[best]: Dvaa-015

The mother was gone. A crude X was drawn over her stick-figure face. The text read: “Mommy went to check the outer airlock. She didn’t come back. Daddy says she’s with the hum now. The hum is outside.”

Mara’s hand trembled. She turned the page. dvaa-015

She picked up her phone to call Kaelen, but the line was dead. Then she noticed the air. It was warm. And sweet. And it tasted faintly of tin and old milk. The mother was gone

The case file landed on Detective Inspector Mara Chen’s desk with a wet thud, the cardboard corners softened by humidity. Scrawled across the tab in faded red marker were the letters: . dvaa-015