The Stranger Mask

Planet : Earth

Year : 2040

City : Z

The world had moved on.

Technology advanced, cities grew taller, and people lived their lives wrapped in routine and convenience. For most, the days passed quietly, predictably. For Mr. Bob, they passed slowly.

Years ago, a car accident had taken his family from him. The house that once echoed with voices had fallen silent—except for one presence.

Milo.

Milo was a dog, but to Bob, he was more than that. He was family. And to Milo, Bob was his entire world.

Every morning, Milo woke Bob before the alarm rang, his tail thumping softly against the bed. They went for walks together as the city stirred awake. When Bob left for work, Milo waited by the door, sitting still for hours, ears alert—waiting. Waiting for the sound of keys, the familiar footsteps. Milo was Bob’s reason to return home, and Bob was Milo’s reason to wait.

Every night, no matter how tired Bob was, they walked again under the quiet sky.

Until the night the moon was full.

The air felt wrong—too still. As they walked, Milo suddenly froze. His ears stood straight, his body tense. A low growl escaped his throat.

Then it happened.

A portal tore open in front of them, swirling with distorted light, bending the air around it. Milo barked furiously, backing toward Bob. Bob stood frozen, his heart racing, unable to understand what he was seeing.

From the portal, a figure leapt out—a stranger wearing a mask. The moment was chaos. Bob stumbled backward and fell hard onto the ground.

Before the stranger could move, Milo lunged.

He bit down, fierce and fearless, protecting Bob without hesitation. The stranger struggled, forcing Milo off, then staggered backward toward the portal. As he jumped back through it, Milo chased him—leaping without fear.

And then—

The portal snapped shut.

Silence.

It had all taken less than a minute.

Bob scrambled to his feet, screaming Milo’s name, pounding the empty air where the portal had been. There was no trace left… except one thing.

A mask, lying on the ground.

Bob picked it up with trembling hands. Confusion, fear, and desperation twisted inside him. The stranger had worn this. Maybe this mask was the key.

He put it on.

The world changed.

A strange floating creature appeared before him—an eyeball shaped like a bird, its wings flapping slowly as if it barely existed in this reality. Bob tried to touch it, but his hand passed through empty air.

Suddenly, the creature projected a beam of light.

Within it, Bob saw another world—a broken reflection of his own. But the image was unstable, flickering wildly. The beam swept from 0 to 180 degrees, never settling, as if searching for something… or someone.

Bob understood.

This wasn’t showing him a place.

It was showing him directions.

The creature drifted forward, its light shifting again. Bob clenched his fists, his fear slowly giving way to resolve.

Milo was out there.

Lost in a parallel world.

And this—this mask, this strange eye—was the only path left.

For the first time since the accident, Bob took a step forward not out of routine… but out of purpose.

He followed the light.