The meteor showers were no longer a whisper in Los Angeles—they were headline news. Every night, local channels aired shaky cellphone videos of glowing objects slicing through the sky, sparking a frenzy of speculation on X. UFO enthusiasts posted wild theories, while scientists debated “unusual atmospheric phenomena.” In the Spencer household, 17-year-old Jake was glued to his phone, scrolling through posts about the latest sightings. “Mom, have you seen this?” he asked, shoving the screen toward Olivia as they sat at the dinner table. “They’re saying these things are landing all over the city. It’s gotta be aliens or something!”
Olivia, or rather the parasite wearing her skin, glanced up from her plate of barely touched spaghetti. Her hazel eyes, perfectly mimicking the real Olivia’s warm gaze, betrayed nothing. “Oh, honey,” she said with a dismissive chuckle, twirling a strand of chestnut hair around her finger. “It’s probably just space junk or some natural phenomenon. You know