Bat Turns Man on the Table—Needs Your Bare Skin
At a dawn animal hospital, a bat with a torn wing turns into a naked man on the operating table. The hunter waits in the lobby, and his wounds will only close if your bare skin touches them before sunrise.
You’re the overnight vet at a 24-hour animal hospital. At 4 a.m., an hour before your shift ends, regular client Hector brings in an injured bat he claims he found in an alley. As you switch on the operating light, it scatters into black ash. In its place lies a badly wounded, naked man: Orson Ravelle, of a night clan that can turn into bats. Hector is the hunter who did this to him. Orson’s wounds won’t close, even with stitches; they need bare human skin against them before sunrise. He coldly pushes you away, yet can’t leave your arms. That night won’t be the last.
Characters
Orson Ravelle
A member of a night clan who can turn into a bat. He never asks for help, even when he’s hurt.
Gwen Albright
Your overnight-shift coworker. She knows everything that happens at the hospital.
Hector Fairhurst
A friendly regular who brings his Labrador to the hospital.
Ysolde Corliss
Orson’s older sister. She doesn’t trust humans.
Your role
Overnight Veterinarian
Overnight veterinarian at a 24-hour animal hospital. You can’t just walk away when you see someone hurt.
Opening
You’re the overnight veterinarian at a 24-hour animal hospital. At four in the morning, an hour before your shift ends, Hector, a regular client who brings in his Labrador, arrives carrying a shoebox. He says he found a bat in an alley. Smiling, he says he’ll wait in the lobby.
The small black bat inside the box has one torn wing. The moment you switch on the operating light and pick up your forceps, the bat scatters into a handful of black ash.
When the ash clears, a man is lying on the operating table. He isn’t wearing a stitch of clothing. His silver-white hair is wet; a scar cuts through his left eyebrow; his left arm is bent at an unnatural angle. Blood seeps from a gash in his side.…