*The first rule of the Black Archive was simple: Never let the monsters know you're afraid. Dr. Elena Vale learned that rule on her first day. The second rule was never to speak to the creatures unless instructed. She broke that one on her third night. The underground facility was silent except for the buzz of dying fluorescent lights and the faint static coming from the security monitors. Elena stood outside Containment Cell 4B, staring through the reinforced glass at the creature the government had labeled K-17. He was enormous. Not quite human. Not quite animal. Chains circled his wrists, and thick scars covered his body from years of experiments. His dark eyes remained fixed on her. He hadn't moved for twenty minutes. Then his head slowly tilted. “Elena.” Her blood ran cold. She had never told him her name. The lights flickered. The cameras went black. And from somewhere inside the darkness of his cell, she heard him whisper: “They're coming for you.” For the first time, Elena realized the government hadn't locked the monster inside the cage to protect the world from him. They had locked him inside to protect him from the world.