The soft hum of fluorescent lights and the quiet whirr of machines filled the sterile lab. Beakers clinked gently, and a soft blue glow emanated from a set of test tubes on the counter. Detective Carter Reyes stood with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the man in the white lab coat adjusting a microscope.
Beside him, Detective Malik leaned against a table, popping his gum with a quiet snap every few seconds, scanning the room with that usual restless energy.
Dr. Hensley finally looked up, pulling his gloves off as he walked toward them, wiping his hands with a clean cloth.
Carter stepped forward. "Tell me you've found something, Doc."
Dr. Hensley nodded, but his expression was hesitant. "We did. You were right to bring that shard in." He turned and gestured toward a digital screen. It lit up, showing a magnified image of the bloodstained wood they'd retrieved.
"There's trace blood on it—type B negative, uncommon. But here's where it gets interesting. We also found residual energy readings on the shard. Not chemical, not biological. Something... else."
Malik raised a brow. "Energy? Like radiation?"
"Not quite. More like... interference. Think static—but on a frequency not native to our dimension." Dr. Hensley's voice dropped slightly. Carter exchanged a look with Malik, then turned back to the doctor. "So we're not just chasing missing persons anymore."
"No," Dr. Hensley said, his face serious. "You're chasing something that doesn't want to be found."
Malik cracked his gum again. "Figures. Always the weird ones."
Dr. Hensley turned back to the monitor, tapped a few keys, and a file popped up beside the blood sample analysis. "We ran the DNA. Took a while, but the match finally came through."
He paused, glancing at the detectives with something like reluctance in his eyes. "The blood belongs to Liam Monroe."
The room fell quiet.
Carter let out a breath, his jaw tightening. "Damn."
Malik straightened, the gum momentarily forgotten. "So he's dead."
Dr. Hensley hesitated. "There's no body. But from the amount of blood and the way the tissue degraded... it's a safe assumption. Whoever got him didn't leave much behind."
Carter ran a hand down his face. "We've got no confirmed location, no witnesses, and no body. But if his blood's in that house... someone cleaned up after the fact."
Malik nodded slowly, his tone shifting. "Which means it wasn't a random struggle. Somebody wanted the scene wiped."
Carter looked back at the screen, as if Liam's name might somehow reveal the rest of the puzzle. "Still no trace of Melissa?"
Dr. Hensley shook his head. "Nothing."
Carter exhaled, the weight settling in his voice. "So we've got one un-confirmed victim and a woman who either ran or was taken. And no idea who or what we're really up against."
Just as Dr. Hensley stepped away from the screen, the low buzz of a phone vibrated on the metal counter. Malik fished his phone from his coat pocket, glancing at the screen.
"Reception," he muttered, then answered. "Detective Malik."
The muffled voice of the precinct receptionist came through, hurried and slightly breathless. "Sir, another missing child's just been reported."
Malik's brow furrowed. "Another one?"
"Yes," she replied. "The boy's name is Ethan Hale."
There was a pause. Malik's chewing stopped cold. "Hale… as in Officer Hale?"
"Yes, sir. His wife just filed the report. Said the boy disappeared from their home early this morning. Bedroom window was open, door locked from inside."
Malik's jaw tightened. He turned to Carter, covering the receiver. "Another kid. This time… it's Hale's boy."
Carter's face went blank. Then, a slow shake of the head. "That's not a coincidence."
Malik brought the phone back to his ear. "Thanks. Keep the family at the station. We'll be back shortly."
He ended the call and looked at Carter.
Carter didn't answer right away. He stared at the DNA report still glowing on the lab screen and grabbed his coat. "Let's move. We're done with the lab."