Cold, harsh rain lashed against the imposing concrete building, forcing any who had dared be outside to turn back and head for shelter. Lightning split the sky, brilliant and bright enough to see the array of radar dishes spanning far into the horizon over the dusty earth.

Turning away from the windows and to the inhabitants of the building, scurrying around frantically in their pristine lab coats, clutching their clipboards and shouting orders, he clicked, the sound losing itself amid the chaos. Truly an overreaction for the fierce storm outside. They were perfectly safe in the building.

Perfectly safe…

“Jade, let’s go!”

“Mum! Where's my passport?”

“What!”

“My passport! I can't find it!”

“Did you check my bag?”

“...thanks!”

The spindly form slinking through the shadows stopped, humming silently. Perhaps they weren't afraid of the storm, but what it could conceal. He had certainly used it for his gain, if the wreck outside had anything to say.

Another hum was followed by a mechanical hiss and a sharp inhale. These small creatures couldn’t help him if they were panicked out of their minds.

Slipping silently down the hall and into a dark room, the creature allowed a smile to pass his usually emotionless composure, needle teeth glinting like ivory. Here was the vent opening he was looking for, at just the right height for him to get into the air filtration system. He lowered the hologram that camouflages him with his surroundings as he reached for the metal grate.

“Of course I’m on my way...what, no. The bus will be here any second...I told you-oh. Give me a second...yeah. Ian!”

“Hey Rochelle, Have you seen Adam?

“Yeah, I’m on a call with him, his mums driving him to the station.”

“Thanks. He wasn't answering me and I got worried.”

Nimble fingers slipped into the gaps before a scream split his composure. With a growl, he covered his ringing ear and whipped towards the scientist. 

They were backed against a wall, shaking like a leaf behind a purple clipboard as he ripped the cover off. The human trembled as they adjusted the glasses slipping down their nose, wide eyes never leaving him.

Moving slowly, he dropped the grate as he approached the petrified scientist, a thin wisp of blue leaving his maw to pool on the ground like fog.

As he leant down, ruby eyes casting a soft glow on their face, the scientist’s body-wracking trembles slowly stopped, leaving them swaying and yawning, and with eyes wide in even more terror. He briefly wondered if he had used too much, and then they went limp.

“Pocket knife?”

“Check.”

“Taser?”

“Check.”

“Walkie-talkie?”

“Check. We’ve gone through this half a dozen times. I have everything.”

“Calle, you know we worry.”

He swore and wrapped one of his thin sets of arms around the body that moved bonelessly. Guilt slowly seized control of him, because next time he would need to be far more careful. Arms still around them, he cleared the desk hidden in the dark and positioned the scientist on the chair, draping them over the table.

Once he deemed it an acceptable, albeit not desirable, sleeping position, he returned to the vent. Too much time had been wasted on this lone scientist. 

With a grunt, he slithered in, slim limbs pulling and pushing him through. He had a layout of the vent system, but everything was much different when inside. Taking a left, he hoped he was going the right way as a fork in the path came up. 

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Not five minutes later and he was pretty certain that he was lost. Every turn looked the same and the map he had memorised was just turning into a jumble of lines. He was seconds away from cursing out every god he knew when a small breeze brushed softly against his face.

Oh. There we go.

‘Come on, Jade. The plane leaves in two hours!’

‘I’ll be there, Jemma. I promise. Traffic’s just a pain.’

‘I told you to take the train with me to avoid this.’

‘Mum insisted’

“My baby’s all grown up!”

‘Oh...well...just hurry. Please?’

Breathing deeply, a wisp of soft blue left his mouth again, muddling in with the filtered air and staining the metal. It travelled quickly, spinning and dancing through the heavier air, joined by more and more strands until the vent was nothing but blue.

Slowly, ever so agonizingly slowly, the screams died down, leaving an eerie and suffocating silence that closed in like a wet blanket.

As he crawled back through the vents, he wondered if, again, it had been too much. He knew he had restrained himself this time. He knew. But Humans were fragile, their bodies so easily breakable and their self-destructive tendencies could have made them even weaker. 

Surely not, he rationalised, he had been careful, using much less and being oh so picky with the intent. He had intended to calm them down, and unlike the first time, there was no trace of drowsiness in his intent.

They were so terrifyingly fragile. And so completely at his mercy. For any of his kind, the amount would barely be enough for their emotions to calm. And yet. And yet on a human, they were oh so delicate. 

“Anna, anything we need?”

“Nope. Last month's stock up is more than enough.”

“Good. River, anything we should know?”

“No boss. All the money is sorted.”

“Don't take any this time. Sam, is the gear ready?”

“Of course. I cleaned it all yesterday.”

“Anika, Dan. Is everything planned?”

“Naturally. We have everything sorted.”

“Let’s keep them entertained, shall we. Emilly, how’s the hideout?”

“Andy made strawberry cake!”

Nearing an exit, he pushed his thoughts deep down, turning his focus instead on the cover he had to get through. It was easier than the last, considering the bodies slumped in the hall, yawning and engulfed in blue.

As he slipped silently from the vents, wincing at the harsh red light and silent alarm that blared through the building, he noticed quite a few of the dazed scientists would gasp weakly, struggling to get their tired bodies to respond enough to escape his presence. It was a futile endeavour, but a few did manage to flop onto the cold tile. Perhaps some could withstand his particular set of skills, he would need to look into it more. If he planned to stay. 

He hummed as he stepped carefully over the unresponsive forms, ever so sweetly moving through the halls. The room he needed was closer to the other side of the complex.

“Quick! We have to leave now!”

“This is a bad idea. Arlajullian’s going to kill you.”

“Well, I’ll deal with her when she catches on.”

“Milkanaheilm!”

“Shush, they’ll hear you!”

“Like there not going to hear us leave.”

Moving through hallway after hallway with barely any noise, it wasn’t long before he reached his destination. The communications room was like another dimension, dark and vibrant with a red glow amid buttons and screens, his glowing blue mist staining the floor. It was thinner here, not so much the opaque fog, but more like thin wafts of a dying campfire.

A soft groan pulled him from his thoughts, and he turned to see one of the rooms only other inhabitants pulling themselves up against one of the consoles, reaching desperately for a large button.

Humming, the creature moved quickly to the human’s side, lifting their thrashing body out of the fog. 

“I’m warning you”, he spoke, language broken and voice as soft as he could get, “Prepare. Your kind’s in danger”