The Rift in the Shadow

The sun had barely risen over Hawkins when Helen and Cassian met in the motel room, the air heavy with the smell of stale coffee and the hum of an old fan. Helen was on the phone, speaking softly to a Vatican contact, while Cassian reviewed the map of the woods and the notes about the laboratory they had found the night before. The Book of Enoch lay open on the bed, but his eyes were fixed on the northern perimeter of Hawkins.

"There's no way," Helen said, hanging up the phone with a frustrated sigh. "I just spoke with a contact in Washington who has ties to the Vatican. I tried using our influence to get clearance to enter the lab, but it was denied outright."

"What did they say?" Cassian asked, looking up from the map.

"It's a classified federal facility," she explained, crossing her arms. "The Vatican has weight, but not enough to override U.S. government orders. They warned us not to even mention the place or we could face legal trouble. It's a brick wall, Cassian."

"Then I'll do it my way," he said, folding the map. "I'm going in tonight."

"What?" Helen exclaimed, stepping closer to him. "Blindly breaking into a secret lab? That's a terrible idea, and you know it."

"I don't have a choice," Cassian replied, standing up. "If there's a portal there, we need to confirm it. I can't wait for permissions that will never come."

"Listen," Helen said, stepping in front of him. "I know your blood has that divine light, that Enoch thing the Pope explained to you. But you don't know how to use it to seal portals. I've seen how you use it, Cassian. Sometimes you cut your palm and mix it with holy water to make protections, or smear it on your dagger to hit demons harder. But sealing a portal is something else, something much bigger."

"I know," he admitted, adjusting the papal crucifix under his shirt. "I'm not saying I'll seal it today. I just need to see it, confirm it's there. If we don't know what we're facing, we're blind anyway."

"And if you get caught?" she asked, frowning. "Or worse, what if something comes out of that portal while you're inside? You don't have a plan, Cassian. At least let me go with you."

"No," he said firmly. "It's safer if I go alone. You'll monitor from the outside. If something goes wrong, I'll need you to pull me out or call for backup."

"I don't like this," Helen said, walking to the window. "You're stubborn, you know that? You've always been like this since I met you. But fine, we'll do it your way. How do you plan to get in?"

"I'll wait until night," Cassian explained, pulling out his dagger and checking the blade. "The lab is north, near the woods. I'll use the darkness and trees as cover. Once inside, I'll look for the portal."

"And if there are guards?" she asked, turning to him. "Or cameras, or electrified fences? We don't know how heavily guarded it is."

"I've broken into worse places," he replied, putting the dagger away. "Three years ago in Italy, I snuck into a warehouse guarded by the mafia to exorcise a possessed man. This won't be any different. I just need to move fast and stay quiet."

"I hope so," Helen said, sitting on the bed. "But if you get into trouble, don't expect me to come running with a Bible. I'll monitor you from the car, a mile away. At least take a radio."

"I will," Cassian nodded. "Get everything ready. We leave at dusk."

The day passed slowly, with Helen checking her equipment and Cassian studying the Book of Enoch, searching for clues about his blood. When the sun sank behind the trees, they drove north, stopping a mile from the Hawkins National Laboratory. Helen parked the car among some bushes, handing Cassian a small radio.

"Channel three," she said, adjusting her own unit. "If you need help, press the button and talk. I'll be listening."

"Got it," he replied, tucking it into his belt. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

He got out of the car, disappearing into the trees as Helen watched with a furrowed brow. The Hawkins National Laboratory was a cross-shaped complex surrounded by a high fence topped with barbed wire. Cassian approached from the west, where the trees were denser, avoiding the lights of the perimeter posts. He found a spot where the fence was partially hidden by branches, cutting it with small pliers from his backpack.

The interior was a maze of buildings connected by outdoor hallways. Cassian moved close to the shadows, passing the administration building to the northwest, where the offices were empty at this hour. He heard the hum of generators and distant voices of guards patrolling near the garage to the east. He slipped toward the central building, the heart of the complex, dodging a camera in a corner that rotated slowly. The main entrance was locked with a magnetic card, but he found a broken window in the maintenance wing to the south, climbing through it carefully.

Inside, the air smelled of ozone and burnt metal, a long hallway lined with exposed pipes and cables greeting him. He followed a mental map based on Helen's data, heading to the basement, where rumors placed strange activity. He passed through the research wing, avoiding a guard smoking on a staircase, and descended to the lower level after forcing a door with his dagger. The hum grew louder, a sound that vibrated in his bones, and the crucifix on his chest warmed.

He reached a large underground chamber, the core of the lab, where the walls were covered with panels and monitors that were turned off. In the center, a two-meter rift with an irregular edge glowed with a pulsating reddish light. It seemed to grow, cracks spreading like veins into the concrete. Cassian approached, feeling a cold that defied physics, and a low roar emanated from the other side, accompanied by silhouettes moving in the darkness beyond the rift.

"Creatures," he murmured, taking a step back. "Hostile. It's open, and something lives there."

He didn't attempt to touch it; he knew he couldn't seal it yet. He pulled out the radio, pressing the button.

"Helen, I found it," he said, his voice low. "It's a portal, two meters tall, growing. There are things on the other side."

"What kind of things?" she responded, her voice crackling through the device.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But they're not human. I'm pulling out. Meet you at the rendezvous point."

"Be careful," Helen said. "Get out of there fast."

Cassian put the radio away and exited, retracing his steps: the maintenance wing, the pipe-filled hallway, the broken window. He avoided another guard near the garage and ran toward the fence, slipping through the hole he had cut. He sprinted between the trees to the car, where Helen waited with the engine running.

"Did you see it?" she asked as he climbed into the passenger seat.

"Yes," Cassian replied, breathing heavily. "It's a rift, Helen. It's alive, growing. I felt creatures on the other side, like they're waiting."

"What do we do?" she asked, driving back to the motel. "You can't seal it, can you?"

"Not yet," he admitted, pulling the Book of Enoch from his backpack. "First, I need to understand my blood. His Holiness said it can summon or destroy, but I don't know how to use it for this. Let's go back, plan."

"You're crazy for going in alone," Helen said, shaking her head. "But at least we know what we're up against."

"Not entirely," Cassian corrected, looking out the window. "But it's a start."

The car disappeared into the night of Hawkins, the hum of the portal resonating in Cassian's mind.