Spearbound

“Really?” Kade glared at the snarling pit bull in his path.

This was the day’s last stop, and he looked forward to getting home. He had plans to go out with some friends for the first time in ages.

They wanted to cheer Kade up because they thought he was ‘depressed.’ He was newly single, but that relationship had been dead for a while, so it was a long time coming. He really cared little about being girlfriend-less, but who was he to argue when his boys wanted to take him out to a bar?

The dog stopped baring its teeth when Kade got closer before wagging its tail.

Kade scanned the package and hid it in an empty pot before returning to the dog. It was still excitedly wagging its tail. He chuckled before giving it a several-second scratch.

“One of these days, I’m going to ignore you after you snarl at me.” He stared at the dopey smile on its face. “All right, maybe I won’t.”

Kade chuckled as he returned to his truck and drove to the warehouse. The dog was one of the least dangerous things he had encountered in one of his deliveries.

He received a significantly higher payment than what national carriers pay their drivers for a reason. It worked for him. The possibility of excitement during his routes kept him happy with the job.

Kade had mentioned this to others before, and they viewed him as if he were insane. He thought they were nuts for wanting to sit on their ass in a tiny cubicle all day. But to each their own.

He parked his truck next to the other delivery vehicles before heading inside to grab the keys for his pickup.

Matt, his boss, was waiting for him.

“I don’t like the look on your face,” Kade remarked. Matt was about to ask for something. He was usually happy to accommodate, since it meant extra money. This time, he was not.

“I didn’t want to do it, but we’ll be short of a driver tomorrow. I might need you to come in.”

“Nope,” Kade denied firmly. “I don’t plan to wake up before two in the afternoon tomorrow.”

“That works,” Matt grinned as if he caught him. “We’re like a family in this company, Kade. Sometimes we need to—”

“Oh, shut up,” Kade laughed. “Call me after two, and I’ll see.”

That was another reason he liked his job.

Matt got promoted after they fired the old supervisor, who liked the phrase “work family” a little too much. It always meant covering the old man’s ass while he went off and played golf.

He left the office and got in his pickup. Several minutes later, he was driving out of Chicago, still in a good mood.

Kade hummed to himself before turning on the radio and pumping the volume up.

He heard loud static.

… What the hell?

Kade briefly looked away from the road and glanced at the screen. It was at his usual station. He switched to the next one.

Then the next.

And the next.

He went through all the stations. All he heard was static.

Kade frowned before turning off the radio. He checked his cell phone and saw that he barely had a signal. He would be lucky if he could make a call.

That’s odd. It’s always strong here.

Kade settled in for the dull drive. This was fine only for several minutes.

The traffic had been smooth sailing. Until it suddenly wasn’t.

Kade cursed loudly when he felt himself being shunted forward after slamming the brakes. The tires squealed as the truck came to a rapid stop from near-freeway speeds.

“Fucking idiot! How the hell did you get your license?!” He cursed the driver of the car ahead of him as he rubbed his chest with annoyance. The seatbelt dug into his skin, but he was just glad that he didn’t get into a crash.

He took a second to gather himself before he saw the full situation in front of him. People started to exit their cars, prompting others to do the same.

Kade frowned when he realized that this wasn’t a typical traffic jam. He forgot his anger as he decided to see for himself what everyone was leaving their cars for.

This was something he hadn’t encountered before. He glanced behind to see cars slowly coming to a stop, causing a traffic jam of massive, unseen proportions.

“What are you doing? Stay close!”

He blinked at the panicked shout and saw a woman pulling her friend back. This friend was busy recording the traffic jam.

Kade rolled his eyes.

It wasn’t an uncommon sight.

Many people were on their phones, some speaking frantically, while others struggled to make calls. However, most were recording the traffic jam, just like that woman’s friend.

Just what we need. Hundreds of videos of the same thing posted online.

“What the hell is that?” A man standing beside Kade whispered in shock. However, the whisper wasn’t directed towards Kade.

He followed the man’s line of sight and looked up at the sky.

What the hell is that!?

A colossal crack tore through the otherwise blue sky, making it look like reality itself was splintering. It separated the moment Kade looked at it, as if it was expecting him.

He saw things that were difficult for his mind to comprehend.

Billions—trillions—of sentient species fought for survival against an endlessly encroaching darkness. Galaxies winked out of existence, and otherworldly beings stared back at him. He could feel it driving him towards madness.

The crack in the sky blinked. When it reopened, Kade wished for the vision of the endless battle to return.

An all-consuming eye stared down at Earth. Judging it. Weighing its worth. Deciding its future.

Kade’s sanity teetered as the eye vanished, and the crack grew… infinitely. The sky was gone. It was all an eerily dark void that covered the Earth.

Kade shivered as an unfamiliar chill sank into his bones.

Panic erupted around him, but he found his attention drawn elsewhere. He stood in awe, gazing at the inexplicable void above. Something grew within it.

A cascade of colors rippled across the previously dark void before it descended to Earth like an ethereal waterfall.

Kade’s vision went black. It lasted only for a moment before lines of text rapidly flashed in his vision.

System initializing.

Planet #7182983 has fallen.

Planet #7182984 had been found to be an adequate comparable.

Native name of Planet #7182984 detected.

Planet #7182984 has been designated ‘Earth.’

Population requirements have been met.

Intelligence requirements have been met.

Civilization requirements have been met.

Combat requirements have not been met.

Training required.

Calculating probable failure.

51.28% chance of Earth meeting requirements after uplifting combat capabilities.

Automatic approval due to an estimated probability exceeding 50%.

Initiating prospect protocol.

Arcana injection is completed.

19,837,282 Rift Zones linked.

800 Safe Zones created.

Scanning…

Scanning…

Scanning…

Prospect protocol complete.

Welcome to the greater universe, inhabitants of Planet Earth.