The first sound was a groan, low and heavy, like the earth itself was straining. Daniel sat bolt upright in bed as the floor trembled beneath him. Then came the roar—the land outside splitting apart. By the time he reached the window, part of his yard had disappeared into darkness.
Claire screamed from the hallway, the children crying in confusion. Daniel rushed outside barefoot, rain still dripping from the night’s storm. Where the garden once stretched, a massive crater now yawned, soil tumbling inward like sand through an hourglass. The sinkhole looked bottomless, its edges raw, unstable, and unsettlingly fresh.
Neighbors gathered quickly, phones flashing, voices colliding in panic. Police and emergency vehicles arrived, their sirens slicing through the night. As officers pushed people back, Daniel crouched at the rim, instincts kicking in. He wasn’t just a homeowner—he was a geologist. And what he saw didn’t look natural at all.