Chapter 23: Changes Within
The medical tent was crowded with wounded soldiers, but Josh got priority treatment. Not because his injuries were the worst—they weren't—but because Dr. Walsh insisted on running every test imaginable on him.
"Your body temperature is fluctuating," she said, studying her scanner. "One minute you're normal, the next you're dropping to near-hypothermia levels. But you're not cold?"
"I feel fine," Josh said, which was mostly true. He felt different, but not bad. Like there was something new inside him, humming quietly beneath his skin. "Maybe a little weird."
"Weird how?" Kyla asked from the chair beside his bed. She hadn't left his side since they'd returned from the glacier.
"Like I can feel... cold. Not temperature cold, but dimensional cold. Like there's this space inside me that connects to somewhere else." Josh struggled to find the right words. "It's hard to explain."
Dr. Walsh made notes on her tablet. "The dimensional energy you absorbed appears to have bonded with your cellular structure. You're essentially carrying a piece of the Frozen Realm inside you now. It's unprecedented."
"Is it dangerous?" Kyla asked, worry clear in her voice.
"I don't know. Potentially. But it could also be incredibly useful." Dr. Walsh pulled up readings on her screen. "Josh, try to focus on that cold feeling. Can you make it stronger or weaker?"
Josh closed his eyes, concentrating. The cold hummed inside him, and he reached for it mentally. Immediately, the temperature in the tent dropped ten degrees. Frost formed on the medical equipment.
"Whoa!" Josh opened his eyes, and the cold retreated. The frost melted. "Sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"Don't apologize. That was amazing." Dr. Walsh was typing frantically. "You have some degree of control over dimensional energy. With training, you might be able to manipulate ice, sense dimensional breaches, maybe even predict when the King will try to return."
"So I'm like... what? A living dimensional detector?" Josh tried to joke, but it came out uncertain.
"More like a bridge between worlds," Dr. Walsh said seriously. "This could change everything about how we fight dimensional threats. But Josh, you need to be careful. That energy inside you—it's not human. It might try to change you, influence your thoughts. If you feel anything strange, anything at all, you tell us immediately."
"Define strange," Josh said. "Because this whole situation is already pretty strange."
They kept him under observation for another six hours, running test after test. Finally, Dr. Walsh cleared him to leave with strict instructions to report any unusual symptoms immediately.
Outside the medical tent, the sun was rising over the glacier. The tear in the sky was gone, leaving only normal Alaskan sky. Soldiers were packing up equipment, preparing to return home. They'd won, but the cost was visible everywhere—body bags being loaded onto transport planes, wounded being carried to medical choppers, exhaustion on every face.
"Forty-seven people died," Kyla said quietly, standing beside Josh. "Forty-seven soldiers who'll never go home because we were fighting a war nobody knew existed two weeks ago."
"They saved the world," Josh said. "That means something."
"Does it? Their families don't even fully understand what happened. How do you explain that your son or daughter died fighting an interdimensional king?" Kyla's voice cracked slightly. "We won, but it doesn't feel like winning."
Josh took her hand. "Winning never feels how you think it will. But those soldiers knew the risks. They chose to fight anyway. That's what heroes do."
"We're not heroes," Kyla protested. "We're just cops who keep ending up in impossible situations."
"Same thing, apparently."
Captain Rodriguez found them as they were preparing to board the transport back to civilization. "Martinez, Reeves. Good work out there. The President wants to award you both medals—probably the Presidential Medal of Freedom. There's going to be a ceremony in DC next week."
"Medals," Josh repeated. "For almost dying and accidentally becoming a dimensional hybrid?"
"For saving the planet," Rodriguez corrected with a slight smile. "Take the win. God knows we need them." Her expression turned serious. "But there's something else. We've been monitoring dimensional energy levels globally. The King's retreat caused a surge that affected weak points we thought were permanently closed. Some of them are destabilizing."
"Meaning?" Kyla asked.
"Meaning we might see more creature incursions in the coming weeks. Smaller than before—the main dimensional barrier is stable now—but still dangerous." Rodriguez handed them a folder. "The DDI is officially operational as of today. You two report to headquarters in DC tomorrow. There's a lot of work ahead."
The flight back to DC took eight hours. Josh slept through most of it, exhausted from the battle and the tests. Kyla tried to sleep but couldn't, her mind replaying everything that had happened. They'd stopped the King, but he was still out there, still planning. And now Josh had some kind of dimensional energy inside him that nobody understood.
When they landed in DC, a motorcade was waiting to take them directly to DDI headquarters—a secure facility near the Pentagon. The building was new, constructed in record time over the past few days. Already it was bustling with activity—scientists, military personnel, and government officials all working together.
Sergeant Chen—now Deputy Director Chen—met them in the lobby. "Martinez, Reeves. Welcome to the DDI. You're just in time for the first official team briefing."
"You look good in a suit, sir," Josh said. Chen had traded his police uniform for a black suit and tie, looking every bit the federal agent.
"I look uncomfortable," Chen corrected. "But it's part of the job now. Come on, the director is waiting."
The director turned out to be someone Kyla recognized from the briefings—Admiral Patricia Russo, formerly the head of Naval Intelligence. She was in her fifties, with gray-streaked hair and the kind of presence that made people instinctively stand straighter.
"Officers Martinez and Reeves," Russo said, shaking their hands. "I've heard a lot about you. Youngest field commanders in DDI history. Also the only field commanders, since we literally formed three days ago, but still impressive."
The briefing room was full of familiar faces—Stevens, Delgado, other officers from Tides, Captain Rodriguez, Dr. Walsh, and dozens of new people Kyla didn't recognize yet.
"As of oh-eight-hundred this morning, the Dimensional Defense Initiative is fully operational," Russo began. "Our mission is threefold: monitor dimensional threats, respond to breaches, and research ways to permanently seal the barrier between worlds. We have facilities in twelve countries, a budget that makes the Pentagon jealous, and the best people from military, law enforcement, and scientific communities worldwide."
She pulled up a map showing red dots across the globe. "These are confirmed unstable weak points—remnants from the recent attacks. Most are stable now, but we're monitoring them twenty-four-seven. If any start to reopen, we need rapid response teams ready to close them immediately."
"How many teams do we have?" Rodriguez asked.
"Currently? Eight. We're training more, but it takes time. Which brings me to our field commanders." Russo looked at Kyla and Josh. "You two will be training new teams, coordinating responses, and leading missions when necessary. It's a lot of responsibility."
"We can handle it," Kyla said, trying to sound confident.
"I believe you can. But there's something else." Russo pulled up medical scans—Josh's scans. "Officer Reeves, your condition makes you uniquely valuable to the DDI. You can sense dimensional energy in ways our equipment can't. That makes you our early warning system. But it also makes you a target. If the King or any other dimensional entity learns what you can do, they'll either try to kill you or capture you."
"So I'm basically bait," Josh said.
"You're an asset that needs protection," Russo corrected. "Which is why Martinez will be your partner for all field operations. You watch each other's backs."
"That was already the plan," Kyla said.
"Good. Now let's talk about current threats." Russo pulled up a new image—satellite footage of a location in Russia. "Siberia, forty-eight hours ago. A weak point opened briefly, less than thirty seconds. Three creatures emerged before it closed itself. Russian military engaged but took heavy casualties. They're requesting DDI assistance."
"We're going to Russia?" Josh asked.
"You're going to Russia," Russo confirmed. "Consider it your first official DDI mission. You'll take a team of six specialists, coordinate with Russian authorities, and close that weak point permanently. Transport leaves in four hours."
The briefing continued, discussing equipment, protocols, and mission parameters. By the time they finished, Kyla's head was spinning with information. They had four hours to prepare for an international mission to close a weak point in Siberia.
"We're really doing this," Josh said as they headed to their assigned quarters. "International dimensional defense. This is our life now."
"Better than parking tickets," Kyla said, trying to find humor in the situation.
Their quarters were small but functional—two adjoining rooms with a shared bathroom. Kyla had just started unpacking when she heard a thud from Josh's room.
"Josh?" She rushed to his door. "You okay?"
Josh was sitting on his bed, looking pale. "Yeah, just... dizzy for a second. The cold feeling got really strong, then faded. I'm fine now."
But he didn't look fine. He looked exhausted and slightly scared.
"Maybe you should rest," Kyla suggested. "I can handle the mission prep."
"No, I'm good. Just need some food and coffee." Josh stood, swaying slightly. "Seriously, I'm fine."
He wasn't fine, but Kyla knew pushing wouldn't help. Josh was stubborn about admitting weakness.
They spent the next three hours preparing—reviewing mission briefs, checking equipment, meeting their team. The six specialists were all experienced DDI operatives, though most had only been with the agency for a few days. Everyone was new at this.
An hour before departure, Josh excused himself to rest briefly. Kyla let him go, sensing he needed space to process everything that had happened.
In his room, Josh lay on the bed, exhaustion finally overwhelming him. The cold feeling inside him pulsed rhythmically, almost like a heartbeat. It wasn't painful, just... present. Always there, reminding him that he'd changed.
He closed his eyes, and sleep came quickly.
In his dreams, the cold grew stronger.
He was standing in a place that felt familiar but wrong—a vast frozen plain under a purple sky. The Frozen Realm. But he wasn't really there. This was something else. Something deeper.
In the distance, a figure approached. Massive, ancient, made of ice and power. The King.
But when the figure spoke, its voice was almost... sad?
"Interesting," the voice said, studying Josh. "You survived. More than survived—you took my power and made it your own. Do you understand what that means, young one?"
Josh tried to wake up, but couldn't. The dream held him firmly.
"This is just a dream," Josh said, his voice echoing across the frozen plain.
"Is it?" The King moved closer. "Dreams are strange things. Sometimes they're just dreams. Sometimes they're doorways. Sometimes they're messages from places your waking mind cannot reach."
"What do you want?" Josh demanded.
"To understand you. To see what makes a human capable of touching dimensional energy without being destroyed." The King circled him slowly. "You interest me, Joshua Reeves. You are the first of your kind. Perhaps the last. That makes you... valuable."
"I'm not joining you."
"I'm not asking you to. Not yet." The King's form shifted, becoming slightly less imposing. "But we will meet again. Perhaps sooner than you think. And when we do..." The voice faded, the dream dissolving. "Remember this dream, Joshua. Not all dreams are merely dreams."
Josh woke with a gasp, his heart pounding. The cold inside him was pulsing wildly, reacting to... something. A memory of the dream, maybe. Or something more.
"Just a nightmare," he muttered, checking the time. They'd be leaving for Russia in twenty minutes. "Just stress and exhaustion making me dream weird things."
But as he got ready, Josh couldn't shake the feeling that the King's words had been real. That somehow, across dimensions and reality, they'd actually spoken.
He didn't mention the dream to Kyla. She had enough to worry about without him adding paranoid dreams to the list.
Besides, it was just a dream.
Wasn't it?
End of Chapter 23