The sky tore open at 2:17 AM.
I didn't see it happen. I was out cold, half-buried under a mess of open notebooks and my physics homework. I've never been a genius or some prodigy—just better than average, I guess. I worked hard, got good grades, and tried to stay ahead. It was enough to keep my teachers nodding and my parents off my back.
But that night… something changed.
Way out in space, something broke apart. A massive ship—alien, ancient, and full of secrets—was ripped open from the inside. Its cargo spilled into the stars: thousands of glowing fragments, like shattered pieces of a forgotten god. They drifted through the galaxy, silent and invisible, until they reached Earth.
One of them found me.
It slipped through the night sky, glowing faintly blue, and somehow floated through my bedroom window like a ghost. It hovered above my chest for a second, then—
It sank into me.
No explosion. No flash. Just a sudden jolt of heat that ripped through my body like lightning. I bolted upright, gasping for air. My heart thundered. My muscles felt like they were on fire. I clutched my chest, eyes wide in the dark.
Then… silence.
The pain faded. My heartbeat slowed. My mind went blank, and without even realizing it, I dropped back onto the bed and drifted off again—like nothing had happened.
But something had happened.
And when I woke up, the world was no longer the same.
I woke up to sunlight slanting through my window and the sound of birds chirping outside—nothing unusual. For a moment, everything felt normal. I rubbed my eyes, sat up slowly… and that's when I felt it.
Strange.
My body felt light. Strong. I swung my legs off the bed and stood up—and immediately froze.
I was taller. Not a little bit—noticeably. My arms were leaner, more defined, like I'd been hitting the gym for months. I pulled up my shirt and nearly choked.
Six-pack. Sharp lines across my stomach, a V-line, even my shoulders looked broader. I wasn't scrawny before, but I sure as hell didn't look like this yesterday.
"What the…?" I muttered, running a hand over my chest. It felt real. Solid. Warm. My skin even looked smoother, somehow.
I rushed to the mirror. My face… was still mine. But sharper. Healthier. More alive. My dark hair looked shinier, and even the tired circles under my eyes were gone. I looked like the main character in some action movie.
Then I heard it—Mom's voice from the kitchen, calling out, "Leo! Come see the news!"
Still half in shock, I threw on a hoodie and stumbled out of my room. She was standing by the TV, remote in hand, eyes wide.
"…reports coming in from across the globe," the anchor was saying. "Unexplained physical transformations. Surge in health, muscle growth, even energy output. Authorities are baffled. Scientists believe it could be tied to last night's unidentified meteor shower—seen in multiple parts of the world."
Meteor shower?
The camera cut to footage—grainy, night-vision clips of glowing streaks in the sky.
I stood there frozen, heart pounding.
It wasn't a dream.
It was real.
And whatever happened last night… it happened to more than just me.