I picked up my pace, though I wasn't quite sure where I was going.

The first raindrops spattered against the pavement as I ran, the faint patter quickly growing into a steady rhythm. 

People hurried through the streets, their figures hunched against the wind, while shutters slammed shut and doors creaked on their hinges. 

The market square, bustling just an hour ago, was now deserted. Stalls stood abandoned, their goods covered by hastily thrown tarps.

Another flash of lightning illuminated the street, and that’s when I saw them: a group of people moving in the same direction, their dark suits stark against the storm. If I followed them, maybe I could find the village’s storm shelter. 

They moved quickly, their movements precise despite the chaos around them. I had to jog to keep up, my sneakers splashing through puddles as the rain soaked me to the bone.

We climbed the hill toward the outskirts of the village, where the cobblestones gave way to dirt paths now slick with mud. My heart pounded as the storm seemed to grow fiercer with every step. Trees bent under the force of the wind, their branches clawing at the sky, and the thunder came so frequently it felt like the air was constantly vibrating

The group ahead of me disappeared into a clearing, and I hesitated for a moment before following. What I saw stopped me in my tracks.

In the center of the clearing stood a girl, her red hair wild and tangled. She looked to be around my age, her slim frame dwarfed by the storm raging around her. Flames flickered around her hands, bright and defiant despite the rain pouring down in torrents. She didn’t look scared—she looked furious.

The suited figures fanned out around her, their movements practiced and deliberate. One of them raised a device, it was a strange, boxy thing that hummed with energy, and pointed it at her. The girl tensed, her flames surging higher, and for a moment, the air seemed to freeze.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” one of them shouted, their voice barely audible over the storm. 

The girl smirked, raising a hand. A burst of fire shot forward, forcing the suited figure to dive out of the way. The others reacted instantly, their devices lighting up with strange, flickering energy as they closed in. 

I ducked behind a tree, my heart hammering. I had no idea what I’d just walked into, but it was clear this wasn’t a normal girl. The rain hissed and steamed as it hit the flames she conjured, the clearing quickly filling with smoke and chaos.

The fight was unlike anything I’d ever seen. The girl moved with inhuman speed, her flames carving through the air as she dodged and attacked. The suited figures weren’t ordinary, either—they moved with a precision that spoke of intense training, their strange devices glowing brighter as they tried to pin her down. 

And then her eyes met mine.

For a brief moment, she stopped.

That hesitation cost her. One of the suited figures took advantage of the distraction, firing a bolt of energy from something that looked similar to a gun, clipping her shoulder. She cried out, stumbling, and the flames around her flickered. The group closed in, their movements coordinated and relentless.

I should’ve stayed hidden. I should’ve kept my head down and let them handle it. But something in me couldn’t just stand there and watch.

“Hey!” I shouted, stepping out from behind the tree.

It was a stupid move, but it worked. The suited figures turned toward me, their focus breaking just long enough for the girl to recover. She glanced at me again, and then launched another wave of fire, forcing her attackers to scatter.

Before I could process what was happening, the girl darted past me, her movements so fast she was almost a blur. I turned just in time to see her disappear into the forest, leaving a trail of scorched earth in her wake.

The suited figures regrouped quickly, their faces grim. One of them—a tall man with sharp features—glared at me, his jaw tight.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, his voice low and dangerous.

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came. I didn’t know how to explain why I’d followed them or why I’d called out.

The other members of the group adjusted their strange devices, their movements quick and methodical. The storm raged around us, but none of them seemed fazed.  

“What were you doing here?” the man demanded.  

I opened my mouth to answer, but my brain struggled to find the right words.

“I—uh—” I started, then stopped. “I didn’t know... I mean, I saw you all heading this way, and I thought—”  

“Thought what?” he snapped, taking a step closer. His green eyes were intense, unblinking.  

“I thought you might know where to go during the storm!” I blurted, my voice coming out louder than I’d intended. “I didn’t mean to... interrupt or whatever that was back there.”  

Another figure stepped forward, a woman with olive-toned skin and a streak of silver in her dark hair. Her suit was damp but pristine, and her expression was calmer—though no less serious.  

“Harris, ease up,” she said, her tone sharp but not unkind. “He doesn’t look like a threat.”  

The man—Harris, apparently—huffed and stepped back, though his glare didn’t soften.  

“Name,” the woman said, turning her attention to me.  

“Ben,” I said quickly. “Ben Carter. I just moved to the island today. I swear, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. I didn’t even know—”  

“What you saw here stays here,” she interrupted, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Is that clear?”

“Yeah, of course,” I said, nodding vigorously.  

Her sharp gray eyes studied me for a moment, as if weighing my sincerity. Then she nodded, motioning to one of the other suited figures, who stepped away to make a call on some kind of handheld device.  

The tension in the air didn’t ease. The storm still raged around us, though the group seemed more concerned with their strange equipment than the rain and wind. I shifted awkwardly, unsure if I was free to leave or if they were planning to... I didn’t know, haul me off somewhere?  

I glanced at the man—Harris—who was still watching me like I might spontaneously combust. “Should I... I don’t know, head back to town?”  

“You’re not going anywhere until we say so,” he said flatly.  

I decided it was safer to keep my mouth shut after that.  

A few minutes later, the woman returned. She gave a brief nod to Harris before addressing me again. “We’ll take you to the nearest storm shelter,” she said. “You’ll stay there until this passes.”  

Before I could respond, Harris spoke up. “This is a waste of time. He’s not our problem.”  

“So you’re saying we should let him wander around in this storm and probably die?” the woman asked.

Harris scowled but didn’t argue further.  

“Let’s move,” she said, gesturing for me to follow.  

As we started down the muddy path, the rest of the group dispersed back into the clearing, their focus returning to their strange devices and whatever they were doing before I showed up. The woman and Harris stayed with me, though they didn’t say much at first.  

It wasn’t until we reached the edge of the village that I worked up the nerve to speak.  

“So, uh... what exactly is going on?” I asked hesitantly, glancing between them.  

The woman gave me a sideways look but didn’t respond.  

“Storms don’t usually come out of nowhere like this,” I pressed. “And that girl back there... she—”  

“Don’t,” Harris said sharply, his tone cutting me off.  

“What?” I asked.  

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to,” he said, his expression hard.  

“Harris,” the woman said, her tone laced with irritation. She turned to me, her expression softening slightly. “It’s... complicated.”  

“Try me,” I said, surprising myself with how determined I sounded.  

She studied me for a moment before sighing. “The girl you saw—her name is Rio. She’s what we call a rift entity. They’re anomalies, things that shouldn’t exist in our world but sometimes... do. Think of them as disruptions—holes in reality. The storm you’re seeing now are a side effect of their presence.”  

I frowned, trying to wrap my head around it. “So, you’re like... what, storm chasers?”  

Harris snorted, but the woman ignored him. “We’re part of an organization called the Rift Control Agency,” she said. “Our job is to track these entities, neutralize them, and minimize the damage they cause.”  

“Neutralize,” I repeated. “You mean... kill them?”  

She didn't answer.

We walked in silence for a few moments after that, the wind carrying the sounds of the storm behind us.  

Finally, I broke the quiet. “How do I join?”  

Both of them stopped in their tracks, turning to stare at me.  

“Join?” Harris repeated, his tone incredulous.  

“Yeah,” I said, meeting their gazes. “I mean, if you’re out here saving the world from reality-breaking entities, that sounds... important.” 

Harris looked like he was about to argue, but the woman held up a hand to stop him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device, about the size of a pager, and handed it to me.  

“Keep this,” she said. “If you’re serious, we’ll talk after this storm is dealt with.”  

I nodded, gripping the device tightly.