Chương 1: Initiation (1)

Rowan stared at the dark sky as he grabbed a suit from his wardrobe. Thick gray clouds churning overhead, almost as if it were night. Yesterday's forecast had promised clear skies. He was still frowning as he donned his suit. It was a shabby, cheap thing, but it was all he had. Wandering over to the bathroom, he forced the frown off his face and ignored the weather. Today was too important to be distracted. He looked into the mirror as he styled his hair, and a rough, unshaved face stared back. He sighed.

That wouldn't do. Still shaving, Rowan flinched as the bathroom door pushed open. He relaxed as he watched the small, furry form of a cat pushing its way in. Looking in the mirror, he noticed a small cut on his jaw. With a huff of annoyance, he shook his head.

"Really, Coco?" He glared at the cat.

"You know I have to look my best for today." He washed his face before taking a deep breath and straightening up. He felt Coco rubbing against his legs as he straightened his tie, taking one last look at his reflection before he left. His hair, normally unkempt, was swept back. It wasn't perfect, but he'd tamed the wavy black locks as well as he could. Walking out of the bathroom with Coco still winding around his legs, Rowan stepped into the kitchen.

In his tiny apartment, it doubled as both a dining and a living room. Pouring the cat a bowl of kibble, he dropped to his knees, scratching her chin. She purred and butted her head against his before turning to her meal. As she ate, Rowan ran his hands across her back.

"I'll be back soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to buy you something special." Giving Coco one last pet, Rowan stood. He put his shoes on, grabbed a briefcase with his resume and anything else he might need, and stepped out the door. Once outside, he looked around. All around him, despite the early hour, cars honked, people rushed, and the streets were bathed in… fog? That didn't seem right. It was the middle of summer, and the day was supposed to be sweltering. Even in the morning, it should've been nice.

Glancing up, Rowan stared at the swirling gray clouds. Then, he shook his head, refocusing. It seemed as if a storm were brewing, but Rowan just shrugged and went on his way. He had a job interview to get to. As he walked, he felt his hand tighten around his briefcase handle. What if he were rejected? Rowan shuddered and forced himself to take a deep breath. He couldn't let this bother him. He'd made it to the third round of interviews, and his hopes were high. He shivered as he strode down the sidewalk.

He could've called a taxi, sure, but the interview was only a few blocks away. And, of course, the day was supposed to be nice and warm, but he could handle the cold. Trying to calm his nerves, he pushed his doubts to the back of his mind and looked around the city. All around him were towering structures dozens of stories high, obscuring the gray sky. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Over the constant buzz of traffic, he could hear the sounds of construction getting louder and louder. Glancing forward, he saw scaffolding surrounding an older-looking building. That wasn't surprising. The scaffolding had been there for ages, with the city constantly insisting that repairs were about to start. What was surprising was that there were actually people working on the building. Maybe the neighborhood would finally be rid of the eyesore. He stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the cars to pass.

Rowan stood idly, tapping his foot. Then, he tilted his head. It had become so dark that it was a bit hard to see, almost as if the day was going in reverse, getting darker as the sun rose instead of the other way around. He tore his eyes away from the darkening clouds. He had to stay focused. If he wanted to land that job, he couldn't let anything distract him from the interview. With a slight frown lingering on his face, Rowan crossed the street, coming up on the old building that was finally being restored.

As he walked below the scaffolding, his eyes wandered to the small metal beams holding the entire thing up. It was nice that the structure wasn't just sitting and collecting dust anymore, but it didn't exactly look safe. After a moment staring at the rusted bolts holding everything together, Rowan went with his gut. He turned to walk out from beneath the scaffolding. But after taking just a single step, he froze as an ominous crack rang out behind him.

Whipping around, his eyes darted wildly about, searching for the source of the noise. He began to relax as he saw that nothing was obviously broken, but that only lasted for a moment. He stared up at the wooden boards that seemed to be moving ever closer to him. The scaffolding was collapsing. Hissing a curse between clenched teeth, Rowan pushed off the sidewalk, trying to leap clear of the falling beams. He almost made it.

A metal pole struck his side, the crack of a breaking rib ringing out as it forced him to the ground. Before he could recover, his legs were pinned beneath a plywood board, sealing his fate. As a storm of metal and wood fell upon him, Rowan made one final, desperate attempt at freeing himself before he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and the world went black. — Rowan woke, head throbbing as he tried to orient himself. For a moment, he just lay there, dumbfounded. Then, everything hit him at once.

The pain, the constant pressure from above, the realization that he was trapped. That the scaffolding had collapsed on him. Waves of pain from dozens of spots across his body struck him in unison, nearly knocking him back unconscious. But he hung on, gritting his teeth. Rowan took slow, deep breaths. The pressure on his back made each rise and fall of his chest feel like torture, but it helped ground him nonetheless. Looking around, he searched for anything that might help him escape.

Through the few streams of light that managed to pierce the rubble, he realized that there was nothing. Just shards of wood and metal. He hadn't known what he might find that would help him in the first place, but he'd held out hope that he might stumble across something. But what tiny sparks of hope he had were crushed as he realized the true weight of his situation. In the tiny illuminated areas around him, he could see pools of blood. His blood. He didn't know how much he'd already lost, but it was a lot.

Rowan began screaming for help. He didn't know if anyone would hear him, but he was sure first responders had arrived on the scene, and there couldn't be that much stuff piled over him. Grasping about, with his only free limb, he managed to grip a chunk of a steel pole off the ground before him, already soaked in his blood. He didn't have much leverage, lying flat on his stomach, but he used every last bit of it.

Rowan felt himself growing lightheaded as he continued to scream and slam his steel pole into anything he could find. But there was no response. His body got weaker and weaker as blood leaked from his body. He barely noticed the pole slipping from his fingers. He didn't know how long he'd spent trapped, but his eyelids were growing heavy. Soon, he stopped screaming for help, accepting his fate. As he closed his eyes, he only wished he could see Coco one last time before he had to go. Congratulations.

Earth has been successfully integrated into the System.