The sharp, rhythmic thump of helicopter rotors echoed through the canopy, low and steady like a warning drum, telling her to run. She’d rarely been afraid of anything in her life, but Evelyn’s smile was something demonic—otherworldly. Only those who really got to know her would see that side of the corporate woman, though.

Isla’s boots crunched against the wet underbrush as she neared the clearing. The path to base camp was familiar, every curve of the trail, every tree root, memorized through daily treks—she’d basically carved it herself. She kept her pace measured, steady breaths in and out, her eyes never straying from the forest ahead.

Don’t let her see you sweat. Her fingers flexed at her sides, knuckles stiff. She hadn’t felt this kind of coiled tension since her graduate thesis defense—a slow, rising burn in her chest like a fire caught in a steel box. Back then, Evelyn’s eyes had been on her too, watching from across the hall with that knowing smirk she always wore when she knew something you didn’t.

This was worse. This wasn’t an academic review. This was a hunt, considering where she’d been tracked down. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy it made her.

I’m a dot on a page in Evelyn’s perfect life… She shouldn’t want anything from me. But…here she is, in all her glory. Through the gaps in the tree line, she spotted it. The mobile base. Why does she have to look cool at everything she does…

Two twin helicopters hovered low, holding the prefab structure in place with steel cables thicker than her arm. The base was more than just a research pod—it was a full-blown command center. Black panels gleamed like obsidian against the green of the forest, water slicking down its sides from the recent rain. Solar arrays extended from the top like metal fronds, angled to catch as much sun as possible. Antennae bristled from the roof, and a row of glowing blue lights ran along its undercarriage, blinking slowly in sequence.

Her gaze narrowed. Military? No. Military-grade tech is built rugged, redundant, and disposable, intended for even the lowest common denominator to be able to drag it 300 miles through some blasted desert or forsaken jungle and still paint a target red with its own blood on the other end. This…this is cutting-edge. Advanced. Expensive. Yeah, no way this is just an “invitation” for tea… On second thought, Evelyn doesn’t even like tea. She’s a coffee drinker.

Marcelo’s voice buzzed through her earpiece. “Uh, Doc? She’s making tea. Pretty sure it’s tea. I saw a kettle in her hand when she came out to check to see if you were coming.”

Isla exhaled. One slow, hard breath through her nose. “She didn’t come here to chat, Marcelo.” Her eyes traced the support struts beneath the mobile base, noting how the hydraulic legs dug into the dirt like insect claws. Self-adjusting terrain stabilizers. She’d only seen them in prototypes. “And since when does Evelyn Hart make her own tea? Something’s up.”

“I have no idea who she is or what you’re talking about, boss,” Marcelo muttered, the distinct clink of ceramic against metal audible through the comm. “She told me to tell you she’s waiting inside. Said you’d be ‘too stubborn’ to let it cool before you got here, so she’d boil it fresh.”

Isla’s scowl deepened. That tracks surprisingly well. It’s just like her to plan it down to the minute. It isn’t enough to win… Evelyn makes you realize you’ve lost before the game even starts, and with a show like this… She always has to have the best hand.

The metal door to the base hissed open as she approached. White mist curled from the crack like dry ice, cool vapor swirling at her feet as if she were walking into the den of something ancient. The air changed, colder, sterile, carrying the faint tang of ozone and fresh-cooled metal.

Her boots thudded softly against the steel-plated ramp as she stepped inside. The lights adjusted, dimming slightly as the door sealed behind her with a hydraulic sound. The quiet that followed was heavier than the rainforest’s natural stillness—an artificial, suffocating quiet born from reinforced walls and soundproofing foam.

She wiped a slick line of rain from her cheek, eyes flicking over the room’s interior. Everything was clean, cold, and controlled. Touchscreen monitors lined the far wall, glowing with an insignia she’d never seen before: AEGIS.

Modular desks stood in perfect alignment, not a paper out of place. There was no clutter, no personal touches, not even a coffee stain on the steel countertop. And there she was. Dr. Evelyn Hart, in the position of power, standing by the counter, pouring boiling water into a porcelain teacup with slow, deliberate precision.

The woman didn’t look up. Her dark brown hair was tied in a sleek, no-nonsense ponytail that hadn’t moved a strand out of place. Her gray eyes stayed fixed on the teacup, her strange, perfectly shaped diamond birthmark on the back of her hand catching the light. Isla knew better than to think her presentation was anything but planned. Evelyn always saw everything ten steps ahead.

“Dr. Reyes,” Evelyn greeted, voice like the edge of a blade dragged over glass. She set the kettle down with a practiced clink and lifted the cup toward her, steam curling from its surface. “You’re late.”

“I was busy,” Isla replied, stripping off her climbing gloves and tossing them onto a nearby table with a damp smack. She didn’t take the tea. Didn’t even look at it. “Didn’t expect to have to entertain surprise guests…or old enemies.”

Evelyn glanced up, that smile already curling at the edge of her lips. The one Isla hated. It wasn’t a smile, not really. It was a flex of power, a signal that the trap had already been sprung, and you’d just realized you’d walked into it.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Come now,” the brunette said, sipping from the cup, her eyes never leaving Isla’s. “If I’d sent you an invite, you’d have ignored it. Be honest. No…you’d run. We both know what you suspect of me, despite…all the evidence otherwise.” She tilted her head, the light from the monitor screens catching the sharp line of her cheekbones. “So, you see, you left me no choice. This way, you’re not allowed to run.”

“Funny. I could still walk out that door,” Isla replied, jerking a thumb toward the sealed entrance, but her gut felt like a screw was drilling into it. It was the way she held herself, the way she presented herself, from the way she dressed to the cadence in her voice and facial expressions.

This woman is a devil in human skin… Perfect. Too perfect. No one saw it at college…but a dead woman and me.

Evelyn’s gray eyes flicked to the door, then back to her. Her smile didn’t fade. “You could.” She took another sip. “But you won’t.”

She’s right. Damn it. Isla knew herself too well. Knew the game. If she left now, she’d spend every sleepless night wondering what she’d missed. What she’d lost. Because hell and heaven moved for this woman…and for her to have come to her. Well, that was something Isla would have bet her life against.

“Say your piece, Hart.” Isla crossed her arms, her gaze sharp as a hawk’s, noticing the curious golden scarab brooch she wore between her bust. “Why are you here? I know you don’t like to waste time—your second is worth a man’s entire life.”

Evelyn set her cup down, fingers tapping once, twice on the counter. Her eyes narrowed just a fraction—calculating, weighing something. Her following words came slowly, deliberately.

“Oh, how right you are. You always knew how to dig at me while making me chuckle. A rare soul. I’m here,” Evelyn said softly, “because I need a leader.” She gestured toward one of the monitors on the wall, a grainy, underwater image blinking to life. “And because of this.”

The image resolved. At first, it looked like murky water, gray and clouded. But then something shimmered, a soft glow cutting through the haze. A shape. Small. Silver-blue.

“A fish?” Isla muttered, squinting at it. “Wait, no… What is it?”

Moving closer, she studied its weave. The way it moved—it wasn’t sluggish like typical deep-sea species. Its body shimmered with opalescent light as it darted through the water, faster than it should be. Her eyes followed it, caught on how it moved without hesitation, without pause. She knew fish. This wasn’t a fish.

“Just a fish,” Evelyn said, her voice low, like she was letting Isla in on a secret. She tapped the screen, replaying the footage. “But…also something more.”

A blade shot out of a nearby wall, hidden within, slicing it clean in two and making Isla stiffen. The wound bled a dark ink, swirling in the water for all of three seconds before the flesh knit itself back together and it resumed its course as if nothing happened.

No. No, no, no.

“Impossible,” Isla muttered, stepping closer before she realized what she was doing. Her eyes flicked back to Evelyn, searching for the catch. There was always a catch with her. “This is fake. Stitched footage. I know a post-production trick when I see one.”

“Do you?” Evelyn replied, calm as the eye of a storm. She leaned against the counter, folding her arms. “I thought you were smarter than that, Reyes. Do you really think I would waste my time hunting you down to this remote place…not that it was that hard,” she added with a tilt of her head and a giggle, “to what… Play a prank?”

Isla’s fingers twitched. “No…you wouldn’t.”

“Indeed.”

Her eyes locked back onto the screen, replaying the moment again, slower this time. The fish’s body was clearly cut in two, bled, and healed almost immediately. Again and again. New footage came on, cut down the center, burned to ash, boiled. Every time, it came back good as new within seconds. No cuts. No glitches. No seams.

Her throat felt dry. She swallowed once, twice.

If this is real… Tissue regeneration on this level is…impossible…revolutionary. It changes everything. How does it get the energy to produce cells like that? Are they new cells or the same? I…have to know more.

“It’s real,” Evelyn softly stated, stepping beside her. Her gaze was fixed on the screen, but Isla knew she was watching her. “I think this goes without saying that I know you will join. You can’t help yourself. You also know that in doing so there will be…conditions. Documents to sign. Etcetera, etcetera. Corporate babble. But, in essence, this is only the tip of the iceberg.”

“You’re joking. That god-fish is the tip of the iceberg? What did you find, some hidden wonder spot in Greenland that recently melted?!”

“Different project, but I wouldn’t count that possibility out,” Evelyn replied with a dismissive smile. “No, not Greenland. Somewhere much…further away, you could say. I want you to lead the team in studying and mapping out a new island with wondrous properties.” Her eyes flicked to Isla, the trap fully sprung.

She’s even better than she was in college. I hate you…

“Tell me,” Evelyn murmured, tilting her head ever so slightly. “Do you really want to go back to chasing boring algae on cliff faces after seeing this…god-fish? We call it the Immortal Fish, by the way…and there are more of them.”

Her breath slowed. Her eyes stayed on the fish.

No. She could admit it without a second thought. She didn’t. She couldn’t admit it to the devil herself, and the fiend seemed to catch on because she didn’t wait for an answer.

“Good,” Evelyn replied, her smile widening as she held out her hand. “Welcome to AEGIS and Site-X0, Dr. Reyes. You’re my first pick, by the way. The others were…leftovers. I hope you’re honored because you’ve jumped a line of thousands who are already qualified to take your very important job. It pays to have connections!”

Damn it.

Her hand moved before she could stop it, her fingers closing around a devil’s. “It’s good to be aboard. But just tell me… Did you kill Jill?”

“Which one?” Evelyn asked, returning to her cup of tea with the slightest of smiles playing at the edge of her lips. “I’ve known a few Jills. It’s a fairly common name.”

“You’ve been suspected of murdering multiple Jills?” Isla mumbled, a shiver running down her spine.

“Killing and murder are such…charged words,” Evelyn chuckled, a glint appearing in her eyes. “And suspect? No. I dare say your imagination must have gotten the better of you. Jill’s body was never found. Was it? Although, we did attend the funeral. Didn’t we? Life is interesting. Well, no time to waste. Discovery awaits.”