magisternihil's 100-word story for February 19, 2026

magisternihil wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on February 19, 2026. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

It looked like such a simple home—one story with a well-kept yard—no reason at all to suspect a mad scientist lived there. Then the grass became overgrown, the mail wasn’t collected. Eventually the police were called and they found him. Old age, it was determined, which was surprising based on what they found. Extensive tunneling went stories deep and in all directions for hundreds of yards. No one could figure out how he got all the machinery in there unnoticed, from reclaimed mechanisms to custom-built devices It just went to show you can never truly know your neighbors.

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