Dr. Harlow

PROLOGUE"Staff Sanity Report. Dr. Harlow. Log #404. Shift Commencement."The buzz of the fluorescent lights in the Animal Hospital corridors always sounded the same. It was a monotonous, grating hum that could melt a person's brain after a few months on the job. But for Dr. Harlow, that sound had long become the only proof that he was still alive. It was the only sign that the reality around him hadn't completely shattered into pieces yet.He stood in front of the stained mirror in his office, slowly buttoning up his crisp, white lab coat. His tired eyes scanned his own reflection. The coat fit perfectly, but beneath it was a man who hadn't slept properly in years. The stethoscope rested heavily around his neck—a tool that, in these walls, was used more often to check if a creature had a heartbeat or if it was just an empty, mimicking shell. With pale features, deep shadows under his eyes, and lips pressed into a thin line, Harlow looked like someone who knew too much. And had seen too much.Outside his office door, a strange, unnatural scratching sound echoed. Someone—or something—was dragging its weight across the linoleum floor. The noise was accompanied by a wet, hollow breathing that definitely didn't belong to any animal known to science. Another anomaly. A skinwalker? A void body? To Harlow, it didn't matter anymore. It was just another box to check on his daily list of hazards.He didn't flinch. He merely let out a heavy, exhausted sigh, glanced at the wall clock—its hands were spinning backward again—and picked up his clipboard loaded with fresh performance reports.Today, the new interns were arriving. Young, naive, hopeful kids who thought they were coming here to heal puppies and kittens. They didn't know yet that the main goal in this hospital wasn't to cure the patients. The main goal was to survive the shift and keep your mind intact.Harlow placed his hand on the cold doorknob. His fingers trembled for a split second, but his voice was dead steady as he muttered his ultimate rule into the empty room:"Your sanity is the only thing you have left. Don't die on my shift."He pushed the door open and stepped out into the dimly lit hallway, straight into another round of workplace hell.