and in panic. One girl screamed and fell instantly being devoured by the creatures. Dina tried to drag her back only to be bitten by one of the creatures. Soren swung his feet and kicked the creature approaching Dina.
Caleb kept moving.
He counted a total of 14 targets. Six people were injured, 9 more were dead.
Not an ideal scenario.
….
When the final gray dissolved, the room shifted. The walls peeled away, revealing a spiral stairwell carved into the stone.
Above it: FLOOR ONE
As their injuries healed, the previous room seemed to already be disappearing, they didn't even get the time to rest, burry the dead or even think about what just happened.