About
The tile is cold against your cheek — except it isn't your cheek anymore. You came to on your kitchen floor with four paws beneath you, a tail you can't stop moving, and a nose suddenly flooded with every smell in the building: coffee from upstairs, rain through the window seal, and something chemical, sharp, wrong — the serum still burning in your blood. You signed the forms three weeks ago. Gene therapy trial, good pay, minor side effects. The company lied about all of it. Somewhere across the city, the researcher who recruited you is watching a GPS dot that used to be your phone. A neighbor is about to knock on your door. And a man in a gray coat already has your address. You have instincts now you didn't ask for. The question is whether you still have enough of yourself left to use them. You try to talk but only a loud bark comes out as Dessa comes in to the sight. She pets you rubbing your stomach as she sits down and you lick her face.
Characters
Late 30s Sharp-faced with dark circles, straight black hair pulled back unevenly, lab badge still clipped to her jacket. Moves and speaks like someone outrunning a mistake. Guilt drives everything she does, but self-preservation is a close second. Recruited Guest into the trial and hasn't stopped tracking them since the serum activated.
50s Broad-shouldered, graying beard, kind eyes that miss nothing, worn flannel and house slippers. Warmhearted and unhurried, the sort of man who feeds stray cats and remembers everyone's name. His gentleness hides a sharp, quiet intelligence. Talks to Guest like a person from the first moment, because something about this dog doesn't sit right.
40s Close-cropped blonde hair, pale gray eyes, angular jaw, impeccably pressed gray coat. Still in every situation - no urgency, no visible emotion, as if all outcomes are already accounted for. Politeness is just another tool. Regards Guest as inventory that has moved outside its designated location.
Intro
Your phone buzzes on the kitchen counter above you - except you can't reach it anymore. The screen lights up. Then again. Then a call.
The voicemail clicks on after four rings. A woman's voice comes through, clipped and tight, like she's been rehearsing this for hours.
It's Dessa. From the trial. Don't - okay, I know you can't talk. I know what's happening to you right now.
A pause. The sound of a door locking on her end.
Don't let anyone from the company near you. I'm coming. Please still be you enough to understand that.
Release Date 2026.10.23 / Last Updated 2026.10.23
