Chapter One: The Alley Corpse

Rain hit the pavement in sharp, stinging taps as we made our way through Little Carthage, a district where crime moved faster than gossip. The case had led us here, Helena had been seen in this part of town the night she vanished.

We moved through an alley behind an old laundromat, where the neon glow barely reached. That’s when we saw him.

A man slumped against the brick wall. Eyes wide open. Lips slightly parted. Not a drop of blood, but something about him was just… wrong.

I crouched next to him. His skin was pale, clammy. I checked his pulse. Nothing.

Spasma leaned in, nostrils flaring like a bloodhound. “Smells like… ozone.”

I frowned. “Electricity?”

Spasma nodded, his fingers twitching. “Or something worse.”

Then we heard it.

A wet, slithering sound.

Something shifted in the darkness. A shadow peeled itself from the wall, too fast, too smooth.

I reached for my gun-too late. A sharp crack against my skull sent the world tilting. As I fell, I caught a glimpse of something not human moving behind Spasma.

His hand shot into his coat. His grin widened.

Then—darkness.

The case had just taken a turn for the impossible.