Excerpt from Netflix Original Documentary: The Crossing: Voices from the Void (Episode 1)

  “We were having dinner. Bianca’s downtown. Italian place. My friend Joel was in the middle of telling a stupid joke about his boss when—”

  “I don’t even remember the punchline. I blinked, and everything vanished.”

  “Next second, we are in the middle of these massive red canyons. Cliffs that looked like somebody had taken a massive axe and split the land in half. The sky was wrong. There was no sun, only a red hue throughout the day. Nights were even weirder with a constant buzzing noise that refused to become white noise.”

  “No one knew what was happening until the first monster showed up. Then we realized one thing—that we had to fight to survive here. We lost at least ten people in the first hour, but one guy killed a wolf. And then, this shard of glass dropped in front of him. He picked it up and screamed as if he were being electrocuted. And then his hand lit up.”

  “The military showed up weeks later. After the portals stabilized. Guns worked on the small ones, the ones they labeled Tier 1. But not the trolls. Not the wraiths. They had to burn them. And even then...”

  (long pause)

  “... I still don’t know why I lived. Maybe because I ran faster. Maybe because I screamed later.”

  “All I know is this: we weren’t tested. We weren’t chosen. We were thrown into a slaughterhouse we didn’t even know existed.”

  — Interview with survivor Matthew Reyes, 34, software engineer, Los Angeles, California

  Sid POV

  The group advanced through the forest in silence, Varun in front, Rohan to his right, Mahesh to his left, Sid bringing up the rear, and the others spread out in the centre. Mist threaded between trunks, and damp leaves muted their footfalls.

  “Is there no end to this forest? All we see are trees,” Varun asked, scanning for any sign of trouble. His words hung in the stillness, a little too sharp. He turned back to check on the others.

  Rohan’s jaw tightened. “Varun, focus on the front.” He swept the undergrowth for movement.

  “Just making sure you are still with me,” Varun said, shrugging as he drifted a step ahead.

  “Stay with the group.” Irritation was clear in Mahesh’s voice.

  “Relax, I’m only a couple of steps ahead.” Varun eased his pace to match the rest of the group.

  The group moved on in uneasy silence. There was a chill in the air, but it carried no freshness—just the stale, heavy scent of damp soil and old leaves.

  Allen—Mahesh’s teammate—turned to his left, biting his lips. “I’m getting a bad feeling. Feels like we are being watched.”

  Mahesh tightened his grip on his club. “I think we are.”

  “Don’t say that,” Aditi said, her eyes darting from tree to tree.

  Sid walked a few steps behind Mahesh, his gaze scanning the canopy. Something didn’t feel right to him. The silence was too perfect.

  A flicker of movement caught his eye—something dark and fast above them. His stomach dropped.

  “Look out!” Sid’s voice cracked through the stillness, but the warning came too late.

  Something dropped from above like a falling boulder and slammed into Allen, sending him sprawling. The creature was the size of a man but wider, its eight limbs bristling with coarse black hair and a cluster of eyes reflecting dull green light.

  Allen’s scream turned to a gurgle as the spider’s fangs bit into his face. Mahesh reacted first, roaring as he charged and swinging his makeshift club like a bat. Wood cracked against a foreleg, knocking the spider sideways, but its bite didn’t come loose.

  Blood trickled down the Allen’s face from a gash above his temple, catching the light as it dripped onto the forest floor. The spider reared back, looming over them, its carapace splintered near one leg.

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  Nearby, Aditi reacted fast, grabbing Mahesh by the arm and pulling him back. A split second later, a spider leg slammed into the spot he had just vacated, sending dirt flying.

  Varun narrowed his eyes and crouched slightly, preparing to activate Dash. He gripped his makeshift spear and lunged forward, but just as he shifted, the spider turned and spat something at him. A glowing white orb slammed into his chest. Before he could react, it bloomed into webbing that pinned him to the ground.

  “Don’t let it get Varun!” Sid grabbed nearby rocks and hurled them at the spider. One hit the spider’s middle eye with a solid crack. The creature screeched, wheeled toward him, and bared its fangs, testing the air as if weighing which threat to take first.

  “Surround it!” Rohan moved to cover the far side. The others hesitated before rushing to follow. Their formation was sloppy at best, a scattered line of panicked people holding sticks and stones.

  Mahesh lunged again, his club slamming into the creature’s dark carapace. The hit landed with a dull thud and skidded off. The spider struck, its legs moving too fast to follow, sending him flying, crashing onto the forest floor.

  “Throw rocks! Blind it!” Sid yelled, his voice hoarse and cracking.

  The spider’s many eyes shifted toward Allen, who lay sprawled on the forest floor. Purple veins snaked under his skin, spreading from the wound on his temple. Poison. He didn’t move. The creature loomed over him, tapping and prodding around his limp body, as if inspecting its prize.

  The fast-talking girl rushed to Mahesh’s side, crouching as she reached for him. “Are you okay?”

  He grimaced, forcing himself upright with her help. “Keep it occupied,” he managed, gripping his staff with trembling hands.

  She scooped up nearby stones and began hurling them in the spider’s direction. She put barely any strength behind her throws, casting them as if afraid of being noticed.

  Sid charged ahead without pause. “Out of the way!” he said, sidestepping the injured man as he brought the staff down hard on a spider leg. He avoided the body—Mahesh’s strike had done nothing there. This time, he targeted the joints.

  Rohan darted in from the side, swinging low at its hind legs. The crack of wood on chitin made the creature shudder, one leg bending at an unnatural angle. But its retaliation was instantaneous—a stabbing limb pinned Rohan to the ground, fangs dipping toward his head.

  A barrage of rocks pelted its face, drawing its attention away. The injured man was throwing with his good arm while his friend collected stones for him.

  Aditi was already beside Varun, trying to tear at the webbing with her staff. The sticky strands clung stubbornly, resisting every tug.

  With attacks coming from all sides, the spider decided—it would retreat. It lunged toward the weakest point in their circle: the fast-talking girl, who was still throwing wide. She barely had time to gasp before its fangs bit into her side. Her scream tore through the clearing.

  “No!” A cry rang out, but the spider was already backing away with terrifying speed, dragging her a short distance before dropping her limp body to the ground.

  The webbing pinning Varun thinned and broke apart into pale strands of light, drifting like ash before fading. Sticky residue clung to his sleeves as he pushed free and rushed to Rohan.

  “You okay?” He steadied Rohan by the shoulder, giving him a sharp shake.

  “Yeah…” Rohan’s reply broke on a cough. He rubbed his chest, eyes fixed on the girl lying still a few steps away.

  “Don’t let it get away!” Sid’s voice came sharp. He took off after the monster, staff lifted, feet pounding. His lungs burned, but the drills his father forced on him as a kid kept his legs driving.

  The spider was already moving faster than Sid—though its two mangled hind legs dragged behind it, slowing its retreat.

  Varun leapt to his feet. He lowered his makeshift spear, willing Dash to activate mid-stride. The surge of speed jolted his body like an electric current, and then he was there, ramming the spear forward. The point bit deep into its side, but his grip slipped, turning a killing thrust into a deep slash. Both man and monster crashed into a tree trunk.

  The creature’s screech rang through the forest as it recovered first, rearing its fangs for a finishing bite.

  Sid came from behind, driving his staff into the fresh wound. The spider buckled, black ichor spilling from its side.

  Varun used the opening to roll free, eyes darting for anything he could use to end it.

  The creature lunged at Varun, fangs snapping, but he was already out of range. It recognized him as the greatest threat, spitting another ball of white, ethereal webbing.

  “Watch out!” Sid warned as Varun slid clear.

  “Aim for its legs!” Rohan sprinted in beside Mahesh with makeshift spear raised. Mahesh tossed one to Varun on the run.

  Sid brought his weapon down toward one of the spider’s functioning legs, but the creature sidestepped, skittering toward a nearby tree.

  “It’s climbing!” Rohan warned, sprinting to intercept.

  Varun didn’t hesitate. Dash triggered again, and he slammed into it mid-ascent, using the force to flip it backward onto the ground.

  “Now!” Mahesh yelled, bringing his club down on its head again and again. Rohan and Sid moved in, pinning its limbs, while Varun grabbed his discarded spear and drove it into the exposed underbelly.

  The spider’s legs kicked violently—one strike caught Sid in the chest, throwing him back—but then the movement slowed, the body sagging. Black ichor pooled beneath it.

  Varun, Mahesh, and Rohan kept striking, the thud of wood on chitin echoing in the clearing, until a faint flash of light broke through the chaos. A crystal shimmered into existence beside the corpse.

  Varun panted heavily, but his face lit up with a grin. “Told you! Just like the boar!”

  No one spoke. Rohan gripped the club harder, gaze locked on the crystal. Mahesh’s head moved in quiet dismissal. “That proves nothing. Maybe it’s—”

  “No,” Rohan said, voice low. “It means this place runs on rules we don’t understand.”

  The forest seemed quieter now, a silence that made every shadow feel like it was leaning closer.

  In that stillness, the weight of it settled on them all—this wasn’t a forest they could simply walk out of, or a bad day they could laugh about later. This was somewhere else. Somewhere wrong. And it wanted them dead.