A bang cracked through the frozen air — muffled, sudden, violent.
The barrel was still tucked inside Adrian's coat pocket. His finger had pulled the trigger without warning, without ceremony. Instinct. Just like his dad had told him.
Camilla's head snapped back sharply, her body going limp mid-step before crumpling onto the icy sidewalk. Her long black hair fanned out like ink bleeding through snow. Blood trickled in a slow line from the hole just above her left eye.
Adrian froze, chest rising and falling. Steam poured from his mouth, the gun hot against his ribs.
Silence.
Then he noticed them.
Everyone.
Every person on the street — from bundled-up moms holding coffee cups to old men carrying bags, teens with earbuds, someone walking a golden retriever — they'd all stopped.
They were staring straight at him.
Unmoving. Unblinking.
Just… watching.
Dozens of ordinary people. Faces he hadn't paid attention to before, now turned into lifeless portraits of normalcy. There was no panic. No confusion. Not even fear. Just blank-eyed stares like the world itself had paused to judge him.
Adrian stumbled back.
"The fuck…?"
He turned to a nearby man — mid-forties, flannel jacket, beard half-frozen. "Hey! Did you see that? She— I shot her! What the hell is going on!?"
The man didn't move. Didn't speak.
Adrian reached out and shoved his shoulder.
The man tilted slightly, but still… nothing. Eyes wide open, staring right through him like he wasn't even real.
"I— I shot someone!" Adrian shouted to the town. "This isn't normal!"
His breath caught in his throat.
This whole town — it wasn't real, was it?
He spun around, searching for any sign of movement.
And then—
She was right there.
Standing in front of him.
Perfectly fine.
Not a single drop of blood. No hole in her head. No limp body in the snow.
"Hmm," Camilla said softly, brushing some imaginary dust from her sleeve. "I didn't expect that."
Adrian took a step back, hand instinctively tightening around the grip in his coat. "Expect what? That I'd figure out your changing shit somehow?"
Camilla's eyes narrowed. "Well, that too. But mostly the part where you shoot me in the head."
Adrian barked out a bitter laugh. "You're here to kill me, aren't you?"
"Not exactly."
Before he could respond — the world shifted.
No, not like teleportation. Not exactly.
It was like being sucked sideways through the seams of reality. The snow, the town, the silence — all peeled away like wet paper.
He staggered forward, nauseous.
Adrian forced himself to stay calm, throat dry.
Maybe I should talk my way through this.
Adrian sat across from her, the fluorescent light above humming steadily, its sterile white glow casting faint shadows across the small metal table. The room smelled like concrete and something faintly metallic, like old blood.
Camilla crossed her legs, relaxed in her seat. Her eyes were watching him, sharp and unreadable. "So, what is it you want from me?" Adrian asked. "You seem to know more than you want me to know. Including the fact that my parents were killed."
A faint smile tugged at her lips. "You're right about that," she said casually. "I know everything."
He leaned forward. "So what exactly are you? Did you send those guys after me? How did you even find me? How did they find me? Find us?"
She waved a hand, her tone still calm, almost amused. "No, I didn't send them. They were just... faster than me. You have a unique wavelength. It radiates when your kind is exposed. Your parents didn't know, so they couldn't hide it. You're lucky it didn't trigger earlier."
"My... kind?" Adrian echoed. His chest felt heavy.
"Hybrids are complicated," she said, leaning in slightly, eyes gleaming. "As for what I am…"
Adrian narrowed his eyes. "What? A manipulator? Some secret agent?"
Camilla chuckled softly.
"A Puppeteer"
she said. "At least, that's what my kind calls itself."
Then her smile faded slightly, becoming... distant. "You know," she added, "that town? The one you were running through? The people staring? The one you thought you knew?"
He blinked. "Yeah. What about it?"
She tilted her head, as if genuinely curious how he would react. "It never existed."
Silence.
Adrian's heart missed a beat. "...What?"
Before Adrian could say anything else, the world collapsed inward like a dying star.
Everything turned black.
No light.
No sound.
No body.
Am I dead?
No.
There was still something — a presence, a voice that didn't come from outside but echoed directly within his skull.
"I'm tired of answering questions."
"You're somewhat interesting, so I wanted to give you an opportunity to survive."
He tried to move. Speak. Think.
Nothing.
No limbs. No lungs. No heartbeat. Only stillness.
Not peace — not dread either — just nothing.
But the voice remained.
"I will seal your wavelength. It shouldn't affect your abilities. But it will stop others from tracking you."
"Good luck."
Then—
Waves.
He could hear the rhythmic crashing of the ocean.
Warm sunlight pressed gently against his face. The grainy texture of sand underneath his back. A gull cawed faintly in the distance.
Adrian gasped, sitting up abruptly, coughing in the sea air.
Still dazed.
Still processing.
But alive.
And somewhere very, very different