MONOLITH

A team of six hazmat professionals is dispatched to a desolate, quarantined area deep in the Nevada desert. The region had been declared off-limits years ago due to unexplained environmental anomalies, and whispers of the bizarre occurrences had long faded into conspiracy theories. However, satellite imaging recently detected something unusual: a monolith, an impossibly large structure rising from the earth, seemingly out of nowhere. The government issued an urgent order for the team to investigate, under strict protocols. Their job was simple—assess, analyze, and report. The team is comprised of veterans—each member a specialist in their field.
Dr. Lewis, the team leader, is calm and methodical, focused on the science.
There’s Harper, an explosives expert with a cynical edge;
Ramirez, the communications officer;
Elena, a young, brilliant biochemist;
Tyler, an environmental hazard specialist;
and finally, Dawson, a seasoned field medic who’s seen too much. Together, they’re a well-oiled machine, equipped to handle everything from chemical spills to radioactive disasters. 
As they arrive at the site in their armored transport, they are immediately struck by the barren landscape—no life, no sound, just an expanse of cracked, dust-colored earth stretching out for miles. And then, there it is. The monolith. Towering over the landscape like a giant obsidian slab, its surface impossibly smooth and gleaming in the sun, blacker than the deepest night. They stare at it, dumbfounded. It doesn't fit, not in this world. There are no visible seams or marks—nothing that suggests it was built, transported, or even existed before now.“Jesus,” Harper mutters, breaking the silence. “What the hell is that?”No one answers. They don’t need to. This is beyond anything they’ve ever seen or been trained for.  Dr. Lewis breaks the silence. “All right. We’re following protocol. Ramirez, keep an open line to HQ at all times. Elena, start collecting samples. Harper, get ready to run some tests on the structure. Let’s keep this clean and fast.”But as they approach the monolith, the hum begins. At first, it's just a low vibration, barely noticeable. The ground seems to tremble slightly beneath their feet. They all feel it. Their suits register no danger, but something’s wrong—none of them can put it into words. Still, they move closer, drawn by the strange force. Ramirez tries to speak into her comms, “HQ, do you copy?” but there’s only static. “Dammit,” she curses, shaking the radio as if that would help.They are mere feet from the monolith now, and the hum intensifies.
It’s inside them, vibrating through their bones. Dr. Lewis orders them to stop, but no one listens. They can't stop. It’s as though the monolith is calling to them, reaching into their minds, pulling at something deep within. They are no longer a team of professionals. They are individuals, each alone with their deepest desires and fears. Harper is the first to reach out. His gloved hand makes contact with the monolith’s surface, and instantly, his mind is flooded with images of power. He sees himself standing over the ruins of governments, his skill with explosives revered. He’s a king, his expertise worshipped as destruction becomes the ultimate tool of control. But then the vision shifts—his power isn’t used to free anyone or lead revolutions. It’s used for chaos, an endless cycle of blood and terror, and he’s trapped, unable to stop the carnage he started.
Dr. Lewis watches as Harper stumbles back, eyes wide and terrified, but even she is compelled to touch the monolith. As soon as her hand makes contact, her logical mind is drowned in visions. She sees herself at the forefront of scientific discovery, heralded as the savior of humanity. She’s cured diseases, solved world hunger, and ushered in an era of enlightenment. But then, like a twisting knife, the vision distorts—her discoveries turn to weapons. The cures become tools of oppression, and her breakthroughs are used to control and manipulate. She’s not a savior; she’s a monster who’s doomed the world to endless suffering under the guise of progress.
Ramirez, trying desperately to regain contact with HQ, backs away, but the hum is too strong. Her mind fills with images of herself as a hero, someone who saves lives and brings hope through her work. But that vision warps too, turning her into a manipulative figure, a spy who betrays those she loves, destroying lives with the same communication skills she once used to connect and protect.
Elena, the youngest and most idealistic, sees herself solving the mysteries of the universe. In her vision, she unlocks the secrets of life itself, changing the course of evolution. But her touch on the monolith shows her the cost—her work is used to mutate and twist life into horrific forms. She sees herself responsible for unleashing nightmares into the world, her innocent curiosity turned into a force of destruction.
Tyler, who’s always prided himself on controlling the uncontrollable, sees his mastery over nature’s dangers come to life. In his vision, he manipulates weather, climate, and disasters at will, a godlike figure bending the environment to his whim. But the control he craved slips through his fingers, turning him into a madman, unleashing floods, fires, and storms upon innocent people, unable to stop the devastation once it begins.
And Dawson, the medic, the one who’s always healed and mended, sees himself saving more lives than he ever dreamed possible. But then the vision warps, and he becomes something worse than a butcher—experimenting on living people, cutting them apart in the name of medicine, his hands slick with blood as he rationalizes every horrific act in the name of progress. Each of them, caught in their individual nightmares, falls to their knees, wracked with the weight of the visions. Their darkest desires—those they never spoke aloud, never acknowledged—are twisted into horrors that engulf their minds. The monolith has shown them what they want, but in doing so, it reveals the inevitable corruption of their souls. Hours pass, but to the team, it feels like an eternity. The monolith has pulled them in, twisted their reality, and left them broken. When they finally regain their senses, their bodies are still in the desert, but their minds are elsewhere. Each of them is hollowed out, drained, and something in the air has changed. Their faces, once filled with determination and purpose, are now blank, empty. The mission is forgotten. As night falls, the monolith looms, silent and indifferent. No one speaks. No one moves. They are all too afraid—afraid of the truths they have seen, of the desires that have been laid bare and twisted beyond recognition.
They leave the monolith in silence, retreating to their transport without a word to one another. The monolith watches, or at least it feels that way to them, its presence lingering in their minds like a toxin they can’t escape. Back at HQ, they won’t be able to explain what they found. There are no words for what happened in the desert, no way to describe the darkness that the monolith revealed within them. The government will chalk it up to environmental hazards or radiation poisoning, and the quarantined zone will remain sealed off, forever guarding its secret. But the monolith waits, patient and eternal, ready for the next team, the next group of curious souls drawn to its mysterious call, ready to peel back the layers of desire and show them the darkest truths of their own hearts.