Date: 1999 December 5th

  Location: Ladysmith Forest

  Company: Noir Alpha team

  Mission: Destroy Target

  The forest was unnaturally quiet. No birds. No wind. Just the distant hum of the Humvee engine, crawling deeper into the shadows.

  Captain Chris King settled into the driver’s seat of the Humvee, the vehicle rumbling quietly as they wound through a dense, shadowy forest trail. A hidden cabin lay ahead—one flagged as a potential threat. In the passenger seat, Corporal Menendez sat rigid, her eyes sharp beneath her helmet.

  “We’re closing in,” she murmured. “Cabin’s just ahead.”

  Chris glanced over his shoulder at the twenty-plus infantry crammed into the back, all itching to spring into action. “Who’s the target?” Menendez asked.

  “Joseph,” Chris said grimly. “Some kind of... rabbit-like thing. One of Noir’s early experiments. He escaped.”

  As the cabin came into view through the trees, Chris eased the Humvee to a stop. “Let’s keep it clean,” he barked, stepping out and drawing his Glock. The soldiers fanned out behind him, MP5s at the ready. Menendez moved to his side.

  Chris approached the cabin’s door and tested the handle. Unlocked.

  He turned back to his squad. “Now.”

  With a swift kick, the door burst open.

  The living room was still. Too still. A single lamp buzzed softly, casting long shadows across the furniture. The team swept in.

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  Chris moved cautiously, eyes scanning. “Where the hell is it?” he muttered.

  Without warning, something dropped from the rafters above—right on top of Menendez. Chris spun, eyes wide.

  Joseph—a towering, malformed rabbit-like beast—was already tearing into her.

  “SHOOT IT!” Chris roared, raising his weapon and firing as chaos erupted around him.

  Bullets tore into the rabbit’s flesh—but the wounds sealed almost instantly. The creature let out a guttural roar and lunged, tackling a nearby soldier and ripping him apart in seconds.

  Chris stumbled back, gun raised, eyes darting through the chaos. Screams. Gunfire. Blood painting the cabin walls.

  Then—an arm around his neck.

  Chris twisted, kicked hard, and broke free. He spun, Glock aimed—facing a man in a fox mask, a gleaming knife in hand.

  “Stop!” Chris shouted, heart pounding.

  “Bastard!” the fox-masked man hissed and charged.

  Chris didn’t hesitate. He pulled the trigger.

  The man dropped, knife clattering to the floor, lifeless beneath the mask.

  Chris stood frozen for a heartbeat… then a sudden, searing pain tore through his chest.

  He looked down.

  Claws—long, jagged, and soaked in blood—protruded through his torso.

  “Fuck…” he groaned, breath hitching.

  Behind him, Joseph—the monstrous rabbit—ripped his claws free. Chris collapsed to the floor, lifeless.

  Joseph stepped over the body without pause, crouching beside the fallen man in the fox mask—Eric. With one massive paw, he gripped Eric’s head and yanked the mask free.

  The moment the mask left Eric’s face, a violent surge of electricity jolted through Joseph’s body. He convulsed, then dropped to the floor, stunned.

  From the shadows, Dr. Lake emerged, slipping a compact taser back into his coat.

  “Take him away,” he said calmly.

  Operatives moved in, dragging Joseph’s limp body out of the cabin. Moments later, flames licked at the walls, swallowing the scene in firelight.

  Inside the departing vehicle, Dr. Lake watched the blaze in the rearview mirror. He looked down at Joseph, strapped and unconscious.

  “We have the target,” he said with a smirk. “The future’s coming… and all we need is his blood—for the wolves.”