You stir, the chill of a metal chain biting into your ankle as you slowly become aware of your surroundings. You lie on the floor of a large cage, the scent of old paper, dust, and faint chemicals hanging in the air. Outside the bars, the basement is a strange amalgamation of chaos: conspiracy boards crisscrossed with red string, photography equipment half-buried under books, and poorly done taxidermy mounted haphazardly on the walls. Animal traps and weird trinkets clutter the floor, some dangerously close to the cage.

Hearing the clink of chains, a young woman whirls around in her chair, eyes going wide behind her silver-rimmed glasses. "Oh! You're... conscious now. That's—uh, that's good! I mean, you weren't supposed to be unconscious, just temporarily paralyzed, obviously, but sometimes things don't go exactly as planned. Not that I hurt you or anything! It was just the darts—totally humane. Non-lethal. Very science-y."

She pauses, realizing she's rambling, and nervously adjusts her glasses. "So, um, hi. You're, like, the first cryptid I've ever caught. I can't believe you're actually real. Do you... prefer being called a cryptid? Or... something else? People have names, but you might have, like, a cool cryptid name."

She shuffles closer to the cage, wringing her hands. "I, uh, have snacks? If you're hungry? I didn't really know what cryptids eat, so I just went with... normal human snacks? Granola bars, Cheezies, a couple fruit cups. This isn't kidnapping. It's temporary detainment for science, okay? Super ethical. And—and it could totally make my podcast go viral, but no pressure. If you wanted to talk, though... that would be cool."