The world felt wrong.
Not in a dramatic, anime-ending kind of way.
Wrong in the quiet way — the way a room feels after someone's been inside it while you were gone.
Like the air wasn't just there.
Like it was watching.
Quinn and Riley stepped out of the hospital and into a city that looked like Lagos but didn't feel like Lagos. Cars sat abandoned along curbs. Keke drivers were nowhere to be found. Market stalls were half-packed even though it was barely noon. Overhead, the sky sagged beneath faint, stubborn streaks of purple that refused to disappear.
Riley flexed his new prosthetic arm, the joints clicking softly. "Man… starcity looks like it forgot how to be loud."
Quinn managed a weak smile. "Crazy world when you're the noisy one."
"Watch it," Riley muttered, nudging him with a metallic elbow.
But both boys felt it — the tension humming under the atmosphere. The world's nerves pulled tight. The feeling that something had rewired the air itself.
They followed cracked sidewalks toward Quinn's neighborhood. Houses stood too still, windows tinted faintly violet. A flock of birds glided overhead in perfect formation… then broke apart suddenly, scattering like they'd flown into something invisible.
Riley stopped dead. "Bro. Tell me you saw that."
"I'm trying not to," Quinn whispered.
Their footsteps echoed too loudly.
No kids shouting.
No bicycle chains clattering.
No generators rumbling to life in the distance.
Just wind.
Uneasy silence.
And strange, far-off growls Quinn hoped were just thunder.
---
Quinn's House
When they reached Quinn's street, he stopped so sharply Riley almost bumped into him.
The gate to his compound hung crooked on one hinge. Soot dusted the walls, and a thin scorch mark traced the corner of the house — jagged, unnatural, like something had dragged heat across it.
Riley's voice went soft. "We'll check inside together. Slow and steady."
Quinn nodded, but dread squeezed his chest tight.
What if Grandma hadn't made it?
What if he was too late?
He pushed the door open.
The living room was wrecked. Chairs overturned. Picture frames shattered. Curtains torn. Everything looked shaken, displaced, wrong.
"Grandma?" Quinn called, voice cracking. "Grandma, are you here?"
No reply.
Only the whisper of wind pushing through a broken window.
Riley scanned the room cautiously, adjusting to the balance of his prosthetic leg. "Quinn… stay sharp. Something's off."
Quinn didn't answer. He moved deeper into the house, each step heavier. Cabinets hung open. The old radio Grandma always kept playing sat burnt-out on the counter, wires curled like dried vines.
He stopped at her bedroom door.
It stood half-open.
He pushed it.
The bed was perfectly made. Blankets untouched.
Empty.
"She's not here," Quinn whispered, the words hollowing out his chest.
Riley stepped in behind him. "People got evacuated all over. The government moved families to shelters. She could be safe, Quinn. Seriously."
Quinn clung to that hope — barely — when the air shifted.
A faint ripple of purple shimmered at the edge of his vision, like heat distortion. Quinn turned sharply.
Something moved behind the wardrobe.
Something tall.
Riley tensed. "Quinn…?"
A low, unnatural rumble rolled through the room.
A creature stepped into the light — vaguely humanoid, but twisted wrong. Too long limbs. Too wide a jaw. Skin glowing with faint violet patterns that pulsed like embers.
Its eyes locked onto Quinn.
Its body leaned forward.
Then it lunged.
---
The First Clash
Riley reacted instantly, shoving Quinn aside. "Move!"
Quinn threw up his arms, fear squeezing his throat—
And then the world flashed blue.
A translucent screen snapped into focus before Quinn's eyes:
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
Catalyst confirmed. Threat proximity: LETHAL.
User: QUINN COLE — Compatibility: 97%
Rank: UNKNOWN
Initializing survival protocol…
Quinn stumbled back. "What—what is this?!"
Riley blinked hard. "Bro… if you're seeing floating blue boxes, then either we're both crazy or something's seriously wrong."
The creature roared, crouching low.
Another line flashed:
[Protocol Online]
Skill Unlocked: KINETIC BURST — Level 0
Activation: Instinctive
The monster sprang—
Quinn didn't think.
His body moved on its own.
A pulse of invisible force exploded from his palm, slamming the creature back into the wall with a powerful shockwave. Dust rattled from the ceiling.
Riley's jaw dropped. "BRO?! WHAT—WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Quinn stared at his trembling hand. "I… I didn't mean to—"
Another notification blinked:
[Skill Cooldown: 18 seconds]
The creature rose again, angrier, violet lines cracking brighter across its body.
Quinn's heart pounded. "Riley… when I say run—"
Riley let out a shaky smirk. "Yeah, yeah. I already hate this plan."
The creature screeched.
Riley tugged at Quinn's shirt. "Bro, let's go—"
But Quinn wasn't moving.
Something in him sharpened — as if a switch flipped.
Then the creature blurred forward.
To Riley, it happened too fast to see.
But to Quinn, time stretched.
Everything slowed.
The creature's movement.
The dust hanging in the air.
Even the beat of Quinn's own heart.
Why isn't Riley moving…?
He's going to get hit—
Move. MOVE.
A new word etched itself across Quinn's vision:
[OVERDRIVE]
The world snapped.
In a heartbeat, Riley felt a gust of wind — then suddenly he was outside, dropped safely onto the ground.
He gasped. "Qu… Quinn—?"
Quinn stood in the doorway, eyes glowing entirely blue, an aura of energy shimmering around him like heat waves.
Riley whispered, "Did you just…?"
But Quinn didn't answer.
He blurred forward — a burst of speed so fast Riley could barely track him.
---
Battle in the Shadows
Inside the house, the creature hissed and lunged again, sensing Quinn as the threat.
Energy crackled around Quinn's hands — unstable but fierce. He dodged with unnatural precision, each motion sharper than the last. The creature swiped, claws cutting through the air, but Quinn twisted aside, countering with bursts of force that shoved the monster back repeatedly.
The air shook with each impact.
Light flashed.
Dust spiraled.
Furniture splintered as the two forces collided.
Riley could see only silhouettes through the doorway — shadows clashing, sparks bursting, the sound of heavy impacts thundering through the house.
When the dust finally settled, Quinn stood at the center of the room.
The creature lay sprawled across the floor — unmoving, defeated.
A final message blinked:
[Threat Neutralized]
Stabilizing vitals…]
Quinn blinked hard, confusion overtaking adrenaline. "What… what happened? Where's Riley? Riley?!"
He spun around, panic rising. "Riley?! Are you okay?! Where—"
Riley lay where Quinn had set him down, frozen in place, eyes wide in shock. He wasn't hurt — just overwhelmed.
Quinn bolted toward him.
But before he reached the doorway—
A voice behind him snapped:
"Don't move."
The air dropped cold.
A silhouette blocked the entryway.
And Quinn realized the creature hadn't been the only thing waiting in the house.