An Hour to Anywhere: Part One
Just another day at the airport.
For this week’s Power Up Prompt, I’m launching a new mini-series here on the Writer’s Journey!
Also, If you haven’t read Crush Depth Part One and Part Two, I would recommend checking those out as well since they are part of the same universe as this new series.
Stay tuned for new chapters over the coming days. Oh, and safe travels…
For most people, the Denver International Airport was just that: an airport. It was a place to catch a flight, grab a bite of overpriced food, and pray you don’t catch something on your way to greener pastures.
For Daniel Larson, though, it was so much more than an airport. It was a hub of questions. A hotbed of conspiracy theories. An enigma, wrapped in cheeky posters and purposefully strange murals.
It opened in 1995, just over fifty years ago. It had been renovated, changed, and updated over the years, but Daniel could still feel the layers of mystery beneath the polished surfaces as he walked towards the security checkpoint.
He paused, taking a quick detour to the airport’s south entrance to find one of the most divisive elements of the airport.
It was a small display, almost unnoticeable if you weren’t looking for it. A capstone, beneath which was a time capsule set to be opened in 2094.
The capstone is polished granite, and it’s engraved with masonic symbols, in addition to the words “New World Airport Commission.” Daniel felt a chill crawl down his spine as he stood in front of it.
It was off to the side, practically forgotten amidst all the latest technology and digital billboards, but to him it had a presence all its own. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture.
“So cool,” he whispered.
A notification pinged on his phone screen. His flight had been delayed. Daniel rolled his eyes as he made his way to the security checkpoint. The line looked pretty long when he arrived. It stretched like a serpent into the distance.
Daniel sighed and tapped the earbud nestled in his left ear. His favorite podcast started playing.
Welcome back to the Conspiracy Corner. The only podcast that explores conspiracy theories in detail, in search of the truth.
In today’s episode, we’re talking about the Denver Airport, but first, I wanted to tell you a story. One you may be familiar with…
On December 3rd, 2045, a top-secret expedition to a potential breach in Earth's ocean floor was conducted.
It was a failure.
Not only was the submersible never recovered, but the exact nature of what occurred was impossible to ascertain. The official report listed “technical error” as the reason for the failed expedition. No other reason was offered…
Meanwhile, ocean levels across the Earth continued to fall.
A second expedition was chartered, using an even more advanced submersible and a larger team consisting of five individuals. All of whom underwent rigorous mental and physical training in response to the data gathered from the first expedition. Their goal?
To enter the breach.
Okay, okay, I know all you conspiracy nuts out there are thinking, “Sure, I’ll believe there’s a breach that leads to another dimension in the ocean floor, but isn’t this episode about the Denver Airport? How the hell are those two things connected?
I hear you, and we’ll get to that soon. Stay tuned.
Daniel rolled his eyes even harder as an ad started playing. He hated how podcasts buried the lede. He had already listened to plenty of other shows cover the supposed breach in the ocean floor, but most of it was speculation.
Yes, a single document had leaked, confirming that at least one of the expeditions was real, but even Daniel’s conspiracy theory-oriented mind had trouble believing that there was a portal at the bottom of the ocean.
And besides, ocean level changes were nothing new. Climate change continued to wreak havoc on the Earth.
If anything, conspiracy theories were a form of escape for him. He secretly hoped the lizard people living beneath the surface of the Earth would take over. Humanity was doing a shit job anyway.
As Daniel turned the corner, he paused his podcast before the ad ended. Ahead of him, at the end of the security line, was a strange new scanner he’d never seen before.
Granted, it had been a while since he had traveled, but airport security rarely made significant changes.
As if on cue, Daniel spotted a small sign to the left of the line. The text up top said Curious About our New Scanners?
Beneath was a cheeky message that leaned into the airport’s more mysterious elements.
The people in power had long ago decided to make jokes about the conspiracies instead of addressing them. It was clever, if predictable, misdirection.
Don’t worry, it’s not technology from the Illuminati! These new Pulse-wave millimeter scanners allow security to scan your entire person without the need to remove things like metal, jackets, hats, or glasses. It helps you get to your gate quicker!
Daniel didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much he could do. He still had a way to go before it was his turn to get scanned. He tapped his left earbud again to resume the podcast.
Okay, and we’re back. So, now that you’re all caught up on the ocean breach story, allow me to share something new.
An anonymous source sent us a copy of an email thread. The sender was an admin address at the Denver Airport, and the recipient?
You guessed it, the New World Airport Commission. But hey, wait a second, didn’t we already prove that the company doesn’t exist? It was just a symbolic name they made up for the capstone, right?
Well, apparently not, but that’s not the weirdest part. You see, the email references someone they call Subject Zero.
Apparently, Subject Zero was part of the second expedition into the breach on the ocean floor that we’ve been told doesn’t exist. They were written off as lost, that is, until they suddenly reappeared one day.
I’ll give you one guess where they popped up, too.
Bingo. The Denver Airport.
Which begs the question: how the hell does someone go from an interdimensional breach in the ocean floor to an airport in the middle of North America?
It sounds insane, but I’ll tell you right now, according to the email, this was all part of the plan.
Stay tuned, we’ll be right back.
“Another ad?” Daniel groaned.
He paused the show as he approached the scanner. Daniel’s pulse quickened as the TSA agent waved him in.
He stepped inside, holding his hands above his head like the graphic on the far side of the cylinder showed. A low hum filled the air around him. The hair on his arms and neck all stood on end as it crescendoed.
A thin blue beam of light swirled around him once. Twice. Three times. Daniel felt a dull ache in his head.
How long is this going to take?
The beam swirled around him one more time before he heard the voice of the TSA agent to his left.
“Come on out.”
Daniel felt slightly dizzy. His paranoid mind started racing. Was he having some sort of reaction to the device? What the hell was a pulse-wave scanner anyway? Did it do something to him?
Daniel looked over to the TSA agent, who lifted the radio clipped to his shirt and whispered something into it. His eyes darted from the screen mounted on the side of the scanner to Daniel, and back again.
“Something wrong?” Daniel asked.
“Stay right there,” The agent said.
Those three words sent Daniel spiraling into even deeper anxiety.
“I’ve got nothing on me, man. Can I just go?” Daniel asked.
The TSA agent narrowed his gaze.
“Stay right there.”
Daniel was starting to panic. His breaths came in quick bursts.
The TSA agent spoke into his radio again, just as a shrill alarm filled the airport. A robotic voice blared over loudspeakers, echoing through the open space.
“THE AIRPORT IS NOW IN LOCKDOWN. FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY, PLEASE REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE.”
Even the TSA agent looked surprised by the message. Daniel’s panic had reached a boiling point, though. In the moment of confusion, he darted out from the space beside the scanner and started sprinting deeper into the airport.
“Hey, get back here!” The TSA agent’s voice was already distant. Daniel pushed through crowds of confused travelers, his breath ragged and erratic.
He didn’t know where he was going. He wasn’t thinking straight. He pushed through lines of people at the food court, his eyes scanning the windows that separated him from the outside world.
“Stop right there!” a new voice shouted.
Daniel ignored it. He leapt onto one of the people movers and multiplied his speed as he ducked and weaved between people casually riding the moving platform.
The air started to feel thin. He stumbled coming off the end of it. A pair of men in black suits and sunglasses was waiting for him.
“Who the hell are you?” Daniel asked.
Pain exploded across the back of Daniel’s head. His vision blurred as he tumbled to the ground. His left ear hit the ground first.
His podcast resumed playing as he fell unconscious.
Those who are familiar with the Denver Airport’s history know that the entire thing was way over budget.
In fact, it was double the original cost by the time it was done, with the total cost reaching just under two billion dollars.
The official story is that this happened due to a lack of oversight in the project’s early stage. Sure, okay, but another big question is, why did they decide to build it in the middle of nowhere?
Expensive, and hard to get to? Seems weird for an airport trying to serve a major city.
They, of course, said it was to allow for future expansion and to avoid noise pollution, but folks, I’m telling you right now, this email exchange between the Denver Airport and the New World Airport Commission throws all of that out the window.
In the emails, they mention that Subject Zero was the first successful traveler for a new spin-off organization called “An Hour to Anywhere.”
I did some research, and apparently, “An Hour to Anywhere” is some new startup founded by tech mogul Roger Carswell.
It’s nothing but a landing page, but it promises to revolutionize the way we think about travel.
Apparently, it was founded shortly after the second expedition to the breach in the ocean floor, but here’s the kicker: that breach wasn’t the first one of its kind that we’ve discovered.
According to these emails, the first time we found a breach on Earth leading to another dimension was all the way back in 1995, about six stories beneath the surface of what we now know as the Denver airport.
Once they found the second one in the ocean, they hypothesized that the two could be connected.
Now they know for sure.
This is insane! You cannot make this shit up, man!
When Daniel woke up again, he was sitting on an airplane. The lights were dimmed, but it was totally silent. He tried to stand up, but he felt something tight across his lap. He looked down and saw a seat belt holding him in place.
He tried to unbuckle it, but he couldn’t find a latch anywhere.
“What the fuck?” he whispered.
“Hey, is someone else there?” a woman asked.
Daniel looked up and around, but he couldn’t find the source of the voice.
“Hello? Where are you?” he asked.
“I’m near the back of the plane, I’m not sure which row. This is going to sound crazy, but do you know how you got here?” she asked.
“All I remember is the lockdown at the Denver Airport, and then some guys in suits knocked me out. I woke up here. What about you?”
The woman sighed. “Same thing. They pulled me aside at security, and I just panicked. I’ve heard stories about the Denver Airport, you know? I don’t trust anybody in that place.”
Daniel laughed. “I hear that. Hey, by the way, does your seat belt have a latch?”
“No, I can’t seem to get out. Oh, I’m Mina, by the way.”
Daniel took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart.
“Nice to meet you, Mina. I’m Daniel.”
The lights in the plane turned on. Screens mounted from the ceiling in each row folded down.
They lit up simultaneously, showing a smiling businessman with a fancy haircut and a fancier suit. Daniel recognized him immediately. Any conspiracy theorist worth their salt would.
“Hello! My name is Roger Carswell, and I am the founder and CEO of An Hour to Anywhere. I’m very excited to inform you that, if you’re watching this, you’ve been selected as test candidates for our brand new form of travel!”
Daniel’s heart skipped a beat.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me…
Thanks for Reading! Here’s Your Musical Pairing
Listen to this while you wait for part two…
Amazing work as always. I just crossed Denver off my daughter's college list, because I'm no longer going to fly there.
Yup, it’s just as guyish as I imagined😂 I’m missing some character depth and emotion. Why is Daniel traveling? What’s he running from or hoping to find? What is working really well for me is the podcast part. Really well read and that subtle background noise makes it so immersive🤤 I could listen to that all day, no matter what the topic is😂