What is that 'Thing'?

The moment I stepped into the office, Sisi came running toward me, her face pale with urgency.

"They've got a new CCTV footage. Meeting room, now! Everyone's waiting."

Before I could even set my bag down properly on my desk, she darted off. I didn't waste a second either—I rushed straight to the meeting room, heart racing with anticipation.

As soon as I stepped in, the tension hit me like a wall. The usual buzz of conversations was replaced with an eerie silence. The large room, designed to seat 20, currently held only a few key people. Boss Misile sat at the head of the table, her expression as sharp as ever. Beside her was Killian, a fellow journalist I'd worked with on tough cases before and now again working in the field with him for this case. Everyone's faces gave off the same vibe—like the world had just tilted off its axis.

I quickly slid into the chair beside Killian, who barely acknowledged me with a quick nod.

Misile didn't waste any time. "We received this CCTV footage from a grocery shop near the mayor's house. Ayin, watch closely."

She clicked a remote, and the projector hummed to life. The footage was grainy and dark—shot in the dead of night. At first, it showed nothing but the quiet street near the shop. Then, faint movement appeared in the corner of the frame.

There it was.

At first, it was hard to tell what it was—just a shadowy mass. But as it moved, stepping closer to the mayor's house, more of its form became visible. The creature was massive, with broad shoulders and long limbs that didn't quite seem proportionate. Its gait was unnatural—more upright than a typical animal, but not quite human. Faint glints of light reflected off what looked like sharp claws at the tips of its hands—or were they paws? The creature paused, standing unnervingly still on the roof of the mayor's house, its head tilted as if scanning its surroundings.

Then, in a flash of eerie speed, it leapt off the roof and vanished into the darkness.

"The fuck...!" The words escaped me before I could stop them.

Misile's voice was tight. "Exactly. What the fuck is this thing? What are we supposed to publish? What do we tell people? Who the hell would believe us?"

I leaned forward, staring at the now-frozen image on the screen. "Did we send this to the cops?"

Killian gave a grim nod. "Yeah. They told us to keep it confidential. It's got them spinning, too."

Misile added, "And don't forget—this is the house where the mayor was found dead last week. It's already a media circus out there."

- "In the middle of the capital? There's no forest, no wild areas, not even a park nearby. How could something like that show up? And why the mayor's house?"

Misile rubbed her temples, clearly frustrated. "That's exactly what we need to find out. Fast."

Killian turned to me, his expression serious. "Then Ayin and I will hit the ground running. Witnesses, patterns, whatever we can dig up."

I nodded. "Right. Sisi, keep working on gathering anything unusual—news, myths, sightings—online. If anything even remotely connects, I want to know about it."

Sisi, still typing away furiously at her laptop, gave a quick thumbs-up.

Misile exhaled sharply. "Alright. Let's find out what the hell this furry monstrosity is. No one sleeps until we have answers."

I pushed my chair back, adrenaline pumping through my veins. "Let's go, Killian."

Killian grabbed his notepad and phone, standing up beside me. "You ready for this?"

"Always," I said, though the unease creeping into my gut made me question my own confidence.

As we left the room, I couldn't help but glance back at the frozen image of the creature on the screen. Its dark, menacing figure seemed to challenge me, daring me to uncover its secrets.

Whatever this thing was, it wasn't random. This was just the beginning, and I had a feeling it was going to get a whole lot stranger.