Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Poppy Jensen had been feeling the changes since before dawn.
Something had shifted in Duskrock's usually stable energy field.
Most people wouldn't realize it. Tourists visited for the vortexes without truly understanding them, and locals had become accustomed to the steady flow of spiritual vacationers and their crystal collections. But Poppy wasn't like most people.
Something was coming.
By mid-morning, her phone had exploded with texts about a UFO crash near Pete's crystal shop.
Normally, she'd dismiss it as another Duskrock spectacle.
This town had a UFO sighting every other weekend.
But combined with what she'd felt, she couldn't ignore it.
Something was calling to her, and she had to go to it.
"Moonbeam, can you cover for me this afternoon?" she asked her coworker at Desert Animal Rescue. Poppy worked there four days a week, rehabilitating injured wildlife. "I need to check something out."
Moonbeam, born Jessica but reborn as Moonbeam during a particularly intense peyote ceremony five years ago, nodded without looking up from the injured jackrabbit she was tending. "The crash vibes calling you, too?"
"Something like that," Poppy admitted.
By the time she arrived at Pete's, the fire was out and the crowd had dispersed, but the energy lingered. Standing near the doorway of Pete’s shop, looking in at the scattered crystals, Poppy closed her eyes and let her other senses take over.
Cold. Dark. Watching.
The impression came so strongly that it made her gasp. Someone observed from the shadows. Not malevolent, but different. Like nothing she'd ever felt before.
"Pretty wild, right?" Pete appeared beside her, grinning through his singed beard. "Told ya they'd come eventually."
"What exactly did you see?" Poppy asked, keeping her voice neutral. Pete was a true believer with a tendency to embellish.
"Ship came down right on my roof," he said, pointing up at the blackened rafters. "Three of 'em came down after the crash, right before it went up in flames. Well, four if you count the little one."
"Four beings?" she clarified, her skin tingling.
"Yep. One was bright, like he was made of sunlight. One was dark, kept to the shadows. And one in between, kinda purple-ish. Little guy looked human-ish but weird with a giant head. They took off that way." He pointed toward town.
Poppy nodded.
"Your shadow stones survived," Pete added, handing her a small cloth bag. "Thought you might want them, considering."
"Thanks, Pete." She slipped the bag into her pocket. Black tourmaline, her specialty. She resold them at the local market and kept a collection for herself. They were especially good for protection and grounding negative energies.
Throughout the afternoon, Poppy followed the energy signatures through town.
The bright presence was easy to track. It left a trail of electrical disturbances and flickering lights.
The shadow was harder, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, but she could sense it when she quieted her mind.
Once she'd almost gotten close to finding the source of the dark energy, but an injured cat took her on a side quest to the clinic.
By evening, she found herself drawn to The Crash Zone, Duskrock's tackiest alien-themed bar. The irony wasn't lost on her that real extraterrestrials might actually visit a place decorated with inflatable aliens and UFO string lights.
Inside, the usual Friday crowd was amplified by tourists and locals eager to discuss the day's excitement. Stephanie from the yoga retreat was holding court, showing everyone her viral video of “I definitely caught aliens” while collecting free drinks from wide-eyed believers.
Poppy ordered a seltzer water and found a quiet corner to observe.
The bar's dim lighting and neon accents created plenty of shadows, and she let her awareness expand outward, feeling for that distinctive cold presence.
A shiver worked over her as a chill slipped past the overheated interior of the bar.
There.
Her senses followed it outside to the alley behind the bar. Waiting.
Setting her untouched drink aside, Poppy slipped through the crowd toward the rear exit. The night air felt cool on her skin after the stuffy bar interior. She took a deep breath, centering herself.
The presence was stronger now. Hiding in the deepest shadow against the wall, where the security light didn't reach. Most people would walk right past, seeing nothing. But Poppy had never been limited to physical sight.
"Don't run away. I know you're there," she said, keeping her voice gentle. "I followed you from the clinic. I felt you watching me."
No response, but the energy shifted slightly. Surprise, perhaps?
"It's okay," she continued, taking a step toward the darkness. Fear wasn't even an option in her mind. Whoever was hiding there wasn't a threat to her. "I'm not afraid. You don't have to hide."
The shadow remained perfectly still, but she could sense its focus intensifying. Studying her. Trying to understand how she'd detected it.
"I'm Poppy," she offered, trying to establish a connection. "You're one of them, aren't you? One of the visitors who arrived today."
She'd been sensitive to energies since childhood.
Her grandmother had been the same way, talking to ghosts and holding seances.
It was a mixed blessing in a town like Duskrock, where the veil between worlds felt thinner and energy signatures from tourists overwhelmed her until she learned to filter them out.
But this was different. This energy was truly alien in a way that resonated with something deep inside her.
The shadow neither confirmed nor denied her words. But she knew. Of course, she knew.
Reaching into her pocket, Poppy pulled out one of the black tourmaline stones Pete had saved for her. It was perfect for someone who lived in darkness, who might need grounding in this chaotic world of humans.
"A peace offering," she explained, placing it carefully on the ground between them before stepping back. "It's a shadow stone. Black tourmaline. For protection and grounding. You seem like you could use both."
She smiled directly at the presence she couldn't quite see but absolutely felt, then turned and walked away. The encounter felt incomplete, but pushing further might scare it away. Better to establish trust slowly.
As she rounded the corner of the building, her heart raced with excitement and validation. After a lifetime of sensing things others couldn't, of being called too sensitive or over imaginative, she'd finally found proof that her perceptions were real.
They were here. They were real. And at least one of them resonated with shadows in a way that called to her own affinity for the spaces between light.
Poppy didn't go back into the bar. Instead, she walked the quiet streets, letting the night air cool her flushed face.
Her mind kept returning to that shadow presence.
The stillness of it, the watching, the complete absence of light.
Not evil, not at all. Just different. Like a piece of night sky had detached itself and taken form.
Her phone buzzed with a text from her roommate, "Crash Zone packed with alien nuts. Heading home.
"On my way," she replied. "Got another rescue coming in tomorrow. Early start."
The rescue center was expecting a coyote pup that had been found abandoned near one of the hiking trails.
Another creature needing gentle handling and safe shadows to recover in.
Poppy specialized in nocturnal animals, those that shied away from human contact and preferred darkness.
Her coworkers joked that she spoke night creature fluently.
Maybe that's why she'd been able to sense the shadow visitor. Like recognized like.
Her small cottage sat on the outskirts of town, where light pollution was minimal and the stars shone brighter. She shared it with Kai, another rescue worker, though their schedules rarely overlapped. The arrangement provided her with the solitude she needed after days spent dealing with others.
Tonight, the cottage was dark except for the small lamp Kai always left on for her.
Poppy moved through the rooms without turning on additional lights, comfortable in the dimness.
Her bedroom was her sanctuary. The walls were painted deep indigo.
She had blackout curtains and a collection of stones arranged on shelves and windowsills.
She changed into loose cotton pants and a tank top, then sat cross-legged on her bed, closing her eyes to center herself. The day's events had left her buzzing with excess energy that needed grounding.
As she breathed deeply, focusing on the sensation of roots growing from her body into the earth below, Poppy felt it again. The distinct cold presence observed her from a distance. Not inside her home, but somewhere outside, watching.
Instead of fear, she felt a surprising sense of recognition. Of connection.
Opening her eyes, Poppy moved to her window and pulled back the curtain just enough to peer outside. The yard was dark, the trees creating deeper patches of shadow against the night sky.
"I know you're still there," she whispered, though she doubted he could hear her through the glass. "It's okay. I understand needing the darkness."
She placed her palm flat against the window, a gesture of acceptance. Then she closed the curtain again, respecting the watcher's desire for privacy.
Tomorrow, she would bring an offering to the Crimson Rock Inn, where Mike’s friend had reported seeing strange new guests checking in.
A proper welcome basket filled with some local foods, a map of the area's shadiest spots, and more black tourmaline.
It would be a peace offering from one shadow-friend to another.
Poppy slipped into her bed, dimming her bedside lamp to its lowest setting before turning it off completely. In the perfect darkness, she smiled.
For years she'd felt out of place among Duskrock's sun-worshippers.
Her sensitivity to energy made her good at her work, but often left her drained and seeking solitude.
Even in this community of spiritualists and seekers, she'd always been just a little too strange, a little too attuned to things others couldn't perceive.
But now, something from beyond the stars had arrived. Something that understood shadows. And it had noticed her too.
In the morning, she would begin her search in earnest. But for now, she rested, content in the knowledge that she was no longer alone in her affinity for darkness.
Sleep came easily, and her dreams were filled with stars that absorbed light rather than emitted it, and eyes that watched from the spaces between worlds.