The early morning sun peered over the horizon, bathing the small rural town in a warm golden glow. Dew drops glistened on the perfectly manicured lawns of the cookie-cutter homes that lined the quiet streets.

Inside one of these homes, Landon's alarm clock blared, jolting him awake. He fumbled to hit the snooze button before rolling over and drifting back to sleep. Twenty minutes later, the alarm sounded again. This time, Landon dragged himself out of bed and shuffled sleepily to the bathroom to get ready for school.

A few streets over, Mark was already dressed and downstairs eating breakfast with his family. "Don't forget, your sister has dance class after school so I'll pick you up on my way to take her there," his mom reminded him as he gulped down the last of his orange juice.

"Okay, mom," Mark said, picking up his backpack and heading for the door. "See you later!"

Mark met up with Landon and their friend Jessie at the end of the street to walk to school together, just as they did every morning. The three chatted casually about their plans for the weekend and laughed about the latest silly rumor spreading around school.

"Did you hear what everyone's saying about Dr. Cranston?" Jessie asked with a grin. "Apparently he's been doing weird experiments late at night. Old Mrs. Whitmore across the street from him claims she sees crazy lights and hears strange noises coming from his house."

Landon chuckled and shook his head. "Oh please, it's probably just raccoons getting into his trash again. Mrs. Whitmore thinks everything is a conspiracy."

The friends carried on joking and gossiping as they walked the familiar route to school, where the monotony of another day awaited them. Chalkboards would be filled, tests would be taken, gym class dodgeballs would fly.

Everything seemed normal, trivial, ordinary. No one had any idea how much things were about to change in their small, sleepy town. How the strange tale of one eccentric scientist would soon turn their world upside down in ways none of them could have ever imagined.