Read Frozen Hour :: My Stomach and the Laws of Physics Have a Falling-Out

Here’s a fun fact: Teleporting is the worst.

One second, I was about to be turned into a snack by a tooth-covered nightmare, and the next—I got yanked through what felt like a blender set to existential crisis mode.

But before we even get to that, let’s rewind to the part where I almost died.

The thing in the void lunged.

I did the smart thing and screamed.

Dad shoved me aside just as the creature’s massive claw tore through the air where I’d been standing. The impact sent shockwaves through the darkness, like the void itself was rippling from the force.

I hit the ground hard, barely rolling out of the way before another shadowy tendril slammed down inches from my head. The ground—it wasn’t even real ground—splintered apart, sending jagged, glowing fractures through the air.

This was not a winnable fight.

My dad knew it. I knew it. The monster? Didn’t care.

It came at us again, its teeth shifting like rotating saw blades as it roared. The force of the sound sent a shockwave through my body, rattling my bones like they were tuning forks.

Dad raised a hand. Silver light flared from his palm, cutting through the darkness like a blade. The creature reeled back, hissing as the glow seared across its body. But instead of retreating, it just got angrier.

Tentacles lashed out.

One of them clipped my side before I could dodge. A cold, empty pain sank into my ribs—like the thing had just torn a piece of me away.

I staggered. My legs went weak. The edges of my vision blurred.

Dad grabbed my arm, steadying me. “Stay with me.”

I tried to speak, but my tongue felt numb. The shadow… it had done something to me.

“We’re leaving,” Dad said.

I barely had time to ask to what before he slammed his hand against the air itself—

—And everything disappeared.

One second, I was in a battle. The next—I got yanked through what felt like a black hole made of static.

I couldn’t see. I couldn’t breathe. Every part of me stretched, twisted, and folded like I was being shoved through a space that didn’t quite exist.

I think I screamed. I’m not sure. It felt like my thoughts were being shredded apart and stitched back together wrong.

Then—bam.

I stood up slowly. “Where… are we?”

My dad studied the walls, his expression unreadable. “A sanctuary.”

“Cool,” I said, brushing dust off my jacket. “A sanctuary from what exactly?”

Before he could answer, a low rumbling shook the floor beneath us.

Because, of course, things couldn’t just stay quiet.

The glow from the runes flickered. The walls trembled. Then—something moved in the shadows.

I tensed. “Dad…?”

His gaze snapped to the far side of the cavern. “We’re not alone.”

Fantastic. Because I was really hoping for more mysterious horrors today.

I barely had time to react before a deep, echoing voice filled the cavern.

“You do not belong here.”

From the darkness, a figure stepped forward.

Tall. Cloaked in shifting shadows. And though I couldn’t see their face, their eyes burned silver—just like my dad’s had.

I took a step back. “Okay. Who’s the new guy?”

My dad’s expression hardened. “A guardian.”

I frowned. “A guardian of what?”

The figure lifted a hand—or, at least, I thought it was a hand. The shadows around them twisted unnaturally.

“Turn back,” the figure said. “Or be unmade.”

…Okay. I really didn’t like the sound of that.

Dad stood his ground. “We’re looking for something.”

The guardian didn’t move. “There is nothing for you here.”

I glanced at my dad. “Pretty sure that’s code for ‘get lost.’”

His jaw tightened. “We don’t have a choice.”

The air tensed.

Then the shadows around the guardian exploded forward.

And just like that—we were in a fight.

The first blast of shadow energy nearly tore my head off. I ducked just in time, rolling across the stone as something slammed into the pillar behind me. It cracked clean in half, crashing down in a cloud of dust and glowing runes.

I coughed. “Are we sure we can’t just—talk this out?”

The guardian answered by trying to vaporize me.

My dad stepped between us, raising his arm. A wall of silver light erupted in front of him, absorbing the impact. The guardian snarled and moved impossibly fast, closing the gap in an instant.

My dad barely blocked the next strike. Shadows lashed against his shield, sending out waves of force that nearly knocked me over.

I scrambled for a weapon—except, oh yeah, I didn’t have one.

The guardian flicked their wrist, and tendrils of black energy shot toward me.

I had zero combat training. I had no idea what I was doing.

But my body moved on its own.

The second before the tendrils reached me, I threw up my arms. Something in my chest flared white-hot.

A pulse of energy erupted around me—not silver, but something else. Something darker.

The shadows disintegrated.

The guardian froze.

Their silver eyes narrowed, and for the first time, they hesitated.

“…Interesting,” they murmured.

I didn’t like the sound of that.