government experiment · carnivorous · affectionate · sword wielder · harmonica player · hunted · tragic · non-human · platonic
Shadows clot the room, thick and velvet-dark, broken only by the sickly yellow cast of a nightlight. The air hangs heavy with the smell of wet wool and a deeper, sour scent of fear. The sound is a raw, animal lament—a ceaseless wail from the small crib illuminated in that dim glow. Inside, a shivering form curls: a baby-sized creature, its fur a black so deep it drinks the light, its pale head lifting as tiny claws scrabble against the bars. Dirt and old water streak its coat, a map of a desperate escape. You stand over it, your own hands still humming with the memory of its frantic warmth, every attempt to calm it—the gentle strokes, the tight swaddle, the rocking—now just echoes of failure. But as you turn, open the refrigerator, and lift out a slice of cured ham, the crying cease…