'You wanna hear a story about dragons? Everybody's got a favourite, right? Attacking villagers, threatening fair maidens, hoarding piles of gold. Those stories about dragons that terrorised the Vikings in the northern seas? Yeah. Yeah, those are some of my favourites. Of course, those stories are just stories, right? Dragons don't really exist. They're just… They're just myths and legends. You know, stuff to scare kids. But I've got a dragon story you haven't heard. A story that really happened. And this story? This one is my absolute favourite because this story is mine.'
The year was 2021, and in that year, approaching Earth very fast was a comet that just grazed the planet.
Somewhere in North America, a herd of sheep was grazing peacefully when a helicopter flew above, scaring away the animals.
Inside the helicopter was Tom Kullersen, a 14-year-old with short blond hair and wearing a blue jacket with the Thor's Hammer design on it. He was looking down on the island as his mother, Olivia, operated the helicopter.
"This thing go any faster, mom?" Tom asked.
Olivia laughed. "Any faster, Tom and the blades will come off. Okay. Just ahead, over this row of trees. You ready for this?"
Tom sat up straight and looked ahead. "I think you know the answer to that." His eyes widened as he leaned in closer towards the windscreen. "Whoa!"
Just over the treetops, he saw a massive crevice in the ground with rivers of lava flowing out of it. About a month ago, a comet and had just narrowly missed the Earth, but it still hit the atmosphere, causing a shift in the tectonic plates, which created a giant fissure, the likes of which had never been seen on the surface.
"The Kullersen Fissure," Tom breathed in awe. "How deep is that thing?"
"It's been scanned to be deeper than the Mariana," said Olivia. "Over seven miles down. Of course, at that depth, you find poisonous gas, razor-sharp rocks, rivers of lava."
Tom looked up at her excitedly. "You had me at poisonous gas."
As they flew over the fissure, Tom looked down and noticed something which looked like electricity underneath the fog. However, his attention then turned to what was dead ahead.
"Is that…" he gasped.
"Project ICARIS," Olivia smiled.
Built on the edge of the cliff was a research station built by the Rakke Corporation, a multi-nation Corporation. It built this station for the sole purpose of studying the fissure.
"No way…" said Tom.
"ICARIS 1 on approach," said Olivia over the radio.
"Come around back, ICARIS 1," said a man on the other side. "We're just finishing a cargo drop and getting the VTOL outta your way."
Olivia landed the helicopter on the landing pad next to the station. Tom didn't wait, and the moment it landed, he jumped out and admired the station.
"Alright, let's head to the fissure," said Tom and attempted to dash off but was then blocked by a large white hat. "Ah! A… hat?"
Tom looked down and saw that it belonged to a small Chinese woman wearing a large pair of glasses.
"Thomas, how you've grown!" she said. "The last time I saw you, you jumped into the polar bear habitat at the zoo. What a ruckus! Hope you learned from that experience." She looked at him sternly before turning to his mother. "Doctor Kullersen!
"Director Wong," Olivia smiled and turned to Tom. "You remember Mrs Wong?"
"I remember the hat," said Tom.
"Welcome to Project ICARIS!" said Director Wong as she walked away. "Follow me."
"How are the preparations coming along?" Olivia asked.
"Ah, well, as with any new project, we've had our little bumps," she admitted. "You both must be exhausted from the trip."
Tom then almost got struck by a crane swinging a barrel. He looked around and saw the entire place was busy unloading supplies.
"Actually, the earthquakes you have mentioned have me concerned," Olivia admitted. "I'd like to see the data."
Director Wong smiled. May: That's the Olivia I know and love. Rest is for the weak. Thomas! I'm stealing your mother!"
She then guided them to a young Chinese girl with sharp purple eyes and wearing a pendant around her neck and was playing with a deck of cards.
"My daughter will show you around. You remember my Jun Bug, don't you?"
"You two were so cute together when you were six," Olivia teased.
"Jun?" Tom blinked as he tried to recollect. "Uh… Yeah? Yeah."
Director Wong then approached the girl. Jun, you remember Tom. When you're done playing with your magical cards, can you help him find orientation?"
"They're tarot cards, mom. They're not magic," she corrected.
"Yes. And they're showing me a future where you don't reach your potential," she said coldly. "This way, Olivia!"
Tom looked at his mother as she walked away with Director Wong. "Mom! What about checking out the fissure?"
Olivia shrugged as she entered the elevator, and in the elevator doors close, leaving him alone with Jun.
Tom sighed and turned to Jun. "Hey!"
"Hey yourself!" she smiled. "You look different than I remember."
"A lot can change in eight years," he pointed out.
"Especially when he's not covered in polar bear fur," said a voice with a British accent.
Tom spun around and saw a boy his age with short black hair, brown eyes, and wearing a pair of hiking boots and a green scarf around his neck. Upon seeing him, Tom instantly immediately recognised him.
"James Carlson, is that you?" he said.
"The one and only," he smiled.
"So, uh, where's this orientation thing supposed to happen?" Tom asked.
"It'll be in the ICARIS Visitor's Center," said a militaristic-looking African-American as he approached them. "We'll be heading there once the other students arrive."
Suddenly arriving was an African-American boy about their age who wore a dark green range of best and had military dog tags around his neck.
"I'm here, pops!" he said and held out his watch. "And I am… on time!"
"We're still waiting on one more teen," said his father.
"Uh, pops?" said his son pointing behind him.
He turned around and jumped as behind him was a timid-looking girl with brown blonde hair, kept in braids and held together by red and purple USB charging cables and wearing a pair of purple glasses.
"Whoa! Where'd you come from?" he said, and the girl sidestepped away from him. "Alright. Everyone, close order on my son here."
Sadly James was the only one to follow that instruction while everyone else gave him blank looks.
He sighed. "That means shoulder to shoulder! Move!"
With that cleared up, the teenagers lined up next to one another.
Nodding, he then pulled out his tablet and began to do the register. "Okay, we have D'Angelo Baker."
D'Angelo instantly raised his hand. "Here! I mean, you already knew that."
"James Carlson?" he continued.
"Here and present," said James.
He nodded approvingly and continued. "Jun Wong."
"Present in this dimensional timeline," said Jun and he gave her a stern look. "I'm here, too, Phil."
Shaking his head, he continued. "Tom Kullersen."
Tom raised his hand. "Yup! I am also here."
"Alex Gonzales."
Alex, the timid-looking girl, merely raised her hand shyly.
"Sorry, what was that?"
"Here," Alex whispered quietly.
"I can't hear you," he said, leaning towards her.
"She said 'here'," said Tom.
He looked and Tom sternly and walked away, and Alex gave him a small smile.
"Okay. For those of you who don't know, I am Security Chief Philip Baker," he said, introducing himself. "Welcome to Project ICARIS. International Crevasse and Research Investigation Station. Your safety orientation begins now."
He then began to guide them towards the station.
D'Angelo instantly turned to Tom. "Your name's Kullersen? Like named after the fissure?"
"Actually, it's named after my mom. She figured out the comet would tear it open," Tom explained.
"Yo, that is crazy! So, you're famous."
"More like infamous," said Jun. "He climbed into a polar bear habitat when he was five. Made the local news."
"Not to mention driving our mothers and the park rangers into a panic," James added.
"In my defence, the bear looked lonely," said Tom.
D'Angelo stared at him, not knowing what to think. "Oh, man. Polar bears might look cute, but they can be very aggressive."
"Nah, he just needed a friend."
"Alright, everybody, simmer down," said Philip and then quickly looked at Alex. "Except for you. You're fine. I like my elevator rides quiet."
They then entered the elevator, and Philip pressed a green button. A few seconds later, they reached the floor, and the doors opened.
"On this, the green floor, you'll find our amazing research division. It is state of the art."
"Nice," said Tom as he tried to make his way through.
Philip quickly stopped him. "Children are not allowed."
"Still leaping before you look?" Jun teased.
Philip then takes them to a level marked by a blue button.
"The blue floor is home to our high-tech control centre and security hub," he explained. "The virtual brain of the station. It is state of the art."
"Can we…" Tom asked.
"Children are not allowed," said Philip clearly.
"What's on the red floor?" Tom asked.
"The hangar. It's a highly restricted area. Home to our explorer-class drone fleet. It is state of the art." Tom then immediately raised his hand. "Children are not allowed.
Tom lowered his hand, looking immensely disappointed. "So where are children allowed?"
They then reached the top floor, which was the Visitor Centre which contained a number of gems and pictures of the fissure.
"The Visitor's Center," said Philip. "You have three jobs while you're here. Number one, go to school. Number two, stay away from the fissure. And number three, make sure you stay away from the fissure. Look all you want, but touch nothing! When you're done looking, take a seat, and we'll begin your first safety film."
Tom remained behind in the elevator and looked at the red button fighting the urge not to press it, and failed. Both Jun and James, and Botham quickly shook their heads, but Tom shrugged as the elevator doors closed.
Tom soon found himself in the hangar and began to marvel at the room.
"Woo… Wow," he said.
He then watched as the drama began to take flight, and Tom instantly followed it to the platform. He then watched as the drone dived down into the fissure.
"Whoa. State of the art," he said.
As he looked down into the fissure, he thought he saw something flying through the fog emitting electricity.
"Huh? What is that? A drone?" he frowned.
Unfortunately, he couldn't ponder any further as one of the engineers noticed him.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked.
Tom quickly looked at her. "I-I saw something. It was…"
Before he could finish, the entire place began to shake.
Tom looked to the engineer. "What is that?"
"Oh, no… Earthquake!" she yelled.
The entire facility began to shake, accidentally hitting the drone underneath the platform. It flew out of control and struck the platform right beneath the engineer. Cracks then began to form around the platform and broke apart, taking the engineer along with it.
She managed to grab hold of the metal bar, but she was now dangling directly over the fissure. To make matters worse, the damaged platform was only hanging by a thread and looked as if it could snap at any time.
Tom instantly made his way over towards the edge, and she looked up at him. "Ah! Get help!"
Tom made his way back into the station and immediately found the alarm button. He quickly approached it, avoiding the crane that was knocking boxes all over the place. A few of them did land on top of him. Fortunately, there was nothing heavy inside, so he was able to crawl his way out and then press the button.
Alarms began to sound, but then he heard the engineer screaming, and he knew no one would arrive in time. He then saw some rope grabbed it, and quickly ran back towards the platform.
The engineer was doing her best to climb the way back up, but the surface was too slippery. Tom then arrived and tossed the rope down to her, and without hesitation, she immediately grabbed it but slipped slightly.
"Not like this!" she screamed. "I'm too young! I have a cat!"
Tom pulled with all his strength, but then there was another earthquake causing him to slip. He was now skidding towards the edge of the platform, but just before he reached the edge, he managed to get back on his feet.
"We're just… I don't know what we're just… I can't…" he winced.
Then Tom caught a glimpse of that flying electricity from earlier, but he focused on saving the engineer. The hanging platform then broke apart from the rest of the facility, and Tom then found himself falling into the fissure himself, but Philip caught his legs just in time.
"I got you!" he said. "I got you both! Climb up, Linda!"
After that death-defying experience, they all safely got onto the platform. The doors of the hangar then opened, and Olivia and another woman with black hair rushed towards them.
"Did you see that?" Tom asked.
"What? Our lives flashing before our eyes?" said Philip.
Before Tom could respond, Olivia practically tackled him. "Tom! Are you okay?"
"Mom! Mom! Hi, I'm fine," he assured her calmly. "I just saw something—"
Olivia wasn't listening and hugged him tightly, cutting him off.
"What happened?" Olivia asked.
"Earthquake. Falling. Screams. Death riding toward me on a pale horse," said Linda, still in shock.
"She's fine, just in shock," said the other woman.
"Your son thought fast, threw her a cable, saved her life," said Philip.
"Good thing you hear them," said the woman approaching him. "I'm Chief Engineer Clara Carlson; I believe you already met my son."
"Your James' mom?" Tom stared.
Director Wong then arrived and looked at Tom, surprised. "Thomas? What are you doing down here? This is a restricted area."
"Oh! I-I…" said Tom awkwardly.
Olivia looked at him. "Wait a minute. You weren't supposed to be down here?
"Well, no… See, the elevator doors were closing, and I couldn't—" he admitted.
"Oh, Tom!" said Olivia shaking her head. "From now on, he will only be where he's supposed to be. Right?"
Tom just looked at his feet.
"Chief Baker, show the Kullersens to their dome," said Director Wong.
Philip nodded, and both Olivia and Tom began to follow him.
"One moment, Olivia," said Director Wong stopping her. "I think we were both hoping that Tom had matured beyond the 'swimming with polar bears' phase of his development."
"He has. I promise you, May, he has. And if he hasn't, he's going to," she assured her.
"While I agree he should be reprimanded for making his way into a restricted area, let's not forget if he wasn't here, Linda would be at the bottom of the fissure right now," Clara pointed out.
"That may be, but he won't be that lucky again," said May.
Outside the station, both Tom and Philip wait for Olivia.
"What you did back there… Pretty stupid," said Philip. "But pretty brave, too."
Tom just gave him a small smile."
"You gotta understand that fissure is dangerous, son," Philip continued. "No one knows how deep that thing is. If you fell in, you might never hit the bottom."
Olivia then exited the station, not looking too pleased with Tom.
"I'm glad I'm not you right now," said Philip.
Olivia drove them in the truck to the dome, where they were living, in silence. The domes will wear the station personnel and their families would live, and were powered by a wind turbine that resides on top of the domes.
When they got inside, they found all their stuff had arrived, and Tom looked around.
"This place is pretty nice. Feels very… domey," said Tom breaking the silence, but he could tell that his mom was still mad. "Look, I know you're mad, but…"
She continued to remain silent as she began to unpack one of the boxes. "So, uh, maybe after we unpack, we can wander around?" Tom suggested. "I think I saw something in the fissure."
"The fissure you weren't supposed to be near?" Olivia added.
"Yeah. Yeah, that fissure," Tom admitted.
"Tom! You totally went against everything we talked about before we got here. I know you're excited. I am, too. But, you cannot, under any circumstances, sneak around places that could get you killed."
"Okay, okay, I get it. I just wanted to see the drone fleet. And I didn't know an earthquake was coming."
"You have a drone," she reminded him. "Look at that."
"It's not the same thing," Tom muttered under his breath.
"We have been here barely an hour, and we almost had a tragedy. Not the best first impression."
"Okay, I admit it. The drone mission was misguided," Tom admitted as he began to unpack one of the boxes. "I should've stayed with the group."
He then found an old Viking helmet, which was an ancient heirloom of there.
"But, come on, Mom!" he said, putting the helmet on and then grabbing an umbrella and waving around like a sword. "We come from Vikings. We don't ask for permission. We don't care what other people think. We crave adventure!"
"There won't be any adventure if you keep breaking the rules," said Olivia, not looking amused.
"Rules are for suckers," said Tom pointing the umbrella at her.
"You will complete the safety orientation videos," said Olivia strictly, grabbing a broom and pointing it at him. "Or die by the sword!"
"Now she wants me dead. How quickly we forget," he said and began trading blows. "You'll never defeat me! This umbrella is state of the art!"
"Oh, but I will because I am your mother and have responsibilities!"
"I see your responsibilities and raise you one independent teenager."
"Parental duty!"
"Teen angst!"
Olivia then managed to disarm him and 'stabbed' him with the broom.
"Oh, man…" he said as he pretended to die.
Olivia then sat down on the couch and looked at him. "We gotta behave ourselves, boyo. This expedition is even bigger than I thought. Look at this place. A lot of eyeballs are on us."
"Well, can we at least use our eyeballs and go look at the fissure?" Tom asked, and Olivia shook her head. "I'm serious. I think I saw something."
"W-What do you mean 'saw something'?" Libby asked, confused.
Before he could answer, her phone rang.
"Oh, I gotta take this," she said and answered the phone. "Hello, May. No, sorry, I didn't forget. I'm just getting Tom situated. Be right there." She then switched the phone off and looked at him. "I gotta get back. They need me at the station."
"What do I do while you're gone?" Tom asked.
"I don't know. Unpack. Play a video game," she shrugged as she approached the door. "Gotta go. Love you!" She then closed the door, but seconds later, she opened it and looked at him sternly. "Stay away from that fissure. Stay near the dome."
Once again, she closed the door leaving Tom on his own. Disappointed, he put the Viking helmet on and turned the TV on, but there was no signal. He then looked around the room for something to do when his eyes fell upon his drone, and he got an idea.
"Huh, she said I couldn't go near the fissure, but she didn't say anything about my drone," he said.
Tom then took his drone and climbed his way to the top of the dome, where he began flying at around.
"All right, let's check out the world's deepest hole and see if we can spot that flying thing," he said.
"How do you like your dome?" said a voice making him jump.
Tom looked down and saw Jun standing there, and next to her was James.
"Ah! Hm? Well, they're all the same, right?" Tom shrugged.
"Pretty much," Jun agreed.
"It makes constructive a whole lot easier," said James.
"How did you get up there?" Jun asked.
Both Jun and James then began climbing up to the top of the dome.
"Help me," said Jun holding her hand out.
Tom reached out and helped her up.
"Hey, I'm here too, you know," said James.
Both Tom and Jun then helped him up, and they all sat down on top of the dome.
"We heard what happened on the platform," said Jun.
"Wow, that was quick," said Tom.
"Well, when people almost die, and a chunk of the station falls into the fissure, word travels fast," said Jun.
"Especially when one's parents are present, unable to re-enact the story," James added.
"Good point," said Tom.
"Guess you're still the boy who makes the local news," said Jun.
"And the boy who constantly gets into trouble," James added.
Tom shrugged. "I guess so."
"I knew you were coming here, you know," said Jun. "It was fated."
James looked at Tom. "Don't ask."
Tom frowned at Jun. "Fated?"
James sighed. "He asked."
"Yeah," said Jun. "It was in the stars. I read your astrological chart." Tom and James looked at her strangely, and she immediately blushed. "I- I was just curious. It doesn't mean anything."
"Guess you're still the girl who's into everything magical," said Tom.
"It's not magic, but yeah, I am," she admitted, her eyes turned towards the drone flying around them. "Okay, uh, what's the point of this toy? It's making me dizzy."
"It's not a toy, Jun. It's a drone," said Tom defensively.
"It's a toy."
"I'm afraid I have to agree," said James. "You did, after all, get it from a store and currently playing around with it."
"I'm not playing around with it," said Tom, and both James and Jun raised their eyebrows. "I saw something in the fissure earlier. Something flying."
"What do you mean? Like another drone?" Jun asked.
Tom shook his head. "No, no, bigger, faster. I don't know… different."
"Well, your drone has a camera on it, right? Let's go check it out," Jun suggested.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" said Tom, and Jun immediately snagged his controller. "No, no, no, no, Jun! Jun, it- it takes a lot of practice to—"
"Oh, hey! This is kinda fun," she said excitedly.
"Okay! Easy!" Tom pleaded. "These things are expensive."
"Jun, I really think you should give it back to Tom," James suggested.
"I got it. I got it," Jun assured them.
Then the drone started to fly straight towards them.
"No, you haven't!" James yelled as they ducked.
The drone passed directly over their heads and crashed into something.
"Oh, sorry. My bad," said Jun apologetically. "Where did it go?"
They then heard the sound of a sheep.
It turned out the drone had crashed into a sheep and got tangled up in its wool. Both Tom and James had borrowed some shavers to free the drone, giving the sheep a bit of a trim in the process, and Jun was calming down.
"Poor thing. I'm so sorry," Jun apologised.
"Never shaved a sheep before," said Tom.
"Not exactly something on my bucket list either," said James.
Seconds later, they managed to free the drone from the sheep, received rather happy about it and scampered off.
"You're welcome," said Tom.
"Good thing it's the beginning of summer," said James, then looked at his watch. "Better get going. My mum will have a fit."
"I should get going, too," said Jun. "It's getting late. You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just gonna take one more flight and check out the fissure," said Tom as he removed the wool from the drone.
"Your chart was right. You have an unquenchable thirst for adventure.
"I told you. I saw something weird. I wanna take another look."
"Just be careful," said Jun. "Like I said, you were fated to be here. We all were, and something big happens.
Tom looked up. "Something big?"
Jun then held out a tarot card which had an image of a king. "Life-changing."
She then gave him the card and walked away, and Tom looked at James.
"Look at me," he said and walked away.
Tom shrugged and then started to make his way to the Visitor's Centre.
Once there, he began lowering his drone into the fissure.
"Okay, where are you?" he said as he looked at the footage.
The drone then flew by a pile of fallen boulders, and suddenly, a flash of light came from inside.
"There you are," he said.
He had the drone flies closer, but it was then hit by a surge of electricity.
"What the…" said Tom looking through the window, but couldn't get a proper angle.
He then made his way outside and looked down to see his drone near the pile of rocks.
"Okay, this is probably a bad idea," he said, pulling a pick-axe.
Using the pick-axe, he began climbing down the fissure to retrieve his drone. Once there, he examined his drone, which was a little scorched but otherwise fine. He placed it on his back but could have sworn he saw something move and ground within the rocks.
He made his way closer to look inside. "What are you?"
Suddenly, he saw a flash of light and the sound of electricity, causing him to stumble backwards.
"Whoa!" he said and then heard that same growling sound. "Okay, time to go."
He then started climbing his way back up, but he heard the creature growling again. He knew what his mum said about staying safe, but his curiosity got the better of him. He climbs way back down and shone his torch at the rocks.
He saw a pale blue eye with a slit, indicating there was something indeed trapped beneath the rocks. He then heard a movement close by and shone his torch, revealing the creature's tail trapped beneath a boulder.
"A tail?" he said and realised the creature was trapped. "Okay, okay, okay. Just- Just hold on."
He made his way to the boulder and tried to shepherd it out of the way. He put every bit of strength he had into moving rock and did just enough for the creature to move its tail.
"Okay, in there," said Tom. "Okay, you can come out now."
He then saw a surge of electricity covering the rocks, and seconds later, there was an explosion as the creature flew out. Whatever it was, it was big, and Tom was so shocked that he took a step back, forgetting where he was and fell into the fissure. He quickly pulled out his pick-axe and drove it into the wall, stopping his fall. He then began climbing his way back up until he reached the ledge big enough for him to climb on.
Once there, he shone his torch and could see the research station directly above, but it was too far to climb back up. Knowing he had no option, he was about to climb but saw the creature descending towards him and landing directly in front of him.
"Ah! Go away!" he yelled, waving his hands. "Go on! Get outta here!"
Tom shone his torch, eliminating the creature, which immediately backed away, clearly spooked. This, however, did give him a better view of the creature, and it was a big reptile.
It had black scales as well as pure white scales running from its lower jaw to the tip of its tail and on its feet. It had a series of large triangular spines lining down its back to its tail which possessed a three-pronged 'tail spade' in the shape of 'Poseidon's Trident', with an additional fin between the main two. Its toe pads on its feet were like cats and dogs. It also had a pair of black batlike wings that had to be around 10 feet long.
The creature then began to circle around him and then fired a bolt of electricity straight at his torch.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," said Tom as the light began to flicker before they went out completely. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"