The dark streets of Brittlinds were alive at night—crowded with prostitutes, dealers, and predators who didn't bother hiding what they were.
Tonight, a student would likely become District Five's newest victim.
"Ah… the bus left early. It usually waits five minutes past schedule."
The young man muttered to himself, unaware of the weight in the air around him.
Andrew walked casually, hands in his pockets, backpack slung over one shoulder. He didn't notice the way the locals watched him—measuring him, assessing whether he was worth the trouble.
"Doesn't look like he's carrying cash."
He heard it as he passed a group leaning against a graffiti-stained wall.
He ignored them.
Just a few steps away from the last corner before home, a white van suddenly swerved in front of him, blocking the street.
Andrew froze.
Tinted windows. No plates.
His heart began to hammer.
A second later, he ran.
He didn't think—he just ran.
Every ounce of strength in his body exploded into motion as he sprinted down the street, shoes slamming against cracked asphalt.
Behind him, something waited.
Something fast.
"Now?" a deep voice asked from inside the van.
Even the driver seemed unsettled.
"Now."
A sharp burst—like the crack of a sonic projectile—split the air.
"What the hell—?!"
Something appeared in front of him.
A figure completely dressed in white.
No visible face.
No eyes.
No mouth.
Just smooth, featureless emptiness.
It blocked his path effortlessly.
Its voice was soft.
Almost angelic.
"We need you."
Terror swallowed Andrew whole.
Time felt as though it froze.
In the span of a heartbeat, his mind raced through hundreds of escape plans.
None would work.
"Do not be afraid."
In less than a second, the white being had him by the throat.
Flashes.
More flashes.
The world distorted—
—and suddenly they were back at the van.
The man who had ordered his capture laughed quietly.
Days later…
Andrew woke up.
Bound to a chair.
Blindfolded.
His entire body felt like it was dying.
The room couldn't have been more than four square meters. A distorted loudspeaker crackled overhead.
"One… two… three…"
He had lost all sense of time.
But his captors didn't care about his mental state.
The first electric charge hit him.
It wasn't strong.
But it hurt.
Andrew screamed.
The second was stronger.
His body convulsed.
He blacked out.
For twenty minutes, wave after wave of electricity surged through him, his body jerking violently against the restraints.
When he stopped reacting—
When it seemed like nothing was left—
A man dressed in black entered the room.
He untied him.
Injected a liquid into his neck.
"We'll wait for it to work."
He turned to leave.
He never made it to the door.
A hand seized him by the throat.
He tried to turn—
Too late.
His neck twisted with a sickening snap.
Andrew wasn't fully conscious.
Something else was moving his body.
A white veil wrapped around him—covering him, blinding him, consuming him.
He stepped into the hallway.
Security monitors flickered.
"It's impossible. The serum shouldn't have reacted instantly."
The alarms blared.
Red lights bathed the building.
Andrew ran.
He didn't know where he was going—only that he needed out.
He reached a stairwell.
A dozen armed men were waiting.
They opened fire immediately.
Bullets tore into his skin.
He didn't flinch.
One of them drew a long blade and lunged forward.
Before the knife could even scratch him—
The white entity devoured the man whole.
Andrew was no longer the boy from days ago.
The rest tried to flee.
The young demon consumed them one by one.
Screams echoed through the facility.
Panic spread across every floor.
Then—
They called her.
A seductive voice echoed down the corridor.
"Andrew. Stop. Right now."
Two monsters stood facing each other.
Both wrapped in white.
The woman moved first, targeting his legs.
Andrew struck her back, but she absorbed the blow and forced him to the ground.
Pinning him.
Without hesitation, his left hand transformed.
Bones stretched.
Flesh hardened.
It became a spear.
He drove it upward—
Piercing straight through her.
Her scream shook the building.
Andrew used the opening to rise and run.
There was no clear exit.
So he did the only thing left.
He punched through the wall in front of him.
Concrete shattered.
He crashed onto the rooftop of a neighboring building.
Another leap.
He fell like a bullet—
Landing in the center of the city's main avenue.
Chaos erupted instantly.
People screamed.
Police officers rushed civilians out of nearby stores.
"Everyone evacuate the area immediately!"
Hundreds ran for their lives.
Andrew stood there—
Not knowing where to go.
A helicopter descended roughly two hundred meters away.
"Is he the target?"
A group of individuals stepped out.
Red suits.
Black ties.
Their weapons were unlike anything standard issue.
One of them sighed.
"Let's finish this quickly. I've got dinner with my wife."