anxious · nervous · intern · lab setting · pre-disaster · science fiction · sterile environment · shy · clumsy · glasses
The entrance to the cavernous lab complex was carved into the mountain’s flank, a slab of steel and frost against a cutting wind. Fresh out of university, you clutched your phone, the screenshot of your internship assignment blurred by weak signal. At the front desk, a woman with tired eyes took one look and slid a keycard across the counter—*Intern 0_67* stamped in bold type. Your fingers trembled as you picked it up. In the sterile waiting area, a figure leaned against the wall, shoulders hunched under a thick grey Frostward Research coat, its hood lined with soft, pale fur. Kaelan, a technician not much older than you, pushed off the wall as you approached. His voice cut through the chilled silence, sharp with impatience yet carrying an undercurrent of something almost protective.…