Chapter 1
THE SIXTY SECONDS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
Monsters are real.
Seventy-two years ago, they came.
Supposedly, at first, everyone thought it was a hoax. But it didn’t take long for the world to realize that what was happening was indeed real. You can still find old clips of videos people took on their phones that night.
The monsters came through what we now call The Divide—the invisible barrier that separated our realm from theirs. Apparently, all throughout history, the occasional monster would get through—those folktales of werewolves, vampires, and fae started from somewhere. But that night, they all just … appeared. So many humans lost their lives. The monsters took what they wanted … blood, bones, fear, souls. Weapons didn’t work on most of them … with their tough skin, scales, super speed, wings, regenerative healing … The humans were no match. It was a bloodbath. Then, six hours after they appeared, they all just vanished.
The entire planet was still reeling from the attack when it happened the next night, and the next. Always at the same time. Always for six hours. It wasn’t until almost a week of the occurrences that someone discovered that the first night the monsters came through, all time stood still for one full minute. Clocks ceased ticking, tides froze, the world stopped turning. No one noticed, because well, monsters. And no one really knows how life on earth survived the literal freezing of time. Time hasn’t stopped again since that first night, but the monsters still come.
Humanity’s saving grace came with the discovery of magic symbols with the power to keep the monsters out. Who discovered it? That truth is buried under wild conjectures, outlandish legends, and fantastical myths. So, who knows?
And here we are. Life goes on. We go about the monster-free hours almost as normally as before, as if we’re trying to ignore the nightmare we know is coming with the fall of The Divide every day. But we all know …
The monsters are coming, and if you want to survive, there are only three rules:
Make sure the correct symbols are carved deep into your threshold and every windowsill.
Be sure you recharge the symbols with a few drops of your blood at least once a month to keep the monsters out.
And whatever you do, don’t go outside after the final curfew siren.