The city screamed.
Evan stood in the middle of the street, surrounded by sound so loud it felt physical. Not voices. Not sirens. Something deeper. Something is tearing itself apart.
The sky above him pulsed like a living thing. Cracks of white light split through the clouds, branching outward, sealing, then splitting again. Buildings shuddered as if they were breathing. The ground beneath his feet vibrated in uneven waves.
This was different.
In every other nightmare, the world collapsed quietly. Folding inward. Suffocating itself.
This time, it fought back.
Evan turned slowly, his chest tight.
People were running.
Not frozen. Not trapped in half moments.
Running.
They screamed as they ran, faces twisted in raw terror, shoving past one another, stumbling over debris that hadn't been there a second ago. Cars skidded sideways as the road warped beneath them. Traffic lights flickered, cycling through colours too fast to mean anything.
Evan felt it again.
The pressure.
But now, layered beneath it, something else stirred.
Urgency.
He saw it then.
At the far end of the street, a building leaned sharply to one side. Not falling yet. Held in a delicate balance that made Evan's stomach knot.
Under it, people were trapped.
This was the moment.
The one nightmare always circled.
Evan took a step forward.
The pressure surged, slamming into him like a wall. Pain flared behind his eyes, sharp enough to make his vision blur.
He gritted his teeth.
"No," he said aloud. "Not this time."
He ran.
The world resisted him with every step. It felt like moving through thick water, each stride heavier than the last. The air screamed in his ears. The hum rose, chaotic and fractured.
He reached the edge of the danger zone just as the building shifted again.
Someone cried out.
Evan threw his hands forward.
He did not think.
He did not calculate.
He acted.
The pressure snapped.
Not outward. Not inward.
Sideways.
The air bent violently. The building shuddered, then slid, its weight redirected just enough to crash into the empty street beside it instead of straight down.
The impact shook the world.
Dust exploded outward. Windows shattered. The ground cracked beneath Evan's feet, throwing him backwards.
He hit the pavement hard.
Pain flared through his shoulder, but he ignored it, forcing himself up as the dust cloud swallowed everything.
Coughing echoed all around him.
People cried. People shouted.
But they were alive.
Evan staggered to his feet, chest heaving.
He had done it.
The pressure returned instantly.
Stronger.
Angrier.
The sky split open.
A tear formed above the street, jagged and wrong, revealing something darker behind it. Not space. Not emptiness.
Movement.
Evan's blood ran cold.
"This is the cost," a voice whispered.
Not from behind him.
From everywhere.
The ground dropped away beneath Evan's feet.
He fell.
And woke up.
Evan jolted upright in his bed, gasping, sweat soaking through his shirt. His room was dim, lit only by the faint glow of his phone screen.
His heart hammered against his ribs.
He grabbed the edge of the mattress, forcing himself to focus.
Hostel room.
Fan spinning.
Walls intact.
No screaming sky.
But the pressure lingered.
Weaker than in the dream, but present.
His phone buzzed violently in his hand.
Multiple messages. Missed calls.
Noah.
Marcus.
Luke.
Evan swung his legs off the bed and stood too fast. The room tilted briefly, then steadied.
He checked the time.
4:38 AM.
Another vibration.
Luke calling.
Evan answered. "I'm awake."
"You better be," Luke said, voice tight. "Get dressed. Now."
"What happened?" Evan asked.
"Something happened," Luke replied. "And this time, it's not just you."
Evan's stomach dropped. "Where are you?"
"Outside the boys' hostel. Marcus is with me. Noah's on his way." Luke said.
"I'm coming," Evan said.
Evan shoved on his shoes and grabbed his jacket. As he reached for the door, a sharp spike of pressure flared in his head, followed by a sudden image.
A street he recognized.
Hollow Square.
Evan froze. He dialled Luke.
"Luke," he said urgently. "Has there been an accident near Hollow Square?"
Silence on the line.
Then Luke said slowly, "How do you know that?"
Evan's pulse roared. "Answer me."
"There was a gas explosion," Luke said. "About ten minutes ago. People are trapped. Fire crews are still on the way."
Evan closed his eyes.
The nightmare had not been a nightmare.
"I'll meet you there," he said, already moving.
He hung up and ran.
The campus blurred as Evan sprinted across it, lungs burning, heart pounding. The pressure built with every step toward the square, like the world bracing itself.
He saw the smoke before he heard the sirens.
Hollow Square was chaos.
A section of the street had collapsed inward, swallowing part of a storefront. Flames licked up shattered walls. People clustered at the edges, shouting, crying, filming.
Evan slowed as he reached the perimeter.
This was real.
Not a dream.
Not a vision.
Real people were screaming.
Marcus spotted him first. "Evan."
Luke stood beside him, pale but focused. "We didn't touch anything."
Good, Evan thought. Good.
Noah arrived moments later, breathless. His eyes darted across the scene, already analysing.
"Structural instability," Noah said quickly. "Secondary collapse likely."
A woman screamed from inside the rubble.
"Please," she cried. "My brother is in there."
Evan felt the pressure spike violently.
This was the choice.
He could wait.
Emergency crews would arrive. They always did.
But he knew.
He knew what would happen if he waited.
"I'm going in," Evan said.
Marcus grabbed his arm. "No."
Evan met his gaze. "I don't hesitate anymore."
Marcus held his stare for a long second, then released him. "Then we cover you."
Luke swallowed hard. "Try not to die. That would ruin my week."
Evan stepped past the barricade.
The moment he crossed the invisible line, the world pushed back.
The pressure slammed into him, bending his spine, stealing his breath. His vision blurred, lights smearing across his field of view.
He forced himself forward.
Inside the wreckage, the heat was suffocating. Smoke clawed at his lungs. The ground shifted underfoot, unstable and sharp.
"Hello," Evan shouted. "Can you hear me?"
A cough answered.
Faint. Weak.
Evan followed the sound, ignoring the way the walls groaned as he passed. A section of the ceiling sagged above him, ready to fall.
He raised his hand.
The pressure screamed.
Evan pushed.
The ceiling froze mid-collapse.
Not held.
Paused.
Evan staggered, blood trickling from his nose as the strain ripped through him.
He dragged the trapped man free with his other hand, muscles screaming in protest.
The moment they cleared the danger zone, the ceiling crashed down behind them.
Evan stumbled out into the open, dropping to his knees as hands reached for the injured man.
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
Sirens wailed closer now.
Evan barely heard them.
The pressure did not ease.
It twisted.
Something shifted above him.
Evan looked up.
The sky over Hollow Square darkened unnaturally, clouds spiralling inward toward a single point.
Noah stared upward, horror dawning on his face. "Evan," he said slowly. "You need to stop."
Evan tried to stand.
The ground buckled.
A tear ripped open in the air, the square, smaller than in the dream, but unmistakable. Darkness spilt from it, thick and crawling.
Screams erupted.
People ran.
Luke shouted, "That is definitely new."
Evan felt it then.
The same presence.
Watching.
Testing.
"You chose," the voice whispered.
The tear widened.
Evan clenched his fists, blood dripping from his nose onto the pavement.
"I know," he whispered back.
And for the first time, he understood.
Saving them had not prevented the disaster.
It had started it.