The month of November had always felt peaceful—cold air, soft breeze, and a gentle silence settling over the city before sunrise. It should've been a perfect morning.
It would have been a perfect morning…
…if Ariana Lockhart didn't have a roommate named Lyra Carter, whose hobby apparently included ruining mornings of innocent souls.
Ariana lay asleep on her soft, cozy bed, wrapped in her blanket like a burrito, dreaming she was sitting on a floating, fluffy white cloud—watching the world beneath her like a queen in the sky.
Life felt beautiful. Calm. Pure.
Until—
*WAKE UP, YOU SLEEPY MONSTER!!!*
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*
*BEEP!*
*BEEP!*
The alarm shrieked like a demon escaping the underworld.
Ariana's dream shattered like glass.
*WAKE UP YOU SLEE...*
*Clunk!*
She slapped the alarm clock off with such fury that for a moment, she feared she might have broken it.
"…I…"
"…I will…"
"I WILL STAB YOU, LYRA!!"
She yelled toward the ceiling with dramatic rage, hair utterly messy, voice half-asleep, yet full of fiery hatred.
"HOW DARE YOU SET SUCH A HORRIBLE ALARM RINGTONE?!"
Her voice echoed through the room.
Still fuming, Ariana got up and dragged herself like a zombie toward the bathroom.
Quick shower.
Quick teeth brushing.
And most importantly—
Operation Mouth De-Stink Begin!
Because yesterday night… she accidentally ate raw onions thinking they were some fancy snacks.
A prank.
By Lyra.
Obviously.
After rinsing with enough mouthwash to poison a dragon, she stomped downstairs.
*Stomp.*
*Stomp.*
*Stomp.*
Her footsteps thundered through the house.
She found Lyra in the living room munching cereal like she had no regrets in life.
"You. LYRA!"
Lyra smiled like a villain caught red-handed but pretending innocence.
"Ohhh~ here comes our angry bird!"
Ariana's eye twitched.
"You—!"
"What? You wanna say I'm amazing?" Lyra flipped her hair dramatically. "Thanks, but I already know~"
Ariana lunged.
Lyra bolted.
"I'll kill you for Sure!"
"For this to happen in actual, you need to catch me first!" -Confident Lyra shouted.
"Catch me if you can, monster!"
"If I catch you, you'll be dead meat!". Ariana yelled, sprinting behind her.
From the side of the couch, Selene looked up with a sleepy expression. "Again…?"
Kiera's lips twitched. "Tom and Jerry, season infinity…"
Meanwhile, Evelyn was sipping hot chocolate, smiling warmly. "But without them… our home would be so quiet, right?"
Selene gave a small nod. "Yeah… weirdly, they make the chaos feel normal."
"For the first time, Evelyn was grammatically correct!"-kiera began to tease Evelyn.
Selene chimed in, "Shockingly, yes."
"Oh!, I'm so glad to hear it!."- Evelyn cheerfully spoke.
But for a moment Evelyn froze and then realised that she is being teased by them.
"Wait… FIRST time? Are you saying that I'm actually stupid?!"
"Actually, yes!." kiera accidentally said.
"WHAT!?". Evelyn shouted with anger on her face.
" I meant, NO!". Kiera hurriedly changed.
Kiera, desperately trying to look innocent: "Who said that?"
*Poof!*
Kiera wasn't able to hold her laugh. To save her Selene immediately hooked up.
"Don't laugh… or she'll explode again."
It was too late by the time —Evelyn puffed her cheeks, ready for emotional war. And burst out her tears.
Eventually after five minutes of convincing, comforting, explaining, bribing with chocolate chip cookies, Evelyn calmed down again.
Silence fell.
A rare moment of peace.
Until—
"Guys…" Kiera suddenly checked her phone, then froze. "IT'S 9:00!!"
Selene immediately panicked.
"Oh no… we're SO dead. If we're late again, President Ethan will send us back to training stages—AGAIN!"
Evelyn blinked innocently. "Aren't Ariana and Lyra already gone? Like… on their motorcycles?. As you you both know their so obsessed over some bikes?."
It's true that they loved bikes.
No—they worshipped bikes.
Rumor says they even convinced the president to buy them by kneeling dramatically and promising eternal loyalty.
(And possibly threatening to cry forever.)
They are so addictive over some bikes.
Kiera: "THEY WHAT?! They left us?!"
Selene grabbed her car keys. "No time to complain—MOVE!"
The three scrambled outside.
Inside the garage, Selene's sleek black car waited like a knight preparing for battle.
They jumped in, slammed the doors, and Selene stepped on the accelerator like she had personal issues with the gas pedal.
The car shot forward.
Kiera and Evelyn were bouncing like rubber balls in a dryer. And blood was about to pop out from their heads.
"SELENE, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?!" Kiera screamed.
"I'M SO SORRY, BUT WE REALLY GOTTA BE HURRY, AS WE ARE ALREADY SO LATE!." Selene yelled back, gripping the steering wheel like her life depended on it.
Even the traffic signal seemed to sense their desperation and switched green just in time.
While one the other side, as buildings rushed past, Ariana was still chasing after Lyra like a Cheetah riding her bike with madness on her face, cursed Lyra like 1000 of times!.
"You naughty mice!. Evil spirit!. Why not rot in a dumpster!?. Devils like you should just stay in hells!".
"Even if you cursed me about thousand or even billion, I do not care!. Blabber as much as you want!."
"Ha...ha...ha...ha..."
Lyra laughed didn't even care about a single curse.
When they arrived the agency Ariana was already tired but launched her punches and kicks straight to Lyra and she was dead on spot like a mosquito.
By the time Selene's car reached the agency gate, Ariana and Lyra were already waiting with crossed arms like smug queens, like nothing happened as they have settled immediately as soon as they saw their rest of the members.
"You girls are late," Lyra teased. "Tsk tsk."
Kiera nearly jumped on her.
"You LEFT US BEHIND REMEMBER!?"
"Correction," Lyra said, "we simply arrived earlier."
Ariana folded her arms, trying to look serious but failing miserably. "Also, racing was fun."
Kiera glared. Hard.
"But weren't you two were..... Nevermind." - Evelyn in confusion suddenly stopped speaking.
Selene took a deep breath. "Okay, enough—focus. We don't want Ethan to—"
Then she stopped.
Because suddenly…
Everything felt wrong.
The atmosphere changed—subtle, yet chilling.
The wind that brushed against their skin felt colder, heavier.
Shadows near the building seemed… darker.
Longer.
Almost like they weren't just shadows.
Almost like they were shifting quietly… watching… waiting.
A strange silence wrapped the entrance.
Evelyn slowly looked around. "Um… does anyone else feel like the temperature just dropped?"
Selene nodded. "Yeah… weird."
Ariana narrowed her eyes. "Maybe we're just nervous…"
But deep inside, something felt… unnatural.
Even Lyra stopped smiling.
The glass door reflected their faces—but behind them, the dark reflection almost looked distorted, like something else was blending with the shadows.
Ariana blinked—
Gone.
Nothing there.
Maybe she imagined it.
Maybe.
Kiera rubbed her arms. "Okay I know I always joke but… this feels creepy."
Selene swallowed. "…Let's just get inside."
They stepped forward.
Automatic doors slid open with a long mechanical sound.
Shhh—
The hallway inside was unusually quiet.
Only the sound of distant air-conditioning echoed through the empty corridor.
Normally, mornings here were filled with other agents rushing around, voices, training shouts—but today…
Silence.
Too much silence.
Lyra glanced around. "Where's everyone? Training rooms should be packed by now."
Ariana's steps slowed.
Her instinct—sharp, experienced, always aware—told her…
Something wasn't normal today.
She just didn't know what.
Not yet.
But she would.
Soon.
And whatever it was…
It was coming for them.
—TO BE CONTINUED—