The air smelled of rust and static as Elara Voss stepped off the hovercraft, her boots crunching on frozen gravel. The facility loomed ahead, a skeletal structure of steel and glass half-buried in the tundra. She hadn’t set foot here…
The air inside the habitat module tasted metallic, a constant reminder of the recycled systems keeping them alive. Dr. Elara Voss adjusted the scanner, its screen flickering with erratic data. Something was wrong with the seismic readings. Kael’s voice crackled…
The first time Lira saw the cracks, she thought they were shadows. But when the wind howled through the trees and the sky split open like a wound, she knew something was wrong. The air tasted of iron, and the…
The air in the sublevel lab reeked of ozone and burnt copper, a metallic tang that clung to the back of Lena’s throat. She adjusted her gloves, the synthetic material creaking as she leaned over the containment unit. Inside, the…
The air tasted like iron by the time Mara reached the edge of the woods. She paused, her boots crunching over frost-bitten leaves, and glanced back at the town behind her—its crooked rooftops glowing faintly in the predawn dark. The…
Dr. Elara Voss adjusted her gloves, the rubber cracking slightly as she reached for the control panel. The room hummed with the low thrum of machinery, a sound that had become as familiar as her own heartbeat. Before her, the…
The air in the cockpit tasted metallic, like rusted wire on the tongue. Captain Mara Voss gripped the control yoke, her knuckles pale against the worn leather. Outside the reinforced glass, the stars stretched in endless rows, cold and indifferent.…
The salt air clung to Lila’s skin as she dragged her suitcase across the dock, its wheels screeching against the weathered wood. The town of Marrow’s End stretched before her—weathered shingles, fog-draped piers, and a lighthouse that loomed like a…
The air smelled of salt and diesel as Clara navigated the narrow dock, her boots splashing in the wake of the fishing boats. She’d always hated the way the harbor reeked of brine and decay, but today the stench felt…
The wind clawed at Mara’s coat as she stepped off the rusted bus, its engine sputtering like a dying animal. The air smelled of pine resin and something older—decaying wood, maybe, or the faint tang of blood. She hadn’t been…
The sun hung low over the mesquite, casting long shadows across the cracked earth. Clara Voss tightened her grip on the reins, her boots crunching over gravel as she guided her mare through the dusty trail. The air smelled of…
Dr. Elara Voss adjusted her visor, the thin layer of frost already clinging to the lens as she stepped onto the crimson dunes of Eos-9. The air here tasted metallic, like rusted iron and burnt ozone, a constant reminder of…
Mira found the journal in her father’s study, buried beneath a pile of yellowed newspapers. The leather cover was cracked, its spine warped by time, but the brass clasp still held. She pried it open, fingers brushing dust from the…
Mara’s boots sank into the mud as she pushed through the thicket, the air thick with the tang of pine resin and damp earth. The note had been folded twice, its edges frayed, tucked beneath a rock at the edge…
Dr. Elara Voss adjusted the dial on the cylindrical device, its surface etched with intricate patterns that seemed to shift when viewed from different angles. The lab’s fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a sterile glow over the steel worktables. She…