Chapter 1: The Twins
May 15th, 2025
The sun was blazing that morning—way brighter than usual.
It was early, and everyone was up and about, preparing to leave Al Qantara.
Tariq was busy packing up his cooking gear. Essentials, obviously.
Amina? She didn't sleep well last night. A one-in-a-million event.
Harith, as always, was deep into his game, sweating and tryharding like it was a tournament.
Aboutrika? Still snoring.
That's when Harith's sister barged into his room.
"Harith. Get ready. That game can wait. This trip can't."
Harith barely reacted, glued to the screen. His thumbs were flying across the controller, his face intense.
She sighed and stepped right in front of his 35-inch screen.
"Whoa! What the hell are you doing?! Move!"
Instead of moving, she reached for the console's cable.
"W-Wait! NO—!"
In a flash, Harith hurled his controller at her—his grip tightening as a strange pulse rippled through his hand.
She dodged just in time.
The controller was shrouded in flickers of purple and green glitch-like particles. It flew through the air unnaturally—like it had been warped by something unseen—before falling to the floor in a slow, warped slump.
But something else happened.
The cord to the TV snapped—and so did the skin on his sister's palm.
"What the—?!"
She clutched her hand, dark blood seeping out between her fingers.
Harith froze.
Was that… my Disposition? No way…
He didn't have time to think much more before she started yelling again.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! Say something or I'm uninviting you to my wedding!"
Harith leaned back, relaxed, zipped his lips shut with an imaginary motion.
"With all pleasure."
She rolled her eyes and walked off, but paused at the door.
"Oh, yeah. Your friends—are they coming? We barely have anyone at the wedding except a bunch of uncles and aunties."
"Oh, right. Thanks for the reminder. Yeah, Aboutrika's driving the bus to Cairo."
"Aboutrika?! Didn't I tell you to stop hanging out with that kid?"
"Well… I'm not Aboutrika, but if I were, I'd show you my toy collection."
"…What?"
"Nothing, just teasing. Anyway, a bunch of my friends are riding with him."
"Ugh. Whatever. If that weirdo's driving, fine."
"Since when do you get to decide who comes?"
"Uh, it's my wedding?"
"You win. Now get out of my room. I'll be ready in a sec."
She left with a smirk. Harith threw on his black leather jacket—fit complete—and stepped out.
⸻
Meanwhile…
A strange bush sat nearby. Or, well, something that was supposed to look like a bush. It looked more like a scribble made with a black pen.
Amina, hands in her pockets, walked toward it, eyebrows furrowed.
"Now where's that weirdo hiding…"
She posed dramatically, eyeing the "bush."
"Ugh! I can't find them! Maybe…"
She reached forward slowly.
But before she could fully reveal what—or who—was inside, a cartoonish black hand shot out, spraying something in her face.
A visible question mark appeared above her head.
Still, she opened the bush. And what she saw nearly made her hands tremble.
The figure before her was strange—armored shoulders, chest, wrists, and helmet. A belt wrapped around its waist, and on its chest, the number 0 glowed in white. Its face was just a flat surface with a glowing 4, forming a crude, emotionless "face."
Amina was stunned.
Then—pshhht—the figure sprayed her again. She collapsed to the ground in silence.
The figure tossed a wireless phone from its side and contacted its twin.
They didn't talk with voices. Instead, they used chat bubbles, like in a dating sim. But their gestures were animated, like they were speaking for real.
The twin on the other end—identical, but with the numbers reversed (a 4 on the chest, and a glowing 0 for a face)—stood on Aboutrika's roof, watching with a pair of black spyglasses.
4: "Think we should let this human go?"
0: "I mean… sure. We did take down one of their team, right?"
A long pause followed, only ellipses showing in 0's bubble.
0: "Look around you."
4 scanned the area. Harith and the others were getting ready to leave. A large, spotless bus gleamed in the sun—Aboutrika's, obviously. Light green. Surprisingly new.
Amina lay motionless on the ground as someone approached…
0: "Another human's coming your way."
4 reached for a thin black line on the roof.
4: "Pull!"
0: "What?"
4: "The string! Pull it!"
0 blinked, then yanked the line. 4, being unnaturally light and hollow, zipped back up to the roof.
Just in time.
Tariq strolled past, whistling, only to spot Amina on the ground.
"Still sleeping? Seriously? You had like ten hours last night!"
He leaned down, waving a sandwich.
"Let me guess—you want a bite, huh? Just say so."
He pulled the sandwich from his red scarf and lightly tossed it at her face, striking a heroic pose.
The sandwich flopped onto her forehead.
She furrowed her brows, clearly annoyed.
"You ready yet, Amina?"
Tariq looked over his shoulder, both hands on his pouches.
Then his eyes widened.
"What?! My food's so good it can wake the dead!"
He grinned, then smirked.
"Oh, I get it. You're pretending."
Without hesitation, he picked her up and tossed her into the bus.
Inside, Aboutrika sat grumpily at the wheel. Harith was already on board.
"Wait, Tariq. Why'd you throw Amina in here? What, she got no legs now?"
Tariq leaned close, whispering with a smirk.
"She's faking."
Harith's eyes widened. He nodded silently and gave a thumbs-up.
Amina's mind: (I heard that, you jerk.)
Aboutrika groaned. He hadn't slept well and was clearly irritated.
"اقعدي عدل يا امينة علشان متقعيش من الباص."
("Sit up straight, Amina, or you'll fall out of the bus.")
"Uh… you do know she's 'unconscious,' right?"
"I don't care. Make her sit up or I'll throw her off myself."
Harith made a fake concerned face, then roughly adjusted Amina into a sitting position—on purpose.
She elbowed him in the ribs.
"Ow…" he winced. "So you were awake!"
She ignored him.
Tariq chimed in, trying to bait her again.
"Hey, Amina. I heard Aboutrika's buying us foul and falafel from that place…"
Amina instantly snapped awake. Aboutrika whipped his head around.
"احا، ولا انت جاي تبقشش من على افايا؟"
("What the hell?! You think I'm paying for all of you?")
"الي عايز يجيب يجيب على حسابه."
("If you want something, pay for it yourself.")
"Speaking of which… where's Tariq?" Harith asked.
"I'm right here!"
Tariq popped into the front seat, as confident as ever.
"Y'all pack your stuff?" Aboutrika grumbled.
"Yup, we're good!" Tariq replied.
"Don't speak for all of us!" Harith interrupted. "I forgot my phone!"
He ran out of the bus.
"I gave it to a tech guy the other day—cost me like 300 pounds. Basically my life savings."
He stopped. Something black caught his eye on top of the bus.
"…Crows?"
He shrugged, grabbed his phone from the house, and glanced toward the other bus. His sister's had already driven off.
"Yeah."
Phone pocketed, he hopped back in.
"All good! Let's go!"
The sound of keys turning echoed through the street. Aboutrika fired up the engine.
And just like that, the bus rolled out of Al Qantara, bound for Cairo.
But they weren't alone.
The twins had already disappeared, darting through alleys to reach their own—doodled-out, pitch-black—bus.
The chase had begun.
To be continued…
⸻
Character Spotlight:
0 and 4: "They're the kind of… people? Drawings? Characters? You used to imagine running alongside your bus on a tired school day."