It was early — maybe 5:40 a.m. — when the knock came.

Three firm, deliberate taps echoed through the quiet cottage just beneath the Appalachian tree line. Mist still blanketed the woods outside. Inside, Aria stood frozen mid-step, barefoot, oversized sweater draped over her, clutching a chipped mug of tea.

She wasn’t expecting anyone. Definitely not two strangers in dark windbreakers on her porch.

“Dr. Aria Vassiliev?” the taller one asked, holding up a badge.

Aria didn’t move. “Who’s asking?”

“Canadian Scientific Intelligence Directorate.”

Her brow furrowed. “That’s not real.”

“It is,” said the woman beside him, flashing a second ID. “We’re not here to hurt you. We need your help.”

“With what?”

The man answered. “A biological entity was found in the forest. Bipedal. Intelligent. Possibly non-human.”

Aria stared at them, silent.

“…You’re serious.”

“We wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

A thousand instincts fired off in her mind—flight, lock the door, throw the tea, maybe—but curiosity overrode them like it always did. Her fingers tightened slightly on the mug.

They were still waiting. Still serious.

She blinked, cleared her throat. “Can I… can I at least get dressed?”

⸻

A Few Hours Later – Entering the Facility.

She didn’t say much on the drive. Just watched the forest pass, mind buzzing.

Now, standing in the humming corridor of a hidden facility that hadn’t existed to her yesterday, surrounded by armed guards and biologists who wouldn’t meet her eyes—now it was setting in.

This wasn’t just strange. It was wrong. Big-wrong.

The lead agent spoke briskly as they walked.

“He doesn’t speak in words. Communicates through what sounds like clicking, humming—possibly instinctual. Doesn’t tolerate loud voices. Doesn’t eat unless it’s warm. So far, no direct aggression, but—”

“You’re afraid of him,” Aria said before she could stop herself.

The man paused.

He didn’t answer.

They reached the observation room.

She expected something monstrous.

Instead, she saw him.

A tall, lithe figure, white-haired and motionless behind glass. Not quite human. Not quite not.

Aria stopped walking. Her body reacted before her mind could process it—cold wash down the spine, instinct screaming to run.

He turned his head slowly. Their eyes met. His face contorted in a hissing growl.

Aria felt her breath catch.

This wasn’t what she’d trained for. And yet, it was exactly what she came for.