Three Taps at 3:17

the sirens started screaming. Not the normal emergency sirens—the old ones. The kind no one

had heard since the city was built on top of the abandoned research facility. Eli was still awake,

sitting in his room with the lights off, controller idle in his hands.

His phone buzzed. UNKNOWN NUMBER: Do not open the door. No matter what it

sounds like. Before he could reply, the power went out. The apartment building

fell into darkness, followed by a deep, metallic thud that echoed from somewhere below.

Then another. Slow. Heavy. Like something climbing the stairwell—step

by step. People started screaming. Eli grabbed the flashlight from his desk and cracked