Noah was done with the "why are we here" questions. He didn't have time to explain the physics of a world that wasn't supposed to break for another four years. He just knew that every small event like this was a test run.
Noah pulled his old car into the lot of a half-abandoned community center. The paint was peeling, and the streetlights were flickering, but it wasn't the building Noah was looking at. It was the people.
"Why are we at a youth center at 10:00 PM?" Mason asked, sounding more annoyed than scared this time. "Noah, I'm tired of the riddles. You said we were scouting."
"Watch the side door," Noah said, ignoring the attitude.
A small group was standing by the entrance. Noah recognized them immediately from the old news reports. There was Sarah, a tall woman with glasses clutching a blueprint tube, and Elias, a guy in a leather jacket who looked like he'd pick your pocket just for the practice.
In Noah's old life, a "gas leak" had leveled this building tonight. Twelve people died. But Noah knew it wasn't gas. It was a small, unstable tear in reality—a "glitch" that wouldn't happen again for years, but tonight, it was a death trap.
Suddenly, the air went cold. Not just chilly, but the kind of cold that makes your teeth ache.
"Noah... the air. It's moving weird," Mason whispered.
In the middle of the parking lot, the space between two parked cars started to ripple like water. Then, with a sound like a gunshot, it popped. A creature crawled out. It was skinny, with long, jagged arms that looked like rusted saws. It didn't have eyes, just a mouth full of needles.
The creature hissed and turned toward the group at the door.
"Oh my god! Noah, move the car! We have to help!" Mason scrambled for the door handle, but Noah locked it with a click.
"Wait," Noah said. His heart was hammering, but his brain was cold.
He had one "disrupter" device—a homemade gadget that could close a small tear. He only had one. If he ran out now, he could save Sarah, the woman who would one day design the city's best defenses. But if he moved too fast, the monster would turn on him, and the man next to her—Elias—would run.
Noah remembered Elias. In the future, Elias would become a raider who killed families for their shoes.
"Noah! It's moving!" Mason yelled.
The creature lunged. Elias, seeing the monster, didn't try to help Sarah. He grabbed her shoulder and shoved her toward the beast, using her as a shield so he could bolt toward the fence.
"Help me!" Sarah screamed, falling onto the gravel.
Noah hopped out of the car. He didn't go for the monster. He ran toward the spot where the ripple had started.
"Elias! Over here!" Noah shouted.
The monster paused, confused by the new sound. It looked at Sarah, then at Noah. Elias was already halfway over the fence, disappearing into the dark.
Noah had a split second. He could throw his heavy wrench at Elias's head, stopping a future murderer. Or he could use his one device to save Sarah. He couldn't do both. The monster was already opening its mouth to snap at Sarah's leg.
Noah didn't look at Elias again. He threw the disrupter at the ground near Sarah.
THUMP.
A burst of blue light hit the pavement. It wasn't an explosion, but the monster reacted like it had been splashed with acid. It shrieked, its body flickering like a bad TV signal, before it was sucked back into the spot where the air was rippling. The ripple snapped shut, leaving nothing but the smell of burnt hair.
Elias was gone. Sarah was shaking on the ground, crying.
Noah walked over and stood over her. He didn't give her a hug. He didn't tell her it was okay. He just looked at her until she looked up.
"He pushed me," she gasped, her glasses hanging off one ear. "Elias... he tried to let it kill me."
"I know," Noah said. "He's a coward. That's what people do when they're scared."
"What was that thing? Was it a ghost? An alien?"
Noah reached into his pocket and handed her a small piece of paper with his burner phone number on it. "It's a warning. My name is Noah. In a few days, you're going to realize the police won't help you and the news won't talk about this. When you realize that, call me. I need an engineer."
He turned around and walked back to the car.
Mason was staring at him through the windshield, his face pale. As Noah got in, Mason finally spoke. "You let him go. You could have caught that guy Elias. He's a jerk, Noah. He almost got her killed."
"I saved the person who can help us build a wall," Noah said, starting the engine. "Elias is nobody. He's just a bug. I'm not wasting my time on bugs today."
"You chose who lived," Mason whispered. "You just... decided."
Noah put the car in gear and looked at his friend. "Get used to it, Mason. For the next four years, that's the only job that matters. Choosing who makes it to the finish line."
They drove away, leaving Sarah alone in the dark lot. Noah didn't feel like a hero. He felt like a man who had just bought a very expensive tool. And he knew, deep down, he'd have to make a thousand more choices just like that one before the real war started.
Noah is starting to think like a commander, but Mason is still struggling with the morality of it all.