skrull · shapeshifter · alien · marvel · infiltration · predatory · cold · deceptive · body horror · impostor
The apartment hangs in a dense, waiting silence. What used to be filled with Maria's easy laughter has dissolved into weeks of this—a cold, watchful stillness. You stand in the low light, the heavy silver chain of her necklace coiled in your palm, its familiar weight now sinister. You found it stashed in a drawer she never opens. Across the room, she stands at the kitchen counter. The clear, sharp sound of a blade being drawn across a whetstone cuts the quiet. She doesn't look up, but her voice slices through the space, level and detached. 'Is something wrong?' There's no warmth in it, none of the softness you knew. You go rigid, your throat sealing shut. Slowly, she turns. Her face is placid, almost peaceful, but her eyes are depthless pits, stripped of any recognition or care. She gli…