INCIDENT FIVE:Radio Waves

The air in the Pineview Nuclear Plant felt hollow on July 1, 1979. With Joe out of town, the clinical silence of the mirror room was oppressive. Henry, Joe’s assistant, stood over Eve, his shadow stretching long across the floor. Between them sat a radio, its metallic dials cold and unyielding under the harsh fluorescent lights.

"I need you to try harder, Eve," Henry urged, his voice straining against the quiet. "Find me the right channel."

Eve looked up at him, her small frame trembling. Seeing her distress, Henry’s professional veneer crumbled. He sat close to her, his eyes brimming with tears. "I’m sorry," he whispered. "But I heard my son's voice. All these years, I always knew in my heart he was just missing, not killed. Please... help me find him."

Eve gave a hesitant nod and squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating with every fiber of her being. The silence of the room was slowly devoured by radio static that grew louder and more aggressive by the second. As the frequency reached a glass-shattering shriek, thin trails of blood began to seep from Eve’s ears. She snapped her eyes open, gasping for air.

"I can't find him," she panted, her voice trembling with terror. "But I saw something."

Henry froze. "What did you see? Tell me!"

Eve swallowed hard, the image seared into her mind. "A tree with a door... outside."

The color drained from Henry’s face. He signaled the guards, and they rushed toward the perimeter. When they reached the twisted wood and forced the tree door open, they didn't find a boy. A massive, bear-like monster lunged from the darkness, tearing through the guards in a spray of violence. In the bloody chaos that followed, Eve found her chance and disappeared into the night.

In the present day, the front door of the Greens' residence swung open as Julie, Lisa, Eric, Daniel, and Eve hurried inside. They stopped short, surprised to find Robert, Richard, Gary, and Nancy huddled together. The group was frantically scratching at a photograph, their movements desperate and jagged.

The moment Eve saw Robert, she broke into a run and threw her arms around him, sobbing. "Bad adult," she wept into his chest. "They found me, Robert."

Robert held her tight, his confusion turning to dread as he looked at Lisa. "What? What happened?"

Back at the Pineview Nuclear Plant, Matt’s breath came in ragged gasps. He strained against the heavy ropes binding him to a chair in a concrete room, screaming in fury until the door creaked open. Joe walked in, his calm demeanor a sharp contrast to Matt’s rage.

"I know what you did!" Matt spat. "I know Gloria is in that creepy tree outside."

Joe remained unbothered. He sat across from his captive with a faint smile. "I know you think I am the bad guy here, Chief. But guess what? I’m not."

"You lying piece of shit!" Matt yelled. "Then why did you leave Gloria all alone out there? You and your sick experiment started this madness!"

Joe stood up slowly, looming over Matt. "I can let you go and save her, Chief. But I’m going to need you to be very quiet about everything you saw here."

Matt fell silent, his mind racing as he weighed the cost of Gloria's life against the truth.

Back at the house, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Lisa had just finished explaining the extent of Eve’s powers, leaving the others in a state of stunned silence.

"Holy shit," Richard breathed. "Can you do that again?"

"Shut up, dumbass!" Nancy snapped, her nerves frayed to a breaking point.

"Guys, focus," Julie interjected. "Now, what about that monster?"

Daniel nodded, his face pale. "Yeah, the one that looks like the Handler from X-Men."

The group exchanged confused glances. Gary scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Omg, Daniel, the Handler isn't real."

"That thing... I fought it!" Daniel fired back. "I know what I’m talking about."

As they argued, Lisa placed the radio on the table while Eric carefully arranged the scratched fragments of the photograph on the floor.

"Now, Eve," Lisa said gently. "Can you help us channel Gloria from this?"

Eve nodded, though her eyes were wide with fright. She refused to let go of Robert’s hand. Robert squeezed her fingers, his voice breaking. "Eve, you have to help us, please. If you don't, I can't find my mom."

He watched her with teary eyes until a shout from the floor distracted them.

"Omg," Eric whispered, staring at the reassembled images. "It’s a map."

Everyone turned to look at Eric, the realization sinking in.

Meanwhile, back at the plant, Joe watched as Matt was led toward the tree door. He had allowed the man to enter the anomaly to search for Gloria. Terry approached Joe, looking skeptical.

"Why did you let him go, sir?" Terry asked.

"He won’t survive out there," Joe replied coldly. "And in the meantime, I will find Eve."

"What if he finds the woman?"

Joe let out a dark smirk. "That’s not gonna happen. Let’s go. Spread around Pineview. Find the girl."

Inside the anomaly, Matt moved through a distorted nightmare. Equipped with a chemical protection suit, he navigated a world that looked exactly like Pineview, but decayed and fundamentally wrong. His walkie-talkie began to crackle and hiss, the static gaining a life of its own as he moved forward.

He eventually reached a version of the Greens' house that existed within this dark realm. There, he saw her. Gloria was standing there, her face looking perfectly normal. Overwhelmed, Matt rushed forward and pulled her into a tearful embrace.

In the real world, inside the Greens' house, Daniel pointed to the map. "It leads to the nuclear plant. That’s where the tree door is."

Eve’s face went pale. "Then we should get going," Lisa declared. "You kids stay here."

"No!" Eve cried out, her voice sharp with panic. "Don't go!"

"But why?" Robert asked, startled.

Eve began to cry, the tears streaming down her face. "Not safe," she whispered.

Gary’s frustration finally boiled over. "I knew it! The weirdo knows something all along, but she’s trying to sabotage our plan to find your mom!"

"No! Why would she do that?" Robert shouted.

"Oh really? You’re asking why?" Gary stepped toward him. "She never told us anything! She just came out of nowhere with these superpowers. There’s a world out there like the 'Otherside' from X-Men. Come to think of it... what if she is the monster?"

Robert didn't wait for another word. He lunged forward and punched Gary square in the face. A frantic brawl broke out on the living room floor. Lisa and Julie rushed in to pull them apart, but the boys refused to let go.

Amidst the fighting, Eve let out a piercing, heavy scream. The radio on the table erupted into a violent roar of static, the noise deafening. As she shrieked, blood began to pour from her ears.

At that exact moment in the Otherside, the reunion turned into a nightmare. Gloria suddenly drove a blade deep into Matt’s stomach. As he gasped in shock, two more identical versions of Gloria stepped out from the shadows, standing over the dying man with cold, hollow eyes.

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