u/M_Fuwari

EXT. SNOW FOREST - SUNSET

Snow falls softly over a red tent buried deep in the mountains. Three girls sit inside, visibly drunk.

GIRL 2
(slurring slightly)
“Hey~ could you go down to the supermarket for us? We’re getting hungry…”

GIRL 3
(even drunker)
“Yeaah…”

GIRL 1
(annoyed)
“Are you serious? That thing’s at the bottom of the mountain!”

GIRL 3
(hiccuping)
“Don’t worry~ we’ll pay you back~”

GIRL 1
(sighs heavily, putting on her coat)
“Fine… but if I die on the way down, you two are responsible.”

GIRL 2
(raising her glass toward Girl 3)
“Deaaal~!”

GIRL 3
(laughing until her drink spills)
“Ahahaha... the snow tastes sweet~”

EXT. MOUNTAIN PATH - SUNSET

Girl 1 walks down the snowy trail alone.

GIRL 1
(muttering to herself)
“They just wanted me out of the tent so they could have alone time…”

She keeps walking.
Then... a distant mechanical sound.
She stops.
A seven-meter-tall robot stands motionless between the trees. Its metal frame reflects the final orange light of sunset. A mounted .50 caliber machine gun points directly at her.

GIRL 1
(trembling)
“H-hello... mister robot…”

The machine emits a strange vibrating sound. Slowly, it turns the gun away from her.
Then it disappears deeper into the snowy forest.
Girl 1 stares silently.

CUT TO: SILENCE.

Snow continues to fall.
Wind howls through the trees.

NIKOLAI (O.S.)
“Been seeing a lot of robots lately…”

ENDER (O.S.)
“Probably security. There’s a festival going on.”

Girl 1 continues downhill. The distant city lights begin to appear through the fog. Festival music echoes faintly from below.
Dozens of drones fly overhead, chirping like birds.

NIKOLAI (O.S.)
“Don’t utility drones usually handle this stuff?”

ENDER (O.S.)
“Not armed ones like these…”

Girl 1 passes a group of heavily armed personnel. An orange upside-down star insignia is stitched onto their sleeves. Underneath it reads:
"S.A.M."
One of them watches her while smoking.

ENDER (O.S.)
“Can’t blame them for being paranoid…”

EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE - NIGHT

An old convenience store glows beneath flickering CRT screens. Orange and blue static reflects softly against the snow.
A S.A.M. officer smokes beside the entrance, pretending to relax while quietly observing everything around him.

INT. CONVENIENCE STORE - NIGHT

NIKOLAI (O.S.)
“Don’t you think there are way too many S.A.M. people around?”

NIKOLAI (O.S.)
“Feels like they know something we don’t…”

Girl 1 glances toward the window.
The same officer is still outside.
Watching.

ENDER (O.S.)
“Yeah… maybe this isn’t just a festival anymore.”

Girl 1 pays for her groceries while a utility drone passes outside the window with soft electronic chirping.

She exits the store.
In the parking lot sits an old dark teal car.
A yellow canoe is strapped to the roof.

ENDER (O.S.)
“You’ve been drinking that soda for almost thirty minutes now.”

NIKOLAI (O.S.)
“It tastes good.”

Distracted by the strange car, Girl 1 accidentally bumps into two people.
of them has black hair with a faint purple shine beneath the lights.
Ender. beside him stands Nikolai. Her cat ears twitch slightly.

One

ENDER
(irritated)
“Do you not have eyes?!”

NIKOLAI
(teasing)
“You’re cute when you’re angry.”

ENDER
(angrier)
“I’m going to rip you to pieces”

Girl 1 blinks awkwardly.
Ender notices her expression and immediately sighs.

ENDER
“Sorry. That was rude.”

He helps her pick up the groceries she dropped.
She quietly thanks him and leaves.

NIKOLAI
“She was cute. Hope we see her again.”

ENDER
“I can’t socialize. Shut up.”

Hi, I’m working on a retro-futuristic sci-fi manga project
This is the opening excerpt from Chapter 1.

EXT. SNOW FOREST - NIGHT

Festival music fades into the wind.
The forest grows darker.
Girl 1 realizes she’s lost.
An old warning sign stands beside the trail:
"UNITED NATIONS BUFFER ZONE - DO NOT APPROACH!"

GIRL 1
(voice shaking)
“Oh no… why am I here…”

Something watches her from the trees.
For a moment, red eyes reflect through the darkness.
Mechanical sounds grow louder. and Closer.
A massive Magnetrine vessel emerges through the snowstorm.
Ender stands on top of it holding a microphone.
He looks both annoyed and genuinely worried.

ENDER
“Hey! What are you doing out here?! Your friends are worried sick!”

HYBЯID - Chapter 1 — PRELUDE —