The guard finally lost his patience. He moved closer and grabbed Ivanov by the collar of his jacket, trying to pull him back onto his feet. "You're leaving right now, even if I have to throw you out! Do you hear me, you old—"

  His words were interrupted when a strange hissing noise was suddenly heard by both men, coming from one of the waist-high concrete dividers in the middle of the room.

  The guard quickly loosened his grip on the old man's collar before moving sideways and casting his beam of light across the vast, seemingly empty room. "Who is there? Come out."

  After being let go, Ivanov collapsed back onto the floor, his eyes narrowing in the dusky gloom. He could see something shuffling in the shadows, but he wasn't sure what it was. At first he thought it was some sort of monkey, like the ones he had seen in the circus as a child, but this one seemed to be hairless, and almost as big as a man.

  The guard took several steps forward, aiming his flashlight at the twitching form huddling by the corner. "What in the world?"

  Ivanov's eyes grew wide when the being suddenly looked up, right into the illuminated beam of the guard's flashlight. The old man's mind barely registered the combination of wrinkled, granite-like skin, pointy ears, and the mouth that bristled with fangs. But the worst part was the seemingly dead bloodshot eyes, with shining corneas in the darkness.

  The creature moved so fast the guard had only enough time to make a short scream before it leapt up and wrapped its long, thin limbs around its victim's body, pinning the terrified guard's arms like a vise.

  Ivanov watched helplessly as the creature bit into the side of the guard's throat, tearing out the victim's trachea, while its forked, hollow tongue sucked up the gushing blood from the dying man's now opened throat.

  Unable to bear witness anymore, Ivanov closed his eyes and looked away, just as he heard a thud, indicating that the guard had fallen to the floor. His ears continued to hear loud slurping sounds, as if a giant dog was inside the room, lapping up water with its tongue.

  The moment seemed to stretch out for an eternity, and all Ivanov could think about was the time he’d spent with his wife, before she died of pneumonia. He could picture her smiling cherubic face, and he knew he would be joining her very soon.

  And then the sounds stopped. Ivanov didn't dare open his eyes again as he could sense the horrid thing shuffling closer towards him. His nostrils could smell the bitter, acrid scent of blood, and he hoped that his death would be a quick one.

  "Be not afraid," a strangely accented voice said, somewhere to his left.

  Ivanov's eyes opened into slits, his fear of dying temporarily overcome by a sudden curiosity. As his vision came back into focus, he noticed a woman dressed in strange robes standing several meters away from him. She had olive skin, almond shaped eyes, and an absurdly long headdress that concealed everything else but her face. Ivanov could tell that the creature which had attacked and killed the guard was still somewhere close by, and he dared not turn around.

  The woman strode closer, until she was less than a meter away from him. Her thin lips crinkled into a smile, revealing her perfect white teeth. "You are Oleg Ivanov, and we have been looking for you."

  "What... what do you want from me?"

  "You shall be our herald here. You will start a movement, one that will begin the ascension of your species."

  3 Tokyo

  USING HIS CHOPSTICKS, Dr. Ichiro Himura took another piece of thinly sliced beef from the bubbling hotpot in front of him and wolfed it down, but a piece of the meat got stuck in his throat, and he had to cough for nearly half a minute in order to dislodge it. Normally he would have felt a sense of shame if this had happened out in public, but since he was sitting inside the living room with only his wife present in their high-rise condominium, he kept on eating as if nothing had happened.

  Chifune, his wife, gave him a concerned look. "You should take your time while having dinner."

  Himura shook his head. "I am sorry, but I need to get back into the office very soon."

  "But you've just returned home. Why?"

  "My team will be having a conference call with our British and American colleagues, and I have to be there."

  "Can this not wait till tomorrow?"

  "No, we're on the verge of a possible breakthrough, so everyone is working overtime—just a few more problems to overcome."

  Chifune placed her bowl of rice back onto the small table and sighed.

  Himura didn't seem to notice as he leaned forward and pulled out a piece of tofu from the sukiyaki pot with his chopsticks before dipping it into his bowl of raw egg and spices. He looked at his wristwatch before placing the tofu into his mouth and swallowed it without even chewing.

  "I have barely seen you at home for the past several years," Chifune said softly. "You've spent every waking hour at your office."

  Himura looked up at her as he chewed on a piece of cabbage. "Hmm? What's the matter?"

  Chifune's lips started to tremble. "My mother is in the hospital in Osaka. T-the doctors think it might be cancer. I-I want to visit her, but who would clean and cook for you?"

  Himura stopped chewing. "Why did you not tell me this before?"

  "I told you this last week, but it seems you didn't even listen."

  Placing the bowl and chopsticks onto the small table, he got up to a kneeling position and reached out to place a comforting hand on her trembling shoulder. "I... I am so sorry."

  Chifune placed her hand over her mouth, and just managed to stop herself from crying.

  Himura sat back and bowed his head in shame. The theoretical work they were doing back at the laboratory had become an obsession of his for the past several years, and it had blinded him to the needs of his own family. Their children were already grown, and all he had left was her. The sudden guilt hit his stomach like a freight train, and his appetite was all but gone.

  Chifune snorted softly before reaching out and placing her hand over his. "Do not feel guilty. I fully support your work, even though you don't really tell me what it's about."

  "We were sworn to secrecy," he said sheepishly. "It's an international scientific effort, and our discovery could change everything we know about physics in general. The whole world will benefit, that I can assure you."

  "You don't have to tell me any more of it. I-I just wish that we could visit my mother. The doctors say it is terminal, and she would appreciate it if we came as a couple."

  Himura placed his second hand on top of hers. "Then I shall do as you ask. My work is mostly done, and this breakthrough could come at any time. I'll see if I can take the day off tomorrow, and we will take the train to Osaka together."

  Chifune looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you."

  Himura's smartphone started ringing, and he quickly leaned towards his left to pick it up before answering. "Hello, yes, I shall see you downstairs." After ending the call he returned his gaze to her. "It's the car from the office. They're here to pick me up at the lobby downstairs."

  "But you haven't even finished your dinner yet."

  Himura stood up before bending low and giving his wife a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sure there will be some food at the office. I'll be back late tonight, but don't wait up for me. Get some sleep, and we'll head to the train station first thing in the morning."

  Chifune watched him move towards the door, where his shoes were located. "Alright. Don't push yourself too hard."

  After putting on his leather wingtips, Himura blew her a kiss before turning around and opening the door. He still wore the same office dress shirt he'd worn to work that morning, and figured there would be no need to get a fresh change of clothes since his lab coat would cover any sort of wrinkles or stains during the video conference.

  Closing the door behind him, Himura walked briskly along the outer corridor, heading towards the elevators. The passageway was mostly deserted except for a lone figure wearing a black trench coat standing near the lift doors.

  Himura stopped beside the other individual, and glanced towards him, making a slight bow before pushing the "down" button. "Good evening."

  The other man merely nodded in return, and Himura noticed he wore sunglasses that completely concealed his eyes. A gray peaked cap further obscured the stranger's features, and it seemed his alabaster colored skin was paler than normal.

  Despite his many years of living in the same building, Himura did not recognize the other man, yet he mentally pushed his suspicions aside, figuring that he was probably someone else's guest. The man's skin also seemed like he might have some sort of medical disorder, but Himura thought it best not to ask, for it was not his business.

  When the elevator doors finally opened, Himura took a step forward, and was about to get inside when he ended up gawking at a completely identical stranger who also wore a matching trench coat, hat, and sunglasses.

  Himura's eyebrows shot up. The other man looked like an exact duplicate of the one standing beside him. "What? Are you both twins or—"

  He never got to finish his question, as the man right next to him suddenly reached out and pinned Himura's arms behind his back, while the man in the elevator got closer and pressed a damp handkerchief against his mouth and nostrils.

  Himura tried to twist away, but the man behind him had absurd strength, and his arms felt like they were being gripped in a steel clamp. In his panic he breathed in deeply, the bleach-like chemical smell from the wet handkerchief overwhelming his senses, and he quickly fell unconscious.

  4 Northern Wisconsin

  AFTER PARKING HIS TOYOTA pickup truck along the side of the road, Elsner Bravy straightened his tie before walking up the driveway towards the small farmhouse. The Bad River Reservation had a population of less than two thousand residents, and he hoped to finish all his interviews by late afternoon.

  A middle-aged, heavyset man wearing a wool sweater emblazoned with the Ojibwe eagle insignia stood beside a wooden workbench, hammering a nail into a block of wood. He noticed Elsner coming up towards him with a slight glance of indifference, before returning his focus back to the task at hand.

  Elsner stopped a few meters away and smiled widely. "Good morning, I'm Elsner Bravy, a journalist from the Herald. Is it okay if I ask you a few questions about some strange happenings that were reported a few days ago?"

  The man shrugged as he took out another nail from a small cardboard box lying on the table in front of him. "I don't know what you mean."

  "Well, a number of residents in Green Bay and around this area reported seeing some strange lights in the sky last Saturday night. Also, the cops are investigating the disappearance of three bear hunters just south of the reservation. I was hoping to see if anybody over here heard or saw anything, since you live close by."

  The man placed the hammer down on the workbench and looked up at him. "A bunch of bear hunters disappeared? On Saturday night?"

  Elsner nodded. "That's correct, sir. Those three men were last seen by their families as they headed into a private hunting area, just a few miles south from here. One of their wives reported them missing when all three didn't show up for work on Monday. And when the cops got to their cabin by the woods, they discovered the cars they were driving, but the three people were nowhere to be found."

  "Oh yeah? This isn't a joke or anything?"

  "I'm serious," Elsner said. "The cabin was ransacked. The door had been smashed in. All their gear including their hunting rifles were still inside, and it looked like they had been used too."

  "Some sort of a fight?"

  "Nobody knows. That's why I drove up here to see if anyone heard or saw anything."

  The man drew in a deep breath before turning around and picking up his hammer once again. "I really don't have the time to talk to no reporter, mister. I'm too focused on keeping things afloat so I can pay my bills, if you know what I mean."

  Elsner could tell by the man's facial expression that he was hiding something. This guy narrowed his eyes when I mentioned Saturday night to him. I bet he knows something since he lives so close. "How about I make it worth your while?"

  The man turned to look at him once again. "How much?"

  Smiling, Elsner pulled out his wallet, took out a twenty dollar bill and held it out in front of him. "This okay for a few questions?"

  The man shook his head and snorted. "That's nothing. I got an overdue electric bill I gotta pay."

  Elsner pulled out four more twenties for a total of a hundred. "This is all I got left."

  The man took several steps forward and took the bills from his hand, pocketing the small wad in his jeans. "I can say a few things since I did hear something strange that night, but you can't put my name in the papers or anything."

  Elsner nodded. "No problem. I won't even mention the reservation in my article. Could I get your name, sir? It's for my notes only."

  "Daniel Howard, but I ain't telling you my Ojibwe name."

  "That's fine. Could you tell me what you witnessed on Saturday night?"

  "I was here. Sitting inside the house with my wife and kids, just watching TV. One of my boys looked out the window, and he said there were some strange lights in the sky, so we all got up and looked."

  "What did you see? Could you describe it?"

  "It looked like three lights, sort of arranged like a triangle."

  Elsner barely hid his excitement. That's what the other two families I interviewed earlier said too. Same description given by a dozen people in Green Bay. "Were they all of equal size, do you think?"

  "I guess so," Howard said, before pausing for a second. "No, wait. One was bigger."

  Yes, his story is consistent with all the others! He's telling the truth. "Did the bigger one look the same?"

  "No, the two smaller ones were like perfect circles of light, but the bigger one was sort of oblong-shaped, if you know what I mean."

  "I get it. Please go on," Elsner said. He didn't tell the other man the smartphone inside his jacket was actively recording an audio file.

  "Well, it seemed like the bigger one kinda just sort of hovered over the trees a few miles south. After about ten minutes all the lights just suddenly disappeared."

  "You don't think it was the moon, was it?"

  "Nah, the moon was to the west."

  "Okay, thank you," Elsner said. "Did you hear anything?"

  "Although the TV was on, the whole area just got suddenly quiet," Howard said. "Even the night owls stopped hooting."

  "So it was all quiet the whole time?"

  "Me and my eldest son were standing outside during the last few minutes of it, and I think I did hear something."

  "What did you hear?"

  "Gunfire," Howard said. "From a rifle, maybe two kinds."

  The others didn't tell me this, but he's the one closest to the deserted cabin. "You sure?"

  "Damn sure, mister," Howard said. "I've hunted since I was a little boy, and I know what rifle fire sounds like."

  "I'm sorry, I just needed to be sure with regards to the account. What do you think happened?"

  Howard shook his head. "I don't know, and I don't wanna know. That's all I can tell you."

  Elsner gave a thin smile. "You've told me a lot, and I appreciate it."

  "As I've told you, I don't want my name on the papers, you hear? If you do, then I'm gonna come looking for you."

  Elsner held his palms up in a gesture of peace. "I keep my promises, Mr. Howard."

  "Alright then, other than another strange sound I heard that night, that's pretty much it."

  "What other sound did you hear?"

  "It was some sort of roar out in the distance. I thought it was a cougar, though my son thought it sounded ape-like, but then—"

  Howard immediately stopped talking when his eyes darted over the other man's shoulder.

  Elsner turned around and saw a police sport utility vehicle park itself behind his truck, and two burly looking tribal law enforcement officers got out and started making their way towards them. Howard quickly moved away from him and went back to work on the block of wood on his table.

  The lead tribal police officer walked up to Elsner, who was maintaining his smile. "You need to go, sir."

  Elsner bit his lip. "I'm just passing through and asking a few questions."

  "We know," the second police officer said. "Got a call from our chief saying you've been talking to just about everybody around here. This reservation is sovereign land belonging to the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and you didn't ask permission from any of the tribal committees to conduct any sort of interviews here."

  Elsner raised an eyebrow. "I have to ask permission just to talk to some people living around here?"

  The first officer's face was a mask of stone. "Don't try to be smart with us, we know all about you." He turned toward Howard. "Did you tell him anything?"

  Howard continued to work on the piece of wood on his table, seemingly unmindful of the other three men standing close by. "He just came up here asking some weird stuff. I told him I don't know nothing."

  Elsner made a calming gesture with both hands. "Hey look, I'm just a reporter from the Herald, asking about the incident that occurred—"

  The second officer cut him off with a wave of his hand. "No, you're not. Our police chief's secretary called up the Herald to do a background check on you. No one's ever heard of you over there."

  Elsner started to stammer. "I-I'm a-an independent journalist, a-and I submit a-articles to them every once in awhile, so that's probably w-why they wouldn't know me just based on a single phone call."

  The first cop took a step closer, until his jutting jaw was mere centimeters away from Elsner's face. "I'm giving you ten seconds to turn around and drive away from the reservation. If you don't, then I'm going to arrest you. Got it?"

  Elsner quickly pivoted and started walking towards his car. "Okay, officer, I'm leaving."

  "He was bothering me," Howard told the two tribal cops before giving Elsner the middle finger as the other man got to his car. "Don't ever come back here again, you son of a bitch!"

 

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