"Tridit... tridit... tridit..." the alarm clock blared in the bedroom.
"Whoaaaah!"
Ralph jolted awake, bolting upright in his bed. He immediately began frantically checking his body—his waist, his chest, his stomach, his back. His breath came in ragged gasps. He turned to the alarm, slammed the button to kill the noise, and stared around the room, paralyzed. Even though he could see he was already late, he couldn't move.
"Wh... what happened? Was that... a dream? No way... I can still feel the pain. Monica... Tyler... Katie... wait. I'm back in my room. Was that a vision of the future... or was it really just a dream?" Ralph muttered, his mind a whirlwind of confusion.
He glanced at the digital clock on his desk. The date and time were exactly the same as in his nightmare. Ralph froze. He reached for his glasses and put them on, but suddenly squinted; his vision was razor-sharp without them. In fact, the glasses made everything a blurry mess. While he sat there stunned, "blam," his bedroom door swung open. Monica burst in, out of breath as if she'd run up the stairs. Seeing her alive and well made Ralph's heart stop.
"Hey! Why are you just getting up? How late were you up watching movies last night? We're late, come on, get dressed!" Monica shouted, storming toward him.
"Mo... Monica... are you okay?" Ralph asked, his voice trembling.
His mind flashed back to the final moments of his nightmare—the cables, the transformation, Monica turning into a metallic monster. He scrambled off the bed and lunged toward her. "Gyuut," he pulled her into a desperate, crushing hug, tears streaming down his face. Monica stood there, completely baffled.
"He... hey... Ralph? What's wrong? Why are you covered in a cold sweat? What happened?" Monica asked, shocked by the sudden intimacy, though she slowly wrapped her arms around him in return.
Suddenly, Ralph snapped out of it. He let go of Monica, wiped his eyes, and lunged for his desk. He grabbed his smartphone, swiped it open, and turned to her with wild eyes.
"Don't go to school today. Call Katie right now. Do not let her go to school—tell her to come here, fast," Ralph commanded.
Seeing the sheer panic in his eyes, Monica was flooded with questions. She had never seen Ralph this terrified. Usually, when they watched horror movies, she was the one hiding her face and clinging to him while he comforted her. She watched him frantically typing, and suddenly—"ding"—a notification hit her phone. She pulled it from her bag and opened it. Ralph had sent a blast to their entire grade's group chat, telling everyone to skip school today. Predictably, the messages started flying back—classmates were confused, and some were already making fun of him.
Ralph kept typing, describing the "dream" that felt so real he could still feel the phantom pain in his nerves. Monica stood silent, staring at her screen, reading Ralph's frantic messages.
"Ralph... wh... what is this? What are you even writing?" Monica stammered.
"Please, just trust me. Just stay here today. Please," Ralph pleaded.
"Okay... but you're really scaring me," Monica whispered.
"Tyler and Katie messaged back. They're coming over. As soon as they get here, we're going straight to my basement," Ralph said.
"Please, Ralph... you're terrifying me. Just calm down and tell me what's actually going on," Monica said, her voice shaking.
"I told you in the chat... that's what happens," Ralph replied shortly, his thumbs still flying across the screen as he tried to convince his friends.
Suddenly, the door opened slowly. A middle-aged woman, dressed in a nurse's uniform with her hair pulled back neatly, stepped in. When she saw Ralph, her face immediately clouded with worry. She rushed to his side.
"Oh my, you're so pale! Are you sick? Why are you in such a cold sweat?" his mother asked.
"Um... he's... he's sick, ma'am. I'm skipping school to stay with him," Monica chimed in.
Ralph looked at his mother, seeing her ready for work. Without thinking, he threw his arms around her.
"Don't go, Mom... seriously, I'm begging you, don't go today," Ralph stammered.
"Oh, honey, I can't. I'm covering a shift for a coworker. Her husband just passed away, and she's grieving... besides, Monica is here, right? I'll only be gone until noon. Just hang in there," his mom said gently.
"Don't go, Mom. Seriously, don't. Please, just believe me," Ralph said, refusing to let go.
"Sweetie... it's only until 12:00 PM. I'll come straight home after that, I won't take the evening shift. Now let me go, you're going to crush me if you keep squeezing like this," his mother replied.
Ralph finally let go. His mom straightened her uniform, looking at Ralph's terrified face and then at Monica, who looked just as shaken. She smiled at the two of them.
"How many episodes of that zombie show did you two watch last night? Did you binge a whole season? I think you've got a case of movie poisoning," his mom joked.
"This isn't a joke, Mom! I'm serious!" Ralph shouted, his voice cracking.
Suddenly, "ding-dong," the doorbell rang. His mother turned and headed out of the room, with Ralph and Monica trailing right behind her. She opened the door to find Tyler and Katie standing on the porch.
"Oh, you guys are here too?" his mom asked.
"Yeah... we were worried about Ralph. Is he here?" Tyler asked.
"Come on in. Monica's inside too. Ralph seems to be coming down with something... help keep an eye on him, okay? I'll be back by noon," his mom said as she stepped out, jingling her car keys.
"You got it," Tyler replied.
As Tyler stepped inside, he saw Ralph looking like he was about to tackle his mother. Tyler lunged forward and caught him.
"Hey! What the hell, dude?" Tyler yelled.
"Mom! Don't go! Mom!" Ralph screamed, spiraling into a panic.
Too late. Because Tyler had held him back, his mother made it to her car. A moment later, she backed out of the driveway and was gone.
"Let me go, dude!" Ralph screamed, struggling against Tyler's grip.
"No! You're acting insane. What is going on with you? And what was up with that crazy chat?" Tyler barked at him.
"Yeah, Ralph, this isn't like you. What's the deal? Monica, do you get it?" Katie asked, worried.
"Sorry... I don't know either," Monica replied.
Once the door was shut, Tyler let go. Ralph immediately glared at him, his eyes bloodshot. He swung a fist at Tyler's face, but because Tyler was an MMA athlete, he caught Ralph's fist effortlessly and put him in a lock.
"Oi, dude! What is your problem? I did what you wanted and came over, now tell me what's actually happening!" Tyler yelled.
"Shut up! You... because of you, my mom left!" Ralph screamed, his mind unraveling as he thrashed around.
"Ralph... please don't do this... I'm scared, Ralph," Monica cried.
"Yeah, Ralph... why are you acting like you're having a total mental breakdown?" Katie added.
Eventually, Monica, Tyler, and Katie managed to calm Ralph down enough to drag him to the living room sofa. As they sat him down, Tyler's hip accidentally hit the remote. The TV flickered to life, showing a news report about a rocket launch. It was carrying an AI-based satellite designed to manage all electronics, internet, and automated systems worldwide.
Ralph's eyes went wide. On the screen was the satellite—a polished, gleaming black sphere. He went dead silent, his hand slowly rising to point at the screen.
"That... that's what I wrote about... that's the thing that turns everyone into machine-monsters," Ralph screamed, pointing at the TV.
Monica, Tyler, and Katie turned to the screen as the news anchor spoke. The satellite, named Pandora, was scheduled for launch at 10:00 AM this morning and would be operational one hour later.
Ralph scrambled to his feet, grabbed his phone from the table, and dialed 911. When the operator answered, he screamed for them to stop the launch. After a long silence, Tyler snatched the phone away, told the operator it was a prank call, and hung up. Monica and Katie held onto Ralph as he struggled.
"Hey! Why did you hang up?! That thing, Pandora—it's going to get us all killed! I told you everything in the chat!" Ralph yelled.
Seeing their friend acting like a madman, Tyler could only stare at him in confusion. He glanced at Monica and Katie behind Ralph; they were looking back with the same bewildered expression, silently asking: "What is actually happening? Is it possible he's telling the truth?"