Dr Hew had spent an uncomfortable amount of time disturbing the upper management. He'd lost hope that the weird feeling in his gut was overwhelmingly his own mind panicking. It was all set in as the upper management had no other complaints from the employees that surround him about his overwork or poor decisions.

He hadn't even realised that he was calling these people at midnight and he wasn't exactly in their excellent books from him blowing a hole in the side of this building. He knew they were also blaming him for the release of these monsters.

He wasn't worried about the monsters they knew about but the ones they didn't, and he didn't think the foreigners were the probably a threat. Having failed to get Dr Gareth kicked off the project, he got up but world span holding himself up with the table he'd ordered a meet of those who had been in the room at the time of the explosion.

Heading to the meeting room, he entering a dozen or so people how'd stayed in the tower, stood around. Hew knew that they all looked exhausted like himself, he also knew why they weren't getting complaints from the staff. Because Gareth was surrounded by people how we're in the same position he was in, Hew was going to ask Gareth's employees.

Boris was sitting in a corner as stare at us, all his face stony and unmoving, and gave him a nod which he returned.

Thinking of Gareth, he wasn't there it didn't surprise Hew supposedly he was being kept in his room.

Having checked the clock it said at eleven am he was again surprised at how time seemed to be slipping past him, he was wondering how much time he'd miss unknowingly as Hew'd worked. "Alright everyone, We've got a problem. We all seem to be lacking sleep and not, knowing what time it is, and I also can't remember where the last two hour have disappeared."

He breathed which turned into a yawn. He was joined by everyone, "So is everyone having similar problems because I've only just noticed it myself."

A lot of conversation broke off, and the general conscientiousness was that they were all in agreement that they'd also lost time when they thought about it. They even didn't seem to notice different times of the day.

Nodding Hew then said, "I think something did happen to us during the experiment. Something unusual has happened I've tried getting everybody taken off their assignments. The upper management they seem to think that a little bit of stress and time loss and both connected, so they've only suggested force weekends off. Still, as one of the least active people here I've had reasonable work-life balance. I've been getting worse and worse over the last few weeks, something seems to be haunting my dreams and they keeping me awake. So I was hoping you'd all volunteer to stop working for we all make a mistake."

Hew could feel the revulsion roll throughout the room, it even turned his own gut even though it was his idea and he'd be don't the same thing. "Before you all panic and say that you won't get credit for the find of the century you probably won't. If you make a mistake because we all are affected by the rift, you could kill millions. Now we will be starting our own project that will involve ourselves on the effects of the rift. I've asked such an old friend if they won't mind taking up the job and find out what happened. As well as all of the patients will all get credits."

A whisper was taken up around the room, but he couldn't tell if it was a positive one or not, he could only hope and wait for some sort of consensus. But as things progressed, it turned out that quite a few had decided to keep working on their current project. It wasn't what he'd hoped, but he could stop them, he was just thankful that some did decide to move projects.

Hew looked over to Boris to find him staring at the ones remaining in their projects. He eventually turned back to meet Hew stared and then got a nod before he continued. "Well those that have volunteered to work with me can stay the rest of you can get back to work and please remember that if you fell at all unwell you're always welcome to turn to me and ask and we'll accept you. Thank you."

As the ones who'd decided to leave left, he turned to the just over a half a dozen people left in the room. They moved on to discuss theories of how and what could be causing the effects. They came up with Gamma rays damaging our bodies. To merely the psychological side effects of staring for any length of time into a reality, we were never made to understand or see. Some wonder if it could be some sort of anti-matter effect having an unknown impact on their bodies. A dozen or so reasons were thrown about. Still, Hew added at the end that "Alan might have something to say on the problem. The telepaths caught some of Alan's feelings during the procedures, and they say he was scared of something."

One of the helpers pointed out that, "Sir, what does this have to do with the supers we figured that it was purely the virus strain that Gareth made that had produced them?"

Hew smiled "That's where we might be wrong, it could've something to do with my own experiment and Gareth virus. It was me that the experiment might have been the key to the virus's effects allowing his virus to connect and evolve to make Alan and the others."

An oh went through the room as gears started in some exhausted. Still, they all had brilliant brains, one of them asked Hew, "So would Ashley have a hole from which she pulls her powers that's simply natural forming?"

"I assume she does, I'll ask when I get the opportunity." he got a range of nods.

"Ok everyone we're convening this meeting and can I ask that you rest as best you can? The scientist who'll be leading will arrive in a few days to help us. You're free to do whatever you want but try and think of other ideas that you can all bring up in the next meeting."

After waving away his new project patients, he walked over to the Commander and asked, "So what do you think?"

"I think we're in trouble, I've got limited resources, and they're already stretched, watching the foreign agents, watching the super, watching Daedalus city. Now you want to add a dozen researchers inside and outside the tower in different parts of the country and let them not get knowledge of them. They all look awful yourself included in all of that. Are you sure we need to do this?"

Hew looked around at where his old and new team had just been, "Sadly yes it's needed. Humans can't last long without sleep, and we all didn't say anything because it's quite a scary thing to say. I think we're being taken over those things in our dreams."

"Are you saying that we're being invaded?"

"I hope not, it would be a good you see that these dreams are a part of some delusion that we got from staring into the rift. I've decided to take precautions and told you just encase we're taken over, just put us down if we've got no hope of stopping them. I've got a feeling that they're not going to go down easily. How about finding the other employees that left what's going on there?"

Commander Boris smiled, "I think I'll be keeping that to myself if you're compromised. Then I really shouldn't be telling you what's going on in case you unawarely warn them."

The comment echoed through Hew's head, "That's for the best because I feel I might already have warned them, I called one of them last night. If they're half as real as I fear then he warned those outsides and have disappeared."

Commander Boris stared at him, not giving away anything that could betray his thought, just the calm stone exterior. He eventually spoke, "So weren't you going to try and persuade Gareth to quit the project?"

He'd been avoiding it really hoping that Gareth would come out and say right I've had enough I'm off he'd happily go with him, on holiday or retire. "Yeah, I suppose I should wish me luck."

"Good luck Hew."

Hew gathered up the courage heading towards Gareth's room he found himself standing outside the room looking at the door, and it's two guards. He asked them. "Have you heard anything from the room?"

One of them answered, "Yeah, he's been talking a lot out loud, we've checked on him just sitting there staring into space and talking to himself."

Hew nodded, "Thanks."

Knocking on the door, he didn't hear anything, but as he opened the door, he saw the two guards move their heads around to peer around the door. He stepped through and looked into the darkness, seeing shadows moving.

Gareth stepped forth into the light, blinking, "Aha Hew, my brother, how are you?"

Hew almost stepped at the dishevelled look of Gareth, his head also tilted at the usage of "brother.". Then the smell was as if he hadn't had a wash for a while. "Hello, Gareth I've just come to see how you are?"

"I'm well, come in Hew it's quite messy in here so mind out where you stand a lot of ideas spread about."

How'd he get the paper all resource was taken out of the room, I guess they could've missed something. Still, he couldn't see very much in the darkness, so he went to flick the lights on, when he heard a hiss come from, "Please don't turn the lights on it quite painful to stare at the light."

Hew hesitated but decided to not to, but he didn't feel comfortable going into the room. Even though another part of him wanted to do so, he didn't. Instead, he sat down in the entrance of the doorway with the guards standing behind him. "So how are you feeling, My friend it's been a few days since the party we had in The Open More Than Usual. It was a fun day since then it's all kind of gone downhill. I've slept terribly for the last few weeks I don't know about you?"

The movement in the room left Hew not sure where Gareth was. He could've been on sitting on the floor rustling through papers, and uncaringly replied. "Yeah, I've basically had no sleep for for … for a long time, haha I can't even remember, what's the time and date Hew?"

"The date is October 23, and he looked down at his watch…" he was shocked to see it was ten in the evening. "Um it's ten o'clock, today really flew!"

… the Silence from the room deafening and Hew had to just wait through it. Eventually, Gareth replied, "Four whole days I've not slept a wink, I've tried. Those whispers, echo through my mind, and they speak to me telling me the answers. I have to listen they're truly amazing idea, I'm must be deluding myself and simple coming up with these ideas on my own. If it helps cure everyone, I'll listen and take note."

He then whispered to himself "I'll get the cure for sure!"

Hew smiled that was Gareth silly, entirely consumed by a subject. He used to do it at school, college and university all the time when he found something he really liked. It's probable that why Hew hadn't noticed the decline in his friend. Hew'd expected him to get into this rut from the pressure and interest. Before all this, he had it well in hand it hyper-focusing, and he was glad that Gareth had asked him out of the night seeing his getaway. Still, it might have been an attempt to get to sleep to exhaust himself so that his brain would shut down and just sleep. It hadn't helped Hew, so he assumed that it hadn't allowed Gareth to sleep.

"Is that why you wanted to party to tire yourself out so that you could sleep?"

There was sadness behind Gareth's next words and Hew thought he could hear the pita pater of water dropping, "Yeah, it was a great night even with the ending being so gruesome. My feet were sore, my brain span with alcohol, and I was with my best friend. And yet when I returned to my room the whispering restart and my mind wouldn't stop but soon very soon I'll have a cure for all of them. I know it needs to happen to them."

Hew's heart ached at Gareth words, but he needed to focus on what Gareth was saying, "What do you mean you have to cure them all how it could matter if they're separate? Then what about the ones in the city?"

He darkness shifted, and Hew heard Gareth gag out some words, but they made no sense. Still, he tried again, "It's their holes they need to be filled, and we need to fill them in all at the same time so that those still have power can't open them again. As for those outsides, they're too far away to signify a threat to the procedure."

"Oh sounds good, could you tell me the process?"

"Oh I haven't figured it all out yet, but I'll get there in a few days, and I'll come and tell you, and you'll help me."

Hew could help but feel the shivers run up his spine and gave Hew the goosebumps, "Yeah, that sounds good, are you sure you can't give me or the others any ideas?"

A sharp, "NO!"

Answering Hew's question he didn't ask it again instead stood up, "Ok Gareth I trust you, I need some sleep, so I'm heading off to bed, good night Gareth hope everything turns out ok."

Gareth's raw voice gave a low screech and replied to Hew "Hmm good night Brother Hew!"

Stepping back, Hew swallowed and closed the door, looking up at the two pale guards, he could see his own face in their eyes, he saw his reflection as a pale, haggard man.

"Guy if you could tell Boris about what happened and what he said I really need some sleep."

The guards nodded, one of them disappearing into the corridor to inform Boris. At the same time, Hew retreated to the bedroom, another office a few floors down that contained a bed, and a modified shower and sink.

After having a shower where he rested his head against a cold, wet wall to rest his brain as soon as he did, the whispering started up. It was unrecognisable from any language he knew.

As he lied down trying to sleep wholly exhausted, ready to fall asleep. Yet, every unknowable word spoke, he couldn't ignore them. Every single word had his whole focus as he stared up at the monotonous ceiling he did his best to ignore the language. While he staring, he notices that his room was brightening sitting up, he stared out of the window with unfocused sight. Finding the sun had risen to blight him and giving him and headache.

The worst thing of all the voices in his head had started to make logical sense. The excellent logical reason, he could relax, and everything would be over soon he just needed to do what they said. Even while his mind fought to shout pathetically, insignificant in the world of his mind.

Commander Boris was sitting in his command centre going over the verbal report of what happened to Dr Hew and Dr Gareth. It made him shiver to think about it as if Gareth was lost. Then how'd he got the paper since they'd searched the whole room and stripped it of everything leaving just the bed and blankets?

The Commander would've liked to strapped Gareth to his bed and drugged him to sleep. Boris couldn't believe that they'd been taken over by Aliens. What kind of wacky world was forming around him.

Boris had just finished moving his resources around finding himself not having enough men to cover everyone. There was so much going on in a day, and he was getting worried, it had been rough sleeping as he felt like someone was going to stab him in the back. At the same time, he slept, the thought of it kept disturbing him.

As he sat down at his desk with a cup of coffee in his hand. He received the message from the General who was in the control centre outside of the containment zone. After reading the letter, he relaxed back into his chair, running his hand through his hair, shutting his eyes, he thought. Well shit, it seemed that those scientists that were outside the containment had disappeared. The squad of heavily armed and exceptionally well-trained soldiers went to get them.

It was a few hours operation in the early morning to capture them. Once they got to their house, it had been cleared of anything essentials, their clothes had been quickly packed. They'd probably missed them by hours.

This wasn't what you'd want; it also confirmed Dr Hew's hypothesis and that the scientists were now a danger to the tower and he ordered them to be rounded up and contained. Having given the orders, he also went over the next part of the message and which troubled him. It would be a few days until he got his reinforcements, it appears as if a few naval powers were snooping about. The uppers wanted to reinforce their local areas.

The fact that any forces were poking their noses in he couldn't believe it as they just agreed to trade. No one should do anything to jeopardise the deal, I could be the Chinese. Still, they'd sent the children of their leader would you then attack a location that held them?

He'd always been told to expect the stupid and murky tactics. Because there leaders daughters were here it didn't mean that they weren't going to attack them if the prize was high enough they would, honestly wasn't going to surprise him if they did?

He just needs to be prepared for them to make the most optimal move, probably use someone inside; they aren't tracking and have them make some chaos.

Time to prepare the best he could, he guessed he had a few hours to correctly plan some strategies.