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Newcomers. Awakening at the Radiant


Newcomers. Awakening at the Radiant
The town of Promenade lay on the sidelines. For years, everyone said that nothing was happening here, unless one considered the weekly battle at the local bowling alley or the arrival of a new flavour at Mr Krupa's ice cream parlour to be an event. But for a group of five teenagers - Lena, Emil, Dominyk, Melissa and Igor - the summer holidays this year promised to be very different. Instead of boredom, they were met with a night that changed everything. It started with an innocent bet. It was Saturday, 11:13 pm, the warm air smelled of dust and future storms. Lena, always one step ahead of the rest, persuaded them to walk closer to the ruin of an old nuclear power plant, closed for a decade. No one wanted to admit their fear, so they entered the site through a hole in the fence, with laughter and phones ready to record any 'proof of courage'. The interior was surprisingly well-preserved - the corridors still had information boards, with yellow warnings hanging in places from the days when radiation was more than just a legend here. They walked slowly, lighting their way with the torches on their phones. And then they saw a light. An unusual greenish glow was beaming from behind the heavy steel doors leading into the reactor. Dominyk, always sceptical, wanted to turn back, but Igor was already extending his hand to the handle. Melissa, who had remained silent until now, only said: "Make it quick." The door opened with a groan. The air suddenly thickened and the glow turned into a blinding flash that pierced all five of them. Lena felt as if an electric current was running through her skin. The last thing they remembered was the penetrating chills and the feeling of the walls starting to ripple. They only woke up at dawn on the grass in front of the power station, completely shaken but seemingly fine. Their phones had stopped working. Everyone felt something - Lena could see the whole area for a second through her closed eyelids, as if she had a map of the building in her head; Emil could swear he could feel his friends' heartbeats, their every hesitation of thought; Dominic could barely contain his trembling when he discovered that, by touching a branch, he was making it bend under his unspoken will. Over the following days it became increasingly clear that something was happening to them. Melissa accidentally caused a strange storm in a glass of water. Igor lifted his own notes above the ground for a moment before panicking and dropping them on the floor. They kept quiet about it from their parents and friends, hiding under the pretense of meeting at the lake. One night Lena woke up feeling something pulling her towards the power station. After a brief exchange of messages, they all met in front of a locked fence. A strange cloud of light hovered over the reactor, pulsating as if it was waiting for them. Emil squeezed Lena's hand. - 'Do you think it's ... is calling us? - Melissa whispered, as if any louder word might set off an avalanche of unknown events. They stood in front of the gate. For a moment, the silence was broken only by the distant hum of the city. Then the power station door began to open of its own accord, and a voice came from inside that no one expected to hear. And then...


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Age category: 16-17 years
Publication date:
Times read: 29
Endings: 2
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