Thirty days.
The countdown has started, North America shivers under the shadow of a massive alien spacecraft, and humanity is hurtling toward an unknown future that lurks at the end of the timer. Somewhere, somehow, the heroes are making their plan...
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PERU, INDIANA, USA (THE FRINGE)
August 15, 3:16 PM
Reports from inside the zone are all the same: Residents are experiencing a euphoric sensation. While no one appears to have been harmed by what is happening, there are concerns about what the long-term effects will be. All attempts to venture into the zone to make further analysis have failed. We will continue to keep you updated on this event...
The closed captioning of the news report was enough to make my heart climb into my throat. Across the room, the usual local conspirators were huddled around the computers, sharing headphones as they watched news reports and the video feed of a rebel streamer still inside the zone. They were muttering disagreements about what they were seeing, debating whether it was all really happening or not.
The constant stone of worry in my stomach had shifted to an ivy squeezing my heart.
"It's a hoax!" Mr. Calum - the library's most frequent conspiracy theorist - declared, for what had to be the tenth time in the last hour. "The government just wants us to think something is happening."
"I can't believe the government I voted for isn't doing anything!" was Mr. Friedson's reply. "You can be sure I'm not going to reelect any of them!"
"Gentlemen, please keep your voices down!" I reminded. "This is still a library, after all!"
They didn't even glance at me as they began to discuss which political party was more to blame. Maybe I was too strict to cling to the rules of the library? After all, it wasn't as though they were bothering anyone. They had been the only visitors all day.
But the rules existed for a reason, and, as much as I could, I was going to adhere to them.
My gaze drifted to the second floor above me. I knew all too well how easily raised voices could be heard between the floors. Hopefully, Mr. Calum and Mr. Friedson hadn't been too loud.
Convincing myself that one of them would let me know if there was any change, I forced myself to look away from the computer. My cart was full of books that needed to be cleaned. It wasn't a terribly important task, but it gave my hands something to do.
The first book in my hands, I sprayed it and wiped the cleaner from the cover. What did it all mean? I set the book on my second cart, ready to be reshelved.Was something worse going to happen? Next book. Spray, wipe, and set back down. Were the aliens going to go away? Attack?
Even though my hands were busy, my mind was not distracted from what was happening in the world. It was hard to believe it had only been two weeks since the... well, the Unidentified Flying Object? had appeared in the sky. Since then, nothing had been learned about it or what it was doing here.
