[Before we begin anything that happens in Nevermore Zero is now recon, which incurred how things work and the actions of characters]
A plump older woman held a cup of coffee as she waited for the call.
The diner buzzed around her, the clatter of dishes and hum of casual conversation pressing at the edges of her attention. Her fingers trembled slightly as she brought the mug to her lips. It was late afternoon, though the cloudy sky outside dimmed the light, making it feel closer to twilight. She wore a pale blue coat with a slightly frayed hem and had done her hair that morning with special care. She looked out the window every few minutes, though she wasn't expecting anyone to walk in. The call would come to her phone.
The waitress topped off her coffee, offered a smile, and moved on. The woman barely acknowledged her, gaze fixed on the screen of the old phone resting face-up on the table.
At last, it rang.
She picked it up quickly, fingers now steady. Her voice was quiet but firm. "Hello?"
There was a pause, then the voice on the other end spoke. Her eyes welled up, her breath caught for a beat and then she smiled. Not wide, not gleeful, but with something deeper. She said only a few words in reply. "Yes. Thank you. I understand."
She hung up, placed the phone carefully back on the table, and let her hands rest there for a moment. Her shoulders, which had been tense for what seemed like years, loosened just slightly. She finished her coffee slowly, savoring the moment.
When she finally rose, she did so with the quiet grace of someone walking out of a chapter of life. She left a generous tip, slipped her purse over her shoulder, and stepped out into the cold, gray evening.
As she passed a small park on her walk home, she saw a young mother crouched beside her toddler, wiping the child's face while laughing at something only the two of them could understand. The woman slowed her steps. Something caught in her chest not pain, but something tender and unbearably warm. She felt the edges of it bloom in her ribs, like something alive and ancient. For a moment, she stood still, hand lightly over her heart, watching the pair. Then, with a small nod to no one in particular, she moved on.
The wind picked up as she neared the darker stretch of sidewalk that led to her neighborhood. The streetlights were just beginning to blink on. She pulled her coat tighter around herself and kept her eyes down.
She heard the low growl before she saw the shadows slipping between parked cars, eyes reflecting pale green in the growing dark.
Dogs.
At first just one, a shaggy mutt that watched her from behind a garbage can. Then another, then three more, then five. They slunk forward with careful intent, no collars, no hesitation. She stepped back, heart pounding now in earnest.
She turned and began walking faster, then faster still. The dogs followed. One barked sharp and violent. Then they ran.
She didn't scream.
Her steps broke into a run, but she was older, and her breath came too fast. The warmth she'd felt minutes ago evaporated under the sudden heat of terror. She stumbled once, caught herself, then again.
The dogs were on her before she could reach the alley to her building.
There was no one nearby. No one to hear the tearing of flesh, the brief, strangled cry. No one to witness what had once been a woman dissolve into something else entirely in the cold glow of the flickering streetlamp.
The phone in her pocket vibrated once more. The screen lit up with a simple notification:
"Confirmed: We look forward to welcoming you."