Chapter One: The Black Creature

Her calm expression cracked when she examined the hatchling. “No external ears. Scales growing backward. Did it touch you?” “It bit me.” She handed him an isolation form. “Our cages are full, and it refuses to leave you. Keep it in the staff dormitory tonight. No meat, no mirrors. If it makes a sound resembling human speech, call me immediately.” Lu Chen assumed that was a veterinarian's joke. At three, he placed the creature in a cardboard box. It rejected chicken, cat food, fruit, and water. Then it climbed onto his desk and stared at a debt collector's message: THREE DAYS LEFT. CONSEQUENCES WILL FOLLOW. “A lie,” Lu Chen muttered. “They always say three days.”