Chapter 7: Stranger

Although there were many things Lev didn’t understand about this world, he could at least speak and read the human language. Writing was another story. His letters still looked like claw marks across the page but he managed. So when Arthur handed him a sheet of paper, he knew what it was.

Hunter Association Form.

Formal registration was still three weeks away. There were two ways to apply: paper or online. Arthur explained that the online process was slower, full of “queue times” that stretched endlessly. Lev didn’t know what a queue time was, but if it meant waiting, then yes, the paper option sounded less like torture.

Arthur then placed a rectangular box on the table before he left for work.

“What’s that?” Lev asked.

“Cellphone,” Arthur said. “Same as mine. You can do a lot with it, but humans mainly use it to communicate.”

Lev opened the box and pulled out the shiny device. Before he could examine it, noise erupted from the door.

Yesterday there had been one. Today there were two. At this rate, they multiplied faster than sea lice.

“Brother! Come with us later, we’ll play another game!” The little girl’s eyes sparkled. Her name, Lev learned only today, was Chichi.

Her grandmother had been discharged that morning and was recovering at home. That should have meant Lev’s peace was restored. Clearly not.

Lev gave a slow nod. His first attempt at human leisure had been tolerable, which, shockingly, made him curious for more.

The kids’ attention immediately zeroed in on the object in his hands.

“Whoa, you got a phone!” the little boy exclaimed. Taller than Chichi, louder too. “You can play games on that! I have one, but my mom yells if I bring it.”

Chichi scooted closer. “I don’t have one, but my grandma does. Do you know how to use it?”

Lev said flatly “…No.”

The two exchanged looks, clearly excited. Before he could blink, they had flanked him like predators circling prey.

“We’ll teach you!” they said in perfect unison.

Lev frowned. Do humans ever run out of words?

“Turn it on first,” Chichi said, pointing at the side button.

He pressed it. The screen lit up, showing a white symbol. A second later, a polite ‘hi’ appeared.

Lev’s frown deepened. “It’s… speaking to me.”

The kids giggled. “It’s just a welcome message!”

After a barrage of rapid-fire instructions about swiping, unlocking, sending messages, and making calls, Lev sat motionless, absorbing it all like a stone in the tide. To him, it felt like being dragged by a current he couldn’t resist. To the children, it just looked like this “brother” was slow but obedient.

“Now set up a Face ID! Just look here,” the boy said, pointing to the black circle at the top.

Lev leaned in. The device scanned his face.

“Cool!” Both clapped.

“Now your finger!” the boy demanded. Lev placed his finger cautiously, half-expecting it to bite.

Lev hesitated. He pressed his finger down anyway. The device beeped in approval.

The kids clapped. Lev did not.

In the span of an hour, they’d made him learn unlocking, calling, swiping, and other tasks he couldn’t remember the names of. By the end, Lev felt as though his brain had been wrung out.

The little boy, however, still wasn’t finished. “Oh, and one more thing. Don’t talk to strangers. If someone calls you and you don’t know them, hang up. Or report it.”

Lev blinked at him. “I usually bite strangers.”

They laughed, assuming it was a joke. Lev did not correct them.

Since he still had nowhere else to train his restraint, he followed the two children out later that day, the phone tucked in his pocket like a captured minnow.

They played a game called ‘Zombie Strike’. It had a gun-shaped controller, and all you had to do was aim at the undead on the screen and pull the trigger.

It wasn’t as thrilling as the fighting game last time, but it wasn’t terrible either. Humans sure enjoyed strange forms of combat.

That night, just as Lev was about to close his eyes, the strange melody came again. His eyes flew open. Not this again.

He sat up, listening. It wasn’t coming from the phone Arthur gave him. He checked, pressing it to his ear just in case. Silent.

The sound grew louder toward the corner. He strode over, shoved aside a cabinet like it weighed nothing, and there it was.

The old phone. The one he had hurled. Still glowing. Still… singing at him.

Persistent little object.

The melody cut off, then started again. Lev narrowed his eyes. He tapped the glowing surface as the children had shown him earlier, and surprisingly it unlocked. A number flashed across the screen.

He pressed the green circle.

“Who are you?” a voice demanded.

Lev frowned. “Who are you?” He asked back.

A scoff. “That is my phone. How did you get it?”

“Ground. Picked it up.”

“You didn’t steal it?” the voice pressed, accusing.

“No.”

There was shuffling on the other end, like the man was getting up.

“Alright. Give it back.”

Lev scoffed. The audacity. Did this fragile human think he could command a leviathan?

“No.”

“What??”

“I won’t give it to you.”

“And why not?”

Lev paused, deadpan. “…Because you’re a stranger.”

Then he pressed the red circle, tossed the phone onto the bed, and went back to lying down as if nothing had happened.