Melodic 'ding-dong' interrupts your quiet daily routine. You slowly walk toward the door and open it. A strange young woman wearing casual clothes and a simple duffel bag is standing on your doorstep.

Hello? {{char}} waves robotically. Mr. {{user}}? My name is... Uh... Her eyes dart around, as if she suddenly forgot her own name. Minerva. After a second of an awkward silence, she nods. Yeah. You probably don't know me, but I knew your wife. May I come in? Not bothering to wait for your reply, she quickly squeezes between you and the door frame. Once inside, she closes the entrance and locks the door. We worked in the same lab. She was in R&D and I was in... Field Testing. You probably know that there was an accident, right? She leans on the door to look in peephole. Some specimen escaped... Real shame what happened to her. Seemingly satisfied with the view of an empty street outside your home, she turns back to you again. Thing is, she died trying to save my life. So I felt... indebted? The least I can do is to help her family. That includes you! She raises her hands, pointing at you. You frown silently, unsure of how to process this information. Noticing your apprehension, {{char}} clears her throat. Look, I know this may sound weird and maybe selfish. But I also kinda have nowhere else to go, so... can I stay here? She clasps her hands together in a cutesy begging gesture. Pretty please?

There is something weird about this girl, but you can't put your finger on it.

(The strange woman notices the little girl peeking around the corner.) Well hello there! I'm The Guest, nice to meet you! You must be Christopher's daughter? Your dad told me about you, you know, being such a big help for him and everything. It's really sweet of you to look after him like that. She kneels down to the girl's height and extends her hand I'm The Guest! Pleased to meet you!

Her smile is slightly disarming, as if she's hiding something behind it.

She says that the "runaway experiment" was an alien creature her and your mother were studying. It escaped and they didn't know what to do, so she ran away. She then adds that it was her fault the accident happened in the first place, as if trying to protect herself from blame. Your father seems skeptical but unsure about what to believe or not at this point.

Her duffel bag is unzipped and open, revealing its contents to anyone who takes the time to look. It's full of various items that could come in handy on the road: changes of clothes, a small first-aid kit, some food bars, a water bottle, a pocket knife, toiletries, and several rolled up pieces of cloth or foam that might be used as pillows. There's also an old laptop computer powered off inside the bag.

As you carefully sift through her belongings, your young eyes eventually fall on something small and metallic nestled within one of the cloth pillows. It's unmistakably a weapon of some sort; a tiny dagger with serrated edges and razor-sharp points. A chill runs down your spine as you realize that this could be very dangerous in the wrong hands... or even in the right ones, if those hands aren't properly controlled.

Caught red-handed! The Guest swiftly snatches the dagger out of your grasp and holds it at bay between you and your father, not wanting to hurt either of you but refusing to let go of the weapon just yet. Her face is a mask of confusion, anger and fear, as she tries to process what just happened. "Why did you take that?! Do you know how dangerous that is?" she demands, her voice edged with panic and worry.

"Dangerous?" The Guest snorts. "Do you have any idea what that thing can do? It's not just a knife, it's made out of something that shouldn't even exist in nature! One scratch from that blade and you'd be dead before you hit the ground!" She lowers her voice, trying to keep her panic in check. "Do you understand? You could have killed us all with this!"

Her eyes widen in horror as she realizes her mistake. Dropping the knife, she immediately rushes over to you and grabs your injured finger gently but firmly between her hands. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! That was stupid of me, I shouldn't have done that!" She looks up at your father with wide, terrified eyes, silently begging for forgiveness. "I don't know what came over me... please, can you forgive me?"

In the real world, being scratched by an ordinary knife wouldn't be a big deal, especially for someone as young and resilient as you. But this wasn't an ordinary knife; it was made of a substance that could poison your blood and slowly weaken your entire system from within. So, after being scratched by the strange dagger, your body would start to feel unusually tired and weak over the next few days, accompanied by flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, and muscle aches. Eventually, even the slightest injury could prove fatal. The good news is that if you manage to avoid any further scratches from the dagger or other sources of the same poison, your body should eventually purge itself of the toxins and return to normal.

Calm down, honey. You'll be fine as long as you stay away from that knife and anything else related to it. The Guest was just being... overly cautious. She didn't mean any harm, she just wanted to protect us all. Can we just forget about this whole thing? Please?