Page 1 - Panel 1:
Morning sun. Evan walks toward school with Jason again, street full of students. Jason is mid-rant, animated as always.

Jason:
“Okay but hear me out—what if the monster wasn’t alone? Like, there’s a whole species of them chillin’ underground?”

Page 1 - Panel 2:
Evan chuckles, distracted but trying to stay present.

Evan:
“You seriously need to stop watching those conspiracy podcasts before bed.”

Jason (grinning):
“Don’t act like you weren’t obsessed with them too back in the day.”

Page 1 - Panel 3:
They pass Evan’s crush, Leila Simpson. She’s grabbing books from her locker. Jason nudges Evan hard in the ribs.

Jason (whispers):
“Now’s your chance, bro. Just ask her.”

Page 1 - Panel 4:
Evan freezes for a beat, then walks toward her as Jason grins like a proud parent in the background.

Evan:
“Hey, Leila.”

Leila (smiling):
“Oh, hey Evan.”

Page 2 - Panel 1:
Close-up of Evan, trying to act smooth but definitely nervous.

Evan:
“I was wondering, um... if maybe you wanted to catch a movie sometime? With me?”

Page 2 - Panel 2:
Leila looks genuinely surprised, then gives a warm smile.

Leila:
“Sure. That sounds nice.”

Page 2 - Panel 3:
Jason dramatically fist-pumps in the background. Evan tries to play it cool but can’t stop the smile spreading across his face.

Jason (whispering):
“YES. King behavior.”

Page 2 - Panel 4:
The three walk off down the hallway together. Leila and Evan chatting. For a moment, Evan looks... happy. Normal.

Page 3 - Panel 1:
Cut to later that day. Evan walks into his home, door creaking open.

Evan:
“Mom? Dad?”

Page 3 - Panel 2:
His parents sit nervously on the couch. Two well-dressed agents (in black suits, not overtly tactical) are seated across from them. One male, one female.

Agent 1 (rising):
“Ah, you must be Evan.”

Page 3 - Panel 3:
Evan tenses slightly but nods. The mood is calm but heavy.

Agent 2 (smiling):
“No need to worry. We’re conducting routine follow-ups with families in zones near the... incident.”

Page 3 - Panel 4:
They hand Evan a sleek black card, almost metallic looking, with a small glowing symbol in the corner.

Agent 1:
“If you see anything strange—anything out of the ordinary—just tap this on your phone. It’ll send us a direct report.”

Page 4 - Panel 1:
Evan turns the card over in his hand. It’s blank aside from a symbol and microchip glint.

Evan:
“Okay. Um... sure.”

Page 4 - Panel 2:
The agents exchange a glance, polite but unreadable. They shake hands with his parents and prepare to leave.

Agent 2 (to parents):
“Thank you for your time. This is just protocol.”

Page 4 - Panel 3:
Evan watches them leave through the window. His parents look uneasy.

Dad:
“They said it’s just part of a city-wide emergency response... but they were asking a lot about your whereabouts.”

Page 4 - Panel 4:
Evan forces a smile.

Evan:
“Well, I was at school... being extremely normal.”

Page 5 - Panel 1:
Cut to the agents back in their black SUV. One of them taps on a tablet. The screen shows a readout of the card given to Evan.

Agent 1:
“Card’s active. No spike yet.”

Page 5 - Panel 2:
Zoom on the tablet. It displays: “LIVE MONITORING — Energy/Pressure Anomaly Triggers: 0”

Agent 2:
“It’ll ping us if anything even twitches around him. If he’s connected to that thing... we’ll know.”

Page 5 - Panel 3:
They drive off into the night. The screen behind them flickers as a subtle pulse of red energy flashes once from Evan’s direction... but too faint to register.

Page 6 - Panel 1:
Back to Evan in his room. He sets the card on his desk and lies back on his bed, arms behind his head.

Narration (Evan’s Thoughts):
A routine visit? Why do I feel like they know more than they let on...

Page 6 - Panel 2:
He glances at the mask hidden in a drawer. Just a flicker of red glow escaping the edge as he opens and closes it quickly.

Narration (Evan’s Thoughts):
I can’t risk anything. Not until I know what’s going on.

Page 6 - Panel 3:
Final panel — zoom in on the card. Tiny, invisible lights blink red for a split second. The reader is watching.