Deep within the warehouse, Clamo was scoured the archives, hunting for any scrap of information regarding the fabled Salt Oasis Caves.

  ?"Clamo! You staying behind?"

  ?The shopkeeper’s voice boomed from the garden. Phebe was in the midst of a frantic departure, shouting toward the glass-walled storefront without even realizing Clamo was tucked away in the shadows of the storage room.

  ?"I’m in here, Profes—uh, Boss! I’m staying put. These documents have me hooked; I’m staging a sit-in until I’ve read them all!"

  ?"Fair enough. I’ll leave you the gate keys. I doubt Ten wants to go either, so let him know."

  ?Suddenly, a voice piped up from above. "W-wait! I’m coming too, Doctor!"

  ?"Ten?! Where did you come from?"

  ?Amethyst (Ten) had been perched on the storehouse roof, sketching the evening landscape, and leaped down the moment he overheard the plan. He landed with the silent grace of a cat—or perhaps a gymnast—transitioning to a standing position in one fluid motion.

  ?"Look at this!"

  ?He held up his sketchbook. Tucked into the bottom left corner was a stunning rendition of the cave’s periphery. Beyond a narrow beast-track hemmed in by wild plum groves and ancient conifers lay the lake—or rather, the inland sea—its surface a vibrant vermilion, drinking in the setting sun like a great liquid mirror.

  ?"It doubles as a map," Phebe noted, tracing the lines. "And look... there’s a labyrinth snaking all around it."

  ?6:00 PM. As the shop closed, the group piled into the boxy family car. Ten climbed into the back, his mountaineering rucksack stuffed with three days' worth of emergency rations, water, a change of clothes, and heavy-duty work gloves.

  ?"You lot ready for some rough sleeping? We’re heading out!"

  ?"Taisa’s coming too!" Lettie, the daughter, chirped from the passenger seat. She had refused to leave her cat behind and sat there, belted in and beaming with excitement.

  ?The car was packed to the gills with folded camping gear. With a heavy groan of metal and rubber, the overloaded vehicle lurched forward, undeterred by the unpaved road and the clouds of fine dust rising in its wake. Behind them, the sky glowed with a frantic blue—a sharp display of Rayleigh scattering—as the true adventure began.

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  ?"Hey, Boss... you ever heard of 'Apocalyptic Sounds'?"

  ?Phoebe tilted her head, eyeing Lettie’s father, Teru, with a look of mild suspicion. Why the sudden formality?

  ?"The stuff the fanatics were buzzing about on Sid Roth’s shows? Like the Lehigh Valley Ministry? I’ve heard the rumors," Phoebe replied, "but I’ve never seen it myself."

  ?"I thought you were tight with those believers?"

  ?"I was just scouting," Phoebe said flatly. "A youthful indiscretion involving beating the hell out of cult leaders. I managed to liberate seven people, though I suppose from the outside, it looked like we were playing house."

  ?"You’ve lived a life, haven't you?" Teru muttered. "Most of it’s over my head, but Lettie caught something bizarre on her tablet the other day. I’ll show you later. It’s... incredible."

  ?"I can't wait! Ten, you have to see this too."

  ?Ten gave a quiet, shy nod. He was still adjusting to the sensation of traveling in a stranger's car with a family he’d only just met.

  ?"One hour to go," Teru announced. "Sleep while you can!"

  ?"On it!" Lettie chirped, looking ready to dive headfirst into dreamland.

  ?"You cannot force your way into dreams with effort," Ten observed calmly. A fair point.

  ?"I guess you're right!" Lettie giggled.

  ?Thirty minutes passed. The radio signal flickered out, dying right after a weather report promising a week of sun and a long-winded commercial in a thick local dialect. Then, silence—save for the static.

  ?Lettie had fallen fast asleep with the cat in her lap. Ten remained wide awake, his eyes fixed on the window, coolly observing the warped shapes of the trees, the shifting soil, and the patterns in the clouds.

  ?"This place..."

  ?"It’s a place of memories," Teru continued.

  ?"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked.

  ?"I wanted to bring you all here. Ten... this is near where I harvested that monolith."

  ?"Truly?! From this far out?"

  ?"But this isn't our destination tonight. It's too dark to see the tracks where the rock was moved anyway. We’ll explore that another time in the daylight. Now... this is where it starts!"

  ?As Teru floored the accelerator, Lettie stirred. "Daddy... are we there yet?" she mumbled through half-closed eyes.

  ?"Almost. Get your hearts ready." He spoke with a contagious, feverish excitement. "I haven't felt like this since I hit 190km/h on the Autobahn. It feels like we’re on a runway!"

  ?Before them lay a gravel track hugging a sheer cliff. The incline was so steep and the brush so thick they could barely maintain 40km/h. Using the full moon as a compass, Teru chased the red markers tied to the trees, weaving through the woods like a pilot in a high-stakes flight sim.

  ?Phoebe recognized those markers. The ghosts of an old adventure.

  ?Meanwhile, in the sky where Sirius was beginning to flicker, something was drifting toward them through the star-studded night.

  ?A floating object, glowing with an amber-orange hue.

  ?Roughly a hundred meters ahead, a mass large enough to cover a tennis court approached. It moved with an eerie weightlessness, silent and steady. Just moments ago, it had looked like a distant falling star cutting through the sky—now, it was right on top of them.

  ?"I can't see! I’m stopping! Everyone hold on!"

  ?Teru leaned forward, easing onto the brakes with precision. Phoebe braced herself, but the jarring impact never came. The car stopped as smoothly as a plane touching down on a perfect runway. Lettie showed no fear, staring at the light with pure curiosity. Ten simply smiled, his gaze fixed on the phenomenon.

  ?Then, emerging from the glow, appeared...