Congratulations are in order for Craig Crawford of Iowa City, Iowa!
He's the winner of the 2025 First Thousand Words contest in which he entered the opening to the first book in his sci-fi series Project Threshold.
Head on over to the the winners page to learn a bit more about Craig and his work!
In the meantime, here's the winning submission. Enjoy!
Project Threshold: Wading Into Darkness: Series I by Craig Crawford
They descended two by two into the cave system, six in all, led by Captain Harris Berger. He wanted to stamp the snow off his boots but knew silence was more important. Decidedly warmer in the tunnel than outside, he quietly descended further down through the stone shaft.
They were looking for a lost hiker—a professional photographer who took wildlife footage. He’d come to the Crater Lake region to tromp around in the winter landscape. He’d gone missing four days ago, and neither SAR nor cadaver dogs had been able to find him.
So, Berger’s team was sent in.
Berger held up a hand and they stopped. He turned back, talking in hushed tones. “We know the target was in the vicinity, and with the weather it's possible he came in here. I'm reminding you one more time; we proceed carefully. The cave system will open up after we reach the end of the passage. No one diverts down side tunnels. I don't care what you hear or see. Everyone stays within eyesight and within reach of each other. Wander off and we'll probably never see you again. Jacks? You're at the back, so watch yourself. Pendelhaven—it's your responsibility to look back on Jacks every four-count.”
Berger looked them over. Only he and Sam Emples had been with Project Threshold more than four years. They were the veterans. Most transferred out or died. Billy Savin was closing in on three years. Jacks had just survived the two-year mark and so had Jessie Arnold, another recruit on Berger’s short list.
Pendelhaven was the newest to Project Threshold, and even though Berger had run through the scenario ten times, new people weren't always as careful as they should or could be—especially when something bad happened. He debated keeping her in the middle of the group, but Jacks kept his head in the game and was more capable of keeping his shit together when things went sideways. He’d pick up the slack if she bolted.
The team followed in tight formation. Berger glanced back, ensuring everyone carried their automatic assault shotguns properly. The cameras mounted to the chest pieces of their insulated armor couldn’t be obstructed. Their helmet cameras provided a secondary perspective, but none of it— the guns, the armor, the helmets, the cameras - were worth much. Losing people on these missions happened often. The gear and the tech helped ease minds as they stepped into the unknown.
The cavern tunnel wound around a bend—they'd mapped the place the last time out, and everyone had studied it until it was burned into their heads. Berger knew it would lead past side entrances, smaller and darker, but you couldn’t go down them, even with weapons. The previous time, he'd lost two troopers: one running off after seeing “something”, and the second following the first. Coming out of the bend, Berger heard a shuffle to his right. He looked and fleetingly saw something in the darkness, but it retreated. He turned away before he saw more of it.
A murmur in the back caught his attention. “What the…?” It was Pendelhaven. “What?” Berger whispered, stopping.
“I…I could have sworn I saw my grandmother. Down the side passage . . .”
“Turn away and keep moving,” Berger ordered. “I warned you. It won't be the last time you see something down here, but it's not your grandmother. Don't wander off, or you'll never see her again.”
“She's dead, sir.”
“Head down a passage and you’ll join her. Keep moving.”
The bend straightened out and Berger followed it for another two minutes. The walls weren't natural holes in the cavern. There was a buildup of grime and moisture, but clearly, the walls had been carved out a long time back by some device. The years and the regular wear made the tunnel look more natural, but Berger knew better. Something carved out the tunnel to the surface and it was long before people landed in America.
“We know he’s in here?” whispered Jessie.
“No. It’s one of two spots we know of nearby. Command decided this was the most likely place, so we’re going here first.”
The tunnel slanted downward for a dozen steps and beyond, and Berger saw the opening to the cavern. The ceiling reached almost eight feet high before peeling away as they entered.
Berger took two more steps and stopped dead, everyone fanning out on either side of him.
The cavern stretched back and spread out at least one hundred yards wide, though they couldn’t see the far walls through the darkness. The roof of the cavern rose high above them, stalactites hanging down like jagged teeth in a disjointed mouth. Just like before, the light affixed to Berger’s helmet faded into the black, unable to penetrate to the back wall, even though it was over a thousand lumens in strength.
It was the nature of the place.
Except it was different every time. The light from Berger’s helmet didn’t bounce off the back wall, didn’t stop on some stalagmite jutting from the floor. At twenty yards, the darkness above just swallowed it. Berger didn’t know if it was by design to keep people from figuring out the patterns, or random, but the barrier was always there. Last time he came through, the lights reflected back at them. It had been exactly like a mirror—until Vetters touched it and disappeared forever.
Standing in front of the latest incarnation of the cavern, everyone stood silent, unable to take their eyes off the sight in front of them.
This time, the barrier resembled a translucent wall—like ice on top of a pond; still clear enough to see down into the water. Berger spotted a fissure toward the center, dividing the barrier diagonally, cracked and fractured with a haze to both sides distorting the scene beyond.
Except it didn’t hide the dismembered body suspended in mid-air, slowly shifting as if floating in a viscous goo.