Unseen Danger

The four girls arrived at an old, weathered cityscape. Buildings with rounded, arched windows and intricate detail work speak to a classical or historical style. The facades are a mix of muted colors, including shades of gray, red, and muted green, hinting at a building in need of upkeep. Chimneys and small rooftop structures dot the scene, hinting at residential use. With soft, diffuse lighting, the atmosphere suggests an urban environment, likely steeped in history and requiring some TLC.

The girls looked around in awe, taking in the sight of the abandoned cityscape.

"Wow," Rachel says softly, her eyes wide. "This place is huge."

Alice nods in agreement, her eyes scanning the surroundings. "And so old looking. I wonder why they abandoned it.”

Kairy grins, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "That's the best part! This place was a military research facility back in the day, dedicated to top-secret projects."

Kinsey raises an eyebrow, her skepticism piqued. "And how do you know this, huh? You just happened to stumble upon it while taking a leisurely stroll?”

Kairy chuckles, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Oh, you know me. Always stumbling into interesting places."

Rachel rolls her eyes playfully. "More like always sticking your nose into trouble.”

Kairy feigns indignance, placing a hand over her chest. "Hey! I never look for trouble. Trouble just has a peculiar affinity for finding ME."

Alice chuckles, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Yeah, yeah. You're the unofficial trouble magnet.”

Speaking of trouble, a rustling sound followed by metallic clinks alerted the girls.

The girls instantly snap to attention, their playful banter abruptly halted. Rachel tenses slightly, her gaze darting towards the direction of the sound. Kinsey's expression grows serious, her hand instinctively moving to the knife hidden in her boot.

Alice's eyes scan the surroundings, her senses on high alert. "What was that?" she whispers, her voice tight with concern.

Kairy's eyes narrow, her elven ears perking up like a cat's. "I'm not sure," she whispers back, her attention locked on the area where the sound originated. "It sounded like metal against metal. And it was definitely nearby."

The girls exchange wary glances, their earlier lighthearted mood replaced by tense anticipation. The sound repeats again, closer this time.

Rachel grips her knife tighter, her knuckles turning white. "Someone...or something is there," she murmurs, her eyes fixed on a nearby alleyway.

A chill runs down Alice's spine, her heart pounding in her chest. "We need to investigate," she whispers, her voice shaky. "But we can't be reckless. We don't know who...or *what* we're dealing with."

Kinsey nods in agreement, her jaw clenched. "Yeah. We needa be smart about this.”

Kairy swallows, her eyes fixed on the dark alleyway. "I'll scout ahead," she whispers, her voice steady despite the tension.

Rachel reaches out, gripping her arm. "No. It's too dangerous. We go together.”

Kairy hesitates, her gaze flickering between the alleyway and her friends. "Are you sure? I can handle myself."

Kinsey places a hand on Kairy's shoulder, her eyes firm. "You're not going in there alone. We stick together, remember? We're a team."

Rachel got an idea, turning to Alice. "Oh, yeah! Alice, your Miracle Eyes, right? Can't you scan the facility with them?"

Alice's brows furrow in thought as she remembers the capability of her Miracle Eyes, a gift bestowed upon her birth. She nods, her eyes focusing on the alley. "I can try," she replies softly, her voice tinged with trepidation.

She closes her eyes, her brows furrowing in concentration. Her pupils flicker and shift, a spectrum of light and color dancing behind them as she activates her Miracle Eyes, shifting her vision from visible light to radio wave. After a moment, her eyes snap open, wide with surprise. "There's a...a humanoid form, but its form keeps shifting. I can't get a clear read on it.”

Alice shifts her gaze from the alleyway to her friends, her eyes still flickering. "Radio waves are long and have very low energy. So much so that they can penetrate many materials and surfaces, including these old facility walls."

Rachel lets out an impressed whistle. "That's seriously bad ass. But, like, don't X-rays go through things too?”

Alice nods, her demeanor confident. "Yes, X-rays can also pass through matter, but they're much higher energy." Her gaze returns to the alleyway, her eyes narrowing. "I don't think whatever is in that alley is human. There's something... *off* about it.”

The girls exchange uneasy glances again.

Kinsey, ever the pragmatic one, crosses her arms, her gaze hardening. "Doesn't matter if it's human or not. Whatever it is, we need to check it out."

Rachel's grip tightens on her knife. "Agreed. Alice, can you tell how far away it is from us?”

Alice's gaze remains fixed on the alleyway as she adjusts her Miracle Eyes, scanning the area intensely. "It's close...approximately 20 meters away," she reports, her voice tinged with a mixture of caution and curiosity.

Kinsey takes a deep breath. "Okay, let's move. But quietly. We don't want to alert whatever is in that alley.”The girls move in sync, their steps light and quiet as they make their way towards the alley, their senses heightened. The rustling sound from earlier continues, the metallic clinks growing slightly louder.

Kinsey's grip tightens on her knife as they move closer to the alleyway's mouth. "I can hear it more clearly now," she whispers, her voice barely above a breath. "It sounds...big.”

Rachel swallows hard, her heart pounding in her chest. "Big as in...big animal big, or big as in...big monster big?"

Alice's brows furrow as she continues to focus on the form in the alleyway. "I still can't get a clear read on it. Its form keeps shifting too much," she reports back, her voice low. "But it's definitely something...unnatural.”

Kinsey's lips press into a thin line as their group reaches the alleyway's mouth. She motions for the others to stay close, her grip tightening on her knife. The other girls follow her lead, their bodies almost pressed against each other as they slowly move into the alleyway.

As they get closer to the sound's source, the metallic clinks become clearer and more distinct. There's something distinctly mechanical about the sound, making it clear that whatever is making it definitely isn't human.

The four women move further into the alley, their eyes scanning the shadows as the metallic clinks grow louder. Suddenly, the sound stops abruptly. The girls freeze, their breathing heavy and slow, anticipating the unknown.

The silence is deafening, the tension in the air palpable. Then, a deep, metallic voice reverberates throughout the alley:

"I can hear you."