“I’m coming in hot!” Ray yelled.

He leapt over the side of a toppled truck towards a building. A large Oghrodi chased closely behind him. Eve stood perpendicular on the wall above them. Large prongs made of light wrapped around her legs and stabbed into the wall, tethering her in place. She fired two shots at the Oghrodi as it got closer to Ray. The bullets exploded into bright flashes on impact, briefly blinding the monster and slowing its pursuit.

“Finish it!” Eve yelled.

Anand careened around the corner of the building. He held out his left palm towards the Oghrodi. His aim was nowhere near as good as Eve’s. But up close, that didn’t matter. A panel opened near his wrist and launched a capsule. It opened in midair to reveal a net that wrapped around the beast. Upon contact, the net tightened and emitted a strong electric current. The Oghrodi screamed for a moment before collapsing to the ground and exploding like usual. A gong sounded in the sky as the world faded away.

“You’ve gotten a lot better,” Tori said while looking at a chart on her monitor. “You’re not panicking as much and your pain thresholds are significantly higher.”

“It’d be better if we didn’t get hit though,” Anand replied as he got out of his pod.

“That’s always difficult. You never know how the Oghrodi will attack. They don’t fight in a way that’s familiar to humans so the best we can do is be prepared for it and mitigate the damage.”

“In a perfect world, you’d never need to deal with any of this,” Boss said as he entered the room. “I take it there was no trouble with the last practice mission.”

“Nope!” Ray replied with pride and flexed. “We’re too strong for these missions now!”

Boss nodded and turned his attention to Tori. “Is it done?”

“Yep. Once all the missions were completed, everything was set,” she replied.

“Good. Follow me.”

Boss walked back into the lounge with everyone in tow. The entirety of Team Lucky was waiting for them. They all waited with anticipation for their leader to say something.

“It’s done,” Boss said.

He turned to the recruits and smiled. It was the first time he’d done so. Honestly, it was a little frightening seeing him joyous.

“Congratulations!” Team Lucky’s members cheered.

“You’ve completed all of the basic VR simulations,” Tori explained. “You can officially use your Glaives as needed.”

“Really?” Ray asked.

“I don’t think we need it right now, do you?” Eve asked.

“I wasn’t gonna unsheath right now.”

Anand raised his hand. “You said we finished the basic VR simulations. Does that mean there’s more?”

Conrad nodded. “Of course. I told you training is never complete. You’ve still got plenty of VR simulations that we expect you to complete. But you can take it slow.”

“Not necessarily. Who knows when another rift will show up,” Boss said.

“Or where,” Anand said.

“Oh come on, can’t we just celebrate?” Ray asked.

“I’m with Ray!” JP said and pulled a cake out of the fridge. “I’ve been planning this for a week. So, help me before our duo of brooders ruin it.”

Anand and Boss shared a look. They’d grown accustomed to being the only ones who were always thinking about the next rift. But it was only fair that everyone got to celebrate. Team Goldilocks weren’t the only ones working hard during the last few months. Along with training their new subordinates, Team Lucky had been continuing their usual research.

Ray and Alec immediately started up the TV. Ray had convinced Team Lucky to get a console to “wind down after a long day.” It was a genius excuse but not untrue. They’d spent many evenings bonding over games after training. There were many complaints from Alec and JP about how they’d lost their skills over the years. Ray and Eve were adamant to not let the same happen to them.

Anand usually joined in but today decided to sit back at the kitchen counter and watch. It was relaxing to hear everyone else enjoying themselves. He sat in silence for a while until Boss pulled up a seat.

“What’s on your mind?” Boss asked. He tried to stay as quiet as possible so no one complained about the conversation.

Anand sighed. “The GDF… I mean, we have no way of tracking rift appearances, right?”

“It depends what you mean. We’re very close to being able to properly track the locations of a rift within minutes of the energy fluctuation they cause.”

“But it’s only a few minutes.”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Boss sighed. “Riftwalkers are massive creatures and some part of the hides the secret to rift creation. We have yet to retrieve it to help us uncover the mystery in their spawning. Even then, we can’t guess what the Oghrodi will do. We don’t know how they think or if they use some automated system. Though the latter seems unlikely.”

“Do we have any idea why the Oghrodi are attacking us? It can’t still be the Origin Stone, can it? They only land near it once every two years,” Anand replied.

Boss nodded. “We’ve tried to find a pattern but there’s nothing conclusive.”

“I wouldn’t call it a pattern but I found something weird recently,” Anand said and grabbed his tablet. “The Oghrodi mostly show up in cities within a few hundred miles of a base. That’s why there’s some parts of the world that’ve never been affected by a rift.”

“That’s a coincidence, I’m sure,” Boss replied. If he was trying to be nonchalant, Anand wasn’t buying it. Boss’ eyes were intensely studying the tablet.

“I’m serious.” Anand insisted. “During the first two years of their invasion, the Oghrodi landed in almost random locations. After landing in the Sahara Desert, they kept landing near there for a year. The attacks only became more widespread after more GDF bases started popping up. But if you track the current attacks, they are all within a few hundred miles of a base. Hell, there’s even small fluctuations in certain areas suggesting that Oghrodi came down here without the need of a Riftwalker. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“This warrants further research.” Boss sighed. “Send me whatever you’ve found.”

“I trust that you won’t bury this,” Anand said.

“I’ll see to it personally that we thoroughly look into this,” Boss replied then suddenly burst out laughing.

It was unnatural. Anand turned to see Ray and Eve approaching. He quickly started mimicking Boss.

“And I seriously had no clue what he was thinking,” Anand said while laughing.

“I am unsurprised by Ray’s actions but I’m glad you succeeded,” Boss replied.

“Are you guys going over Ray’s greatest hits?” Eve asked.

“I’m not the only one who screws up,” Ray replied with a grin. “Look, as much as I’d like to hang around here, I need to study for the test tomorrow. I was gonna head back, you coming?”

Anand shared a look with Boss before getting up.

“Yeah, I’ll come with,” Anand replied.

He and his friends said their goodbyes and headed to the teleporter. Something was nagging at Anand but he couldn’t put a finger on it. There must have been some reason the Oghrodi were attacking different cities. Even if they were trying to take over the world, attacking random locations wasn’t going to be as effective as a proper strategy. Anand pushed the worries to the back of his mind.

As the group returned to campus, Eve asked, “What were you and Boss really talking about?”

“Just something I’ve been researching,” Anand answered.

“Are you gonna tell us what or do we have to pry it outta you?” Ray asked.

Anand hesitated. “I’ve been thinking about the next rift. I just didn’t want you guys to worry about it.”

“It’s not like we haven’t thought about it. Rifts are scary stuff, man. And now we’re fighting on the frontline,” Ray said.

“Not to mention, protecting everyone. And ourselves,” Eve added.

“That’s all true. But I’m also worried about when it’ll appear,” Anand explained. “All the IDF data is lacking. Boss is going to look into a hunch for me but I’m not sure it’ll lead anywhere.”

“Let him take care of that for now. We've got other stuff to worry about,” Ray said.

“I’m not worried about the physics test,” Anand replied candidly.

“Well, some of us aren’t as smart as you.”

“Speak for yourself,” Eve said mockingly.

“Touché,” Ray replied.

Even with rifts and fears always occupying his mind, Anand felt relaxed near his friends. Something about Ray’s nonchalance and Eve’s remarks made him feel safe. The group split up as they approached the dorms. Anand’s elation disappeared when he saw a window flashing on his laptop. He scrambled to grab a pair of headphones before sitting down.

“Hello?” he said meekly at the sight of his father.

“Hello, Anand. How are you?” Arjun asked.

“I have a test tomorrow and need to study for it.”

“It’s surprising that you still think school is important,” Arjun replied. “I was sure you would have quit by now to focus on being a pilot.”

Anand didn’t hesitate when he replied, “You just think I don’t care about school. I can care about multiple things at once.”

“The capacity to do so is only found in those with talent.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not talented or worth anything. I get it,” Anand replied sharply.

Arjun sighed. “I’ll go get your sister. She wanted to talk to you and ran off somewhere.”

He left the screen and Anand heard him yell for Sonia. She ran into the frame and sat down.

“What’s up, Brat?” Anand asked.

“I wanted to check in,” Sonia said. “You mentioned doing virtual reality simulations but never elaborated. How are they?”

“Is Dad around?”

Sonia furrowed her brow, looked around and said, “No?”

Anand felt at ease and answered. “It’s been really cool. I’ve learned a lot about how to handle dangerous situations and how to assist people. Fighting is also a lot easier in my G- BEAR.”

Sonia chuckled, “You must be good at it if you’re this happy.”

“I hope so,” Anand said soberly.

“Dad was on your case again, huh?” Sonia said.

“Nothing new. I’m used to it.”

“Don’t you want it to stop?”

“Of course I do,” Anand replied exasperatedly. “But he won’t, so I have to deal with it.”

“I’m sure if he saw how hard you’re working, he’d cut you some slack.”

Anand laughed sarcastically. “You and I both know that’s not true or he would’ve already cut me some slack.”

“Fair point.” Sonia paused. “Then why do you try so hard? Not at your job, I know that you like it; I mean at school. If Dad won’t ease up on you anyway, why bother trying?”

“He’s been bugging you too, huh. Well, as your older brother, I’m required to say that I find it satisfying to try hard and succeed.”

“And what’s your real reason?” Sonia asked.

Anand contemplated his answer.

“No one else gets on my case,” Anand said. “In fact, they actively support me. If I were doing poorly, my teachers would get on my case. Mom and my boss would too. Heck, I’m sure Ray and Eve would have something to say. Overall, it’d show poorly on me to not be the best.”

“So, if no one else is on my case, I’m not actually doing that bad.” Sonia sighed with relief.

“Yeah, Brat. You’re doing great,” Anand said. “Speaking of doing my best, I have a test tomorrow so I’m gonna go study. Night.”

“Night!” Sonia said in her usual chipper tone before hanging up.

Anand looked at his backpack and groaned. He got out of his chair, climbed into his bunk and went to sleep.

Ray chuckled and said, “So much for studying, huh?”

“You just overthink it.” Anand grumbled.

“You’re one to talk.”

The next morning, Ray woke up first and was already studying when Anand rolled out of bed. He landed hard on the floor and grumbled while picking himself up.

“You’re being pretty diligent,” he said.

Ray replied, “Studying physics is a lot easier than working on battle strats.”

“I’m shocked to hear you say that.”

Ray had already left by the time Anand was ready to go. Classes would start soon and he would inevitably be late. When he arrived at the main building, Anand was surprised to see many students still roaming the halls. He entered his classroom and slipped into a seat in the back of the room. He furrowed his brow at the sight of a nearly empty classroom. Upon checking his phone Anand realized he was early. Ray must’ve set their clock ahead so he wasn’t late. Anand grabbed his laptop and opened up an old document with rumors about Riftwalkers.

Slowly, he began reading through them. He hoped there was something, anything, that supported his theory about the rifts. He scoured the notes for anything he hadn’t thought of. Unfortunately, there was nothing. Ever since he learned about rifts, he’d thought about them nonstop. The only theories that he hadn’t thought of were the ones that had long been disproven. Even so, Anand only got through a third of the document before class ended. Laptop in hand, he went to his next class. Without looking up, he weaved through the crowded halls as he continued to look for information. His day continued like this until physics.

“Hey, buddy. Sorry I dipped out early, I had questions about the test,” Ray said.

“No worries,” Anand replied while sitting down. “Except you left the door unlocked again,”

“So you could leave faster!”

“Whatever you say. Focus up. Let’s see if your studying paid off.”

Professor Jacobson approached the boys’ desk and said, “As excited as I am to hear that Raimundo has studied, he won’t get to prove it today. The GDF is requesting your presence. You can take this exam at a later date.”

Before Ray or Anand could ask any questions they were guided out of the class.

“Ray, Anand, can you hear me?” Conrad asked, his voice emanating from the boys’ Collars.

Anand nodded. “Yeah, what’s happening?”

“We’ll explain when you get here. Please hurry.”

Anand and Ray rushed to the union and ran into Eve on the way. She simply nodded and sped up with the boys in tow. There were no other students at the teleporter. They ran in and inputted their destination. Conrad was waiting in the hall and waved to the group before leading them. Anand expected to be taken to a briefing room but instead they went to the team lounge.

All of Team Lucky was waiting inside alongside Tori and Director Graves. Team Goldilocks was taken aback by the director’s presence but quickly saluted her.

“Stand down,” she said and held up a tablet. “Agent Desai, Captain Marino mentioned that you conducted this research alone?”

“About the fluctuations and rift locations? Yes,” Anand answered.

Boss gave the director a knowing look while tapping the table. He drew everyone’s attention to the holographic city.

“You called us here for a training sim?” Ray asked.

“They must have a good reason,” Eve said. “Right?”

Boss shook his head and replied, “This is not a training simulation.”

Tori tapped her tablet and the hologram turned and zoomed until it focused on a single area. Something seemed to fluctuate in the air over a small alley. The screens around the room displayed the spot in real time.

“We tuned the radar and focused on areas near GDF resources and this pinged about 20 minutes ago,” Tori explained. “It’s the same readings we get when a rift appears but the size is much smaller.”

“We want you to go investigate it. If an Oghrodi appears, keep an eye on it,” Director Graves commanded. “Do not engage unless absolutely necessary.”

Anand’s eyes were affixed to the hologram. Though he was terrified, he was more excited that his theory was correct. Not only that, he’d soon be able to equip his Glaive for real.

“Wait, what about civilians? Shouldn’t we evacuate them?” Eve asked.

Alec grumbled. “We tried but without proof of urgency, no one cares.”

“You’ll need to protect anyone that crosses the Oghrodi’s path,” Boss added. “If it attacks, that is.”

“What? We trained to protect stragglers,” Ray complained. “There’s only ever a few. But those buildings could be filled with people.”

“Do you think we don’t understand that Ray?”

“Agent Kekoa, the real world is rarely the same as a training simulation,” Director Graves stated. “Even so, I believe you are all well equipped to handle this mission.”

“Just us? Aren’t there more Glaives?” Eve asked.

“If we called upon all of them, it would draw more attention than necessary. There is a reason you are trained to handle these situations within your teams. Aside from extenuating circumstances, we won’t call on multiple Glaive teams.”

“With all due respect, this seems like an extenuating circumstance.”

“It’s fine,” Anand interjected. “Where are we going?”

Tori zoomed out on the hologram and pinged the map. “The disturbance is near Madison. Don’t unsheath until necessary.”

“Wait, they’re going to the same city as last time? Why?” Ray asked.

“That’s what we’d like to find out.”

“The fluctuations are getting faster,” Anand said in nearly as monotone a voice as Boss. “We need to go.”

“Good luck, Team Goldilocks. Use the teleporter at the far right of the hall. It’s locked for mission use only and I’ve set it to your destination.”

Anand ran out of the room. Ray and Eve were stunned but quickly followed suit. They weaved around the agents occupying the halls. Some gave them confused looks but didn’t block their path. The second all three were in the teleporter, Anand repeatedly tapped the control panel. It was a single confirmation key.

Upon arriving at their destination, Tori’s voice came from the intercom. “You’ll need to take one of the GDF cars.”

“I’ll drive,” Eve replied and approached a row of black vehicles marked with the GDF logo. The boys piled in while Tori sent the location of the disturbance directly to the car’s GPS.

“Okay, I know we’re in a hurry and all but that’s still rad,” Ray said.

“Mmm,” Anand grumbled. His eyes were fixated on the map.

Eve drove slowly, trying her best not to draw any attention. But it was apparent that no one would see them as the area seemed deserted. Or rather, anyone approaching the street near the disturbance quickly turned away or rushed into a building. Something drove them away from the alley. Eve parked on the street before the team walked into the alley. As they approached, they could see an obvious purple orb hovering in the air. It was quickly expanding and no one knew how to stop it.

“Ray, you’re on that roof,” Anand commanded and pointed to one side of the alley. “Eve and I will take the other.”

“We can take those ladders,” Eve said and pointed into the alley.

They were careful to avoid the rift as they climbed to the roof and positioned themselves. A strong stench permeated from the rift as it tore open. Anand was on the cusp of gagging but the smell quickly dulled. The rift didn’t cause any noticeable damage to its surroundings.

An eye connected to a long flexible stalk slithered out. It was followed by multiple others all stemming from a slimy, sluglike body. Under the goo were scales that covered the entirety of the being. They scraped against the concrete as the Oghrodi slithered deeper into the alley. It peered into nearby windows, spying on the building occupants. For almost ten minutes it paced around the alley. Team Goldilocks did their best to see what was happening inside but it was impossible with how high up they were.

Eventually, the creature stopped moving. From within it’s slime coated shell emerged a mass that could be described as an arm. It held something small and started to speak into it. It was incomprehensible. There was obviously someone on the other side of the communication device but they weren’t speaking any language from Earth. After some time there was a pause in the conversation. The Oghrodi began fiddling with its device with more vigor. Anand felt a chill run down his spine. Something was off.

“Tori, is there a rift coming?” he asked.

He wasn’t expecting the response of an alarm blaring throughout the city. The distant sky tore apart as a rift ripped through the sunset. In the moment he’d looked away the Oghrodi vanished. Anand turned to his friends but they shared similar confused looks. No one saw where the creature disappeared to.

“We lost sight of the Oghrodi,” Anand said disheartedly.

“There are bigger concerns right now,” Tori replied in a panic. “We’ve got multiple rifts! Two, three. No, five! All over the world. One is directly on you.”

Anand swore under his breath. He pulled out his phone and quickly sent a text to his family. Hopefully that was one worry he could forget about.

Is everyone all clear? Sonia? -Anand

Sonia replied immediately.

I’m all good. -Sonia

Main theek hoon. -Mom

Good. I’m heading to the GDF. -Anand

Anand was used to his father not responding. He felt calmer but still had hundreds of questions about the rifts. Before he could theorize, his attention was drawn to the commands coming through his glasses.

Director Graves spoke in a stern voice. “Team Goldilocks, hold your position. Unsheath on Agent Desai’s command. Once the streets are empty, start searching for anyone left behind and get them to Runners. After you are sure they are safe, search for the Oghrodi. Separate it from any civilians before properly engaging with it. Just like your training. Am I understood?”

“Yes,” Team Goldilocks replied.

They watched the streets for a few minutes as the building emptied and people ran to nearby the shelter. Runners lined up nearby, bussing groups away from the city. Anand’s nerves subsided as fewer people remained below.

“Unsheath,” he muttered so quietly no one heard him.

“Initialize Glaive!” the mechanized voice said loudly enough for Ray to hear on the roof over.

The liquid metal was much colder outside of the simulation. Anand was glad that was the only difference with his Glaive. The others followed his lead and then waited.

“You’re our leader. What’s the plan?” Eve asked.

Ray nodded. “Yeah, how are we doing this?”

Anand took a deep breath. He thought about all his training with Boss and how he’d handle this.

“This is a search and rescue mission,” Anand said. “Our goal is to protect any civilians we encounter. Get them to Runners before looking for more. If you encounter an Oghrodi, alert the rest of the team and we’ll take it out together. Am I clear?”

Eve and Ray nodded.

“Good. Connect to voice comms. Let’s do this.”