📖 DIMENSION X
Episode 10: "The Man Who Already Knew"
Morning didn't wake the house.
It dragged it out of sleep.
Elena stood alone in her room.
Door locked.
Curtains half drawn.
Her desk—no longer neat.
Papers scattered.
Old folders pulled out.
Something she hadn't touched in years.
Her fingers hovered over one file.
Faded.
Worn.
Almost like it didn't belong in this world anymore.
She opened it.
ASTERIA
The word stared back at her.
Clean handwriting.
Too clean.
Like it had been written by someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
Elena turned the page.
Sketches.
Strange plants.
Curved stems that glowed faintly.
Leaves that seemed… alive in ways they shouldn't be.
Next page.
Creatures.
Detailed.
Too detailed.
A note beside one drawing:
"When near: electrical disruption, temperature fluctuation, behavioral distortion."
Elena's breath slowed.
Next page.
Another creature.
Long.
Shadow-like.
Not fully drawn.
Like whoever drew it… couldn't.
Another note.
"Does not obey physical law. May manipulate temporal state."
Elena froze.
"…no."
Her hand shook as she grabbed her phone.
"Nadia."
"Yeah?"
"Drop everything. Come. Now."
"Is this about last night?"
"…it's worse."
Silence.
Then—
"…I'm coming."
Upstairs—
the kids woke up like chaos never left.
Maya groaned dramatically. "Why does morning exist."
Layla: "To torture you specifically."
Zayn: "Valid."
Ryan sat up suddenly.
"…we need to go to the forest."
Silence.
"No," Layla said instantly.
"Yes," Arjun added just as fast.
Everyone turned.
Arjun leaned forward, eyes sharp.
"We finally have clues. Patterns. Locations. We don't sit here—we investigate."
Zayn crossed his arms.
"Or we stay alive."
Ryan stood up.
"…it's connected to her."
He looked at Evie.
"…and it's getting closer."
Evie didn't argue.
Didn't speak.
Maya raised a brow.
"And what exactly are we fighting it with? My emotional support sword?"
Layla knocked the toy sword against the floor.
"Yeah, what's the plan, warrior boy?"
Ryan paused.
Then slowly pulled out a paper.
"…we go to my uncle."
Silence.
Zayn blinked.
"…the carpenter?"
"…the guy who builds stuff," Ryan corrected.
Maya gasped dramatically.
"ARE WE UPGRADING FROM TOY SWORDS?"
Arjun smirked.
"Finally."
Downstairs—
brunch was chaotic.
Late.
Messy.
Loud.
But something was different.
Evie sat with them.
At the table.
She held a spoon.
Wrong.
Completely wrong.
Like it was a weapon.
She watched Maya carefully.
Copied her movements.
Failed.
Ryan noticed.
Subtly adjusted the spoon in her hand.
"…like this."
Evie looked at him.
Then tried again.
Success.
Small.
But real.
"…thank you," she whispered.
Maya saw everything.
Smirked.
Didn't say anything.
(rare moment of growth 😌)
Evie looked around again.
The table.
The plates.
The noise.
"…you eat together every day?"
Layla nodded.
"Yeah."
Evie blinked.
"…we didn't."
That sentence?
Yeah.
That hit.
Before it got deeper—
Ryan quickly said, "Mom's busy."
Evie looked toward the office door.
"…what is she doing?"
"Work," Ryan replied quickly. "Important file. Manager stuff."
Inside—
Elena wasn't working.
She was reading.
Obsessing.
Connecting.
Outside—
bags packed.
Energy high.
Fear hidden under excitement.
They got onto the bus.
Maya immediately grabbed the pole.
"Welcome to Cinderella Airlines—pumpkin edition."
Layla stared at her.
"…please stop talking."
"I can't. It's a gift."
Zayn: "It's a curse."
Evie sat quietly.
Watching everything.
Absorbing.
The bus stopped.
A man stepped off.
Messy hair.
Long coat.
Headphones around his neck.
Eyes scanning everything.
He inhaled slowly.
Deep.
"…same air."
His hand pressed lightly against his chest.
Inside his coat—
a tag.
Dr. Voss
Elsewhere—
Elena and Nadia sat together.
The file between them.
"This isn't normal," Nadia said.
"It's matching," Elena replied.
"Electric disturbances. Time glitches. Behavior patterns."
Nadia leaned back.
"…this is beyond science."
Elena shook her head.
"No. There's always an explanation."
"…you remember him?"
Elena froze.
"…who?"
Nadia smirked slightly.
"Our old classmate."
Pause.
"…Voss."
Elena's eyes widened slightly.
"…Voss Fox?"
"The crazy one," Nadia said. "Always talking about dimensions and energy overlaps."
"…he disappeared."
"Or," Nadia said slowly, "he was right."
Silence.
"I heard he's here," Nadia added.
Elena looked up.
"…where?"
Nadia shrugged.
"Town records. Property purchases. We can find him."
Elena nodded slowly.
"…we should."
Back to the kids—
they got off the bus.
Maya stretched.
"10/10 ride. No crash. Impressed."
Layla made a face.
"Please never review anything again."
They stood in front of a house.
Grey.
Old.
Metal rusted.
Iron fencing bent.
"…this place screams danger," Maya whispered.
Ryan ignored it.
Led them around back.
Inside—
his uncle worked quietly.
Tools everywhere.
Metal.
Wood.
Half-built objects.
Ryan handed him a chit.
"Neighbor order," he said quickly.
His uncle nodded.
"…military guy again?"
Ryan didn't hesitate.
"Yeah."
The uncle shrugged.
"Strange taste in weapons."
Weapons.
Real ones.
Half-finished.
Heavy.
Evie stared.
Eyes wide.
"…these are allowed?"
Arjun whispered, "Barely."
They left with a bag.
Heavy.
Serious.
Meanwhile—
Dr. Voss entered a broken house.
Near the forest.
Door creaked.
Dust everywhere.
He dropped his suitcase.
Hands slightly shaking.
Not fear.
Excitement.
He opened it.
Inside—
perfect organization.
Devices.
Wires.
Notebooks.
Old research.
He set up quickly.
Efficient.
Practiced.
A whiteboard stood nearby.
He grabbed a red marker.
Wrote one word:
ASTERIA
Circled it.
Hard.
Then beneath it—
"It's active."
He stepped back.
Exhaled.
"…I'm going to find you."
A pause.
Then a small, almost insane smile.
"…you asshole."
Back in the treehouse—
they dropped the bag.
Opened it.
Real tools.
Metal.
Sharp edges.
Weight.
"…we're actually doing this," Layla whispered.
Ryan nodded.
"…we're going to the forest."
Evie looked at all of them.
Not scared.
But something else.
"…it won't stop," she said quietly.
Ryan met her eyes.
"…then neither will we."
Far away—
Dr. Voss looked at his monitor.
Signals rising.
Numbers glitching.
3:33 flashed.
His smile widened.
"…found you."
End of Episode 10. 🔥