The night was like any other in the small rural town of Elkridge, Montana—silent, endless, and steeped in starlight. Eleven-year-old Aiden Blake lay in his backyard, wrapped in a flannel blanket, staring at constellations he could name better than classmates he barely spoke to. Then, the stars blinked.
Not like a twinkle. They blinked. Gone. Replaced by an eerie green glow. Aiden opened his mouth to scream, but the sound never came. The sky cracked open.
Then darkness.