Max’s hands trembled as he stared at the phone screen. The glowing symbol pulsed softly, the light fading and brightening in a rhythmic pattern, like it was alive. He blinked several times, waiting for the words on the screen to change or for the voice to repeat itself, but nothing happened. The message was clear: “Max Arwen, you’ve been chosen.”

“Chosen for what?” Max muttered under his breath. He sat down on the rock again, trying to make sense of everything. It was like something out of one of the sci-fi novels he loved so much. A mysterious message, strange dreams, and now this? It felt too weird to be a coincidence.

Max tapped the screen, but nothing happened. The symbol stayed, floating in place, mocking him with its mystery. He tried swiping left, right—anything to get more information, but the phone seemed frozen on that image.

“Come on, give me something,” he whispered, but the phone remained still, as if waiting for him to figure something out. After a few minutes of staring at the symbol, Max gave up and shoved the phone back into his pocket, his mind racing. 

*What was that?*

He looked up at the sky again, feeling the weight of the moment settling on him. It was a crisp, clear day, with a few clouds lazily drifting by, but the normalcy of it all felt like a contradiction to the strangeness bubbling inside him. It was like there were two versions of reality—the one where he was just a regular kid, walking through the woods, and the one where... well, something else was going on.

Max pulled the phone out again. The symbol was still there, pulsing like it was waiting for something. He tried tapping it one last time, and then, suddenly, it flickered out. His regular home screen returned, showing a bunch of missed texts from Jake and a notification about homework from the school app. Everything was back to normal.

Max frowned. *What the heck just happened?*

He stood up, heart still pounding, and started walking out of the woods, trying to piece things together. The dreams had always been intense, but this was the first time something from them had bled into real life. Was it just his mind playing tricks on him, or was there more to it?

His phone buzzed again. This time, it was a real text—from Jake.

> Jake: Dude, where’d you go? You bail on me?

Max quickly typed back:

> Max: Had to clear my head. Something weird just happened.

Jake’s reply came almost instantly.

> Jake: Lol, what now? UFOs?

Max paused before responding, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. Part of him wanted to tell Jake everything, but how could he even begin to explain something he didn’t understand himself? He settled on a half-truth.

> Max: Just a weird glitch with my phone. I’ll explain later.

> Jake: You good? You’ve been acting weird all day.

Max sighed. His best friend had a point—he *was* acting weird. But then again, weird things were happening. He put the phone back in his pocket without replying and headed home, his mind still spinning with a thousand unanswered questions.

---

That night, Max couldn’t sleep. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the dreams to come. Part of him dreaded it, but another part—deep down—wanted to see if there was more. He wanted answers, and if the dreams were connected to whatever was happening to him in the real world, maybe he could find them there.

When he finally drifted off, it wasn’t long before the familiar feeling hit. He was back in the cockpit again, piloting the same mysterious ship that had been haunting his dreams for years. But tonight, it felt different. The ship felt more real, more... alive. The controls in front of him glowed faintly, and the stars outside the window shimmered with a kind of intensity he had never seen before.

He looked down at his hands gripping the steering controls. Everything seemed familiar, but this time, there was a strange new energy in the air. A soft hum filled the cockpit, vibrating through the metal, almost like a heartbeat. 

Suddenly, the ship’s console flickered, and a new set of symbols appeared on the screen in front of him. The same symbol that had been on his phone earlier—a cross between a star and a compass—glowed on the screen, brighter and more vivid than before.

Then the voice came again, calm and steady but with a strange urgency this time.

“Max Arwen, prepare for activation.”

“Activation?” Max asked aloud, his voice echoing in the cockpit. “What does that even mean?”

There was no response. Instead, the ship's dashboard flickered again, and the stars outside the window started to blur. The hum in the ship grew louder, turning into a steady vibration that pulsed through Max’s body. His heart raced as he gripped the controls tighter. The ship was moving, faster and faster, though he wasn’t steering it.

Outside, the stars seemed to stretch, turning into long streaks of light. Max's breath caught in his throat. He wasn’t just dreaming anymore—this felt too real, too tangible. The ship, the stars, the sense of movement—it all felt like something more than just a figment of his imagination.

Suddenly, the ship lurched forward, and Max was thrown back into his seat. The blur of stars outside faded, replaced by something else entirely—a massive, glowing structure floating in space, like a gigantic station or ship. It was unlike anything Max had ever seen before. The structure gleamed with light, and its surface was covered in intricate patterns and symbols that pulsed with energy.

The ship slowed as it approached the structure, and Max felt a strange sense of anticipation wash over him. He didn’t know how, but he was sure of one thing: this was the place. The source of the dreams, the voice, the symbol on his phone—it all led here.

The voice spoke again, louder this time.

“Max Arwen, welcome to the Nexus.”

The moment the words hit his ears, Max woke up with a jolt, gasping for breath. His heart pounded as he stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, the image of the glowing structure still burning in his mind. The dream had felt so real, so *intensely* real, that for a moment, he wasn’t sure if he was truly awake.

He scrambled for his phone on the nightstand, unlocking it with shaking hands. The glowing symbol from earlier was back on the screen, pulsing softly.

And beneath it, new words:

“Coordinates received. Activation imminent.”

Max’s mouth went dry. *Coordinates?* For what?

He had no idea. But one thing was clear: something was coming. Something big.

And whatever it was, it involved him.