2. Half Loop -

The neon sign for "The Midway" flickered, casting a rhythmic, sickly green glow over the empty fairgrounds. Elias stood at the base of the Steel Serpent , his eyes locked on the highest point of the track: the .

When Elias reached the summit, the world below felt distant, like a miniature model of a life he no longer understood. He stepped onto the flat, rusted edge where the rails stopped. There was no drop-off. Instead, the air in front of him shimmered like heat rising off asphalt. 2. Half Loop

Elias climbed the maintenance ladder, the cold iron biting into his palms. He wasn't there for a thrill; he was there for his brother, who had gone missing near the ride a week ago, leaving behind nothing but a voicemail consisting of wind and a single, low-frequency hum. The neon sign for "The Midway" flickered, casting

He reached out. His hand didn't meet empty space; it met a surface that felt like static electricity. As he stepped forward, the fairgrounds didn't fall away—they folded. The Half Loop wasn't an incomplete circuit; it was an open door. On the other side, the stars were the wrong color, and the hum began to vibrate in his very marrow. He stepped onto the flat, rusted edge where