The ceiling fan made a tired tick-tick-tick sound as it spun above.
Chloe River stared at it like it owed him money.
If it falls, it'll land slightly left… maybe clip the third row first.
A faint blue line flickered across his vision, mapping the fall.
He blinked.
Gone.
"Chloe."
No response.
"Chloe River."
Still nothing.
A piece of chalk flew across the room.
Right to left. Slight spin. Impact in—
Tap.
"…Ow."
A few students snorted.
"Congratulations," the teacher said dryly. "You've successfully rediscovered reality."
Chloe rubbed his head. "I was thinking."
"About the fan?"
"…Maybe."
More laughter.
"Stay after class."
"Can't."
"You're not negotiating."
"I have somewhere to be."
She gave him a long look. "More important than passing?"
"…Debatable."
That earned a louder reaction from the class.
From the seat beside him, someone leaned in. "You're actually trying to fail at this point, right?"
Chloe glanced sideways.
Ethan Cole.
Same slightly messy hair, same expression like he's always halfway into a theory no one asked for.
"I'm consistent," Chloe said.
"That's not something to be proud of."
"It is if you're bad at everything else."
"Wow. Inspiring. Truly."
The bell rang.
Students packed up quickly, conversations overlapping.
"Bro, I'm telling you, it wasn't a dog."
"It was a dog."
"No dog moves like that!"
"Then what, a demon dog?"
"I'm serious. My cousin saw it near the construction site."
"Yeah, okay."
Chloe zipped his bag quietly.
Ethan didn't.
He turned halfway around in his seat. "Wait—where exactly?"
"Old construction site past the market."
Ethan's eyes sharpened. "That's the third time I've heard that location."
Chloe sighed. "You're keeping track?"
"Obviously."
"You failed math."
"Different skill set."
They stepped into the corridor.
Ethan walked beside him, already mid-thought. "Same area, same description, repeated sightings. That's not random."
"It's a stray," Chloe said.
"A stray doesn't drain animals."
Chloe paused, just slightly.
"…People exaggerate."
Ethan stopped walking. "You're not even curious?"
"I'm curious about passing classes."
"You're not passing classes."
"…I'm curious about eventually passing classes."
Ethan stared at him, then exhaled. "You've been missing school again."
"I was here today."
"For half the time."
"Progress."
"That's not—" Ethan stopped himself. His tone shifted. "Just… don't disappear, alright?"
Chloe adjusted his bag. "I won't."
Evening bled into night.
And Chloe became someone else entirely.
He crouched on a rusted water tank above a narrow alley, binoculars raised. A sour candy rested between his teeth.
Below: flickering light, scattered trash, silence stretched too thin.
"…Come on."
Forty minutes of observation.
Worth it.
Something moved.
At the far edge of the alley, a shape slipped into view.
Low. Lean.
At first glance, a starving dog.
Then it stepped forward.
Wrong.
Its limbs bent too far. Its spine shifted in segments, like it wasn't built right.
Chloe adjusted the focus.
"…Yeah. Not a dog."
Its skin looked uneven, patchy—half-formed scales blending into something like scar tissue.
Its head twitched.
Paused.
Tilted.
Its mouth opened slightly.
Too wide.
Rows of thin, needle-like teeth caught the dim light.
"Chupacabra type," Chloe muttered. "Or something pretending to be one."
The creature paced erratically.
Stopped.
Then pressed a claw to the wall.
And climbed.
"…Great."
Chloe chewed slowly.
Mobility: high. Behavior: unstable. Probably aggressive.
The creature dropped down again, then moved faster.
A blur.
But not to him.
Faint blue lines traced its future path in his vision.
Lunge trajectory. Mid-air correction. Target: upper body.
Chloe lowered the binoculars.
"Alright."
He dropped into the alley.
The moment he landed, the creature froze.
Then turned.
Those glassy, unnatural eyes locked onto him.
Chloe casually unwrapped another candy. "Hey."
The creature crouched.
Then lunged.
Fast.
Predicted.
A thread shot upward.
Thunk.
Chloe pulled himself into the air just as claws tore through where he stood—
—and the creature slammed into a thread line.
Then another.
Then a third.
The trap tightened.
It hit the wall hard, limbs tangling.
It shrieked.
The sound overlapped itself—like two broken voices trying to sync.
"…That's unpleasant," Chloe said.
The creature twisted violently.
Its body shifted, joints bending further, trying to slip free.
"…Yeah, you're not normal."
He stepped closer, extending a thin thread.
A flick.
A shallow cut across its side.
The creature jerked.
Then stilled.
Too still.
Chloe narrowed his eyes. "…You're adapting."
A thread snapped.
Then another.
"Okay, that's new."
From deeper in the alley—
A sound.
Soft. Dragging.
Chloe didn't turn.
He didn't need to.
Blue lines multiplied in his vision.
"…Not alone, huh."
A second creature crawled along the wall.
Then a third.
Same broken movement.
Same wrong shape.
Chloe exhaled. "I hate this already."
They moved together.
Not random.
Not chaotic.
Coordinated.
"…That's worse."
The first one lunged again—
Chloe fired another thread upward.
Pulled—
And launched himself out of the alley just as all three surged forward.
He landed on a rooftop, steady.
Below, silence returned.
Like nothing had been there.
Chloe stared for a moment.
"…They're grouping."
That wasn't normal.
He reached into his pocket.
Empty.
He blinked.
"…I'm out of candy."
A pause.
"…That might actually be a problem."
The city buzzed behind him, unaware.
Chloe glanced back at the dark alley one last time.
"…Yeah. Something's definitely off."
End of Chapter 1