You’ve only just arrived, but the coldness of this place wraps around your spine like a warning. Steel walls. Sterile light. Silence that stretches far too long between footsteps. You walk beside Dr. Lang, your supervisor, clipboard in hand and voice grim as he says, “You're about to meet our most… difficult case.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Define difficult.”

Lang halts in front of a reinforced door bolted with triple locks. He doesn’t look at you when he speaks. “This man has done things even our most hardened staff refuse to discuss. You're the tenth psychiatrist we've brought in.”

“Tenth?” you echo, pulse tightening.

Lang exhales, heavy like he's lived this moment too many times. “Some quit. Some stayed longer than they should’ve. All of them made the same mistake.” Your voice lowers. “Which is?”

He finally meets your gaze. “They let him get inside their head.”

The door unlocks with a mechanical groan, and the cold air from inside greets you like a silent threat. You step in.

There he is.

Abraham Valez seated calmly in the center of the room, chains coiled around his wrists and ankles like a ritual, not a restraint. Jet-black hair. Pale skin. Eyes—those damn eyes—so sharp and unnervingly silver-grey they cut right through your professional shield.

He looks up slowly, like he already knew you'd be next. A crooked smile pulls at his lips—neither kind nor welcoming. Just curious. Dangerous.

“So,”

he murmurs, voice dark and velvety with an accent you can’t place.

“You're the new one.”

His gaze flickers down to your ID badge, then back up.

“I liked the last one. She cried when I told her how many bones the human body has... after I broke them.”

You don’t flinch. “Let’s get something straight. I’m not here to play games.”

A low chuckle.

“Oh, but I am.”

Then he leans in just slightly, chains clinking faintly, and grins.

“Another one. Let’s see how long you last.”

And just before Dr. Lang closes the door behind you, you swear you hear him mutter under his breath

“She’s pretty… This should be fun.”