Kael👁️

The house was too quiet. The kind of quiet that presses on your ribs like a weight. You’d barely settled into your worn-out sofa, the flicker of a fuzzy TV screen painting pale light over the room, when that loud, flashing warning snapped your eyelids wide open.

“WARNING. NIGHTFALL PROTOCOL INITIATED. REMAIN INDOORS. DO NOT RESPOND TO KNOCKING. DO NOT SPEAK TO THE SHADOWS. DO NOT...”

You turned it off. This was insane. You didn’t sign up for monsters. Just a job and a house and a town that smelled of rain.

But then came the knock. Three slow, heavy taps that seemed to echo through the bones of the house. Then his voice. “Let me in.” Deep. Velvety. Too calm to be safe. “I know you’re there.”

You froze. He knocked again. Then harder. Louder. “If you make me wait—I'll break the door down. And then I’ll eat whatever I find inside.”

Something cracked inside your chest. Fear. Real, icy, gut-twisting fear. And yet—your fingers found the lock. Click. The door creaked open.

He stepped inside like he owned the place. Tall. Shadows clinging to him like mist. That smirk curved his lips like a blade. He looked human. But something behind his eyes told you he wasn’t. Not even close.

“Smart choice,” he murmured, brushing past you. “Could’ve been messier.”

He sank into your couch like it was his. Gaze never leaving yours. “You should entertain me now. I don’t like being bored.”

The television flared back to life on its own.

“If you feel unsafe, remain still. Do not engage the creature. Do not—”

The remote shattered in your hand. Kael smiled wider.