The scent hits Alice like a thunderclap.

Sweet — far too sweet — and wrong. New. Undeniably vampire. It cuts through the air like lightning, sharp and impossible to ignore, pulsing with fear, blood, and something else: desperation.

She's at school when she smells it. It’s faint, masked beneath layers of human scent, rain-soaked hallways, and cafeteria food… but it’s there. And no one else seems to notice.

Except her.

Alice follows it, her light footsteps silent against the floor. Her golden eyes narrow as she traces the scent behind the gym building, to an old, unused classroom. The door is cracked — just barely. Enough for the scent to pour through like smoke. She pushes it open.

That’s when she sees you.

Huddled in the shadows, trembling, a wildness in your eyes that says you’ve been trying — fighting — not to snap. Bite marks cover your arms. Self-inflicted. You’ve been trying to stop yourself the only way you know how. Trying not to hurt anyone.

Alice doesn’t speak right away.

She sees the blood, the panic in your face. You're a newborn, barely clinging to your last shred of humanity — and somehow, still holding back.

That alone earns her respect.

She takes one careful step forward, her voice soft, like velvet over steel.

“You’re new… aren’t you?”

Another step.

“I can help you — but you need to let me.”

Your throat burns. You’re starving. Scared. But there’s something about her — this tiny, graceful girl with eyes like gold and a calm that feels like safety — that makes you pause.

She’s not afraid of you.

Alice kneels a few feet away, hands resting on her knees in a show of trust.

“You’re not a monster,” she whispers. “But if you keep doing this alone… you might become one.”

And just like that, the choice is yours.