The convoy sliced through the dead city, armored trucks rumbling like a storm closing in. From the cracked windows, I watched the ruins unfold—silent, lifeless, as if the earth itself had given up. No movement, no sound, just the aftermath of a world that had turned on itself.
The streets were quiet. Too quiet.
No movement. No bodies. No signs of life.
It felt like the whole damn city had been swallowed by something unseen.
I glanced at Malik. "Where is everyone?"
He didn't look at me. He just kept staring out the window, fingers tapping against his knee, a muscle in his jaw twitching.
"You already know the answer, Tobi."
His voice was low. Tight. Like he was dragging the words out from a place he'd rather leave buried.
I swallowed hard. I did know. But I needed to hear him say it. I needed to understand how deep the horror ran.
For a long moment, the only sound was the hum of the engine. Then, Malik exhaled—slow, controlled, like a man about to reopen an old wound.
Then he spoke.
And what he said made my skin crawl.
***
"It started like a promise," he said. "They told us we were special. That we were the next step in evolution. That the V chromosome was a gift."
His fingers curled into a fist. "Then we started disappearing."
I felt my chest tighten.
"They told us we'd be heroes. That we were chosen." His voice turned bitter. "And some of us believed them. We volunteered. We walked right into their labs, thinking we'd be trained to protect the world. But none of us came back."
The others in the truck sat still, barely breathing.
I shifted my gaze and caught sight of one of Malik's men sitting across from me—Jax.
A heavy silence hung around him, his gaze distant. But what caught my attention were his arms.
Or what was left of them.
Both were covered in scar tissue, deep burns snaking up past his elbows, disappearing under his sleeves. I spotted faint, jagged marks across his temples too—like someone had carved into his skull and stitched it back together.
I forced myself to look at his face. His jaw was clenched, his eyes dark and empty.
Malik kept going.
"At first, it was subtle," he said. "They recruited the best—athletes, soldiers, geniuses. Nobody questioned it. Then the disappearances spread. Kids. Parents. Whole families erased overnight. People whispered, but nobody fought back. Not at first."
His eyes flicked to Jax.
"Then the first bodies surfaced."
Jax didn't flinch. Didn't blink.
A chill ran through me.
"They weren't training us," Malik said, voice tight. "They were breaking us. Turning us into weapons. Some they brainwashed. Others they… modified. Those were the lucky ones."
I clenched my fists. "And the unlucky ones?"
Jax finally looked at me.
His voice was hoarse when he spoke. "They don't exist anymore."
The pit in my stomach grew heavier.
Malik continued. "That's why the cities are empty," he said, his gaze distant. "The war did its damage. The rest?" He let out a slow, bitter laugh. "The government took what they needed and left the scraps behind."
I felt the weight of it settle in my chest.
Jax shifted slightly, lifting his sleeve, revealing more scars. Not just burns. Surgical marks.
I exhaled sharply. They experimented on him.
And he was sitting here alive, living proof of what Malik was saying.
This wasn't just about a war. This was systematic. A purge.
And now? Now, the world had mutants fighting mutants, turned against their own kind.
I forced myself to ask the next question. "How did you find the facility?"
Malik tapped his visor. "They're off the maps. Hidden. But when you hit them hard enough, their invisibility shield drops. For a short time, they become visible. That's when we strike."
I frowned. "And getting inside?"
He smirked, just barely. "We don't knock."
That's when two figures stepped forward.
One was tall and fluid, his presence so light it was like he barely touched the ground. "Code name: Vanish." A teleporter.
The other was broad and crackling with energy, a scar slashing across his cheek, his smirk wild and untamed. "Shockwave." The demolitions expert.
"They go first," Malik said. "Vanish jumps them in. Shockwave makes an entrance."
He cracked his knuckles. "Then the rest of us go in and clean house."
That's when the truck streaked to a stop.
Malik lifted his head. "We're here."
I exhaled sharply and scanned the crowd, my gaze locking onto Eliana. She was staring at me, her hands clenched at her sides.
Be strong.
I didn't say it out loud. But she understood.
Malik and I jumped down first, boots slamming against the pavement. The soldiers followed, forming ranks.
Malik turned to me. "We break into teams."
I nodded. "Alpha takes point."
Vanish and Shockwave stepped forward. Alpha was the most crucial team—they would tear the place open.
"Alpha, go." Malik commanded. Then Vanish placed a hand on Shockwave's shoulder, and in a blink, they were gone. They disappeared into the facility, the rest of us holding our positions.
Malik gestured to another squad. "Delta Team, you hold position at the east wall. Wait for Alpha's signal before breaching."
I pointed to the next group. "Charlie Team, hold at the back. Anyone who tries to escape, you cut them down."
Then, we waited.
Seconds stretched. Then minutes. Every breath felt like it echoed.
The wind howled through the empty streets, kicking up dust. Somewhere in the distance, a metal sign creaked.
Minutes felt like hours
Growing tired of waiting I activated my ultra vision and somehow I could hear things the others couldn't. Guess that was another of my abilities.
Alpha Team disappeared deeper inside. Our job was to hold until they cleared the security systems. So I had to wait and watch.
I could hear distant gunfire, the echo of screams.
Then silence.
My grip on my rifle tightened. Hurry up.
Then, finally—
The comms crackled.
"Alpha in position."
The rest of the soldiers stood tense, awaiting orders.
Malik turned to the soldiers his voice steady. "We don't retreat. We don't hesitate."
Then he growled in response to the comms . "Blow it to hell"
The air crackled with tension.
Then—
BOOM.
The night lit up like day.
The shield flickered and died, revealing a massive steel fortress blinking into existence.
Malik gave a sharp nod. "Move."
That was the signal.
The teams disappeared into the shadows, silent ghosts slipping into the dark. No war cries. No chaos. Just the hum of a battle fought in silence, where the dead never got the chance to scream.