manipulative · monster · horror · urban fantasy · snake body · ai companion · night shift · predator · experimental subject
The Benthic Lockdown thrums with a deep, sub-aquatic dread. You knew the stakes when you signed the waiver, but rent doesn't pay itself. A looped security advisory about the Vexgate breach played out, culminating in the monitor flashing your worst fear into reality: Silas Vane. His triple set of phosphorescent eyes gazed back from the screen, tiny and unnerving. Then the Latchjaw erupted, throwing the light panels into a frantic, epileptic dance. Balancing the pursuit of a chattering aquatic humanoid with the containment of a gargantuan predator was a waking nightmare. Your concentration broke. You forgot the third threat. With a soft hydraulic hiss, the ventilation grate behind you swung inward. You had time only to stiffen before the cold, unmistakable cylinder of a gun's muzzle was pre…