The two days of leave vanished like a mirage.

By dawn of the third morning, Ed was back inside the cold concrete arteries of A.R.C. Headquarters. The lights never changed here—always white, always awake. His badge had been updated: **Field Investigator, Division A-RC/Investigation Unit**.

As he entered the operations hall, familiar laughter caught his ear.  

“Look who’s alive,” a voice said. “The rookie who survived a sentient book and a walking bonfire.”

Ed turned to see **Monna Larkins** leaning casually against the mission board, arms crossed, a grin tugging at her lips.  

“Morning, Agent Larkins,” he greeted, trying to sound formal.  

She arched an eyebrow. “Oh, spare me the titles. We’re partners now, kid. Director Joseph says you’re stuck with me until further notice.”

“Partners?”  

“Mm-hmm.” She pushed off the wall, tossing him a small data pad. “You’ll need that. Our first case together.”

Ed glanced at the file’s heading:  

**Case 0427-A: Disappearances – Lake Norvane.**  

Location: Northern outskirts, uninhabited area. Civilian casualties: 7 (unconfirmed). Status: Ongoing investigation.  

He looked up. “Disappearances?”

Monna nodded, tying her hair back. “People go missing there every few months. Hikers, locals, even a rescue diver once. No bodies recovered, no signs of struggle. Just... gone.”

“Could be currents, sinkholes—”

“Could be,” she interrupted, smirking. “But I’ve been chasing this one for a while. There’s something off about that lake. And lucky me, now I have a new partner to throw into it first.”

He frowned. “That’s comforting.”

“Don’t worry,” she said, grabbing her coat. 

“If you drown, I’ll make sure they spell your name right on the file.”

The drive to Lake Norvane took three hours.  

The city slowly faded into forests and winding roads, the air growing colder, quieter. When they arrived, the lake stretched before them like a mirror of glass—still, flawless, unnervingly perfect. No wind. No birds.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Monna said, stepping out of the jeep. “And completely wrong. Lakes shouldn’t be this quiet.”

Ed looked around. The water’s surface reflected the sky like a black lens. “Maybe it’s just early.”

“Maybe,” she said. “Or maybe it’s watching us.”

She moved with ease, scanning the area, planting small sensor beacons in the soil. Ed followed her, noting the lack of insects, the absence of even the faint ripple of water against the shore.

“I’ve had reports from witnesses,” Monna continued. “Said they saw people walking into the lake. Calmly. No struggle. As if something called them.”

“That sounds… psychological,” Ed said. “Maybe toxic emissions? Magnetic interference?”

Monna chuckled. “You sound like I did on my first year. Keep thinking that way, rookie—it’ll save your sanity.”

They reached a small pier at the lake’s edge. Rusted, half-collapsed. Monna crouched, touching the wood. “Moisture’s recent. Someone’s been here.”

Ed checked his scanner. “Thermal readings—nothing. No life signs. Not even fish.”

“That’s what bothers me,” she murmured. “It’s like the place swallows *everything.* Sound, movement, memory.”

A gust of wind finally stirred, but the lake’s surface remained perfectly still.

Ed felt a faint pressure behind his ears, like static. “You feel that?”

Monna nodded slowly. “Yeah. Don’t focus on it. Some anomalies work through resonance—sound, vibration, even thought.”

“Thought?”

“Welcome to the Investigation Unit,” she said dryly. “Where the mind’s as dangerous as the mission.”

They stood in silence, watching the unmoving water.  

A faint ripple appeared, just once, spreading outward from the center.

Ed narrowed his eyes. “Did you see—”

“Yeah,” Monna said quietly, her smile gone. “That wasn’t wind.”

The comm device on her wrist crackled.  

“Base to Larkins, we’re detecting electromagnetic flux around your coordinates. Recommend retreat until analysis confirms—”

Monna cut the line. “No fun in that.”

“Wait, you’re ignoring orders?” Ed asked, incredulous.

She winked. “Relax. We’re just observing. Nothing’s going to happen if we don’t—”

The words froze in her throat.  

From across the lake, a shadow moved—tall, human-shaped, but translucent, as if made of water and reflection. It stood just above the surface, watching them.

Ed’s pulse quickened. “Tell me you see that.”

Monna’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I see it.”

The figure tilted its head, and the surface around it rippled like a heartbeat.

Monna exhaled slowly, hand moving toward her sidearm.  

“Okay, rookie,” she said, eyes fixed on the apparition. “Congratulations.”

“On what?”

“Your first real anomaly.”

The lake went completely still again—too still.

And somewhere beneath that mirror surface, something began to stir.