The rugged, bearded man looked up and snatched a rifle from the ground. They watched as he stood up and used a pair of binoculars to get a better look at them. The way he moved and his efficient mannerisms made Creed believe at one point in his life he had been in the military.

"Shit." He grabbed Gemma's arm. "Come on!"

They stumbled backwards, the thick grass and brambles grabbed at their legs as they turned and ran towards the forest. Gemma stumbled in the brush and Creed hauled her into the thicket behind the tree line and out of view. They were both breathing hard as they kneeled down and peered through the thick scrub and ostrich ferns.

"Where is he?" Gemma eyes sparked with anger and fear. She glanced at Creed. "Not dangerous, huh. He was drowning that rabbit. I wish I could shoot the bastard. What kind of sick sadist is he?"

"I should have listened to your intuition, Gem. I'm sorry, this place is messing with my head. Something had a strong pull on me--I can feel it in the back of my skull." Inside his chest, he felt something shudder and drop. If she would only stop talking he could think.

They heard thrashing as the man ran through the field towards them. Gemma scanned the area for help, but they were alone in the remote wooded area. Her heart felt like a stone in her mouth as a paralyzing panic rose in her chest. Her breath came in ragged pants.

"He's coming after us. Let's head up the trail." Creed led the way as he and Gemma and darted up the rocky path like a pair of deer. In her panick, she stumbled over an exposed tree root and crashed to her knees. She cried out in pain and fear. Creed ran back and helped her to her feet.

Behind them, the thrashing stopped. Breathing hard, Creed and Gemma paused on the trail, curiosity drawing them back to cautiously peer through the trees. In the distance, they could make out the man's tawny colored coat receding as he ambled through the field and returned to the stream. He laboriously bent over to reach into the stream and pull up the silver cage. Water dripped off the metal bars and off of something wet and soggy sitting at the bottom.

Gemma squinted. Her eyesight was good and she didn't need glasses, but it was a long distance. She gasped when he opened the cage and a small, young bunny hopped out. The juvenile  cottontail vigorously shook itself, then flicked its ears before it fled into the woods. The confusion had receded a little bit in her mind, but she now discovered something worse behind it. Full blown panic.

"Shit! Did you see that, Creed?" She grabbed his arm. "That rabbit reverse-aged. It was old when he put it under the water."

"The anomaly," he said. He had a faraway look in his eyes. He touched his forehead as his third eye opened. Irritated, he rubbed the spot as if he could banish the strange compulstion that had overtaken him . Something's here. I have to find it.

"That rabbit should be dead." Gemma's voice trembled. "It was under water long enough to drown. "There's some weird shit going on here."

His jaw hardened. "I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

"No! You said you'd listen to me." She but her lip in frustration.

They both watched the homesteader scan the tree line once more and then turn and trudge back towards his cabin. The tense set of his shoulders conveyed frustration and anger.

Gemma breathed a sigh of relief. "Why do you still want to go back to the pool with that madman running around?" She hissed, then stopped when she saw his trance like state. "What is it?"

He shook his head and his eyes cleared. "Nothing. It's on our way to my bike. Listen, there was an anomaly in the Mexican Basin. I read about it. The whole team disappeared while they were investigating it. This could be something similar."

"Great." Mallory snorted. "A vortex that sucks people into another dimension, or worse. Maybe this is a portal to hell." Her hands balled into fists.

Creed turned to her. "Aren't you curious about what happened to that rabbit?" He looked towards the river. "What was he doing? It's like he knew what would happen if he submerged it into the pool. Who is he?"

She shook her head. "Who cares? My self-preservation overrides my bitchy feline curiosity. Whatever's in that pool, it's unnatural," Gemma insisted. "Or cursed."

Creed looked at her. "No, this isn't a curse. It's some sort of force." He raised his hand and held it in front of him with the palm forward. "I can feel it in my system." He looked at her. "And you can hear it." He cocked his head sideways. "It may not be from this planet, but it's in tune with nature. Like a magnetic field, but not one I've ever felt before."

Above them cumulus clouds gathered as the wind changed. An eerie calm settled over Creed. Gemma saw the change in him, but held onto her fear.

"I can feel it too—it's powerful. Creed, what if it's a dangerous phenomenon? And if it's such a strong force, how come no one else has discovered it? Why do we have to be the Guinea pigs?"

He frowned, thoughtfully. "We're all highly sensitive. I think it affects us more than nuerotypicals. Especially, Mallory and Jaxxon."

"I hope they're alright." She closed her eyes. "I just want to be normal and get a spot on the cheerleading team." She sighed. "I've always been an outsider looking in. I'm tired of being different from everyone else."

Creed looked at her. "We could be standing in front of one of the greatest discoveries in the world and all you care about is becoming a cheerleader?" Under his joking retribution she heard frustration.

She scuffed her toes in the ground. "Don't throw me shade. I know you want to be on the debate team, but we're never selected because people think we're weird ass freaks. They sense we know things about them and that makes people hate us. " She brushed a tear away from her cheek. "Whatever this force field thing is, it shouldn't be here. It's dangerous. Let's tell Mr. Kinsey what happened and give him our data."

He was only half listening to her." What do you think brought it here?" He stared at the river as if willing it to divulge its secret. Above them, sun passed its zenith, extending shadows across the trail. The light turned golden.

"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders. "A meteor?" She held up her index finger. "Maybe the river runs along is a hidden network of energy lines across the earth like ley lines."

"But this anomaly's only started a few months ago." Creed shook his head. "And there's no terrain damage. A meteor would have scarred the landscape and left a crater. Lay lines are marked by historical monuments and there are none close by, but it was a good suggestion."

Her eyes crinkled as she thought. "Maybe it was a tiny meteor, the size of a golf ball." 

Creed had known her since they were children and interpreted her stubborn reluctance as masked fear. "Gem, if you don't want to go, you don't have to."

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He smiled. Her nervousness masked an inner toughness. She smiled back at him. "Alright, you win. We're in this together, Creed. You'll never make it out alive without me." She stood up and brushed off her knees, grateful her corduroy pants had prevented skinned knees. Making as little noise as possible, they headed up the rocky trail towards the river where natural pool was deepest.

They reached the main part of the gorge. The area had been blasted to make the river more accessible to rescue teams after the thirteenth victim had drowned. Both of them could feel an eerie sensation, like an invisible fog of sadness and pain that blanketed the area. The bank was filled with sand and gravel to allow vehicles to park next to the gorge. No one was rescued from the gorge, by the time the diving teams arrived their only purpose was to recover the bodies.

"I don't like it here. There's so much sadness. Do you hear that?" Gemma stood with her head lifted, tilted to the side.

Creed shook his head. "No, I don't have your connection to the earth. I don't hear of feel anything."

Uneasy, Gemma shifted her feet as if the ground beneath her was electrified. She jammed her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. "Can we leave now? Before something else happens."

The rugged homesteader stepped out from behind an overhanging crop of rock. He pointed his rifle at them. "Who are you two?" He narrowed his eyes as he observed the two teens. "Why are you two spying on me?" The pool began to glow as a greenish vortex formed.