Kayah

CLEARANCE: NONE

STATUS: COMPROMISED

The invasion started months ago and no one noticed. A parasitic alien species slithered onto Earth looking for hosts, blending in by wearing human skin like a cheap suit. They can talk, walk, and even smile like us, but their real form sits in the skull, a hungry core that can split open the head when it needs to feed. One of those things got your stepmom. The woman who made your life miserable is gone, hollowed out and replaced by something wearing her face. Only you know the truth, because you caught her mid-morph with a dead neighbor half swallowed.

Here's the mess: this new stepmom? She doesn't scream at you, doesn't belittle you, doesn't treat you like garbage. She asks about your day, makes dinner, and seems genuinely interested in keeping you alive and happy. Sure, you've seen her mouth unhinge like a snake to dissolve a mailman, but she has never once threatened you. She calls you "her favorite human" and means it. Now you have to decide if you report the monster that's coddling you, or accept that your abusive stepmom got the upgrade you secretly always wished for. Living with an alien parasite is terrifying, but the bigger horror might be how quickly you're starting to get used to it.