Morning in Johannesburg never arrives gently.
It creeps in through cracked windows, broken curtains, the distant bark of taxis and shouting vendors. The city wakes whether you're ready or not.
John met Kevin at the corner just after sunrise. Kevin stood there like always—too tall for his age, shoulders wide, posture relaxed like nothing in the world could touch him. He grinned when he saw John.
"Finally," Kevin said, stretching his arms. "Exams are done. Winter break, here we come."
John nodded, though his body still felt… wrong. Lighter. Like gravity had loosened its grip overnight.
Kevin noticed. "You look tired."
"Didn't sleep much," John lied.
They walked.
Biggie joined them a few streets later. Broad chest, thick arms, eyes always scanning. People crossed the road when they saw him—not because he was violent, but because he looked like trouble. The kind that protects its own.
"So Mbali's not coming today?" Biggie asked.
"Nah," Kevin said. "Finished early."
Biggie's expression flickered—disappointment buried fast. "Damn. Thought I'd see her."
Meiko's voice cut in from behind them. "Focus on Life Sciences first. Distractions later."
John sighed. "Hate to admit it, but he's right."
They reached the school gates just as Kelvin checked his phone.
"Guys," Kelvin said, face pale. "We're late."
Biggie laughed. "Relax. We use the C.P.F method."
John frowned. "What's that?"
"Cram. Pass. Forget."
Kelvin snorted. "Wisdom from a perv."
They laughed and stepped into the exam hall, unaware that something else had stepped into the city with them.
Three hours later, students spilled out like survivors. Some crying. Some celebrating. Some staring into nothing.
John's group walked out smiling.
They grabbed cheap kota, shared a warm soda, sat in the park pretending the world was normal.
But Kelvin wasn't laughing.
He kept glancing over his shoulder. At shadows that didn't belong to anyone. At reflections that moved half a second too late.
John noticed.
Then he saw him.
Across the street.
The man from the other night.
The same calm posture. The same knowing smile.
John blinked.
Gone.
His heart skipped.
I'm tired, he told himself. That's all.
Meiko snapped his fingers in front of Kelvin's face. "Earth to Kelvin."
Kelvin startled. "Heaven and hell—uh, yeah. I'm here."
John smirked. "He was staring at ass again. No surprise."
Biggie laughed. "Come back, dawg. We still deciding whose house we using for the party."
Kelvin forced a smile. "Yeah. I'm back."
But night came faster than it should have.
They split paths as darkness settled in.
John and Meiko took their usual route—except tonight, they didn't.
Neither could explain why.
The streets near Meiko's place were silent. No dogs. No music. Just paper drifting across the road like dead leaves.
John felt it then.
That pressure.
Like being watched through water.
He glanced back.
Nothing.
"Hey," Meiko said, smirking. "You coming in or you imagining my sister again?"
John snapped around. "Don't joke about boobs, man."
Meiko laughed.
The door opened.
Lisa stood there—short, sharp-eyed, dangerous in a way that didn't need explanation.
"You're late," she snapped.
Dinner passed quickly. Tension lingered. Meiko watched John like a loaded weapon.
John left early.
When he got home, his father was waiting—training uniform on, smile sharp.
"You think skipping training goes unnoticed?"
John swallowed.
The night swallowed the rest.
Kevin dreamed of war.
Angels tearing through the sky. Beasts crushing cities. Gods bleeding. Humans screaming.
No end.
Then—
"Time to wake up, Kevin."
Morning.
Sweat soaked his sheets.
He pulled the curtain open.
Across the street stood a man dressed in black.
Watching.
A car passed.
The man was gone.
Kevin stood frozen until smoke curled from the kitchen.
"Eggs and toast?" he muttered.
Life continued.
But it was lying.
Later, Kevin met John and Meiko on the way to the gym.
The air changed.
Mist rolled in fast and unnatural.
Too fast.
A fist exploded out of it.
Meiko reacted first—shoving John aside.
The punch shattered concrete.
A voice spoke from the fog.
Calm. Cold.
A man emerged, clapping slowly.
Meiko charged.
The man vanished.
Reappeared behind John.
Pain detonated in John's stomach.
"Too slow," the man whispered.
Kevin attacked.
The man caught him and slammed him into the wall like he weighed nothing.
Meiko barely saw the kick before it crushed his breath.
The stranger turned away.
"Your weakness is your mistake," he said.
"We are Rankorge."
"We are coming for the evo-human race."
And then he was gone.
The mist faded.
The city breathed again.
But something had cracked.
Somewhere deep inside them.
They found the abandoned building soon after.
Biggie was already there.
So was Fiona.
And Bob.
John didn't know why—but the moment he stepped inside, he felt it.
This was where things stopped being normal.
And where they would never be human again.