Kyla woke up to her phone ringing at seven in the morning. She groaned, every muscle in her body protesting as she reached for it. Last night's fight had left her sore in places she didn't even know could get sore.
"Hello?" she mumbled.
"Morning, sunshine." Chen's voice was way too alert for seven AM. "I need you and Reeves at the station. We've got a situation."
"Another situation? Can't situations happen at a reasonable hour?"
"Crime doesn't sleep, Martinez. Neither do we. See you in thirty minutes." He hung up.
Kyla dragged herself out of bed and into the shower, letting the hot water ease some of the soreness. She had bruises forming on her arms and legs from being thrown around last night, and her dress was in the trash where it belonged. So much for looking nice.
By the time she got to the station, Josh was already there, looking just as tired as she felt. He had a coffee waiting for her, which immediately made him her favorite person.
"You look how I feel," he said.
"Thanks. Very sweet." Kyla took a grateful sip of coffee. "What's the situation?"
"Chen wants us in the conference room. Something about the analysis of those ice creatures."
The conference room was already crowded. Chen was there, along with several officers Kyla didn't recognize and a woman in a lab coat who looked like she hadn't slept in days. Professor Hoffman was also there, looking excited and nervous.
"Everyone, this is Dr. Rebecca Walsh from the federal agency I mentioned," Chen said, gesturing to the lab coat woman. "She specializes in... unusual phenomena. Dr. Walsh, Officers Martinez and Reeves."
Dr. Walsh shook their hands with a grip that was surprisingly strong. "I've heard a lot about you two. Stopping an interdimensional portal, fighting ice monsters on your first date. Impressive."
"How did you—" Kyla started.
"I know everything relevant to my job. It's both a gift and a curse." Dr. Walsh pulled up images on the conference room screen. "Let's talk about what attacked you last night. We've analyzed the residue left behind when the creatures melted. The results are... concerning."
The screen showed microscopic images of crystalline structures, but they looked wrong somehow. Too perfect, too geometric.
"These aren't natural ice formations," Dr. Walsh continued. "The molecular structure is similar to ice, but it's organized in ways that shouldn't be possible in nature. It's like someone engineered ice to be stronger, denser, and more aggressive."
"Someone created them?" Josh asked.
"More like something created them. We found traces of the same energy signature we detected at the City Hall portal site. These creatures came from the same dimension as whatever was trying to invade."
Professor Hoffman leaned forward. "But the portal's closed. All the fragments were destroyed. How did they get through?"
"That's the million-dollar question." Dr. Walsh pulled up a map of Tides. "The creatures emerged from the harbor at exactly 7:15 PM. Witnesses reported seeing the water freeze solid for about thirty seconds, then crack open like an egg. Three creatures climbed out and headed straight downtown."
"Straight for us," Kyla said quietly.
"Yes. Which suggests they were sent with a specific purpose—to eliminate the two people who closed the portal." Dr. Walsh looked at them seriously. "Someone on the other side is very angry with you."
"Get in line," Josh muttered.
Chen cleared his throat. "We've increased patrols around the harbor and set up monitoring equipment. If more creatures appear, we'll know immediately. But we need to figure out how they're getting through without a portal."
"Maybe there's another way," Professor Hoffman said. "The fragments created a large, stable portal. But what if there are natural weak points? Places where the barrier between dimensions is thinner?"
"Like cracks in a wall," Kyla said, understanding. "Small enough that you can't walk through, but maybe enough for something to squeeze through?"
"Exactly. And water is interesting. It's a natural conductor of energy, including dimensional energy. If there's a weak point in the barrier near or under the water..." Hoffman pulled up geological surveys of the harbor. "Look at this. The harbor sits on a fault line that's been inactive for thousands of years. But fault lines create fractures in the earth. Fractures that might extend into other dimensions."
Dr. Walsh nodded approvingly. "That's a solid theory. If the harbor is a natural weak point, that might explain how the creatures got through. But it also means more could follow."
"So what do we do?" Josh asked. "We can't just close the entire harbor."
"No, but we can investigate it. Find the exact location of the weak point, figure out how unstable it is, and potentially seal it." Dr. Walsh pulled up what looked like specialized equipment schematics. "We have dimensional scanners that can detect fluctuations in the barrier. If we take them to the harbor, we should be able to pinpoint where the creatures came through."
"When do we start?" Kyla asked.
"Now. I've got a team and equipment ready to go." Dr. Walsh looked at Chen. "With your permission, Sergeant, I'd like Martinez and Reeves to accompany us. They have field experience with these entities, and frankly, if something comes through while we're there, I want people who know how to fight it."
Chen didn't look happy, but he nodded. "Take backup. At least four officers, and I want regular check-ins every fifteen minutes. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Kyla and Josh said together.
Twenty minutes later, they were at the harbor in a convoy of vehicles. Dr. Walsh had brought three other scientists, all carrying equipment that looked like something from a science fiction movie. Stevens and three other officers provided security, all of them armed and looking nervous.
The harbor was usually busy, but Chen had arranged for it to be cleared. Only a few cargo ships remained docked, and their crews had been evacuated. The water was calm, gray and cold under the morning clouds.
"Where exactly did the witnesses see them emerge?" Dr. Walsh asked.
Stevens pointed to a section of dock about fifty yards away. "There. They said the water froze in a circle maybe twenty feet wide, then the creatures broke through the ice."
Dr. Walsh's team set up their equipment, arranging sensors along the dock and lowering probes into the water. Kyla watched, fascinated and nervous. Everything looked so normal. Just water and docks and ships. Hard to believe that last night, monsters had crawled out of this exact spot.
"Getting readings," one of the scientists called out. "There's definitely something here. Dimensional energy levels are off the charts."
Dr. Walsh studied her tablet, frowning. "The barrier is thin here. Much thinner than it should be. And it's getting thinner."
"What does that mean?" Josh asked.
"It means the barrier is degrading. Like a wall with cracks that keep spreading. Eventually..." She looked up at them grimly. "Eventually it might collapse entirely. And if that happens, this whole area could become a permanent weak point. A doorway that's always partially open."
"How long until that happens?" Kyla felt dread settling in her stomach.
"Could be days, could be months. There's no way to know without more data." Dr. Walsh turned to her team. "Start taking measurements. I want to know exactly how unstable this is."
While the scientists worked, Kyla and Josh stood guard with the other officers. The morning was quiet except for the sound of water lapping against the dock and the occasional beep from the scientific equipment.
"This is weird," Josh said quietly. "Standing around waiting for monsters to show up."
"Everything about our lives is weird now," Kyla replied. "Welcome to the task force."
"At least the pay is the same. Oh wait, we haven't discussed pay yet."
"Probably the same as regular patrol. Which means we're risking our lives for middle-class wages."
"Living the dream."
Despite the tension, Kyla found herself smiling. Josh had a way of making even dangerous situations feel less scary. She was about to say something when one of the scientists shouted.
"Doctor Walsh! We've got a spike in dimensional energy!"
Everyone turned to look at the water. It was starting to freeze, ice spreading out from a central point just like the witnesses had described. The temperature dropped instantly, their breath becoming visible in the sudden cold.
"Everybody back!" Dr. Walsh ordered. "It's happening again!"
The ice spread faster, crackling and groaning. In seconds, a circle of frozen water about twenty feet across had formed. And then it started to crack.
"Weapons ready!" Stevens shouted. The officers drew their guns, though Kyla knew from last night that bullets wouldn't do much.
"We need fire!" Kyla said. "Heat, flame, anything!"
"We brought flares!" One of the officers, a guy named Martinez—no relation—ran to his cruiser and grabbed a box. "Will these work?"
"Better than nothing!"
The ice shattered with a sound like breaking glass. And from the dark water below, something began to rise.
But it wasn't another ice creature.
It was a person.
Or at least, it had the shape of a person. It was made entirely of ice, transparent and glowing with a faint blue light. Features were barely visible—a face, eyes, a mouth. But unlike the monsters from last night, this thing moved with intelligence, with purpose.
It climbed onto the dock, water streaming off its icy body, and looked directly at Kyla and Josh.
Then it spoke.
"You." Its voice was like wind over frozen lakes, cold and hollow. "You destroyed the gateway. You stopped the King's army."
Kyla's hand moved to her gun, but she didn't draw it. This thing was talking. Maybe they could reason with it.
"Who are you?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
"I am a Herald. I speak for the King of the Frozen Realm." The ice figure tilted its head. "The King is displeased. You have interfered with plans centuries in the making. For this, you must be punished."
"Yeah, we're not really interested in being punished," Josh said. "Maybe the King should consider a different hobby. Like pottery."
The Herald's eyes glowed brighter. "You mock forces you do not understand. The King's reach extends beyond your comprehension. The gateway was only one path. There are others. And they will open."
"Not if we stop them," Kyla said.
"You cannot stop what is inevitable. The barriers between worlds grow thin. Soon, they will shatter. And when they do, the King's army will march through every crack, every weak point, every thin place. Your world will freeze, and all who live here will kneel before the King."
"Okay, that's enough of the villain speech." Dr. Walsh stepped forward, holding some kind of device. "Herald or whatever you are, you're in violation of dimensional travel laws. Turn around and go back where you came from."
The Herald laughed—a sound like cracking ice. "Your laws mean nothing in the spaces between worlds. But I did not come to fight. I came to deliver a message." It looked at Kyla and Josh again. "The creatures you destroyed last night were only the beginning. More will come. Stronger, faster, deadlier. They will hunt you until you are nothing but frozen statues, warnings to others who might dare oppose the King."
"Bring it on," Josh said, though Kyla could hear the nervousness in his voice.
The Herald tilted its head. "Such bravery. Such foolishness. You have three days. Three days before the next wave comes. Use that time to prepare. Or use it to run. The King does not care which you choose. Your fate is already sealed."
Before anyone could respond, the Herald stepped backward off the dock. It fell into the water and dissolved, like an ice cube in warm liquid. The frozen section of water began to melt immediately, returning to its normal state within seconds.
Everyone stood in shocked silence.
"Did that just happen?" Stevens asked. "Did we just get threatened by an ice person?"
"Yes," Dr. Walsh said, already working on her tablet. "And it wasn't bluffing. I'm detecting massive energy fluctuations. Multiple weak points are forming all over the city."
"How many?" Chen's voice came through the radio. He'd been listening to the whole conversation from the command center.
Dr. Walsh studied her readings. "At least seven new weak points have appeared in the last five minutes. All over Tides. Parks, buildings, the subway system. Anywhere there's water or cold. They're creating invasion routes."
"Three days," Kyla said quietly. "That's when they said the next wave comes."
"Then we have three days to figure out how to close these weak points permanently," Dr. Walsh said. "Otherwise this city—this whole region—is going to become a battlefield."
They spent the next two hours scanning the harbor and documenting everything. The weak point was still there, still degrading, but at least nothing else came through. When they finally headed back to the station, everyone was exhausted and worried.
In the parking lot, Josh pulled Kyla aside. "You okay?"
"Honestly? No. That thing threatened to turn us into frozen statues."
"Yeah, that was pretty specific and terrifying." Josh ran his hand through his hair. "But we've got three days. That's more warning than we had with the portal. We can prepare, figure out a plan."
"What kind of plan stops an army of ice monsters?"
"I don't know yet. But we'll figure it out. We always do." Josh took her hand. "Hey, we're in this together, remember? Partners."
"Partners," Kyla agreed, squeezing his hand.
Back in the conference room, Dr. Walsh was already setting up for another meeting. Maps of Tides covered every surface, marked with red dots showing the weak points.
"Alright, people," she said as everyone gathered. "We've got three days to save this city. Here's what we know: The ice creatures are vulnerable to heat. Fire, boiling water, anything that raises the temperature significantly will damage them. They're also water-based, which means they need moisture to maintain their forms."
"So we make the city hot and dry?" Stevens suggested.
"Not quite possible in three days, but you're thinking in the right direction." Dr. Walsh pointed to the map. "We need to set up defensive positions at each weak point. Heat sources, flamethrowers, anything we can use to destroy creatures as they come through. We also need to warn the public without causing mass panic."
"How do you do that?" Josh asked. "Hey everyone, ice monsters are invading, but don't panic?"
"We tell them it's an emergency drill. Power grid issues requiring temporary evacuations of certain areas. Most people will comply, and the ones who don't..." Dr. Walsh shrugged. "We'll have to protect them anyway."
Chen stepped forward. "I'm coordinating with the mayor's office and the fire department. We're setting up heating stations at each weak point and evacuating nearby buildings. Martinez, Reeves, I want you two working with Dr. Walsh. You've fought these things twice now. You know how they move, how they think. Use that knowledge."
"Yes, sir," they said together.
As the meeting continued, discussing strategy and resources and contingency plans, Kyla felt the weight of it all pressing down. Three days to prepare for an invasion. Three days to figure out how to protect an entire city from creatures that shouldn't exist.
But as she looked at Josh beside her, at Chen and Dr. Walsh and all the officers ready to fight, she felt something else too.
Hope.
They'd stopped the portal. They'd survived the first attack. They could do this.
They had to.
Because if they failed, the whole city would freeze. And the King's army would march through, unstoppable.
Three days.
The clock was ticking.
End of Chapter 14