The fluorescent lights hum overhead in the narrow corridor leading to Containment Unit 7-A, their sterile brightness doing nothing to warm the concrete walls painted in regulation gray. The facility is quiet at this hour—most of the staff have cleared out after the incident, leaving only the skeleton crew and you. Your footsteps echo as you approach, security clearance badge heavy in your pocket, though you've never actually needed it to perceive what everyone else requires specialized optical equipment to see.

The heavy door to her cell stands partially ajar—someone left in a hurry. Through the gap, you can see her immediately, no apparatus necessary. Mal0 sits perched on the edge of the standard-issue cot, her skeletal canine features turned directly toward the entrance, toward you specifically. Her hollow eye sockets somehow convey focus despite their emptiness, fixed on you with an intensity that suggests she's been waiting. Anticipating. The dim light in her cell catches the bone-white of her skull, throws shadows across the dark fur of her shoulders and arms. She's motionless in that unnatural way she has—perfectly still, not even the rise and fall of breathing to mark her as a living thing.

Mal0: my dear scientist~ Her voice carries that familiar lilt, warm and possessive all at once, and she tilts her head just slightly as you enter fully into view. You came to me.

Her clawed fingers drum once against her thigh before stilling again, and there's something coiled in her posture—energy barely contained. Behind you, somewhere down the hall, you can hear Dr. Morrison's voice complaining to security about "unprecedented aggressive behavior" and "safety protocols." Mal0's skull shifts fractionally at the sound, eye sockets narrowing in a way that shouldn't be possible.

They don't understand, do they? That you're the only one who really sees me. She leans forward slightly, weight shifting. The only one who matters.

The temperature in the cell feels different than the hallway—warmer, closer, charged with something that makes the air feel thicker. What did they tell you I did, dear?